28y/o
I listened to the audiobook of I Will Teach You To Be Rich when I was a delivery driver about 5 years back and have been trying to stick to a lot of that advice which has helped me immensely. I’m now working a corporate analyst job and want to continue to optimize, but I’m not too sure on next steps.
Aiming to have kids in the next 2-3 years, want yearly vacations, and hope to modestly RE if possible. Family member graciously let us pay the mortgage on their early 2000’s house after they moved out and we get all equity we pay towards it.
Lifestyle creep has been hard to curb. In my Roth IRA I literally just learned that you have to assign where you want your money to go, so all of my cash for that account has been sitting stagnant unfortunately, no clue where to start with this.
Any suggestions on the above? Let me know if I’m missing an important factor here for overall picture!
Income; ~105k salary (Me 105k, wife 96k).
Mortgage: $2,250 month
HYSAs (shared w Wife) ~14k
Roth IRA ~7.5k
401k + Roth 401k ~51k (5%, 10%, and 5% match) worked here 3.5 years.
CC Debt: ~2k currently, but am a deadbeat customer at $0 come pay period
Student Loans: 19k at avg of ~4% interest, not sure on the sub/unsubsidized split
Got my foot in the door, need help optimizing
byu/IrohPlaysTuba inpersonalfinance
Posted by IrohPlaysTuba
3 Comments
> Family member graciously let us pay the mortgage on their early 2000’s house after they moved out and we get all equity we pay towards it.
Pardon? Who owns the house? How are you getting this equity? Are you living in this home?
> Income; ~105k salary (Me 105k, wife 96k).
So, is this really income of about $200k?
> 401k + Roth 401k ~51k (5%, 10%, and 5% match) worked here 3.5 years.
[Roth 401k isn’t often the best choice](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/10qwnrx/why_you_should_almost_never_contribute_to_a_roth/).
Traditional 401k + Roth IRA is a good combination for a lot of people, and probably for you too, right now.
> CC Debt: ~2k currently, but am a deadbeat customer at $0 come pay period
It’s only credit card debt if you don’t pay the full statement balance by the due date. It’s imperative that you don’t let yourself accumulate any credit card debt, but I don’t think you are? (The way you worded this is making me read it a few times)
Next steps? As always, follow the Personal Finance [wiki and flowchart](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics/). Ideally you and wife are saving at least 15% of your combined income, into your tax advantaged accounts (yours and hers 401k, IRA), and saving for those vacation expenses separately.
I see you already in a good position with the good income, low-interest debt, and solid habits, I guess this is more about fine-tuning than fixing anything. The biggest immediate win is investing your Roth IRA (leaving it in cash is the only real), and you can keep it simple with a low-cost total market or S&P 500 index fund and consistent contributions. Lifestyle creep is normal, but instead of trying to restrict everything, intentionally budget for what you care about—like vacations and future kids—so you can spend without guilt.
Your emergency fund is a good start, but with a house and plans for a family, building that up to 3–6 months of expenses would add stability. Your 401(k) contributions look solid, especially if you’re getting the full match, and you can gradually increase them over time to support early retirement. The student loans at ~4% aren’t urgent, so investing extra cash is likely more beneficial long term, though there’s nothing wrong with paying some down for peace of mind.
I’ve never read or listened to Ramit’s book, but I do listen to his podcast occasionally, and he also writes some pretty good blog posts. Like [this one on investing](https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/investing-for-beginners/) for instance. Get that IRA money invested ASAP (and at your age, you do NOT need bonds).
EDIT: Also make sure your 401K money is invested, preferably low-cost total market index funds.
I would strongly recommend you read the wiki and prime directive here in the sub. Lots of great info. Also search online for “JL Collins free stock series” and read every word. The guy is awesome!
>Family member graciously let us pay the mortgage on their early 2000’s house after they moved out and we get all equity we pay towards it.
I sure hope you signed a solid legal agreement on this and had it reviewed by an attorney and notarized. From past experience, I would never get into such an agreement with family, so I hope your situation works out for the best!