Hi everyone,
Thanks in advance for anyone willing to help. I just need help figuring out how I can maximize my path to financial freedom and if I missed anything important.
I am 31, single and live in Manhattan (yes, I know). I started this new position 6 months ago and am finally equalized with my expenses and savings. It was difficult to do, mostly because of my own choices living and working in the most expensive city.
Salary: $130,000
Industry: Healthcare Informatics
Bonus: $500 - $10,000 (only at current job for 6 months)
Gross and Net income: $5000 biweekly - net ~$2700 biweekly (taxes are insane here)
Debt:
Student Loan (federal): $44,000 @ 4.625%
Credit Cards: None
Monthly Expenses:
Cell Phone: $95
Internet: $69
Gas and Electric: between $65 - $175 (winter/summer)
Student loan: $247 + $110 extra monthly payment $357
Food: ~ $500
Rent: $1950
Roth IRA: $75 weekly
Netflix, Twitch, Dental coinsurance: $25
Misc: ?? depends
Left with about $1 - $2k monthly
Investments:
Roth IRA: $75 weekly ($300 per month) post-tax
403(b): $700 per check (bi-weekly) $1400 per month pre-tax
Acorn: $5 per business day - typically $100 per month
Holdings:
Vanguard Traditional IRA: (from 401k rollover): $79,000 in a traditional Lazy Portfolio (international/domestic stock and bond indexes, all Admiral Shares)
Vanguard Roth IRA: $12,105 (Total Stock Market Admiral)
Old Work 401k: $6,500 (in process of rolling to Vanguard)
Personal Brokerage: $4,500 (stocks I'm interested in, purchased through eTrade)
Current 403(b): $4,110 (in Vanguard Funds)
Acorns: $600 (roundups from purchases on debit card, all in Vanguard indexes)
Savings: $5,000 (prefer to have cash invested)
Recap:
Yearly Salary: $130,000 + small bonus
Total Monthly Expenses including entertainment: ~ $3500
Total Investments: $106,000
Total Liquid Cash: $5,000
Total Debt: $44,000 (paying off loans early)
Credit Score: 775
Emergency Fund: Working on it - feel weird about having cash earning 0% - so between the Roth and investment accounts and savings I have about a years worth of funding. I understand the danger of having emergency money invested, when the market crashes is when you will probably need it. I am slowly building a non-invested emergency fund- as my job and income are very stable.
I won't make an excuse for myself for living in Manhattan - I did it for convenience for work and haven't left although I want to. I live alone in a nice apartment well under market value, even though it is expensive compared to elsewhere. I know this wasn't the best choice financially but I tried to compensate by investing aggressively while incurring no extra debt.
Am I missing anything to plan for the future? I know I probably won't be able to retire very early given my current expenditures, but is there any other strategy to maximize my pre or post tax income?
Ideally I want to leave the city, but not to rent - I'd like to buy something without touching my retirement capital at all - so I am starting from scratch to save for minimal down payment if I decide to buy in the next year or two.
I was introduced to the world of MMM, FireCalc and Vanguard funds a few years ago by a successful and helpful boss and Boglehead who frequents ths forum. For the last 3 or 4 years I've been slowly learning about Expense Ratios, Index funds and everything in between, and trying my best to set up a good future for myself.
Thanks and sorry for the hurried nature of this post. Any feedback is appreciated.