OK. Now that I'm on something with a proper keyboard.. ;-)
I went ahead and updated my first post to include age and objective.
Debt Destroyer,
My stock purchasing days are actually fairly far back in the days (ca. 2007). At the time, I had a fairly good amount of cash available to invest and I was actually hoping to put it towards a good down payment on a house. So, much of my investments (ETFs, Stocks, and Mutual Funds) actually came from this period of time. Most have not really done much, with the exception of AAPL and AMZN which have skyrocketed, and PBW and VDSI which significantly lost value in 2008 and never really came back.
Other than selling off some stocks to take a loss to offset some uncovered tax liabilities back in 2010 (bad idea.. ), I haven't really done anything with these.
MDM,
AMZN was sold with the proceeds of my selling of Pfizer shares my grandfather had given me. I think in the long run, I did better, but it would have been nice to hold those through the Viagra years. :-)
I think my understanding of how IRAs and 401Ks function may be slightly deficient. It's been almost a decade since I read stuff on investing, and at the time I wasn't concerned with tax implications. I guess I assumed I could use the proceeds from my ESPP to fund my 401K. Now that you mention it, though, I could see where perhaps that wouldn't be the best way to go about it.
I know the ESPP has specific tax implications of its own, as well. I'm not 100% clear on those, so I assume the actual return assuming the minimal gain is closer to 10% than 15%. Anyone have a spreadsheet?
What would make you choose the Roth IRA over the 401K in terms of prioritizing funding?
MrChubbles
Re: Oil Changes. Almost all of my driving is City Driving with a ton of starts and stops. However, I have been trying to follow the 3000 mile advisory sticker in an effort to keep my ~200K 2003 toyota running properly. I'd love to learn that I don't need to do this as often - I go to my mechanic for them and it's not the easy in-out experience of a fast place (on the bright side, he doesn't do things like leave hoses unhooked).
I've started looking into a cheaper plan. I think a lot of it is inertia of having been with big red for so long.
The new place actually has a (old and crusty) washer and dryer setup. I haven't used them yet, but hopefully they are in good form. Right now, I actually find that it's more effective for me to pay for Wash and Fold service than to do my own using the coin-op machines in my building (the cost is ~$1.50 more total, and I get to avoid doing laundry). With just one person, laundry is a once a week thing.
Renting out a room would be a possibility, although ideally my girlfriend will move in within the next year. That would be great, as it would lower costs dramatically for both of us as well as enable us to spend a bit more time together (due to our schedules, we don't get to see each other other than weekend time).
FishingMan88
1. The IRA is low b/c it's been a long time since I put anything into it. See answer #3 for more on this.
2. Main goal is to not be worrying about money. I like my gig (it's still pretty new to me), but I'd love to have the flexibility to pursue something else if I felt driven to do so. FU Money, SWAMI, FI.. those probably are closest. I haven't thought much about retirement age.
3. So, with the cash thing, I think it's a product of my childhood as well as my 20s. I spent my early adult years trying to make a life as a classical musician (and not very profitably or successfully). I was constantly anxious and worried about money and having enough liquidity for covering costs and emergencies, since income was sporadic and unreliable.
Towards the end of that period, I went through a divorce that left me with even less $$ and an attorney's bill. More anxiety around money.
I've actually only been working full time in my new career for about 24 months, and one of my first goals when I started working was to put together a healthy emergency fund - something substantial enough to cover my living needs for at least 6 months. I still worry about what would happen if I lost my job and whether I would be hired elsewhere - and if I'd have enough to be okay during the time between.
One of the things I've observed is that a lot of my goals seem to be defensive in nature. In social psychology, one would say that I have a prevention-focused mindset - I'm trying to preserve a sense of safety and mitigate or eliminate sources of anxiety. I'm trying to balance that and get a bit more promotion-focused - coming up with things I'm working towards and goals I'd like to achieve, beyond just feeling more financially safe.
blahblah,
That's just me eating all that food. And believe it or not, I don't eat out very frequently! I think it's a consequence of my quasi-paleo vegetarian diet. I eat a lot of greek yogurt.
I do need the gym - even with the house, there isn't really a viable space for the weights that I need (low basement ceiling, no garage, inadequate joists). I should mention that my employers actually do provide a stipend for fitness, which offsets a significant portion of this. I'll edit my post.
I addressed the whole large checking savings matter above, so I'd refer you to that. Basically, I'm still trying to come to terms with actually having a steady income.
Thanks for pointing out the credit card issue. I'm not intending to churn these cards, as I think they actually offer some very nice perks. Especially with my high grocery bill, the AmEx blue preferred provides a nice cash back on that. The Chase Sapphire looks like it is also pretty good, though I will have to re-assess next spring to see if I want to continue with it. Prior to this, I only held one CC for the past 10 years or so: a visa rewards card with 1% cash back. Not so rewarding. It's good to be aware of the CC age issue, though.
I agree about the money in the checking/savings accounts. It's not doing anything, and really that's one of the main things I'm trying to figure out - what to do with that money, as well as the money that makes up the difference between my living costs and my income. At first with the house, I will be putting a good chunk into improvements and repairs, but there will still be a large portion left over.