recursion49
Dryer sheet aficionado
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2012
- Messages
- 28
Hi everyone,
I've been away from this forum for too long, and hoping that I can get some advice. I've just freshly come off several years of serious financial mistakes (costing $60k), but looking to hit a hard reset of my financials and get back on track to early retirement!
My spending had gone out of control due to having 2 kids, a major spending binge gone wrong, speculative investments (as awful as it is to admit), and spending way too much on a car (recently paid off by using investments to get rid of the payments that were killing me). Regrets are many, but I'm hoping prospective improvements can help me get back on track!
Here's my financials as of today:
Cash: $2k
Taxable: $6.5k
Non-Taxable: $85k
ESA/529: $4.5k
Home: $300k ($226k mortgage balance remaining, $1.4k monthly payment)
Auto: $40k value (totally regret the purchase, but owing nothing now)
Credit Card: $6.5k debt
Salary: $85.5k/annual
Taxable contributions: $500/monthly - EDIT - Planning to increase contributions by $50/monthly every year
Allocation:
55% - U.S. Growth
10% - International Large Cap Index
5% - Emerging Markets Index
5% - Gold
25% - U.S. Bond Index
401(k) contributions: $380/biweekly (7% with a 4.5% employer match) - EDIT - Planning a 2% increase annually, in line with expected salary raises.
Allocation:
55% - U.S. Large Cap Index
10% - International Large Cap Index
5% - Emerging Markets Index
30% - U.S. Bond Index
ESA/529 contributions: $300 monthly
Cash savings: $100/biweekly
Being 29, and turning 30 in February next year, I'm hoping for some advice on whether this currently makes sense. I'm hoping to pay off my credit card debt as soon as possible, to end the year completely debt-free. My cash savings are low, because I'm planning to schlep more cash into paying off my debt.
My main issue is that I'm running a 4-person household (wife is a SAHM), and I'm worried that I might not be able to afford retirement. Can someone please provide some advice? On my current plan, I'm saving roughly 25% of my income in relatively safe investments (learned my lesson the hard way).
Hoping to retire by 45 (projecting roughly $1.5M in the kitty) but given that my wife isn't projected to make any income, and we'll have a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old, I'm not sure if we're on track. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
I've been away from this forum for too long, and hoping that I can get some advice. I've just freshly come off several years of serious financial mistakes (costing $60k), but looking to hit a hard reset of my financials and get back on track to early retirement!
My spending had gone out of control due to having 2 kids, a major spending binge gone wrong, speculative investments (as awful as it is to admit), and spending way too much on a car (recently paid off by using investments to get rid of the payments that were killing me). Regrets are many, but I'm hoping prospective improvements can help me get back on track!
Here's my financials as of today:
Cash: $2k
Taxable: $6.5k
Non-Taxable: $85k
ESA/529: $4.5k
Home: $300k ($226k mortgage balance remaining, $1.4k monthly payment)
Auto: $40k value (totally regret the purchase, but owing nothing now)
Credit Card: $6.5k debt
Salary: $85.5k/annual
Taxable contributions: $500/monthly - EDIT - Planning to increase contributions by $50/monthly every year
Allocation:
55% - U.S. Growth
10% - International Large Cap Index
5% - Emerging Markets Index
5% - Gold
25% - U.S. Bond Index
401(k) contributions: $380/biweekly (7% with a 4.5% employer match) - EDIT - Planning a 2% increase annually, in line with expected salary raises.
Allocation:
55% - U.S. Large Cap Index
10% - International Large Cap Index
5% - Emerging Markets Index
30% - U.S. Bond Index
ESA/529 contributions: $300 monthly
Cash savings: $100/biweekly
Being 29, and turning 30 in February next year, I'm hoping for some advice on whether this currently makes sense. I'm hoping to pay off my credit card debt as soon as possible, to end the year completely debt-free. My cash savings are low, because I'm planning to schlep more cash into paying off my debt.
My main issue is that I'm running a 4-person household (wife is a SAHM), and I'm worried that I might not be able to afford retirement. Can someone please provide some advice? On my current plan, I'm saving roughly 25% of my income in relatively safe investments (learned my lesson the hard way).
Hoping to retire by 45 (projecting roughly $1.5M in the kitty) but given that my wife isn't projected to make any income, and we'll have a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old, I'm not sure if we're on track. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
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