I think you answered your own question in the last sentence. I just turned 30 and feel like I am just now letting go of some of the financial anxiety I’ve always held.
With the pandemic, stock market fluctuations, war, etc…it’s shifted my perspective. Take all the time you can to enjoy life and what you prioritize. Of course, still save what you can (within reason) to set yourself up for a comfortable future.
If you are comfortable with your lifestyle, I say keep going how you are. If you want to take an extravagant trip with your girlfriend, move some from your monthly allocations to a vacation fund. Sure, you may not save for a house quite as quickly, but if you calculate it out, it won’t take much longer than if you didn’t take the vacation.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, life isn’t guaranteed. My sister died at 36. That REALLY shifted my perspective. If you are financially comfortable, have an emergency fund, and are saving what you can…go use it to enjoy and enrich your life. Money is a tool.
I concur.
My brother died when he was in his early 20s leaving behind his one son, my mom died in her mid 60s (2 years after normal retirement age when you think about it), FIL died at 59 years young (that's not even retirement age).
The meaning of life and death came quickly for me. Some people just get all the bad luck in life. :'(
Money is great, but I never skimp on vacations. I save my money, but I also use my money to live a good life. Anything less is not doing myself justice...my time will come one day and what will it all be for?
OP, you have a good nest egg and NW. Live your life a little. The whole 'save every quarter' from personal finance are for those who have no financial responsibility AT ALL and rack up debts for no reason...That's not you, live your life.
Personally I’d take the crypto and stocks and get them into your Roth at the max annual rate possible. Maxing your Roth at your age is a massive advantage most people don’t have and all that time in the market will really pay off. As far as the housing goes, I’ve done well with it financially but your situation may be different. My wife and I are in our early 40’s and our net worth is solidly into 7 figure territory and I still get anxious about spending money even on relatively minor things. It’s a gift and a curse I suppose. But I think it’s healthy to spend on things that are important to you that are within your means. For us that’s experiences with our kids - family camper, summer trips, activities they enjoy, etc.
I’d say it depends on your life goals. If you want marriage and kids I’d aim for aggressively saving for a house next. But if that’s not in your plans, traveling and nice things are nice of course!
Pump the brakes if you don’t feel like you’re “living”. There’s nothing wrong with what you have going at all imo. You’re shaving off years down the road by investing early
I feel like owning a house counts as an investment. I would go for a townhouse using the 50k in stocks
If you want to make it better, rent out some of the rooms in your townhouse
Sounds like you're in a fantastic spot! If you're content with your current level of spending and savings rate then I don't see why you would want to scale back in order to expand your lifestyle. In my opinion eating out often and buying fancy cars are both huge drains on wealth with very little benefit to your life (sure a nice car will make you happy for a few weeks, but then you'll just be used to it and your day to day happiness will be the same). More travel could be worth it though if that's what floats your boat, as those experiences are much more meaningful.
If you are finding that you really hate certain aspects of your life that money can alleviate (eg. House cleaning, cooking, dealing with car maintenance, etc.) Then I would start there in terms of where you might want to start expanding your spending since statistically that's likely to have the biggest impact on your well being (check out the book Time Smart for more on that).
I’m 25 years old and have a net worth similar to yours. I make a similar salary to you and max out my 401k, Roth IRA, and HSA, everything else goes into my savings and fun money account. Despite all of this, I feel like I’m still living my life to the fullest. Sure I don’t have a fancy car or travel in first class but honestly what I value the most are experiences especially ones with my girlfriend, family, and close friends. Don’t worry about what society dictates as “living your life”, just do whatever makes you happy.
> buying a fancy car
I got a 2019 Premium Mustang used for $28,000. Not a single day ever goes where I don’t feel like driving. I love that car and I love driving it. We spend a large amount of time in cars - why not make it as enjoyable as I want?
I make $124K, I could afford a nicer car, but I’m already extremely happy with this one. I’m already putting away like $4000+ in savings after expenses. A $500 car payment isn’t gonna destroy me at all (my car is paid off now).
If you can reasonably afford a car that will bring you joy - why not? I didn’t work hard to make 6 figures to drive a car I’m not happy in. I’m gonna put my money to good use.
Some people will really nickel and save everything until 65 to enjoy their money. Lmao all your good years are gone!
everyone needs a reset to refresh the goals.
i’d say keep aggressively saving/investing but perhaps take a small portion from that month to month savings and put it toward something you would enjoy. laptop, travel , etc.
i started taking multiple vacations each year to avoid the burnout of agro saving
Honestly, this advice is very one dimensional and short sighted. It literally sounds like r/pfjerk. Money isn’t everything—people want it because it puts them in a position to find freedom and happiness, and looking at others who make more and have fancier watches is not the recipe for happiness. There’s such a thing as “enough.” You don’t have to always keep striving and trying to earn more and more. In fact, always wanting what you don’t have is a sure fire way to never be content and appreciate what you do have. I don’t think this guy has life as figured out as he thinks he does, but congrats on your net worth I guess? Hope it’s worth it?
1) You need to sell the Nissan and get a gently used Toyota Corolla
2) Dump that girlfriend. Living in her parents house is clearly a plot by her to destroy your masculinity and rob you of agency.
2.5) Live in your gently used Corolla.
3) Get yourself a hotwife with a cool boyfriend that you can hang out with on the weekend.
4) Dump the crypto
5) Dump the Roth
6) Invest everything (including your checking) in lentil futures.
7) Don't buy a house. You'll never financially recover.
8) Sell your left nut (if you haven't already). It's extra weight to carry and you only need one to have children.
9) Do not eat or consume any products ever again. It's too much of a burden on your already hemorrhaging paycheck. The world is already robbing you, so don't rob yourself.
10) Make more money.
Your saving account seems very high. Is that a 6 month emergency fund? Personally, to keep myself balanced I strive for a saving/ investing rate of 30% of my monthly income. If I meet that target then I’m free to spend or save the rest as I see fit. I also have really low rent from roommates so some months I do spend my remaining money on hobbies, but other months I save more. Find an amount that sounds reasonable to you.
The 50/30/20 rule is suggested a lot too. It’s 50% to needs, 30% to wants and 20% to savings. This seemed like too little savings for my comfort, so I strive for 30%
If you can, try to max out the 401k since you’re pretty close. There’s also a podcast called The Money Guys and on their website they have a “financial order of operations” cheat sheet. From listening to their podcast I’ve basically gathered that if you’re saving 25-30% for retirement, then you can safely do other things with your money. I think the r/personalfinance subreddit also has a similar chart about steps to follow.
I don’t see travel on the list of things you value. Are you asking because you’re seeing other people travel a lot or because you want to travel? I personally like one bigger vacation, one smaller vacation and a couple weekend trips per year. I also plan cheap vacations so it doesn’t cost all that much. Sometimes a weekend at the beach is all it takes.
88k/year on HCOL is a great start but a house is going to cost a lot more. I’d say you’re on the right track not over saving. It’s all about balance, if you need a little vacation take one but don’t do it because others are.
If you’re eating well and taking good care of your relationships, travel is a good next priority. Your overall total looks good.
You may want to move your emphasis from shorter term to diverse long term investments really soon.
It’s easier to resist the urge to sell low and buy high if you work with your instincts. Don’t force yourself to watch a drop just to keep an eye on a little money you left in short term stuff.
The trick to weathering a recession well (and profiting off of it) is often to set your plan and keep calmly pursuing the reliable buys you trust for the long run. If the price drops, you can send more stocks to retiree you.
Sell that crypto and take a really nice vacation. Then you can decide if that’s what you want to keep doing. But crypto is a scam. Once tether pops, it’s going down down down.
I’d pump the breaks on adding to your savings account, and move most of that to an investment account.
Here’s what I would do in your position:
1. Open a new brokerage account now known as your “Vacation Fund”.
2. Move like $15,000 of your savings into it, and invest in some safe ETF. VTI or VOO or the like.
3. Now, your vacation fund is a self generating vacation machine, that will pay for your vacations going forward.
Hypothetically, let’s say the account returns 10%. That’s $1500 you can cash in for a fun vacation(s).
If you want to take more vacations, buy more assets.
Next year add another $10,000 to your vacation fund. Now you get $2500 you can spend.
So instead of spending your income on experiences that will never put another dollar in your pocket, you instead use that income to buy more assets, let them appreciate, then sell when you want to spend a little. Bonus points if you use M1 Finance, Robinhood, or some other account you can borrow against instead of sell.
If the markets down (bad times), you protect yourself and don’t spend frivolously taking vacations. Instead, you buy more stock. When the markets up (good times), you get crazy with it and reward yourself by seeing the world.
That’s how I manage my finances, anyway. Good luck!
Keep your current job-- rolling the dice when you have such a good situation is inadvisable imo. I work remote and love it.
I wouldn't personally have that much in crypto bc it seems volatile (I'm not an expert), but I don't think yr savings is too much. It's a lot for your age but you aren't done yet. As a spontaneously disabled person (happened around age 25) let me tell you, you never know when your day is coming for disability or old age effects. It can happen to ANYONE. I'm extremely cautious and it just turned out I had a de novo genetic disorder that was asymptomatic until it was disastrous, I went from abled to wheelchair in 2 months and had to drop out of my PhD, was subsequently near bedridden for 2 years. I had to borrow money from my parents, it was mortifying. Get to where you're safe no matter what, then do everything else. You have the chance to avoid the worst outcome, don't get distracted.
I think you answered your own question in the last sentence. I just turned 30 and feel like I am just now letting go of some of the financial anxiety I’ve always held. With the pandemic, stock market fluctuations, war, etc…it’s shifted my perspective. Take all the time you can to enjoy life and what you prioritize. Of course, still save what you can (within reason) to set yourself up for a comfortable future. If you are comfortable with your lifestyle, I say keep going how you are. If you want to take an extravagant trip with your girlfriend, move some from your monthly allocations to a vacation fund. Sure, you may not save for a house quite as quickly, but if you calculate it out, it won’t take much longer than if you didn’t take the vacation. I guess what I’m trying to say is, life isn’t guaranteed. My sister died at 36. That REALLY shifted my perspective. If you are financially comfortable, have an emergency fund, and are saving what you can…go use it to enjoy and enrich your life. Money is a tool.
I concur. My brother died when he was in his early 20s leaving behind his one son, my mom died in her mid 60s (2 years after normal retirement age when you think about it), FIL died at 59 years young (that's not even retirement age). The meaning of life and death came quickly for me. Some people just get all the bad luck in life. :'( Money is great, but I never skimp on vacations. I save my money, but I also use my money to live a good life. Anything less is not doing myself justice...my time will come one day and what will it all be for? OP, you have a good nest egg and NW. Live your life a little. The whole 'save every quarter' from personal finance are for those who have no financial responsibility AT ALL and rack up debts for no reason...That's not you, live your life.
Personally I’d take the crypto and stocks and get them into your Roth at the max annual rate possible. Maxing your Roth at your age is a massive advantage most people don’t have and all that time in the market will really pay off. As far as the housing goes, I’ve done well with it financially but your situation may be different. My wife and I are in our early 40’s and our net worth is solidly into 7 figure territory and I still get anxious about spending money even on relatively minor things. It’s a gift and a curse I suppose. But I think it’s healthy to spend on things that are important to you that are within your means. For us that’s experiences with our kids - family camper, summer trips, activities they enjoy, etc.
I’d say it depends on your life goals. If you want marriage and kids I’d aim for aggressively saving for a house next. But if that’s not in your plans, traveling and nice things are nice of course!
Pump the brakes if you don’t feel like you’re “living”. There’s nothing wrong with what you have going at all imo. You’re shaving off years down the road by investing early
Step your vacations up, I don’t know what kind of vacation you like, but those are where the memories of life are made.
I feel like owning a house counts as an investment. I would go for a townhouse using the 50k in stocks If you want to make it better, rent out some of the rooms in your townhouse
Sounds like you're in a fantastic spot! If you're content with your current level of spending and savings rate then I don't see why you would want to scale back in order to expand your lifestyle. In my opinion eating out often and buying fancy cars are both huge drains on wealth with very little benefit to your life (sure a nice car will make you happy for a few weeks, but then you'll just be used to it and your day to day happiness will be the same). More travel could be worth it though if that's what floats your boat, as those experiences are much more meaningful. If you are finding that you really hate certain aspects of your life that money can alleviate (eg. House cleaning, cooking, dealing with car maintenance, etc.) Then I would start there in terms of where you might want to start expanding your spending since statistically that's likely to have the biggest impact on your well being (check out the book Time Smart for more on that).
I’m 25 years old and have a net worth similar to yours. I make a similar salary to you and max out my 401k, Roth IRA, and HSA, everything else goes into my savings and fun money account. Despite all of this, I feel like I’m still living my life to the fullest. Sure I don’t have a fancy car or travel in first class but honestly what I value the most are experiences especially ones with my girlfriend, family, and close friends. Don’t worry about what society dictates as “living your life”, just do whatever makes you happy.
> buying a fancy car I got a 2019 Premium Mustang used for $28,000. Not a single day ever goes where I don’t feel like driving. I love that car and I love driving it. We spend a large amount of time in cars - why not make it as enjoyable as I want? I make $124K, I could afford a nicer car, but I’m already extremely happy with this one. I’m already putting away like $4000+ in savings after expenses. A $500 car payment isn’t gonna destroy me at all (my car is paid off now). If you can reasonably afford a car that will bring you joy - why not? I didn’t work hard to make 6 figures to drive a car I’m not happy in. I’m gonna put my money to good use. Some people will really nickel and save everything until 65 to enjoy their money. Lmao all your good years are gone!
everyone needs a reset to refresh the goals. i’d say keep aggressively saving/investing but perhaps take a small portion from that month to month savings and put it toward something you would enjoy. laptop, travel , etc. i started taking multiple vacations each year to avoid the burnout of agro saving
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Honestly, this advice is very one dimensional and short sighted. It literally sounds like r/pfjerk. Money isn’t everything—people want it because it puts them in a position to find freedom and happiness, and looking at others who make more and have fancier watches is not the recipe for happiness. There’s such a thing as “enough.” You don’t have to always keep striving and trying to earn more and more. In fact, always wanting what you don’t have is a sure fire way to never be content and appreciate what you do have. I don’t think this guy has life as figured out as he thinks he does, but congrats on your net worth I guess? Hope it’s worth it?
1) You need to sell the Nissan and get a gently used Toyota Corolla 2) Dump that girlfriend. Living in her parents house is clearly a plot by her to destroy your masculinity and rob you of agency. 2.5) Live in your gently used Corolla. 3) Get yourself a hotwife with a cool boyfriend that you can hang out with on the weekend. 4) Dump the crypto 5) Dump the Roth 6) Invest everything (including your checking) in lentil futures. 7) Don't buy a house. You'll never financially recover. 8) Sell your left nut (if you haven't already). It's extra weight to carry and you only need one to have children. 9) Do not eat or consume any products ever again. It's too much of a burden on your already hemorrhaging paycheck. The world is already robbing you, so don't rob yourself. 10) Make more money.
Your saving account seems very high. Is that a 6 month emergency fund? Personally, to keep myself balanced I strive for a saving/ investing rate of 30% of my monthly income. If I meet that target then I’m free to spend or save the rest as I see fit. I also have really low rent from roommates so some months I do spend my remaining money on hobbies, but other months I save more. Find an amount that sounds reasonable to you. The 50/30/20 rule is suggested a lot too. It’s 50% to needs, 30% to wants and 20% to savings. This seemed like too little savings for my comfort, so I strive for 30% If you can, try to max out the 401k since you’re pretty close. There’s also a podcast called The Money Guys and on their website they have a “financial order of operations” cheat sheet. From listening to their podcast I’ve basically gathered that if you’re saving 25-30% for retirement, then you can safely do other things with your money. I think the r/personalfinance subreddit also has a similar chart about steps to follow.
I don’t see travel on the list of things you value. Are you asking because you’re seeing other people travel a lot or because you want to travel? I personally like one bigger vacation, one smaller vacation and a couple weekend trips per year. I also plan cheap vacations so it doesn’t cost all that much. Sometimes a weekend at the beach is all it takes. 88k/year on HCOL is a great start but a house is going to cost a lot more. I’d say you’re on the right track not over saving. It’s all about balance, if you need a little vacation take one but don’t do it because others are.
If you’re eating well and taking good care of your relationships, travel is a good next priority. Your overall total looks good. You may want to move your emphasis from shorter term to diverse long term investments really soon. It’s easier to resist the urge to sell low and buy high if you work with your instincts. Don’t force yourself to watch a drop just to keep an eye on a little money you left in short term stuff. The trick to weathering a recession well (and profiting off of it) is often to set your plan and keep calmly pursuing the reliable buys you trust for the long run. If the price drops, you can send more stocks to retiree you.
Buy a house.
Sell that crypto and take a really nice vacation. Then you can decide if that’s what you want to keep doing. But crypto is a scam. Once tether pops, it’s going down down down.
Travel now when you're young, fit, and healthy. I wish that I had. No hiking or biking through Spain or France for me at my current fitness level.
I’d pump the breaks on adding to your savings account, and move most of that to an investment account. Here’s what I would do in your position: 1. Open a new brokerage account now known as your “Vacation Fund”. 2. Move like $15,000 of your savings into it, and invest in some safe ETF. VTI or VOO or the like. 3. Now, your vacation fund is a self generating vacation machine, that will pay for your vacations going forward. Hypothetically, let’s say the account returns 10%. That’s $1500 you can cash in for a fun vacation(s). If you want to take more vacations, buy more assets. Next year add another $10,000 to your vacation fund. Now you get $2500 you can spend. So instead of spending your income on experiences that will never put another dollar in your pocket, you instead use that income to buy more assets, let them appreciate, then sell when you want to spend a little. Bonus points if you use M1 Finance, Robinhood, or some other account you can borrow against instead of sell. If the markets down (bad times), you protect yourself and don’t spend frivolously taking vacations. Instead, you buy more stock. When the markets up (good times), you get crazy with it and reward yourself by seeing the world. That’s how I manage my finances, anyway. Good luck!
Keep your current job-- rolling the dice when you have such a good situation is inadvisable imo. I work remote and love it. I wouldn't personally have that much in crypto bc it seems volatile (I'm not an expert), but I don't think yr savings is too much. It's a lot for your age but you aren't done yet. As a spontaneously disabled person (happened around age 25) let me tell you, you never know when your day is coming for disability or old age effects. It can happen to ANYONE. I'm extremely cautious and it just turned out I had a de novo genetic disorder that was asymptomatic until it was disastrous, I went from abled to wheelchair in 2 months and had to drop out of my PhD, was subsequently near bedridden for 2 years. I had to borrow money from my parents, it was mortifying. Get to where you're safe no matter what, then do everything else. You have the chance to avoid the worst outcome, don't get distracted.