Author Topic: Am I mustachian?!  (Read 4667 times)

2Birds1Stone

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Am I mustachian?!
« on: October 10, 2014, 05:31:45 PM »
Hey there Mustachians!

      A conversation with a buddy of mine has led me to this site after I mentioned that I am an avid reader of similar ones. Ever since I discovered this site I have been hooked on the articles and the forum as well. Here is my current situation.

27 years old
$50-52,000 gross income (+benefits package)
$3-5,000 side income

Expenses
$540 Rent/Utility
$250 Entertainment/Vacations (includes eating out)
$160 Gas
$150 Grocery
$100 Car/Motorcycle Maintenance/Replacement Fund
$100 Health/Dental Care (including annual copays/medicine etc)
$100 Non Recurring (Holiday/Bday Gifts, 1 time expenses)
$85 Car/Motorcycle Insurance
$50 Household Items/Cleaning
$30 Gym
$25 Misc
~$1600/Month

Investments
$1000 Employer 401k
$450 Roth IRA
$250 Down payment/Emergency Savings
~$1700/Month

Savings Rate ~51%

Assets
~$26k Hard Assets
~$18k 401k
~$22k Roth IRA
~$12k Cash

Car - 2004 Model 56k miles ~$5500 Blue Book
Bike - 2006 Model 15k Miles ~$6000 Blue Book (With much higher miles assumed)

Both owned outright

Right now I am focused on increasing passive income streams and side hustles. I enjoy my job 90% of the time even though its not very secure. I am not sure I could cut my spending TOO much more without compromising a lot. I live in a very high COL area currently, but plan to change that within the next 2-3 years.

I have NO debt. My estimated net worth with all assets included = ~100,000k with ~$78,000 of that being investable assets. 

 

« Last Edit: October 10, 2014, 05:34:00 PM by 2Birds1Stone »

RapmasterD

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Re: Am I mustachian?!
« Reply #1 on: October 10, 2014, 05:51:15 PM »
You're in good shape and saving a nice percentage so don't worry about labels like 'mustachian.'

Fuzz

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Re: Am I mustachian?!
« Reply #2 on: October 11, 2014, 10:19:06 AM »
You're doing awesome. Anyone who is 27 and has a net worth that's greater than 2x income, is doing pretty well, in my opinion.

Just curious why you're hanging on to the 12K in cash. There are a lot of good ways to invest it, and given your age, expenses, and income, I'm not sure you need such an emergency fund. On the other hand, you said your job wasn't super stable. So if you're planning on moving to another job, it makes sense to keep some cash on hand.

Sid Hoffman

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Re: Am I mustachian?!
« Reply #3 on: October 11, 2014, 10:56:17 AM »
Just curious why you're hanging on to the 12K in cash.

He mentions having net worth around $100k and "only" $12k in cash, which I think is reasonable given that he said he doesn't have very good job security right now and personally generated income is only listed as $3-5k a year.  With expenses of $1600/month, 6 months of savings dictates the need for $9600 in cash.  So I guess he could reduce cash down from $12k to $9600, but I think that's splitting hairs, since it's only 2% of net worth.  Still, it could be worth resetting the cash holding from a rolling $12k to a rolling $9600.  That would get another $2400 over into investments.  Every little bit can add up.

MDM

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Re: Am I mustachian?!
« Reply #4 on: October 11, 2014, 11:30:56 AM »
2Birds1Stone, welcome to the forums.

As others have noted you are already doing well - keep up the good work.

As you already have a good e-fund, putting a full $17,500/yr into your 401k seems doable.  That's the only significant change that comes to mind.

Good luck!

retired?

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Re: Am I mustachian?!
« Reply #5 on: October 11, 2014, 01:00:48 PM »
Doing well.  What are you calling "hard assets"?  That appears to be part of the 78k of "investible" assets.  Where does the other 22 come from. 

Only thing that seems high is gas at $160/month.  Your rent is low for a high COL area.  I am guessing you have roommates, which is good.  At that age, I had my own place at 670/month (Philly) and sharing would have made it only $410 (but I was new to the area).

At 1600 per month, you could probably halve the cash reserves and put into something with a higher return.  Lose the job and you still have 4 months coverage (and the risky assets will still have value even if they lose some).

2Birds1Stone

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Re: Am I mustachian?!
« Reply #6 on: October 11, 2014, 08:02:22 PM »
@Rapmaster, I am always aiming to improve!

@Fuzz, I smell a few reasons, with limited job security I want to have some easily accessible funds need be. Helps me sleep at night. Also saving for a down payment on a house within the next 2-3 years tops.

@Sid Hoffman besides that I would love to have a little cash buffer just in case a good opportunity comes along, market pull back, some other investment opportunity outside of the markets, etc

@MDM, thanks for the welcome! I crunched the numbers and doing the 17.5K would leave me VERY little wiggle room. I might go there once I have just a tad more coming in from side income/passive income.

@Retired? , Hard assets are some precious metals I have bought on the way down as Ag/Au had their largest decline in 30+ years. I also gobbled up some mining stocks at these lows.  The other $22k is my vehicles, my personal possessions (given realistic depreciated resale value), and some steel and lead.


My next step will absolutely be to get my 401k maxed out annually. I would like to get another $100-200 a month in extra side hustles before I can increase my 401k withdrawals from 25% to 35%. 

Elderwood17

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Re: Am I mustachian?!
« Reply #7 on: October 11, 2014, 08:09:14 PM »
You're in good shape and saving a nice percentage so don't worry about labels like 'mustachian.'
+1
You are doing well!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!