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  • Looking for advice

    Dw and I are both employed (she is a wahm, I'm self employed ). Combined gross income appx $48000 so about 4k/month. 1 kid and probably another early next year.
    Our living expenses are 2k giving us 2k/month to save.

    We have no debt except for her car which will be paid off in December giving us an extra $500/month to save (probably into a car fund).

    We have the following accounts and monthly goals:
    Hsa - $545 (to max out annually at $6550)
    Ef - $537 (goal is $15k)
    My IRA: $458(would like to max this out every year)
    Vacation fund $205 (yearly goal $2500)
    Car repair/insurance fund: $205 ( yearly goal $2500)
    Savings accounts we set up for the kiddo: $50/month (yearly goal $600)
    As of jan 1st we would like to take our $500 car pymt and save that towards a future car

    How does this look? She has an old 401a with $6k that were not sure what to do with.
    Once the emergency fund is at $15-$20 k we would like to save toward a house. We also want to fully find our retirement.

  • #2
    Do you have an emergency fund?

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Amw2014 View Post
      Combined gross income appx $48000 so about 4k/month.

      Our living expenses are 2k giving us 2k/month to save.
      Let me start by pointing out a HUGE mistake. If your GROSS is $48,000, you can't have $2,000 in expenses and $2,000 in savings. You need to look at your NET income, which is probably closer to $36,000, so $3,000/month.

      Beyond that, I'd say we need to see your budget. Where is your money going? You listed some items but we need to see the big picture including rent, food, clothing, entertainment, car expenses, insurance, etc.
      Steve

      * Despite the high cost of living, it remains very popular.
      * Why should I pay for my daughter's education when she already knows everything?
      * There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.

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      • #4
        Personally, I'm not a big fan of having large sums of cash sitting in a simple savings account earning almost nothing. While I think it's fine to have a few thousand in "feel good" money set aside, I prefer to dollar cost average most of the money into a diversified portfolio of easily accessible investments such as mutual funds. Can be a combination of conservative and aggressive funds. Then, live below your means and make it your goal to always have enough money saved/invested to completely pay off all your debts (if you had to).

        cheers
        michael

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