I recently took on a full-time position that'll bump my income up from around 30k to 45k, and I want to make sure that I use the increase wisely, rather than allow my standard of living to "expand" into my means. Right now my costs are $1500/month, and it may fluctuate up to $2000/month if my living arrangement changes. I'm estimating that I'll take home $3000/month with my new salary (assuming 20% taken out in taxes; is this realistic? I live in Oregon). So that leaves me with an extra $1000/month to pay myself first. Here is what I'm thinking of doing with it--any suggestions as to how I should approach them would be very much appreciated!
*Build up an emergency fund of $6000. I want to do this first. Should I put this in a money market account?
*Pay off the car. Principal balance: $6500. Monthly payments remaining (as of this month): 26 payments of $268. Is it worth doing this to save money on interest? Or so I can bump down my insurance coverage and save on that? (Interest rate is 6.5%)
*Max out an HSA. My plan has a high deductible ($2500) and my employer reimburses me for my premiums ($150/month). The maximum annual HSA contribution is currently $2900. I want to build this up as much as I can so that I'm prepared for any medical emergencies, and so that it can double as a retirement fund if I'm robust.
*Open Roth IRA. I'm thinking of putting a low amount in here (how much would you recommend?) and investing it aggressively so that I can use the loophole to pull out $10k to help with a first home down payment in 5 years.
Any feedback? Advice? Ideas? More background info--I'm 25, can reliably plan on sticking with this job for at least 5 years, have no credit card debt or student loans, and no savings to speak of (my emergency fund got wiped out by a family emergency).
Thanks in advance for your help!