Author Topic: Save 50k single 100k couple in 2021 (Read 14252 times)

alcon835 · « **on:** January 01, 2021, 09:32:15 AM »

Kicking this thread off because last year's OP FIRE'd and because I'm eager to get started!

For 2021, I hope to hit $71,700 in total savings contributions. That will be a significant bump from last year's savings, but we've really made an effort to focus on our savings rate over the last quarter and I expect that to continue or grow in 2021. DW isn't working due to health issues, so everything will have to come from my paycheck. I'll call $100K a stretch goal if things go exceptionally well at work this year.

Bucket	Goal	Current
401K	$19,500	$0
Match	$3,500	$0
Roth 1	$6,000	$0
Roth 2	$6,000	$0
Brokerage	$12,000	$0
Dividends	$200	$0
Mortgage	$18,500	$0
Savings	$6,000	$0
Total	$71,700	$0
*Percentage*	100%	0%

McStache · « **Reply #1 on:** January 01, 2021, 10:01:43 AM »

I'm in for another year! For now I'll shoot for 60k (single), but there are some unknowns this year that may change my goal once they become known.

rebel_quietude · « **Reply #2 on:** January 01, 2021, 10:49:53 AM »

I'm in!

My goal this year is 50k (again), but I'll make it 60k if I get a promotion midway through 2021.

Third year I've participated in this challenge, and it seems like 60k is the new 50k; it's awesome to see people crushing it and raising the bar year after year. Good luck to everyone!

zeli2033 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 01, 2021, 10:57:41 AM »

Goals for 2021

401k 1: $0 / $19,500
Match: $0 / $4,160
401k 2: $0 / $19,500
HSA: $0 / $7,100
2020 Roths: $0 / $12,000
2021 Roths: $0 / $12,000
Cash (Efund/House DP): $0 / $25,000
Brokerage: $0 / $25,000
============================
Total: $0 / $124,260

This is a little bit of a stretch for us but it will be good to shoot for it. Looking forward to seeing how much we can beat our 2020 savings amount by!

zee dot · « **Reply #4 on:** January 01, 2021, 07:48:11 PM »

Interested in this format :)

Bucket	Goal	Current
401K	$19,500	$0
Roth 1	$6,000	$0
Brokerage	$12,000	$0
Dividends	$200	$0
Mortgage 1	$TBD	$0
Mortgage 2	$TBD	$0
Mortgage 3	$TBD	$0
Savings	$6,000	$0
Total	$TBD	$0
*Percentage*	100%	0%

philli14 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 02, 2021, 10:26:09 AM »

Let's do this! 2020 was close, 2021 is a brand new start.

| 401k | tIRA | HSA | Brokerage | Savings | TOTAL |
GOAL | $ 19,500 | $ 6,000 | $ 3,600 | $ 20,900 | $ 0 | $ 50,000 | PROGRESS |

JAN | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | % 0.0 |

YTD | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | % 0.0 |

TyGuy · « **Reply #6 on:** January 02, 2021, 06:19:31 PM »

Excited to join you all on this journey this year! I'll be posting my specific goals over the next week as I review this past year's finances and plan for next year!

Rhinodad · « **Reply #7 on:** January 02, 2021, 06:31:18 PM »

This is a great idea.

403 b $26000
Match. $ 3000
403 B. $26000
Match. $5250
Roth. $6000
Roth. $6000
Brokerage. $15000
529 plan. $3380
House. $16000

Total: $106630

If nothing goes sideways, all of that is baked in, save for the brokerage account. We put $500/month into the brokerage account and then at years end dump in what would leave us with 10k in our savings. We do not keep an emergency fund, per se, and if it comes to it, I can cash in all of my vacation which would be about another 10k.

SotI · « **Reply #8 on:** January 03, 2021, 02:05:21 AM »

I will join again, with minimum goal of 55k and stretch goal 60k +.
I expect some more major vet and renovation bills this year, but would still like to hit my savings target. Not sure how to manage, probably depends on this year's work bonus (my company has managed to get through Corona times reasonably well so far).

SaucyAussie · « **Reply #9 on:** January 03, 2021, 10:52:12 AM »

Going to try and stretch again, although I really "should" put a new roof on this year which is going to be painful. I'll track it as a separate line item so it doesn't effect my motivation when I finally pull the trigger on it.

401k 19,500.0
401k catch-up 6,500.0
401k match 11,000.0
Taxable 30,000.0
Roth 7,000.0
Mtg Principal 4,000.0
H.S.A. 2,000.0
Cash 0.0
Total 80,000.0

less new roof -10,000.0

Savings 70,000.0

ingrownstudentloans · « **Reply #10 on:** January 04, 2021, 05:07:47 AM »

Joining this one with some real stretch goals. I personally contribute to the Employer-side of the 401K, so this is all coming from me, except the mortgage payments which are coming from my tenants!

Bucket	Goal	Current
401K	$19,500	$0
Employer Side - 401K	$38,500	$0
Roth 1	$6,000	$0
Roth 2	$6,000	$0
Brokerage/Cash	$90,000	$0
HSA	$7,200	$0
529	$4,200	$0
Mortgage 1 (primary)	$9,000	$0
Mortgage 2 (LTR NY)	$5,484	$0
Mortgage 3 (LTR TN)	$5,748	$0
Mortgage 4 (STR TN)	$4,632	$0
Total	$196,264	$0
*Percentage*	100%	0%

TyGuy · « **Reply #11 on:** January 04, 2021, 10:54:17 AM »

Quote from: philli14 on January 02, 2021, 10:26:09 AM

Let's do this! 2020 was close, 2021 is a brand new start.

| 401k | tIRA | HSA | Brokerage | Savings | TOTAL |
GOAL | $ 19,500 | $ 6,000 | $ 3,600 | $ 20,900 | $ 0 | $ 50,000 | PROGRESS |

JAN | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | % 0.0 |

YTD | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | % 0.0 |

I'm a big fan of this format and will be using it to track my progress as well, thanks @philli14!!

TyGuy · « **Reply #12 on:** January 04, 2021, 11:05:24 AM »

Excited to be here this year, 50k will be a bit of stretch for me this year, but I believe it can be done. I'll be putting my best foot forward and hopefully crossing the finish line together with you all at year's end!

| 401k |R-IRA (2020)|R-IRA (2021)| Brokerage | Savings | TOTAL |
GOAL | $ 19,500 | $ 6,000 | $ 6,000 | $13,500 | $ 5,000 | $ 50,000 | PROGRESS |

JAN | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | % 0.0 |

YTD | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | % 0.0 |

I have not yet contributed to my Roth IRA for the 2020 tax year and will be maxing it out with my tax return for this past year and then maxing out my Roth IRA for the 2021 tax year before the end of the year. I fell behind on my overall savings in 2020 due to purchasing my first home but will be back on track in 2021!

alcon835 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 21, 2021, 07:23:10 AM »

Generally, I expect to post updates on the 1st of the month, but I'm too eager since this is my first time in this race! Since I've done all the saving I'll do in January, I figured...why not?

January was a very good month for me. I get monthly bonuses based on how the company does, and the opportunity for extra bonuses if we hit certain yearly revenue goals. 2020 has been pretty bad. My job and the company aren't in any danger, but it was looking like we wouldn't get any extra bonuses and, as you can imagine, there wasn't much in the way of monthly bonuses in 2020....until December! We had some surprises in December which pushed us to our first "extra bonus" of the year. No one was expecting us to hit this goal so this worked our really well for me. I'm hoping the December/January momentum and the (relatively) good news about COVID vaccines continues and we can keep these sorts of numbers up for 2021; it would be a nice change of pace from the terrible bonus year that was 2020.

All-in-all I'm happy with my first month. I hit my monthly goal and I am ahead in a few categories which gives me some breathing room for February and March.

Bucket	Goal	Current
401K	$19,500	$2,158.15
Match	$3,500	$449.63
Roth 1	$6,000	$500
Roth 2	$6,000	$500
Brokerage	$12,000	$1087.87
Dividends	$200	$5.38
Mortgage	$18,500	$1547.93
Savings	$6,000	$1087.87
Total	$71,700	$7,336.83
*Percentage*	100%	10.23%

ender · « **Reply #14 on:** January 21, 2021, 07:28:14 AM »

We might be pretty close to this if the second stimulus round comes through (I guess I feel guilty even saying that in a "save 100k as a couple!" thread......). We'll likely be getting about $10k between that and taxes which will boost the planned $70k savings up.

alcon835 · « **Reply #15 on:** January 21, 2021, 07:45:46 AM »

Quote from: ender on January 21, 2021, 07:28:14 AM

We might be pretty close to this if the second stimulus round comes through (I guess I feel guilty even saying that in a "save 100k as a couple!" thread......). We'll likely be getting about $10k between that and taxes which will boost the planned $70k savings up.

My December Stimulus was definitely part of my savings this month, and if we get another one I'll add that in too. I look at it as the Government refunding me taxes, which I'll take.

I struggled for a long time with government "hand outs" like the stimulus. But, in the end, my voice doesn't count when it comes to those sorts of things and my taxes are paying for them, so when they come or I have an opportunity to use them, I take advantage of them guilt free. Maybe think of the Stimulus as an "extra" tax return? It's your money, after all. They're just giving it back to you.

ardrum · « **Reply #16 on:** January 21, 2021, 08:18:46 AM »

This sounds fun! I just crossed saving $50k last year, so I'll try to participate here to try for a repeat!

alcon835 · « **Reply #17 on:** January 21, 2021, 09:26:37 AM »

Quote from: ardrum on January 21, 2021, 08:18:46 AM

This sounds fun! I just crossed saving $50k last year, so I'll try to participate here to try for a repeat!

Awesome! Welcome to the challenge :D

SaucyAussie · « **Reply #18 on:** January 23, 2021, 05:37:15 AM »

Off and running. First up - try to get the catchup maxed out as early as possible!

401k 1,157.0 19,500.0 5.9
Catchup 3,250.0 6,500.0 50.0
Match 804.0 11,000.0 7.3
Taxable 2,000.0 30,000.0 6.7
Roth - 7,000.0 -
Mtg Principal 300.0 4,000.0 7.5
H.S.A. 500.0 2,000.0 25.0
Cash - - -
Total 8,011.0 80,000.0 10.0

---------------------------------------------

JAN 8,011.0 80,000.0 10.0

zeli2033 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 29, 2021, 09:25:34 PM »

January Update

401k 1: $1,624 / $19,500
Match: $346 / $4,160
401k 2: $1,618 / $19,500
HSA: $1,273 / $7,100
2020 Roths: $0 / $12,000
2021 Roths: $0 / $12,000
Cash (Efund/House DP): $6,409 / $25,000
Brokerage: $0 / $25,000
============================
Total: $11,270 / $124,260 (9.1%)

Got a mini bonus this month that we were able to put toward cash savings. Not bad for the first month!

McStache · « **Reply #20 on:** January 30, 2021, 06:46:23 PM »

January Update:
Bucket Current / Goal
401k $ 3,958 / $ 19,500
401k Match $ 158 / $ 2,400
Roth IRA $ 0 / $ 6,000
HSA $ 758 / $ 3,600
Taxable $ 869 / $ 28,500
------------------------------------
Total $ 5,744 / $ 60,000
Savings Rate 80.4%

January $ 5,744 9.6%

TyGuy · « **Reply #21 on:** February 03, 2021, 10:57:48 AM »

| 401k |R-IRA (2020)|R-IRA (2021)| Brokerage | Savings | TOTAL |
GOAL | $ 19,500 | $ 6,000 | $ 6,000 | $13,500 | $ 5,000 | $ 50,000 | PROGRESS |

JAN | $ 1,685 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 500 | $ 2,185 | % 4.37 |

FEB | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | % 0.0 |

YTD | $ 1,685 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 500 | $ 2,185 | % 4.37 |

Slow month for me as I refinanced my house to a 15 yr at 1.75% and installed a pedal assist system onto my bicycle, setting me up for success in the coming months. I expect the savings to increase as the year goes on!

philli14 · « **Reply #22 on:** February 04, 2021, 02:50:22 PM »

| 401k | tIRA | HSA | Brokerage | Savings | TOTAL |
GOAL | $ 19,500 | $ 6,000 | $ 3,600 | $ 20,900 | $ 0 | $ 50,000 | PROGRESS |

JAN | $ 1,500 | $ 6,000 | $ 3,600 | $ 3,000 | $ -9,600 | $ 4,500 | % 9.0 |

YTD | $ 1,500 | $ ~~6,000~~ | $ ~~3,600~~ | $ 3,000 | $ -9,600 | $ 4,500 | % 9.0 |

Solid start to the year. Funky bit of accounting here as I immediately funded my HSA and tIRA so will dip into the negative for savings, and saved a surplus of 3,000 on the month that was invested.

jabber81 · « **Reply #23 on:** February 05, 2021, 06:30:42 PM »

Would like to join for a couple

401K 1- 16000 / 1853
Match- 13500 / 485
401k 2- 13500 / 967
Match - 8100 / 580
HSA - 5600 / 700
HSA Match - 1500 / 188
529 - 2500 - 25
Brokerage - 24750 / 0
Efund / Debt paydown - 18240 / 3500

Total 103690 / 8298 - 8%

Taran Wanderer · « **Reply #24 on:** February 06, 2021, 09:09:05 PM »

I'll play.

$19,500 401k Me
$19,500 401k DW
$6,000 Roth Me
$6,000 Roth DW
$25,000 Employer Match Me
$4,500 Employer Match DW
$18,012 Rental/property income into Taxable
$1,000 Investment club
$14,880 529 plans
-------------------------------------
$114,392 Total

We will probably will put more into the investment club and some more into taxable. With this, we'll get to an average of at least $10k per month in direct savings. And there will be some more in the equity portion of our house payment. It seems crazy to be able to save this much money, but it comes after years and years of steady work and dedication.

alcon835 · « **Reply #25 on:** February 08, 2021, 10:40:49 AM »

Quote from: Taran Wanderer on February 06, 2021, 09:09:05 PM

...It seems crazy to be able to save this much money, but it comes after years and years of steady work and dedication.

I completely agree! When I did the math to see how much money I would, at a minimum, save this year I was shocked. Like you, it's been years of hard work and sacrifice that put me here, though. And lots, and lots, and lots of risks that paid off.

SaucyAussie · « **Reply #26 on:** February 23, 2021, 07:54:40 AM »

Catchup done, that was painful. Next up, the Roth.

401k 2,078.0 19,500.0 10.7
Catchup 6,500.0 6,500.0 100.0
Match 1,920.0 11,000.0 17.5
Taxable 4,000.0 30,000.0 13.3
Roth - 7,000.0 -
Mtg Principal 624.0 4,000.0 15.6
H.S.A. 500.0 2,000.0 25.0
Cash - - -
Total 15,622.0 80,000.0 19.5

---------------------------------------------

JAN 8,011.0 80,000.0 10.0
FEB 15,622.0 80,000.0 19.5

alcon835 · « **Reply #27 on:** February 26, 2021, 07:22:04 AM »

A lot of good news this month. The most important for this race is, I received a pretty significant raise. This all but assures I'll hit my original savings goal of $71,700 - especially since I was on track to do so before the raise. After talking with DW, we've made the decision to push for the larger, $100k savings goal in 2021. I've updated the table to better track both goals.

The percentage goal to be on track for February is 16.67%. I'm well ahead on my original goal and a bit behind on my stretch. Still, I feel pretty great about where things are and I'm looking forward to watching these numbers creep up throughout the year and, hopefully, getting even more aggressive as the months go by!

Bucket	Goal	Current
401K	$19,500	$4,009.27
Match	$3,500	$898.96
Roth 1	$6,000	$1,000.00
Roth 2	$6,000	$1,000.00
Brokerage	$12,000	$2,696.82
Dividends	$200	$12.87
Mortgage	$18,500	$3,100.21
Savings	$6,000	$2,696.82
Total	$71,700	$15,414.95	21.50%	(+4.83% to goal)
Stretch	$100,000	$15,414.95	15.41%	(-1.26% to goal)

McStache · « **Reply #28 on:** February 26, 2021, 12:29:02 PM »

February Update:
Bucket Current / Goal
401k $ 7,917 / $ 19,500
401k Match $ 317 / $ 2,400
Roth IRA $ 800 / $ 6,000
HSA $ 1,017 / $ 3,600
Taxable $ 869 / $ 28,500
------------------------------------
Total $ 10,919 / $ 60,000
Savings Rate 79.2%

January $ 5,744 9.6%
February $ 10,919 18.2%

Congrats @alcon835 !

ender · « **Reply #29 on:** February 27, 2021, 07:36:10 AM »

Thinking we won't hit this goal in 2021. Ah well.

alcon835 · « **Reply #30 on:** February 27, 2021, 09:34:34 AM »

Quote from: ender on February 27, 2021, 07:36:10 AM

Thinking we won't hit this goal in 2021. Ah well.

No harm in still tracking if it's something you want to participate in! Some folks hit it, and some folks miss it. I'm married and my original goal was ~$70k. You're more than welcome to join in whatever your number is!

ender · « **Reply #31 on:** February 27, 2021, 10:57:50 AM »

Quote from: alcon835 on February 27, 2021, 09:34:34 AM

Quote from: ender on February 27, 2021, 07:36:10 AM
Thinking we won't hit this goal in 2021. Ah well.

No harm in still tracking if it's something you want to participate in! Some folks hit it, and some folks miss it. I'm married and my original goal was ~$70k. You're more than welcome to join in whatever your number is!

It really depends I guess. I'll be able to get about 58k in my 401k between match/megabackdoor/elective. We'll also get 7kish in extra mortgage principal.

It looks like we'll be able to almost cashflow the 3 IRAs (1 from last year and 2 from this year) which would be another $18k, so we're up to $83k total. But really of that $18k IRA contribution it's closer to $6k from 2021 cashflow, so really more like $77k in this year.

I think we may end up pulling from our cash reserves to do the IRAs though based on projections. But, I guess if we can scrounge up $18k cash savings in addition to the IRAs we'll hit $100k savings.

Technically we'll also pay down some on our car loan that we have but I don't really like thinking of that as "savings" since it's a car. And as the year progresses we'll get our tax return, probably get a stimulus round 2, and also stop having to pay FICA which will increase it. But I don't think it'll increase $23k :-)

... maybe. But pretty unlikely given tax return and stimulus will both be in the $4k range.

SotI · « **Reply #32 on:** February 28, 2021, 07:49:16 AM »

Jan/Feb report:

Planned Actuals % to date
Total 67,237 9,361 13.9%

Tax exempt 5,237 911 17.0%
EF/Accruals 19,200 1,650 11.0%
Brokerage 42,800 6,800 17.1%

zeli2033 · « **Reply #33 on:** March 01, 2021, 09:13:09 PM »

February Update

401k 1: $3,248 / $19,500
Match: $692 / $4,160
401k 2: $3,236 / $19,500
HSA: $2,320 / $7,100
2020 Roths: $0 / $12,000
2021 Roths: $0 / $12,000
Cash (Efund/House DP): $16,347 / $25,000
Brokerage: $0 / $25,000
============================
Total: $25,843 / $124,260 (20.8%)

We're currently adding cash to our house down payment fund but it's such a seller's market that we're considering just giving up and funneling our cash to investments. We'll hold off for the month of March and then make the call at the beginning of April if it's still rough going out here. Either way, we're tracking ahead which is exciting.

alcon835 · « **Reply #34 on:** March 02, 2021, 06:58:02 AM »

Quote from: zeli2033 on March 01, 2021, 09:13:09 PM

...
We're currently adding cash to our house down payment fund but it's such a seller's market that we're considering just giving up and funneling our cash to investments. We'll hold off for the month of March and then make the call at the beginning of April if it's still rough going out here. Either way, we're tracking ahead which is exciting.

Congrats on tracking ahead!!!

I can't imagine buying a house right now in any city. Glad I bought mine in 2018. As for saving vs investing that money, it's a tough one. Do you have enough cash for the down payment you want? In 2019 I started setting aside money to purchase a rental property, but with prices the way they are in my area, I decided it wasn't worth the effort and dropped everything into a brokerage that I am slowly building on. If a deal pops up in the future I can always sell it for my down payment. But - and this is the big thing for me - I'm not trying to buy a house for my family to live in.

Good luck! It's a hard decision to make.

zee dot · « **Reply #35 on:** March 02, 2021, 07:17:28 AM »

Still figuring out a few goals but as of 3/1/2021:

Bucket	Goal	Current
401K	$19,500	$19,500
Roth 1	$6,000	$0
Brokerage	$12,000	$0
Dividends	$200	$0
Mortgage 1	$TBD	$2,441.22
Mortgage 2	$TBD	$1,172.19
Mortgage 3	$TBD	$714.24
Savings	$6,000	$0
Total	$TBD	$0
*Percentage*	100%	0%

zeli2033 · « **Reply #36 on:** March 02, 2021, 08:42:01 PM »

Quote from: alcon835 on March 02, 2021, 06:58:02 AM

Quote from: zeli2033 on March 01, 2021, 09:13:09 PM
...
We're currently adding cash to our house down payment fund but it's such a seller's market that we're considering just giving up and funneling our cash to investments. We'll hold off for the month of March and then make the call at the beginning of April if it's still rough going out here. Either way, we're tracking ahead which is exciting.

Congrats on tracking ahead!!!

I can't imagine buying a house right now in any city. Glad I bought mine in 2018. As for saving vs investing that money, it's a tough one. Do you have enough cash for the down payment you want? In 2019 I started setting aside money to purchase a rental property, but with prices the way they are in my area, I decided it wasn't worth the effort and dropped everything into a brokerage that I am slowly building on. If a deal pops up in the future I can always sell it for my down payment. But - and this is the big thing for me - I'm not trying to buy a house for my family to live in.

Good luck! It's a hard decision to make.

If these were normal times, we'd have enough for our down payment for the budget we were planning for while still maintaining our emergency fund. But at this point in time, apparently the market requires we have double that cash to burn on a house that won't appraise, while still removing all contingencies and giving them our first born (he's teething right now so I'd consider it...)

Sigh. It's exhausting. We're doing the math right now to consider how we might split the difference between continuing to save and investing but we'll see what happens! At minimum, it's nice to have options.

ingrownstudentloans · « **Reply #37 on:** March 03, 2021, 05:21:00 AM »

Quote from: ingrownstudentloans on January 04, 2021, 05:07:47 AM

Joining this one with some real stretch goals. I personally contribute to the Employer-side of the 401K, so this is all coming from me, except the mortgage payments which are coming from my tenants!

Bucket Goal Current
401K $19,500 $16,000
Employer Side - 401K $38,500 $6,300
Roth 1 $6,000 $0
Roth 2 $6,000 $0
Brokerage/Cash $90,000 $72,000
HSA $7,200 $1,200
529 $4,200 $700
Mortgage 1 (primary) $9,000 $2,264
Mortgage 2 (LTR NY) $5,484 $1,382
Mortgage 3 (LTR TN) $5,748 $1,447
Mortgage 4 (STR TN) $4,632 $1,166
Total $196,264 $102,459
Percentage 100% 52.2%

benefitted from a fantastic year last year that was appropriately rewarded by my company in the form of a bonus in February. The goal is no longer realistic, and I hope to beat it by at least 20%.

jabber81 · « **Reply #38 on:** March 07, 2021, 07:26:49 PM »

Quote from: jabber81 on February 05, 2021, 06:30:42 PM

Would like to join for a couple

401K 1- 16000 / 3087 (19%)
Match- 13500 / 2426 (18%)
401k 2- 13500 / 1939 (14%)
Match - 8100 / 1171 (14%)
HSA - 5600 / 1167 (21%)
HSA Match - 1500 / 313 (21%)
529 - 2500 - 50 (2%)
Brokerage - 24750 / 15125.37 (61%)
Efund / Debt paydown - 18240 / 18287 (100%)

Total 103690 / 43565 - 42%

Bonus month went well. Considering moving, so not changing target for now.

Did knock out a student loan this month.

TyGuy · « **Reply #39 on:** March 10, 2021, 03:40:00 PM »

| 401k |R-IRA (2020)|R-IRA (2021)| Brokerage | Savings | TOTAL |
GOAL | $ 19,500 | $ 6,000 | $ 6,000 | $13,500 | $5,000 | $ 50,000 | PROGRESS |

JAN | $ 1,685 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 500 | $ 2,185 | % 4.37 |

FEB | $ 1,461 | $ 500 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | % 3.92 |

MAR | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 0 | % 0.0 |

YTD | $ 3,146 | $ 500 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 500 | $ 4,146 | % 8.29 |

Waiting on a few large checks that will arrive later this month, next month should see significant contributions.

SaucyAussie · « **Reply #40 on:** March 20, 2021, 04:19:23 AM »

First quarter in the books and humming along nicely. RSUs vest next month, hope to take care of the Roth.

401k 3,729.0 19,500.0 19.1
Catchup 6,500.0 6,500.0 100.0
Match 2,727.0 11,000.0 24.8
Taxable 9,000.0 30,000.0 30.0
Roth - 7,000.0 -
Mtg Principal 1,000.0 4,000.0 25.0
H.S.A. 500.0 2,000.0 25.0
Cash - - -
Total 23,456.0 80,000.0 29.3

---------------------------------------------

JAN 8,011.0 80,000.0 10.0
FEB 15,622.0 80,000.0 19.5
MAR 23,456.0 80,000.0 29.3

zee dot · « **Reply #41 on:** March 21, 2021, 06:56:54 AM »

Funded my Roth via backdoor method.

Bucket	Goal	Current
401K	$19,500	$19,500
Roth 1	$6,000	$6,000
Brokerage	$12,000	$0
Dividends	$200	$0
Mortgage 1	$TBD	$2,441.22
Mortgage 2	$TBD	$1,172.19
Mortgage 3	$TBD	$714.24
Savings	$6,000	$0
Total	$TBD	$0
*Percentage*	100%	0%

philli14 · « **Reply #42 on:** March 25, 2021, 01:02:37 PM »

| 401k | tIRA | HSA | Brokerage | Savings | TOTAL |
GOAL | $ 19,500 | $ 6,000 | $ 3,600 | $ 20,900 | $ 0 | $ 50,000 | PROGRESS |

JAN | $ 1,500 | $ 6,000 | $ 3,600 | $ 3,000 | $ -9,600 | $ 4,500 | % 9.0 |
FEB | $ 1,500 | $ 0 | $ 0 | $ 1,700 | $ -9,600 | $ 3,200 | % 6.4 |

YTD | $ 3,000 | $ ~~6,000~~ | $ ~~3,600~~ | $ 4,700 | $ -9,600 | $ 7,700 | % 15.4 |

Missed my February update. Not the greatest month thanks to spending, but it is progress.

alcon835 · « **Reply #43 on:** March 27, 2021, 09:01:59 AM »

Another solid month, and I expect April to be even better. The percentage goal to be on track for March is 25%. As with February, I'm ahead on my original goal - by a lot now - and slightly further behind on my stretch goal. I expect to make a lot of that up in April, but we'll see.

One thing I am struggling through month-over-month is how much to contribute to my 401k. If I max the 401k early I'll lose future employer contributions, which sucks. So I need to balance out my contributions over the full year. The wrench in that plan are my commissions. They vary wildly month-over-month and this first part of the year has been much, much better than we all expected. Anyway, this means I have to review my contribution amount monthly to make sure I'm not too far ahead. I started the year at a 12% contribution and have been adjusting it down repeatedly over the past three months - I'm already down to 9%. My employer match maxes at 5% so I have to keep it above that or I'm leaving money on the table.

Yes, this is a total first world problem, but I hope I can talk about it freely on the MMM forums.

The simple solution is the 401k True Up, but our plan doesn't allow for true-ups, which sucks. So, I'll need to keep adjusting things. I should be able to keep myself above 7% throughout the year, but who knows.

For those who don't know about True Ups, they are AWESOME. Basically, if you have an employer match and you max your 401k early, they'll do an end of year calculation to determine what the missed employer match would be if you contributed evenly throughout the year. Then they add that amount to your 401k as a one-time contribution. It's a great way to let variable income employees "set and forget" their 401k contributions.

Anyway, I'm not eligible. But if you are, it's worth looking into.

Okay, onto the stuff you really care about:

Bucket	Goal	Current
401K	$19,500	$5,719.93
Match	$3,500	$1,326.63
Roth 1	$6,000	$1,500.00
Roth 2	$6,000	$1,500.00
Brokerage	$12,000	$4,111.77
Dividends	$200	$55.57
Mortgage	$18,500	$4,657.21
Savings	$6,000	$4,111.77
Goal	$71,700	$22,979.88	32.05%	(+7.05% to goal)
Stretch	$100,000	$22,979.88	22.98%	(-2.02% to goal)

SaucyAussie · « **Reply #44 on:** March 28, 2021, 08:42:09 AM »

Quote from: alcon835 on March 27, 2021, 09:01:59 AM

The simple solution is the 401k True Up, but our plan doesn't allow for true-ups, which sucks. So, I'll need to keep adjusting things. I should be able to keep myself above 7% throughout the year, but who knows.

For those who don't know about True Ups, they are AWESOME. Basically, if you have an employer match and you max your 401k early, they'll do an end of year calculation to determine what the missed employer match would be if you contributed evenly throughout the year. Then they add that amount to your 401k as a one-time contribution. It's a great way to let variable income employees "set and forget" their 401k contributions.

I have a similar situation, although I have been "told" the company offers true ups, it's not in the manual and I don't want to have to chase that money down talking to a first year HR flunky about true ups.

I don't have as much variation as you, but I do keep a spreadsheet tracking each contribution, and estimating each future contribution. I am constantly adjusting the future numbers to allow for increases or decreases in compensation. Even then, there have been times when my estimates are off, resulting in maxing out too soon, or worse, not reaching the max.

I think you are in a good place at 9%, giving yourself plenty of wiggle room to adjust up or down as needed.

ender · « **Reply #45 on:** March 28, 2021, 08:49:43 AM »

Quote from: alcon835 on March 27, 2021, 09:01:59 AM

For those who don't know about True Ups, they are AWESOME. Basically, if you have an employer match and you max your 401k early, they'll do an end of year calculation to determine what the missed employer match would be if you contributed evenly throughout the year. Then they add that amount to your 401k as a one-time contribution. It's a great way to let variable income employees "set and forget" their 401k contributions.

While trueups are better than nothing, my first employer didn't even do trueups but just contributed every paycheck based on what your selected % was.

Even if payroll cutoff your contributions once you hit $19.5k as long as you left your % higher than the match, you still received it every paycheck.

alcon835 · « **Reply #46 on:** March 28, 2021, 10:02:55 AM »

Quote from: ender on March 28, 2021, 08:49:43 AM

Quote from: alcon835 on March 27, 2021, 09:01:59 AM

For those who don't know about True Ups, they are AWESOME. Basically, if you have an employer match and you max your 401k early, they'll do an end of year calculation to determine what the missed employer match would be if you contributed evenly throughout the year. Then they add that amount to your 401k as a one-time contribution. It's a great way to let variable income employees "set and forget" their 401k contributions.

While trueups are better than nothing, my first employer didn't even do trueups but just contributed every paycheck based on what your selected % was.

Even if payroll cutoff your contributions once you hit $19.5k as long as you left your % higher than the match, you still received it every paycheck.

The holy grail!

The only one better than that I had was my employer would make a 15% contribution on January 1st based on your total compensation the previous year - regardless of what, if anything, you added to the 401k.

The 401k options weren't great, but getting a free, 15% contribution every year was the best I've ever had. Started me off very, very well in life.

McStache · « **Reply #47 on:** March 30, 2021, 07:27:18 PM »

March Update:
Bucket Current / Goal
401k $ 11,875 / $ 19,500
401k Match $ 950 / $ 2,400
Roth IRA $ 800 / $ 6,000
HSA $ 1,275 / $ 3,600
Taxable $ 1,699 / $ 28,500
------------------------------------
Total $ 16,599 / $ 60,000
Savings Rate 76.1%

January $ 5,744 9.6%
February $ 10,919 18.2%
March $ 16,599 27.7%

zeli2033 · « **Reply #48 on:** March 31, 2021, 09:44:52 PM »

March Update

401k 1: $4,872 / $19,500
Match: $1,038 / $4,160
401k 2: $4,854 / $19,500
HSA: $2,320 / $7,100
2020 Roths: $0 / $12,000
2021 Roths: $0 / $12,000
Cash (Efund/House DP): $21,730 / $25,000
Brokerage: $0 / $25,000
============================
Total: $34,814 / $124,260 (28.0%)

Well things are taking a turn. We are somehow under contract to buy a house and we didn't have to give them our first born. We're getting ready to send out a whole bunch of cash and our cashflow is going to change (won't have as much to invest yet until we get our cash reserves back to where we want after taking care of a few immediate house things.) But very excited to be where we are!

alcon835 · « **Reply #49 on:** April 01, 2021, 06:28:22 AM »

Congrats on the house, Zeli!

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