After Debt Free-
Good question. I have some ideas. Well, my mind is made up to a certain extent...
My end state would be-
Emergency fund- 6X monthly take home pay (not 6Xbills, or 6Xgross)- will probably CD ladder this one as the general expectation is to use this only if I lose my job and need to project myself 6 months into the future.
"Large purchase fund"- Not sure the value, but it will be large...think in the mid 20's. This will be for yearly one-off things like car registration, insurance, tires, car repairs, etc. and will also be for potential future huge purchases such as a new car or something like that. Will probably CD ladder a substantial portion and money market enough to cover the worst of emergent car repairs.
IRA- max out every year
TSP (like a 401K)- the rest of the retirement money
eventually, all extra money will go to the retirement funds- when the EF and LPF are built...
When I get debt free, all the extra will go into the EF. Initially it will cover an emergency car repair if needed. Once the EF is built I will max out an IRA and the remainder will go to the LPF. When the LPF is complete, the balance will go to the TSP.
There are certainly many details to work out, but that is over 2 years out I think...so I will be taking quality time to research it all. (and with all the time on my hands, and the ways I have been organizing my efforts, you can be sure that I will complete that research well in advance of needing the knowledge!)
be good!
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