About me:
Age: 24
LCOL
Salary: ~84k
Monthly take home after tax + retirement: $5,061
Retirement so far:
5% in TSP (401k equivalent)
3k/month into HYSA
Monthly Budgeted Expenses: ~$2,015 (breakdown below)
Leftover: ~$3,000
Here is my plan so far for the next 2 years:
• I’m going to up my 401k contribution to 7% soon
• I want to save up 8-12 months (@2k/month - 16k-24k) worth of savings first
• Next, I want to save for a house, a down payment
• once I do that, I will contribute more to 401k, start IRA contributions, and HSA (still new to all of those retirement vehicles and what they do / how they work).
• This will be all within 2 years
Should I save up 8-12 months (16k-24k) worth of savings first or save for a house down payment (36k @ 3k/month by the end of the year)
Or should I start my contributions to the IRA now? if/when I do, should I max it out since I have I’m saving 3k/month?
What other investment vehicles should I contribute to? I’m still completely new to things like 401Ks, IRA, HSA, etc.
Monthly Budgeted Expenses Breakdown:
Rent: $1,150 (1 bedroom)
Utilities: ~$100 (water - $20 | electric - $80)
Car Payment: car is paid off
Car Insurance: $173 (first time car owner and <25 years of age, best rate I could find)
Groceries: ~$300
Gas: ~$120
Phone: $15 (Mint mobile)
OneDrive: $0.99
Renter’s Insurance: $10.33
Toiletries / Supplies / Necessities: $50 (if not used, it goes to savings)
Discretionary Spending: $60 (if not used, it goes to savings)
Health Insurance: on parent’s plan
Total budgeted expense: ~$2,015
original posted by BMTG-R3-19 to r/personalfinance on Sun, 21 Apr 2024 15:59:06 GMT.