My intro

[scrubradio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveR Our FIRE clock is ticking down and we are marching towards our RE with a plan and each step is being executed in sequence (maybe this IS rocket science ) as our freedom draws near.

After browsing the board and confusing myself for a few days, I have
come to the conclusion that it is rocket science.

I've got the pretax investments in line to take care of the later years
but I am having some trouble figuring out what to do to start the RE
part of FIRE.

What is a good investment book that you would recomend? I need to
know where to put my after tax $$ so they can grow until I am ready
to FIRE.

[daverph]

SteveR and anybody else,
Should I wait and pay down my debt now and then start my 401k up to the match or should I do both since it will take some time to pay down the debt. I am 30 and my wife is in the process of getting a job after having our first child. So I will have help paying down the debt and saving an emergency/house fund. So should I start the 401k now or wait the two years+ it will take to pay down the debt?

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daverph SteveR and anybody else, Should I wait and pay down my debt now and then start my 401k up to the match or should I do both since it will take some time to pay down the debt. I am 30 and my wife is in the process of getting a job after having our first child. So I will have help paying down the debt and saving an emergency/house fund. So should I start the 401k now or wait the two years+ it will take to pay down the debt?

I would do both............does your employer match? If they do, it would be foolish NOT to do both. Think pre-tax..........

[daverph]

I want to do both, but it seems people on here say to pay off all debt before starting investing and I am never quite sure if that includes the 401k. My employer matches 40% up to 5% of my salary in cash, vested over 5 years. I plan on being here a good amount of time. I know it doesn't make sense to invest after tax but with the pretax and match, I don't think I can pass it up. Thanks.

Dave

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daverph I want to do both, but it seems people on here say to pay off all debt before starting investing and I am never quite sure if that includes the 401k. My employer matches 40% up to 5% of my salary in cash, vested over 5 years. I plan on being here a good amount of time. I know it doesn't make sense to invest after tax but with the pretax and match, I don't think I can pass it up. Thanks. Dave

Paying off all debt is far from a consensus view. Take the free money (translation: do the 401k at least up to the match).

[daverph]

Well, my worry here is that I have a lot of CC debt, more than I would like to admit for my tolerance at least. This will be our number one priority along with saving for a home. Once she starts working, which she should hear about a job in the next week, that will help out a lot. I want to take the free money but hate the thought of having the debt lingering. Thanks.

Dave

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daverph Well, my worry here is that I have a lot of CC debt, more than I would like to admit for my tolerance at least. This will be our number one priority along with saving for a home. Once she starts working, which she should hear about a job in the next week, that will help out a lot. I want to take the free money but hate the thought of having the debt lingering. Thanks. Dave

Do your credit cards charge you over 40% interest? If not, then taking the free money is a good deal. I would put in for 5% 401k and throw the rest of the money at the CC demon.

[sgeeeee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR Well, it rhymes with "wit"... :P

[virginia]

Me personally, I would start working on the emergency cushion while paying off the debt - not a huge cushion, but one that will cover emergencies. Once I had the minimum that I was comfortable with, I'd work on the debt and the 401k at the same time. The reason that I'd do it this way, is so that I'd have something to fall back on, and not have to add back to the debt - and this would help you achieve both goals of debt payoff and saving.
My experience is that it's hard to work towards several goals at once when it comes to a limited amount of money, but it's much easier to do that when you have something to fall back on.

[scrubradio]

I am 35, I decided to pay myself first (401k up to match), then pay my
emergency fund $30 week (I gave it a $250 starting kickoff), then pay
down high interest debt with what was left over.

So far I have $300 in emergency fund, paid off one credit card and have
sent in more than minumums on others. Using this method, I will be debt
free in about 6 months.

To achieve my goals faster, I chose to purchase an inexpensive house
that is well below my means. As a matter of fact the offer I made was
accepted today! The payments on the home will be 10.5% of my net
income. This will allow for some serious investing for FIRE. Upon closing
the sale I will be uping the 401k to max.

I'm glad that I chose to put money in the emergency fund as I have also
incurred my first expense. Someone took it upon themselves to steal
my lawn mower the other day and now I need a new one.

Thanks for the help guys n gals!