Looking for Thoughts from Strangers

Submitted by Berty-K t3_1005xmw in personalfinance

Couple w/ Gross Income ~$127,000

Take Home ~$67,000 after taxes, insurance, and 401k contributions (one persons 401k is maxed for 2023).

Monthly expenses ~$2500

~$1900/month goes in a regular savings. We spend it on travel or emergencies.

Put an additional ~$1180/month into a high interest savings account (3.75%).

Cars are in good shape. Don’t expect to need a new one for several years.

One person has an IRA; the other has a ROTH. Neither of us has contributed to them in years.

36% of our money is in Savings. This is mainly because we do not own a home, and I wanted to be able to move on something if we ever had an opportunity.

45% in 401ks

8% in Roth

10% in Traditional IRA

1% in Savings Bonds

What would you do differently?

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sonnyfab t1_j2fs8yf wrote

>What would you do differently?

I wouldn't save for "travel and emergencies" and then also

>into a high interest savings account

unless I was certain I would be buying a house within 5 years. If you're going to do that you probably need to dial back saving over 30k per year for retirement.

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Berty-K OP t1_j2ft1sc wrote

Interesting. Do you just not like to travel? That’s where most of it goes for us. We go on ~4 vacations per year. At least one abroad.

I plan to buy a house in 2030 based on my projections. We’d be paying cash. Why would we need to dial back retirement savings? Sorry, not sure what I’m missing.

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sonnyfab t1_j2ftl5k wrote

>Do you just not like to travel?

No. I travel extensively. But I keep my travel budget entirely separate from my emergency fund. I only use my emergency fund for emergencies. That's why I have an emergency fund.

>plan to buy a house in 2030 based on my projections. We’d be paying cash. Why would we need to dial back retirement savings?

If you think you'll be able to save enough cash to purchase a home with cash in 7 years and continue to save 25+% of your income for retirement, then you don't need to dial back. However, most people intend to spend a lot more than you apparently are intending to spend on their home.

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Rxpert83 t1_j2fw9tl wrote

We don't know current savings, may be significant?

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SpiritualCatch6757 t1_j2fv2gn wrote

If it were us, Traditional IRA would be slowly converted to Roth IRA. MFJ means you should have plenty of space to convert at 12% tax bracket to a Roth IRA.

I would also prioritize maxing Roth IRA before maxing out a 401k. The reason is because you can take out contributions penalty free which you could use for your home down payment in the future.

I would have zero in savings since that amount is taxed. I would rather fill up all tax advantaged accounts before I invest in taxable.

I would cash flow vacations. There's no reason to save for it when you have upwards of $2k saved every month. Few vacations need to be paid all at once. Airfare is paid in advanced and hotels and meals are paid as you go on the vacation. We pay for vacations over the 3+ months the charges appear on our cards.

You can take out 401k loans and take out from Roth IRA for a down payment on a home. I would only stop retirement savings when plans are more defined. Until then, it is too nebulous a goal and you're losing out on valuable tax advantaged space.

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Berty-K OP t1_j2fvsc6 wrote

Thanks for this! I’ve wondered about the ROTH (barely know what I’m doing, obviously). I’ll read a bit more and may decrease savings and put it into ROTH instead.

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Rxpert83 t1_j2fw03o wrote

1900 a month for travel seems excessive considering income level and also trying to save for a house

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TubbyTheTeddyBear t1_j2fwsnr wrote

Wait so there’s no rent or mortgage expense? Just wondering….. I mean other wise I’d keep putting money into the 401k, then HSA, then Roth IRA, then the remaining goes into brokerage and extra savings.

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Berty-K OP t1_j2fxcmr wrote

The monthly expenses of $2500/month includes the rent. We got real lucky with this place. It’s one of the reasons I’m not in a hurry to buy - covers lawn care, snow removal; we don’t pay home insurance or property tax.

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TubbyTheTeddyBear t1_j2fxhgq wrote

Holy crap! That’s kinda insane lmao. I pay around 2k for rent but I also live in the Bay Area so it’s big sad

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