LivingTheory
Dryer sheet wannabe
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2019
- Messages
- 21
Hi there. You may be able to see our stats in the biography field but thought I’d introduce myself and family as we’re new to the forum. I’m a 30 year old financial advisor married to a 28 year old registered nurse and we have a young child.
Our “why” for FI is to gain stability for our family and to control the little time that we get on this planet. I experienced some financial hardships when my parent’s seemingly otherwise middle class life went up in flames around ‘07/‘08. I want to provide security for my loved ones so that they’re less likely to go through something similar.
I’ve never been a high earner during the 6 years post-college though we’ve done a nice job of bringing home a combined salary north of $100k the last few. I received a raise recently that makes me feel like I’m finally in the “good earner” club. Hopefully I can reach six figures soon. Just three years ago I accepted an entry level position for $40k. Now my base is roughly $90k with bonus potential bringing it upwards of $110k. Spouse works part time post-baby, making $25k-$30k.
Our current financial situation: our house is valued at ~$400k with a $268k mortgage (3.375% fixed 15 year) outstanding. No other debts. We have $290k-$300k in retirement accounts (401k, IRA, HSA) and a few thousand in a 529. Our cash is lighter than usual at $15k thanks to some recent home improvements. May bump this back to $25k or keep it there since we have two income streams. All that said, net worth, with our $5k car included, comes to about $450k.
Our base expenses are $51k each year. Without the mortgage payment (PI) it drops to roughly $25k. This is our sustainable FI spending number.
We’re contributing $19k to my 401k, $12k to IRAs, $4k to spouse’s 403b, $4k to child’s 529, $2k to HSA, and paying off $20k-$30k of mortgage principal (depending on bonus) thanks to the recent bump in pay. I receive 5% employer match, spouse gets a match but it’s minimal. If returning to FT work in the future, the match would be more significant and the 403b could be maxed out.
My numbers have our FI date roughly 8-10 years out. This is mostly tied to the mortgage payoff timing. We could reach base FI sooner if knocking that out quickly became top priority but it’d be at the expense of investing. I’m not sure that’s wise given our time to college (16 years) being a short runway.
We’ve considered reaching FI as soon as possible and having my spouse pick up some travel nurse gigs once or twice a year for health insurance and bare expense coverage. We’ll see what we decide as life happens. We’re also in a state where housing is relatively expensive. Downsizing to a cheaper locale to be near family and reduce debt could be an option in a few years as well.
That’s my wall of text. Thanks for welcoming me to the forum. Happy to read your situations as well!
Our “why” for FI is to gain stability for our family and to control the little time that we get on this planet. I experienced some financial hardships when my parent’s seemingly otherwise middle class life went up in flames around ‘07/‘08. I want to provide security for my loved ones so that they’re less likely to go through something similar.
I’ve never been a high earner during the 6 years post-college though we’ve done a nice job of bringing home a combined salary north of $100k the last few. I received a raise recently that makes me feel like I’m finally in the “good earner” club. Hopefully I can reach six figures soon. Just three years ago I accepted an entry level position for $40k. Now my base is roughly $90k with bonus potential bringing it upwards of $110k. Spouse works part time post-baby, making $25k-$30k.
Our current financial situation: our house is valued at ~$400k with a $268k mortgage (3.375% fixed 15 year) outstanding. No other debts. We have $290k-$300k in retirement accounts (401k, IRA, HSA) and a few thousand in a 529. Our cash is lighter than usual at $15k thanks to some recent home improvements. May bump this back to $25k or keep it there since we have two income streams. All that said, net worth, with our $5k car included, comes to about $450k.
Our base expenses are $51k each year. Without the mortgage payment (PI) it drops to roughly $25k. This is our sustainable FI spending number.
We’re contributing $19k to my 401k, $12k to IRAs, $4k to spouse’s 403b, $4k to child’s 529, $2k to HSA, and paying off $20k-$30k of mortgage principal (depending on bonus) thanks to the recent bump in pay. I receive 5% employer match, spouse gets a match but it’s minimal. If returning to FT work in the future, the match would be more significant and the 403b could be maxed out.
My numbers have our FI date roughly 8-10 years out. This is mostly tied to the mortgage payoff timing. We could reach base FI sooner if knocking that out quickly became top priority but it’d be at the expense of investing. I’m not sure that’s wise given our time to college (16 years) being a short runway.
We’ve considered reaching FI as soon as possible and having my spouse pick up some travel nurse gigs once or twice a year for health insurance and bare expense coverage. We’ll see what we decide as life happens. We’re also in a state where housing is relatively expensive. Downsizing to a cheaper locale to be near family and reduce debt could be an option in a few years as well.
That’s my wall of text. Thanks for welcoming me to the forum. Happy to read your situations as well!
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