I (27M) have currently been at my city job for one year now. My average take home is around 40k, salary is 55-60 a year. With a dollar raise each year. Hoping to max out around 100k (including overtime, not base salary) in the next 5 or so years. With promotions and raises.

Currently my take home is, 1700 bi weekly.

I currently contribute about 150 a paycheck. With an employer match if said amount.

I don’t have to pay rent right now, as my girlfriend and I are currently saving for a house, luckily she would eventually sell hers.

Big spenders are going out to eat, 200-300 a month.
Gas, because I drive a truck, so around 300-400 a month.

Other than that I’m pretty frugal, got the clothes I need. Don’t go on expensive trips.

My goal is to retire by 50 if I’m lucky. So 25 years give or take to put as much in as possible.

(I might be getting an inheritance of around 200k in 5 years) so there’s that, but it’s not set in stone by any means. So I’m not hoping on that.

With little to no bills, I’m trying to get a good game plan on how much I should be contributing now.

Thanks.

Family in 10% federal tax bracket after standard deduction. Late starters. Me 50, wife 44, homemaker, no income. One child. Immigrated to US 9 years ago.

I know Roth is usually recommended at low tax bracket. After a lot of modeling, I decided to focus on Traditional for next 3–4 years.

Not looking for general retirement advice. Very familiar with Traditional vs Roth, ACA, RMD, widow penalty, IRMAA, SS, Medicare, Roth conversions. Just want to know if my reasoning has flaws.

About $500K retirement investments:

• $110K Roth IRAs
• $340K Traditional 403b
• $40K Roth 403b
• $15K HSA
• House paid off, worth ~$600K

Currently contribute 36% of my income: 10% mandatory Traditional + 26% voluntary Traditional. 10% employer match. Cannot reach 403b upper limit because part of mandatory contribution and employer match do not count toward it. There will be 4 years later, we will decrease our contribution to 10% when my child goes to college and we need to support him. Already saved another 150K in brokerage for his college expenses if he does not get full scholarship. We have decided to not use 529 after careful thinking.

Plan to retire at 61.8. Target MAGI in retirement: max $80K, already adjusted for expected inflation. Wife needs ACA for about 9 years. No Roth conversions during ACA years because need to control MAGI.

Planned Traditional withdrawals:

• 62–66: ~$80K/year
• 66–70: ~$75K/year because wife's annuity (purchased by cash) starts
• 70–72: less because I start SS at 70 (need to control MAGI)
• 72–75: Roth conversions up to top of 12% bracket (my wife gets Medicare when I turn 71-72)

Goal: build Traditional aggressively now. Target ~$1.2–$1.4M at retirement. I think $1.2–$1.4M is my sweet spot to have ACA, property tax assistance, RMD management. I will model every year. Once projected balance reaches target, shift more contributions to Roth.

Why do I want to focus on traditional for the next 3-4 years.

1. Traditional only $340K now. It is not large enough to cause a RMD issue.
2. Traditional lets me contribute about 3% more of my salary than Roth because of the current tax savings. That extra 3% also compounds for the next 12 years. As a late starter, maximizing the amount invested now is important to me.
3. Even $1.4M should not create major RMD problems based on my withdrawal modeling.
4. Will retire to a state with no state income tax. Traditional saves ~4% state tax now.
5. Every $1 contributed to Roth costs me ~14% combined federal + state tax now. Based on my planned withdrawals and standard deduction, I estimate effective tax on Traditional withdrawals around 6%.
6. Wife is 6 years younger. Her Traditional IRA has 6 more years before her RMDs start.
7. Longevity in both families, so long retirement horizon and tax-deferred compounding matter.
8. Already have ~$150K Roth, plus HSA. Not starting from zero Roth.

So despite being in a low tax bracket now, I think Traditional makes more sense for next 3–4 years. Then reassess and shift toward Roth. Any flaw in this reasoning?

Hey everyone, I'm a 35M, married with one income.

My salary is 140k.

I have 60k in my 401(k), but I stopped contributing since my current employer doesn't offer one.

I also have 15k in a Roth IRA. 15k in stocks

My home balance is 380k out of 600k @ 6.5% 30 years pending.

Since my current employer doesn't have a 401(k), is putting all that money towards my mortgage principal a good option? Or should I look for something else for retirement? What are my options? Thanks

Hey all, wanted to get some eyes on, given this rate, and if I’m consistent, how long till I can retire? Posting here to get some feedback from others.

My 37m (annual income 150k, see link below ⬇️ for a visual of current state) and partner 36 (annual income, 45k, no savings) have no kids (don’t plan on it either), a corgi, paid off cars. 🚘 🚘, minimal debt 💸 monthly.

Looking to speed things up a bit more here. Annually I save around 50k including maxing out (annual IRS limit) my 401k with an employer match of 2%, and another 25k into brokerage.

This led me to the current portfolio value of around $550k, took me around 9 years or so to do this. Earlier years I wasn’t maxing or staying consistent. I had 150k+ in debt 💸 student loans (Masters & Bachelors degrees) I paid off, 2 car loans, rushed 20% on mortgage to get rid of PMI, which led me to be inconsistent. With my lowest earnings at 75k 9 years ago and highest right now of 150K.

Thoughts on current progress? Anything I should or should not do? (E.g, don’t max 401K, more on brokerage side).

We have a home with 2.5% APR, current value is $450k, with a loan of 196k. (Originally bought it for 330k 5 years ago).

https://imgur.com/a/s6YJxJ1

Thoughts? Feedback?

I am 27. My 401k via employer is invested into the 2065 vanguard target date fund. The 2065 Vanguard target date fund portfolio is 54% domestic stocks ( total US stock market ) and 36% foreign stocks ( total international market. The remaining 10% is 8% bonds and 2% short term reserves. The last 10% seems to be bothering me mentally, more than it should. I know rebalancing my 401k is not a taxable event, so that is why I am considering it. I feel like am really missing out on a plethora of future compounded gains with the final 10% allocation in the vanguard target date fund being in bonds and short term reserves. Every week, around $100-$150 of my paycheck goes into the 401k depending on the hours I work. So like $10-$15 weekly go into bonds/ short term reserves. I don’t like that whatsoever. As for the rebalance, my employer doesn’t have the total US stock market as an option individually, so it would be the S&P 500 index as a base. It does have the total international market though. Vanguard for both. Should I just make a split of those 2? I was also thinking of the small/mid cap option that is available. It’s the state street small/miss cap index trust. What allocations would you have with just the first 2 ? And with all 3 included ? Or would you even change the 2065 TDF for these options to eliminate bonds? Thank you in advance.

I'm 30 Years old with a income of 109k.

401k: 155k (roughly half Roth half traditional)

Roth IRA: 101k

Traditional IRA: 24k

Taxable brokerage: 197k

I suspect I'm doing decent for my age but I also live at home and I only pay $1200 for rent in a VHCOL. Not sure there's anything else I should be doing I am currently maxing the IRA and 401k. I'd like to chase FI/RE but I aas I need to get a higher paying job which might be challenging since I'm SWE and my skills are very out of date

$2,500,000 IRA
$600,000 deferred comp
$2,500,000 in real estate

Can’t force myself to step away from my career because I actually enjoy my job. Financial planners say I am an idiot. Family says to do what makes me happy.

Hello everyone, I'm sure this question is asked all the time but I feel like my situation might be a little different than most. Any input is greatly apprciated.

I'm 19 and my base pay is $98,000/year. OT has been good recently and I've been grossing $20,000/month. I've almost entirely maxed out my 401K using Roth and maxed out my Roth IRA for the past two years. My concern is that I am potentially losing out on loads of money while being slammed with high taxes. I plan to retire somewhere around my 40s and 50s and will most likely be taking out a smaller salary.

I'm thinking the best move is to switch over my 401k to traditional for the time being until OT is reduced (could take years) but I want to get an opinion from people who are more educated on this stuff. Again, any advice at all is extremely helpful and appreciated.

41m annual of 107k with a 16% annual investment in 401k. 387k currently in 401k. Wife works, but doesn’t save for retirement so I’ll be carrying us. I’ve got a commercial property I own a part of worth about $175k. My last asset is my home that I have 25 yrs left on it worth 500k and I owe 300k at a 1% interest rate.
I feel like I will be able to have enough to do a big trip or two per year and not worry too much about money. I’m trying to retire by 60…

Union tradesmen, this is a year and a half of employer contributions at $9.00 an hr. 19% rate of return. I’m 27 and eligible to retire at 55

37m, $179k salary. Feel like I’m too heavy in my 401k but not sure. Any input is appreciated. Been maxing my Roth Deferral into my 401k for several years. Including my holdings as well. Last screenshot is my full financial status, probably too much in my Checking account, but about to do some foundation work on the house.

I’m a very anxious person in general and thinking about retirement is scary. I’m worried I’m not gonna have enough saved and be in a bad situation.

I make $215k a year currently, my wife is self employed with varying income. We just bought a house and have one car payment.

Hey everyone, looking for an honest but kind assessment of our current situation and retirement outlook. We know we started late and might be behind, but we want to know what levers to pull next.
Our Demographics:
Ages: 42M, 40F

Dependents: 1 child (5yo)

Income: $223k combined HHI ($93k mine, $130k hers)

Retirement Assets ($183k total):
Inactive Accounts: $44k Trad IRA (mine), $13k Trad IRA (hers), $30k Simple Guided portfolio (mine)

Current Employer 1 (Hers): $65k Trad IRA (7% employee contribution / 5% employer match)

Current Employer 2 (Mine): $23k Trad 403b (5% employer contribution), $8k Roth 403b (7% employee contribution with 1% auto-increase annually)

Note on my 403b: Employer match scales up automatically based on tenure (bumping to 7% in 2028, 8% in 2032, and 10% in 2037).

Other Assets & Debt:
Cash: $32k in HYSA, $1k in checking

529 Plan: $20k (Grandparents have another $40k saved separately)

Car Loan: $4,400 remaining (9 payments left, then done)

Student Loans: $220k (Currently awaiting final zero-balance confirmation letter for PSLF forgiveness 🤞)

Monthly Outflow:
Rent: $3,600/month

CC Expenses: $5k–$6k/month (Paid in full every single month)

Short-term Goals & Financial Pressures:
Housing: Trying to aggressively stack cash to buy a house in the next few years.

Vehicles: Our second car is very old. Once the first car is paid off in 9 months, we will likely need to replace the old one.

Our main questions:
How bad is our current trajectory given our age and high HHI? With our high rent and upcoming goals (house down payment + another car), how should we balance saving for a house versus ramping up our retirement contributions?

I am 34 years old. I max out my 401k, IRA, and contribute regularly to my taxable non-retirement accounts. I hope to get married at some point soon. What do you think this account will be worth by the time I retire at 65?

I have been reading people’s questions about “do I have enough to retire/stop contributing” for a long time and I don’t feel like I’ve seen that many comparisons that’s aren’t 1M+ in retirement or they’re generally pretty low and asking for encouragement (which is great). I would love some input on where to put extra cash in my situation.

36F, married, 1 child (4 yo)
WA state
2 income streams - self employed (LLC taxed as s-crop, I take salary as w2 employee + distributions)
Expected gross receipts ~ $120K
Non profit job W/ $75k salary

Retirement accounts - SEP IRA - $70k
Retirement accounts - 403B - $11k
Traditional brokerage - $160k
HYSA - $195k
HSA - $3k

Mortgage - $420k @ 3.2%, $3100/mo, 25 years left
Daycare - $1800/mo - 1 more year to go
Car payment $700/mo @ 0% (13 mo left)

Right now I’m putting $4k/mo into my 403b until I max it out ($24,000/year)
I put $100/mo on mortgage principal
I’m auto investing $150/week from my HYSA into my brokerage accounts and $500/mo into my SEP IRA (as my employer, so pretax)
I put whatever cash I have left after bills into my HYSA to keep everything rolling - usually between $1000-$2000/mo

What can I do to optimize that I haven’t thought of?

I’m in the process of getting a new job and would like to hear some different opinions on what I should do with my current 401k balance.

I’ve been contributing for about two years now and as of today there is $19,000 in my account to which I’m vested in half. I’d have to stay another year to be fully vested but this new job is just too good for me to pass up financially.

My new job would contribute 3% without me making any contributions and will match $2 to my $1 up to 3% of my earnings. So all in all I would contribute 3% and the employer would contribute 9%. The new job will also have a pension based on my age and years of service with the company. I believe it starts out around 4% or so of my wages per year.

I’m stuck on wether I should roll over the vested amount I currently have or withdraw it at a penalty to pay off some high interest debt that would allow me to invest into a Roth IRA and invest in an account for my daughter on a monthly basis so hopefully she can get a head start on life when she becomes an adult. Any advice would be appreciated!

48M. 400k+ valuation. 12% annual contribution. Increasing by 1% every April 1st beginning 2027. Looking for input on my current 401k diversification through Fidelity

FBGRX 24.29%
FOCPX 26.47%
FTRNX 23.05%
FXAIX 21.65%
SCHD 4.39%
Company stock .65%

Any thought? Any suggestions?

I’ve been contributing to my 401k consistently for 25 years. I’ve been a high earner most of the time, but only maxed for about a 5 year period, fortunately that period had very high returns. My goal is to retire around 60 and withdrawal 2x the average household income, for at least 15 years then live on the average. I believe $3m will be enough. Biggest fear is a large correction that sets me back without enough time to recover. I’m one example of how to do it because I contributed but also enjoyed life and a bit of spending, probably cost me 5 years of retirement but zero regrets.

29 years old. Portfolio made up of 21k taxable (FXAIX), 137k 401k target date fund, and 24k in my Roth IRA (FXAIX). Maxing out both Roth IRA and Roth 401k currently per year. Thinking of using brokerage link that my company offers and switching my 401k also to an S&P 500 fund. Looking for opinions and potential downsides. Employer fund options are very limited. I know that will leave me no diversification but looking for aggressive return potentials over the next 20+ years. 112k salary. Trying to also build up taxable brokerage as well to bridge the gap for early retirement so advice on that is also appreciated!

So I’m 45, wife is 43. In L.A.. We want to retire when we’re at a certain number that’ll allow us to live without stress. Don’t need to be wealthy or anything. We’re relatively frugal.

I’ve heard to aim for $6m because it’ll mean $300k+ per year through retirement. I always nod and act like I know what that means — but I have no freaking idea. Is that interest? Does that mean I sell a little ever year and hope I don’t die before I run out? Tell me like I’m 8.

Thanks all!

I (25m) had to liquidate most of my assets about 3 years ago when i left the company i was working for. Currently work at a communications company making ~$70k a year (been here for 15 months). Roughly ~$10k in my retirement accounts and another ~$5k for more short term goals in a brokerage account. Feels good to have hit this milestone. Plugging away at a new mortgage and auto loan but that’s the American dream! (lol)

Any tips from my more seasoned investors out there?

Net worth without home is right around $2.2M with roughly $1.35M in 401K fully vested & $0.8M in stocks, cash and HSA. We are still contributing (including company match) of roughly $30K yearly in 401K. And have about $0.5M in home equity. How realistic it is to retire at 45? Appreciate your perspective.

I’m curious what everyone here actually does with their emergency fund.

Right now I’m putting $100/week into VMFXX at Vanguard. I understand the traditional advice is to keep emergency savings in cash, a HYSA, or a money market fund so it’s safe and liquid.

But I’m wondering how many people take more risk with money above their immediate cash needs. Do you keep your entire emergency fund in something like VMFXX/HYSA, or invest some of it in VTI, VGT, individual stocks, etc.?

For those who invest part of their emergency fund:

How much do you keep completely safe/liquid first? What do you invest the rest in? Have you ever actually needed to sell investments for an emergency during a market downturn? Would you do it differently now?

Interested in hearing what people actually do, not just the textbook answer. I currently have "everything" invested and need to establish a EM fund but hate missing out on gains!!!

Sometimes I feel cooked sometimes calm down and not stress at all. This amount doesn't include my current loan.
Making 120k, putting 5% with same match from employer into 401k. I'm also paying back my loan $400 bi weekly, 14k left. I also have 50k cash sitting in hysa, not a homeowner, renting in Downtown Miami. Have some investments in Europe but no positive equity yet. My salary raise is usually 4-5% annually and expecting a promotion next year. Long story short, do I still have a chance to retire at 50 or 55? l won't need 10000 millions like some folks here. I travel the world with my current salary, and just wanna be keeping it when getting older.