Brand New Here! Should I Start Investing Now?

[ilovescotch]

Hi all. 33 yo w/ wife, 2 kids, committed financial suicide all through my 20's and now just waking up. Spent the last 5 years building a business. I'm finally making money on it. In 2015, my income was $50,000, this year, I'm projected to make $90,000 (my income, not the biz). We are a SINGLE INCOME family. Moving from LA to Dallas this year for cheaper COL, real estate, and business climate! But should I start investing right this second?

VTSMX is basically at its highest in a very long time! I've never invested a cent outside of the Roth IRA's I setup this year, and I am essentially clueless. Is it wise to buy in right now? I want to learn!

The big issue: My wife and I have $80,000 of student loan debt that we need to pay off.

What are your thoughts? I am just now getting completely fuckin serious about my financial future and I want to do the best by my family. Can you help?

[Heckler]

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/investor-alley/investment-order-65299/

[Tom Bri]

Just a question, would re-investing in your own business be the way to go?

Putting your money in stocks or whatever is probably a lot safer than putting everything back into your own business, but that is an emotional decision you have to make. How safe is your business? Is it in a field that has sharp downturns sometimes? How skilled is your competition?

I have no answers and am a novice investor myself.

[talltexan]

First, identify what your living expenses are. Then re-invest enough in the business to maintain it at a size in which you can generate 2.5X those.

Then live on X, while saving 1.5X in VTSAX; if you get the numbers to this point, it will take you 10-11 years to build up a passive retirement stache. That is the mustachian way.

[ilovescotch]

Thanks a lot guys. This is good stuff.

Read investment order - very helpful and I have bookmarked this post to reference.

We are a digital design/development studio. We have been growing nicely, but can't grow too fast since myself and biz partner are the only ones in the co and we have our hands on every project - we can't take on more work than we can physically work on. But our biz goal is to grow to the point of being able to hire an employee in the next year. Reinvestment in the biz would certainly help us get there.

The loans are around 5%. I would really love to get these out of the way permanently and not have to think about them anymore.

First, identify what your living expenses are. Then re-invest enough in the business to maintain it at a size in which you can generate 2.5X those.

Then live on X, while saving 1.5X in VTSAX; if you get the numbers to this point, it will take you 10-11 years to build up a passive retirement stache. That is the mustachian way.

I am definitely going to be working on this. Life goal has been defined. Thank you!