Life Situation: Hey y'all; long time lurker first time poster. I'm a 26 year old recent transplant to Charlotte, NC (from Ohio). Single by IRS standards (living in an apartment with girlfriend of three years) with no dependents. I work as a financial analyst with a great company and am currently working on my CPA license.
Gross Salary/Wages: 55k base salary + bonus equal to 10% of base salary for ~$60,500 total
Pre-tax deductions: I'm currently contributing 19% pre-tax to my 401k, with a 6% employer match for a total of 25%. The company also pays all medical premiums which is a fantastic little perk.
Adjusted Gross Income: My take-home pay is roughly $1,250/biweekly pay cycle, or $32,500/year plus the 10% bonus (lets be conservative and assume that'll be ~$3,500 take home), for a rough total of $36,000 annually.
Current expenses: Current monthly expenses are as follows:
Rent: $450 (split with gf)
Utilities: $180 (Electric, Gas, Internet, Water/Sewer/Trash)(I cover these)
Student Loans: $360
Groceries:$120 (split with gf)
Travel: ~$150 (usually pretty basic beach vacations, trips with family, occasional golf trip with dad's group)
Gas for car: $100 (15 mile commute/day + occasional trips back to Ohio)
Entertainment: $120 (this covers dinner dates, movies, golf, drinks with friends, you name it)
CPA exams & study material: $100 (composed of 2/3 bulk expenses/year of ~$400 apiece til this is complete)
Prescription: $20
Total monthly expenses: ~$1,600
Total annual expenses: ~$19,200
As mentioned above, currently renting so no mortgage.
Assets: Amount & description - Current assets:
401k: 10k (just started really taking this seriously this year, see allocation plan below)
Taxable Brokerage: 15k (VTSAX)
Cash: 25k (recently sold a few individual stocks ive had for a while, not 100% sure of best use with cash, see questions below)
Total assets: ~$50,000
Liabilities: Student Loans: The breakdown is as follows:
Loan A: $2,151.83 @ 6.8%
Loan C: $1,814.81 @ 6.0%
Loan D: $4,182.08 @ 4.5%
Loan E: $4,047.40 @ 3.4%
Loan F: $7,107.61 @ 6.8%
Loan G: $1,419.30 @ 5.35%
Total due: $20,717.03 at a weighted average of 5.5% interest (assuming my math is correct).
Specific Question(s): I think I'm on the right track, but general feedback is definitely appreciated, as I'm sure there's room for improvement. The current plan is to continue upping my 401k contributions annually (either through % increase, salary increase, or both) until that is maxed, start a Roth through Vanguard and contribute the max to that each year, and to put any remainder in my taxable brokerage account. The ultimate goal is to retire by at least 50. While nowhere near as lofty a goal as many on here, I'll start there and maybe refine it as both my age and earnings continue to grow.
Questions:
:As mentioned above, I've got $25k dry powder currently available. Does is make more financial sense to pay off the 5% student loans (current outstanding balance of $21k), or to add it to my current VTSAX holdings? I'm nowhere near as debt-averse as some on here, but if it makes good financial sense to just pay the loans off I'd be fine with doing that.
:How realistic is maintaining the investment allocation I outlined above (annually maxing pre-tax 401k within a few years, annually maxing roth, excess to taxable brokerage) from now (age 26) to retirement (~age 50) given the desire to settle down, buy a house, make 1-2 FIRE_Buckeye jr's likely within the next five years. I intentionally left my girlfriend out of the equation above, but if she ends up being the other half of my equation, she's a saver too so FIRE will be a common goal.
I appreciate the feedback in advance, and look forward to becoming a regular contributor here.
If any questions, feel free to ask and I'll respond as soon as I'm able.