Best way to save my birthday money?!

[mykulpasskwa]

Here's the situation: I just had my 25th bithday, and my parents sent the annual money gift. I'm in the military, stationed in Korea, about to go to Germany where I'll have my own place, car, food, etc. I mention this because I have quite a bit of expenses coming up in the future. However, I had a goal to save $10,000 in an emergency fund which I reached a couple months ago, so all the extra cash I save up each month goes to personal savings to buy things for myself.

My question is: Since I reached my Emergency Fund goal, but have major expenses coming up in a few months, would it be better to save for personal expenses or throw it in my emergency fund? Or is there another option that would benefit me more that I'm not thinking of?

[BMEPhDinCO]

Put it into the major expense fund - if you know it's coming, it's smart to save for it. How else would you handle it when they come up? In the meantime, if a bigger emergency DOES come, you can take it from that other savings account if necessary.

Also, if you are military, consider putting money into retirement funds - there are several great options for you that aren't available for us "regular" folks. You can also open up a regular account like a RothIRA, which you can withdraw contributions from in case of an emergency.

In your CURRENT situation, with no debt (?), no need for a house, car, etc - I'd put it into retirement after you cover the upcoming expenses.

In the future, put money aside if you know a big expense is coming up, then put money into retirement.

[tasha123]

This is really great to know

[kork13]

Put it into the major expense fund - if you know it's coming, it's smart to save for it. How else would you handle it when they come up? In the meantime, if a bigger emergency DOES come, you can take it from that other savings account if necessary.

Also, if you are military, consider putting money into retirement funds - there are several great options for you that aren't available for us "regular" folks. You can also open up a regular account like a RothIRA, which you can withdraw contributions from in case of an emergency.

In your CURRENT situation, with no debt (?), no need for a house, car, etc - I'd put it into retirement after you cover the upcoming expenses.

In the future, put money aside if you know a big expense is coming up, then put money into retirement.

I couldn't say it any better -- agree 100%. Since you know the PCS is coming and will involve some outlay costs, save up for them so you don't find yourself going into debt because of them. Beyond that, max out a Roth IRA and consider using the TSP -- your specific rank/income would dictate whether you use the traditional TSP or Roth TSP, but given that you're 25, the Roth TSP is likely the better option for you right now.

As mentioned above, do you have any debts currently? Do you have any desire for buying a house whenever you come back to the states?