Hello All,
I'm 25 and recently took a new job with a decent pay bump to $78k/yr (~12% increase from my previous job) and am looking to put that extra $ to work rather than upgrading my lifestyle like most seem to. In fact, the shorter commute that also comes along with this new job will result in some of my expenses decreasing rather than increasing. Previously, I was with an employer who only offered a SIMPLE IRA matching 100% up to 3% but the choice of front-loaded funds were unappealing. In that job, I chose to contribute 3% to get the full match, max out my Roth IRA, and invest the rest in a taxable brokerage account.
My new employer offers a 401(k) matching 100% up to 4% (with a much wider availability of funds through Fidelity's BrokerageLink) so I'm open to rethinking my strategy. Would it make the most sense to max out my 401(k), max out my Roth IRA, and then invest the rest and my tax return in my taxable brokerage account or something else? For context, I already bought a condo in 2017 (30 yr @3.875%) so I don't foresee the immediate need for a down payment, etc. However, I am interested in acquiring a couple rental properties potentially down the road, so my thought for preparing down payment(s) for those would be using the taxable acct. for building up that nest egg. Another option would be to make extra principal payments on my condo but I figured the taxable acct. would be a more productive way to put my $ to work.
My gut tells me this would be the best thing to do but would appreciate any feedback or input on fine tuning this strategy!