Hello all. I think my wife and I are pretty well off right now, but I'd like to maybe get some advice on how we can optimize our finances.
Our current goals are to get a fence and a dog, buy a new house in the next 6-10 years, and my personal goal is to try and retire by 55. My wife loves her job and has no problem working til 65. I personally hate working, but just switched jobs to an easier, better paying one with a higher salary cap and annual bonus.
We have very good healthcare through my job.
Wife's income: $80k+ depending on differential. Will eventually make closer to $100k when she gets her master's.
My income: $100k salaried + min. $8k bonus every year. My salary cap is currently $167k and my job does annual merit increases.
Monthly take home is ~$9k
Savings: $40k with an additional $7k in buckets for shorter term goals like the dog and vacations.
Checking: Anywhere between $15k and $21k depending on when bills are paid.
Mutual Fund: ~$16k. I just started contributing to this again and will continue to do so. My manager has me on an aggressive long term plan that will take about 20 years to mature.
My 457b from previous job: $5k (afaik I can't transfer this to my new job's 401k)
Current 401k: ~$4k (I just started and contribute 6%)
Wife's 401k: doesn't know. Doesn't log in to check ever, but does contribute and has been for years)
I will also get a monthly pension of roughly $900 when I turn 65. I realize that inflation will kill this. I'll be happy if it just covers utilities when I'm that old.
We have no debt aside from our mortgage: $2700/mo with about $378k remaining at 5.75%.
We use our Amazon credit card for most purchases because of the points and then pay it off every month.
Is there anything we could be doing differently? Should I contribute more to my 401k? I keep so much money in checking and savings because I worry about emergencies coming up.
Thanks for any advice you can provide!
(Edit: I forgot to mention that we both have side hustles that we dedicate a few hours a week to. We make very little from these but we enjoy them and they are labors of love. We can write off expenses for them and they help cover money we would spend on hobbies, like Warhammer minis in my case)
original posted by Explotography to r/personalfinance on Tue, 27 Feb 2024 15:16:34 GMT.