Hello everyone! I found MMM about 3 months ago after realizing that I couldn't wrap my mind around working for the next half century or more. I was raised pretty frugally, but my parents always preached that you can only retire once your dividends and interest pay for your full year's expenses.
I am 23, engaged, getting married in a year, and we are both engineers. She is finishing her masters, and I have started work about 6 months ago. I won't include her salary in my case study, because she doesn't have one right now.
Gross Salary: $67,000
Pre-tax Deductions (yearly):
401K-$3350 (employer matches 5%)
HSA-$250
H,V,D-$985
Taxes fed and state (est.): $18,000 (doesn't include investment taxes, I'm not certain how to calculate them)
Investments:
Fidelity 401k (Vanguard 2060)-$1700
Vanguard Roth IRA (VTSMX)-$3100
Vanguard taxable (VTSMX)-$3100
Current monthly expenses:
Rent-$675
Car Ins-$133
Car loan-$465 (Ouch. I know.)
Food and Dining-$265 (This includes restaurants, where I generally pay for the fiancee)
Gas, Electric, Water-$50
Internet-$73 (Ungodly expensive internet through Mediacom. Only ISP in town that isn't dial up, but I have a long distance relationship right now, so I can't give it up-I need skype and such.)
Travelling-$208 (I don't spend this every month, but we want to have a $2500/yr budget for this.)
Misc.-$200
TOTAL-$2069 (~$25,000/yr)
I have a 4 month emergency fund saved in just regular checking and savings.
I paid off my student loans (6.8% interest!) in May, after a month of reading MMM (thank you to everyone on here for that!)
My car is a brand new 2016 Honda CR-V (I'm a monster). It has 1.99% for 72 mo (66 left). I'm making more than that on my Vanguard accounts, so I'm only paying the monthly payments for now. I'm not interested in getting rid of it for a while, I really like it and I get 32 mpg, and AWD in the winter.
My next steps:
1) 9 month emergency fund
2) Get $10k in taxable, so I can switch to VTSAX
3) Add my last $2500 to my Roth for the year
4) Put as much in 401k as possible
My questions:
Are these the right next steps?
Should I skip the VTSAX and focus more on my 401k?
Is 9 months too much for an emergency fund? I might be leaving my job soon, if she gets a job somewhere else that we can both find work. I like the idea of having 9 months at my fingertips.
Should I be investing in a tIRA instead of a Roth? I can only get a partial deduction with my current salary I think (might be wrong).
Should I be saving for a wedding more than I am? Hoping to keep the total budget at ~$15k, and that would include contributions from family (so it might end up costing me significantly less than that).
After getting married, I'm assuming $40k/yr expenses, and hoping for combined ~$130k gross income. So we would be putting away nearly 70% of our income, resulting in freedom from economic slavery in just 8.5 years from next year. (Did I do that right?)
The biggest question is: Did I miss anything glaringly obvious?
Sorry if these are repetitive/stupid. I just want reassurance that I'm on the right track, as I have gotten complete disbelief and skepticism from friends and family (I'm not telling anyone else until it happens). SO is on board though, even if she likes to shop a little more than me.
Thanks for your help!!