Life Situation: IRS filing - single, 0 dependents, no mortgage, recently moved to Washington DC Area (still in Virginia). 26 yr old.
Gross Salary/Wages:
$37.89 / hour
$79,079/year
26 pay periods (fed employee) = $3,031.20
Other Ordinary Income: I coach sports as a 1099 ~$2500-3000/year
Deductions Based on paycheck (not including TSP):
FEGLI $12.30
MEDICare $42.75
FERS RETIRE $24.25
FED TAX $475.81
Vision $5.11
Charity $10
FEHB $68.48
OASDI $182.75
TAX STATE $142.18
DENTAL $9.92
***Fed match 5%*****
Currently contribution towards TSP: 5% TSP, 1% Roth TSP
Current balance of TSP (i only started 1% roth 2 paychecks ago): $25,241 total
Current TSP distribution
9% G fund (gov security)
5% F fund (fix income index)
50% C fund (common stock)
30% S fund (small cap stock)
6% I fund (international)
Current Balance:
$2,727 in G
$1,559 in F
$12,797 in C
$7,283 in S
$875 in I
Current expenses: $600 (currently living with family in NoVA, trying to sublease my old apartment), $250 (to my grandparents to pay off my car, will be finished in january), $125 storage unit, $366 (transportation, parking, gas, car repair savings), $500 (food, restaurants, entertainment), $1000 towards regular savings account, $200 (rental insurance, car insurance, professional liability insurance, cell phone plan), remaining funds go towards debt or unaccounted for expenses
Current Savings Account balance $9K
Current Credit Card Debt: $6K ($3K is on 0% APR until May, remaining $3K on 9.9%)
- I have strategy to pay off debt, without using savings, over next 2 months - questions will be focused on January.
For those unfamiliar with the DC/NoVA area, the rent prices here are ridiculous near work, or you have the added cost of commuting (driving/tolls, or bus & metro fares). Currently living with family until I can get rid of my old apartment (~1 more month). I have been looking at purchasing a 2BR/2BA condo (for me to live in, possible rental income down the road) or an apartment to rent. Since i'm living with family, i have time to save and see what is going to be the best option. I'm currently commuting 1HR by bus ($18/day, subsided $255) 4 days a week, but drive in 1x a week (current non-negotiable) with parking/tolls cost ~1.5HR
Specific Question(s): Two goals - condo purchase & FI by 40. Currently confused on investing/savings. After debt, apartment rent, and car payment are gone (starting in January), I'm re-distributing my budget to allow for more saving/investing. I've read a LOT on here and a few other FI websites, and was able to get a jist of I should contribute maximum to my TSP $18000(~22%) starting in January. From there, I'm having difficult calculating how much I should be saving on top of that. When factoring in how much i should be saving, based on when I want to be FI, do I look at my salary, take home pay, or something other? How much, on top of my TSP, should I be looking at investing? I think my current TSP is rather aggressive, and I think i will make the full 22% in regular TSP rather than Roth.
Thoughts?
If you made it this far, thank you!