Hello Mustachians,
Hopefully you can help me wander into the murky waters of investing in a confident fashion. I'm in my early 30's, but have been trying to fight lifestyle inflation as I transitioned from grad school into an actual job. I feel a bit behind the savings curve compared to my friends in the tech sector who have been working "real" jobs since their early 30's and saving pretty aggressively. (I know they also spend pretty aggressively.) Although I feel behind the curve, I know I'm actually doing ok since I just hit $100k net worth (Roth+403(b)+car+liquid savings, according to Mint). Huzzah!
I don't really know how much I "save" right now, as my money gets broken up into a convoluted set of "piggy bank" savings accounts that get spent occasionally. (Vacation fund, electronics/major purchase fund, charitable donation fund, general savings) My boyfriend and I have an incredibly cheap mortgage, and we have done some pretty significant improvements to the house over the years. I did buy a new (financed) car a few years ago, but I am currently paying that down in an aggressive fashion. (I plan to drive it forever, and hope to pay cash for my next car.) Other than ~$5k on my car loan I have no other debt, and bf has the house (maybe ~$50k principal on that).
Current investments:
I work at a university and thus have a mandatory TIAA-CREF 403(b) contribution that I cannot change.
I max out my Roth IRA contribution with Vanguard.
For additional investments, I am considering:
Supplemental annuity through TIAA-CREF (assuming I cannot touch this until "normal" retirement age of ~60)
Index fund purchases through Vanguard (I assume this would be more "liquid")
For additional income/income savings, I am considering:
Food budget/limiting eating out (we are terrible)
Making sure I sock away windfalls in a more judicious fashion (I have a few small side jobs that pay ~1-2k annually)
Considering keeping our current house as a rental property if we move, as it is very close to the university and would probably yield significant rent
So, where should I put extra money (rather than just "savings" at CapitalOne 360) and should I end my piggy bank approach to budgeting (and just put most of that money towards my Mustachian future)?