History: DH divorced. Former bricklayer with good retirement that was cashed out and split in divorce. Paid off debt and spent money going back to school to finish degree. Has been underemployed until recently.
I was a money moron until I discovered DR and MMM a few years ago and took control. Parents always had money issues and major health issues throughout my childhood. They both taught in public school and never had enough money to teach us what to do with it. Both retired (one for health reasons), and their money situation causes me severe anxiety (they lost everything in Harvey...I may post a separate case study for them). I've worked hard to separate my emotions from my money, and while we don't have much, I'm ready to start making it work for us.
Life Situation: Married 1.5 years, filing separately. No dependents. Live in inexpensive southeast Texas. Both mid 30s.
Gross Salary/Wages: Me: $52k/DH: Unsure as he started new job and works multiple jobs. Should be ~$42k
ME:
$5,095 gross monthly
$36.55 dental
$88 health
$392.22 TRS (retirement)
$88 HSA
$366 taxes
$308 FICA
$72 Medicare
$6 Parking
$3739 net monthly
DH:
$600 church pianist (after tax)
$950 piano lessons (after tax)
$3000 teaching jazz band (contract work, no taxes or other deductions)
$4550 net monthly
TOGETHER:
$8289 monthly for 9 months - both our pay changes for summer months
[Husband also plays jazz gigs for additional income, but I don't include this as it's variable.]
Current expenses:
Mortgage P&I: $350
Mortgage T&I: $486
Electric: $120
Gas: $60
Water: $50
Internet: $84 (DH is a gamer and insists)
Phone: $60-80 Project Fi
DH Student loan: $95
DH ACA health: $10 (will be adding him to my insurance @ $350/mo now that he's fully employed)
Food Bank Donation: $150
Other Donations: $150
Hulu: $11
Netflix: $12
Gym: $42
Car insurance: $178
TOTAL Bills: $1878
Groceries: $400
Gasoline: $80
Toiletries: $50
Pets: $100
Entertainment: $300 (eating out, movies, drinks, etc.)
Personal expenditures: $300 (clothing, etc. - we rarely spend this)
TOTAL Expenses: $1310
TOTAL Monthly: $3178
Remaining allotment (per month, for 9 months):
Taxes: $1000 (since husband is contract worker, we pull this out to pay later)
Home/car: $1000 (114-year old house, adding improvements for quality of life and upkeep)
Travel: $1000
Retirement: $1000
Emergency Fund: $1000
Assets:
Home: Equity for original purchase price $11k; however, current house value is closer to $100k
2010 Kia Soul: $5200
2015 Kia Soul: $8500
TRS Retirement: $25k
HY Savings: $14,000
Regular savings: $1000
TOTAL: $64,700
Liabilities:
Mortgage: OPP: $72,000/Owe $59,000/30-year FAPR at 5.5%
DH Student loan: $7000 (unsure but low interest rate)
Credit Card: $0 (pay off each month)
Wish we could be one car. Our community is NOT bike friendly. Both cars paid off.
1. We are about to each fund a Roth with some of that $14k and then re-build up an e-fund after doing so. However, if it closes in April (as I've read here), that's still months of money that we can either save up each $5500 and fund or put in something else. Any idea what we should be doing beyond that?
Because of my family history, I'm extremely anxious about being so behind in retirement savings. I know DH thinks I'm paranoid, but we're approaching 40 and have nearly nothing in the way of retirement. So I'm looking to amplify that and throw as much money as possible that way.
2. Also curious what to do with leftover tax funds (potentially extra house payment?) and/or excess travel/home/car funds. Ideally, we'll keep money in the house/car fund, but once we hit a certain amount, it feels silly to just leave it in a high yield savings. We love to travel and got the Chase Sapphire card to amp up our travel, but, again, realistically, we'll hit an amount and not need to continue funding the travel account for the year.
3. Even though I have read the MMM blog and others, the different types of accounts and funds are still way over my head, so I'd also appreciate any resources that would help someone with little understanding of finance.