Beltway Explorers
Level 2 Member
Background
Monthly Expense
Assets
Liabilities
Goals and Decisions
Our monthly spending is about 70 percent of our take home pay. Now that we've started a family we are spending money on luxuries like a cleaning service and take out so we can spend more time with the kiddo and get a good night's sleep. As much as I would love the financial independence earlier, it's more important for us to enjoy the moment today.
We max out our 401K accounts and Roth IRAs (although this year we are phased out of a full contribution); next year we'll be able to max out both due to my maternity leave. We plan to continue to do this until we no longer have incomes.
We are using our Roth IRA accounts as our emergency savings funds so we are just about at six months of current monthly expenses (although we can cut things like travel, eating out, and the cleaning service to stretch it).
We still have a few home renovations left. I hope to stop withdrawing at $60,000, but $75,000 is probably the safe number. I struggle between having money in checking/savings or keeping it low to reduce the HELOC balance since transfers to checking happen instantly.
We have talked about putting $4,000-5,000 per year into our children's 529 accounts. Talks are in the works for a third child in 2019. Virginia gives us a yearly state deduction for up to $8,000 per kid, but I don't see us getting anywhere near the maximum. This is where I'm the most confused about how to invest, especially since we want our kids to pay a portion of their tuition (how much is still unknown).
We have no immediate intentions of moving to a bigger house. Ideally I'm staying put until I can be mortgage free forever, but my husband sometimes wavers and thinks we'll need more space if we do have three kids.
Ultimately my goal would be to retire around 50, but I think it would be more likely for me to reduce my hours to part-time/part of the year while the kids are young (for instance taking summers off to do a Camp Mom like The Deal Mommy) and work longer. My husband wants a traditional career cycle, but I'd like to have financial coverage in case he burns out earlier.
Risk Tolerance/ Financial Savvy
I have no idea, but I lean more aggressive. Right now I put our retirement funds into target date funds for 5-10 years after we turn 60-65.
Monthly Expense
Assets
Liabilities
Goals and Decisions
Our monthly spending is about 70 percent of our take home pay. Now that we've started a family we are spending money on luxuries like a cleaning service and take out so we can spend more time with the kiddo and get a good night's sleep. As much as I would love the financial independence earlier, it's more important for us to enjoy the moment today.
We max out our 401K accounts and Roth IRAs (although this year we are phased out of a full contribution); next year we'll be able to max out both due to my maternity leave. We plan to continue to do this until we no longer have incomes.
We are using our Roth IRA accounts as our emergency savings funds so we are just about at six months of current monthly expenses (although we can cut things like travel, eating out, and the cleaning service to stretch it).
We still have a few home renovations left. I hope to stop withdrawing at $60,000, but $75,000 is probably the safe number. I struggle between having money in checking/savings or keeping it low to reduce the HELOC balance since transfers to checking happen instantly.
We have talked about putting $4,000-5,000 per year into our children's 529 accounts. Talks are in the works for a third child in 2019. Virginia gives us a yearly state deduction for up to $8,000 per kid, but I don't see us getting anywhere near the maximum. This is where I'm the most confused about how to invest, especially since we want our kids to pay a portion of their tuition (how much is still unknown).
We have no immediate intentions of moving to a bigger house. Ideally I'm staying put until I can be mortgage free forever, but my husband sometimes wavers and thinks we'll need more space if we do have three kids.
Ultimately my goal would be to retire around 50, but I think it would be more likely for me to reduce my hours to part-time/part of the year while the kids are young (for instance taking summers off to do a Camp Mom like The Deal Mommy) and work longer. My husband wants a traditional career cycle, but I'd like to have financial coverage in case he burns out earlier.
Risk Tolerance/ Financial Savvy
I have no idea, but I lean more aggressive. Right now I put our retirement funds into target date funds for 5-10 years after we turn 60-65.
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