Wife and I are late thirties. Two kids 4 and 6. Monthly budget posted below. Trying to determine what’s next and how we can diversify or keep adding to savings in different ways.
I gross about $185k. Wife when FT is about $75k (she is working PT through next June then will go back FT). We are both pension employees at 80% or so. I can retire at 55 wife at 62. Will see what the kids and college have to say about that!
Owe approx $400k on a Zillow estimated $1.3 million dollar house. Live in HCOL area…prop tax and 6.5% interest rate hurt! Only other debt is a car payment…owe little under $30k on a 2023 vehicle and should payoff in next 18 months or so. Wife’s vehicle is 2019 and likely replace after mine is paid off.
Have $75k in regular savings not doing anything (had much more but went to house down payment). My 457 has about $350k and I contribute the annual max. Wife’s has about $50k and will resume contributing once she goes back to work FT. Lastly we have about $60k with Chuck. Little in brokerage/roth but most is kids 529 accounts that we contribute $250 each, each month, and we started when they were born.
Monthly Budget:
Mortgage $4,300 (2800+1500)
Day Care $1,000
Utilities $500
Insurance $500
Kids College $500
Car $1000 (2 years)
Total Bills $7,800
Gas, Food, Misc $2,000 ($500 per week)
Total Monthly Expense $9,800
Both FT
Total Spent $9,800. Take Home $13,600 $3,800/month save. $45k year cash savings.
One PT
Total Spent $9,800. Take Home $10,350 $550/month save. $7k year cash savings.
Other Misc: Approx $12k back in taxes annually the last few years. Know I need to adjust to try and zero out. I also deduct for childcare/fsa which yields $5k back at end of the calendar year. These are accounted for in take-home pay.
I know we are in good shape, but looking for thoughts/ideas on what to do next. Any thoughts/ideas on our financial situation and what you would do next is much appreciated. Am I missing anything obvious?
What are Next Steps for Diversifying Savings Strategies.
byu/Serious-Technology33 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Serious-Technology33
1 Comment
Pretty general thoughts. I’d work on creating some goals and let that guide you. There’s a lot of financial information in here but not a lot of you information! Do you want to pay for the kids college? When do you want to retire and what standard of living do you want? Do you want to travel more?
I’d probably start looking at different scenarios on the pension payouts first to really start understanding what I need in retirement. If I feel good there, I’d start looking at some brokerage/roth and paying down the ~7% mortgage. Paying down 7% mortgage is a decent money return and might make you feel more secure in the long run (at the expensive of tying up money into your home equity). Having some brokerage will give you some flexibility of using for retirement or giving you more upside on your cash in the long run. I’d also look to see if you feel comfortable with your cash level in case of major house repair.