Hello all,
I have been lurking awhile on this site and love everything on it. Thanks to everyone for making it such a useful site. My wife and I have always been pretty frugal, but since reading this site, we are really starting to trim the fat off of our expenses. I have a question regarding my 401k at work. Fortunately, they do offer two vanguard products. They match only 4% which kind of sucks, but it is better than nothing. By default, they have put me in a 2050 target date fund which I suspect is a crappy fund. I was wanting to know what to do. I have several questions but I have ranked them in importance.
1)Which funds and at what percent should I invest in my 401k? (I do not see any bonds offered through vanguard or REIT's)
2)What strategy should I use to get out of debt? As of right now, my strategy has been to only put in the minimum amount to get my match from my employer and then with all leftover cash to snowball first into the used vehicle, and then snowball that to pay off student loans. Assuming that I have about $4000 each month to use on debt, this should take me 1 year and 7 months. Should I pay less towards my debt and put more towards my 401k at work? Or should I keep doing what I am currently doing.
3)After the student loans and vehicle are payed off, should I pay off home early, or maximally contribute towards 401k and IRA(if I qualify).
Some info about me:
married
single income family with one baby
About to turn 30
Take home pay is around $110,000
Student loans $56,000 3% interest
Used Vehicle $15,000 3%
15 yr Mortgage $168,000 3.1%
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