Before I continue down the road I’m on, is there anything I could do better? I want to make sure I’m setup on the right path for retirement and putting my kids in a good spot.
Age: 34
Salary: 90k
Kids: 2
Debt: $0 but daycare is expensive $700 weekly. Car & house paid off
Investments:
• 401k: 90k (11% per pay period until I hit 4% company match)
• Stocks: 2k in VOO. ($50 weekly contribution. This is relatively new for me)
• Money Market: has roughly 6k for kids. I try to add spare funds to that account.
•House: we just paid off our house, and my emergency fund is less than 10k. This has me stressed beyond belief but slowly building back while investing.
Questions:
1) Once I hit my 401k match, would it be wise to jump into a IRA with a 3% match to capitalize on free gains?
2) Should I go $25 to each VOO & VTI? Should I invest more or less if budget allows? Should it be a high priority?
3) Should I do something different? Should I roll this over to the stock market for them?
Am I on the right path with my investments for my future?
byu/Aggravating_Aspect38 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Aggravating_Aspect38
1 Comment
Feels like you’re a bit behind but probably doing better than most. Hoping you had a high interest rate on your home – otherwise, may have been better to throw more at investments earlier. Your home isn’t a liquid asset.
On the plus side, you should have more to throw at investing now. Max out the 401K, then the IRA, and contribute what’s left to VT or VTI in your taxable brokerage account. Do this for 20 years and don’t worry about the market ups and downs.
Think about when you want to retire and how much your yearly expenses will be in retirement. Use an investment / retirement calculator to see how long it will take you to get there at various contribution rates.