Biweekly Savings Plan 6 Months

Hello, long time lurker. Would appreciate some feedback on my current budgeting plan / dashboard I made for myself. Background: 31 M, living in Michigan north of Detroit. Just started the past year as a primary care doctor, so salary has dramatically improved. Trying to avoid lifestyle creep and allocate my money smart. —— UPDATE 1: for popular demand, I made this dashboard using ChatGPT. I’m sure you can use the other apps like Claude or Gemini, I just haven’t used them. Copy and paste the following prompt, then you can tell it information via typing it or screen shots of your account summaries of the values in your checking/savings/brokerage/etc. Can add instructions like “don’t create until I say the word waffle,” or “”remove box 4 and add pet/child fund with $__ per month/biweekly”. You can even copy/paste my dashboard image as a reference for your Ai prompt for more accuracy. UPDATE 2: included instructions for data to provide and calculations instructions. ——— PROMPT: “Create a polished personal finance budget dashboard infographic. Use a clean, modern layout with: Wide landscape orientation Dark navy or charcoal header/background accents White cards/panels Green, blue, purple, and orange category highlights Clear section headers Large readable numbers Simple icons Donut charts, bar charts, or clean tables where helpful Professional, data-first style Do not make it cluttered. Prioritize readability, clean spacing, and accurate numbers. Dashboard title: BUDGET DASHBOARD Subtitle: Updated Snapshot — [Date] Data to provide Ask the user to provide the following information. If some categories are missing, leave them blank or mark them as “not provided” rather than inventing numbers. 1. Income data Provide: Gross monthly income Net monthly take-home income Pay frequency: weekly, biweekly, twice monthly, or monthly Net paycheck amount Next paycheck date, if known Optional: Annual salary Bonus income Side income Employer retirement match Pre-tax deductions 2. Account balances Provide current balances for: Checking accounts Savings accounts Emergency fund Vacation/travel fund Retirement accounts IRA accounts Taxable brokerage accounts HSA Cash or money market funds Other assets For each account, include: Account name Current balance Whether it is cash, retirement, brokerage, HSA, or other 3. Debt data Provide: Student loans Credit cards Car loans Mortgage Personal loans Other debts For each debt, include: Current balance Interest rate Minimum payment Planned monthly payment 4. Monthly budget data Provide monthly amounts for: Rent or mortgage Utilities Insurance Food/groceries Gas/transportation Subscriptions Debt payments Investments Savings goals Fun/discretionary spending Remaining monthly buffer 5. Paycheck allocation data If the person budgets by paycheck, provide: Paycheck amount Pay frequency Amount sent to debt Amount sent to investments Amount sent to savings Amount used for bills Amount left for spending Example: Net paycheck: $X Student loans: $X Taxable brokerage: $X Roth IRA: $X Emergency fund: $X Travel fund: $X Bills/spending: $X 6. Investment breakdown Provide investment holdings by account. For each account, include: Account name Total account value Holdings inside the account Value of each holding Example: 401k / 403b: $X Target date fund: $X Index fund: $X IRA: $X VTI: $X VXUS: $X Taxable brokerage: $X ETF 1: $X ETF 2: $X Individual stocks: $X HSA: $X Invested balance: $X Cash balance: $X 7. Goals and notes Ask the user to provide any major goals, such as: Emergency fund target Debt payoff target House down payment goal Car purchase goal Travel fund goal FIRE / financial independence goal Retirement timeline Current concerns or tradeoffs Dashboard sections to create 1. Income Snapshot Include: Monthly gross income Monthly take-home income Paycheck amount Pay frequency Next paycheck date, if provided 2. Current Account Snapshot Break accounts into clear groups: Checking Savings Emergency fund Retirement IRA Taxable brokerage HSA Other assets Also calculate: Total cash Total investments Total assets Total debt Net worth 3. Monthly Budget Plan Show where monthly take-home pay goes: Debt payments Investments Savings Fixed expenses Variable spending Remaining buffer Use a donut chart, bar chart, or clean category table. 4. Paycheck / Recurring System Show recurring paycheck allocations: Debt payment Brokerage investing IRA contribution Emergency fund Travel fund Bills Spending buffer Include pay frequency clearly. 5. Estimated Monthly Expense Goals Include: Fixed essentials target Variable spending target Planned monthly savings/investments Estimated monthly buffer 6. Investment Breakdown Break down investments by account and holdings: 401k / 403b IRA Taxable brokerage HSA Cash or money market Individual stocks or ETFs Show: Account totals Holding-level breakdowns Percentage of total investments where useful Calculation rules Calculate: Total cash Total investments Total assets Total debt Net worth Monthly savings rate Monthly investment rate Debt payoff rate Percentage of take-home going to each category Percentage of gross income going to taxes, deductions, investments, debt, and expenses if data is available Do not invent missing data. If a number is unknown, label it as unknown. Use consistent formatting: Dollars: $1,234.56 Percentages: 12.3% Negative debt/net worth: -$123,456.78 Design rules Keep all numbers accurate and easy to read. Use consistent formatting for dollars and percentages. Avoid tiny text. Avoid overlapping sections. Use clear section headers. Use visual hierarchy: large totals, smaller line items. Keep the dashboard professional, simple, and visually balanced. Make it suitable for saving, printing, or sharing. Prioritize clarity over decoration.” submitted by /u/turtledweeb17 to r/whitecoatinvestor [link] [comments]

Hey guys, I really need an objective math check because I am completely overwhelmed and my brain is fried. I am 19, working full-time on minimum wage (bringing home around $600-700/week), and my family is in a massive crisis in Hudson County, NJ. This rent crisis originally started in December of last year. Before all this, my dad had a good job making $125k a year, but even when he had that job, he still came up short on rent and bills. We fell behind before March and owed $6,300. I wanted to help, so I gave him $2,000 of my own cash, and he emptied his 401k to pay it off. We got it down to $1,800, but right after that, he got laid off anyway. The next month, the debt ballooned to $4,800, and I had to give him another $1,500 just to keep us from drowning. And last month he received 4,030 in unemployment but he wasn’t able to pay for last month, he paid off 1,900 for May but he missed June completely, I don’t know the exact numbers of everything I‘m sorry if this is confusing. He recently got a new job making an $80k base salary paid biweekly, with a 10% commission check coming next month, and he’s driving Uber on the side. The problem is my parents are on horrible terms right now and actively want a divorce. My mom used to be a teacher's assistant when we were little, but after that, she tried entrepreneurship, and her business was actually losing money until my dad couldn't keep funding it anymore. She wanted to be a singer when she was younger, and ever since 2018, she hasn't held a steady job. She spent years applying to corporate roles she wasn't qualified for, and only started applying to basic jobs last year. My dad's friend actually gave her a full-time minimum wage job at a cabinet shop, but she was let go, and she has a history of being fired, she has a story and the employer has another story basically. Now, she has a really defensive attitude, especially with my dad. She literally told him she wishes she never married him, even though he’s taken care of her all these years, just because she’s bitter about not being successful in life. She refuses to even do basic gig work and tried doing card readings to make money. Because she is completely checked out and they just fight constantly, my dad is panicking at a 10/10 stress level. Since he has no partner to lean on, he is putting all the pressure on me to be his financial backup, I’ve been helping contribute to the household by buying groceries and helping with bills ever since. I have zero faith in her, so it feels like it’s just me and my dad trying to keep my brother safe. Our rent is $2,400 a month (now $2,450 basically with an extra $50 fee). My dad has lingering credit card debt from a $10k lower lid eye surgery he did for my mom years ago (it was to get rid of bags or something) and it tanked his credit score. He is currently paying it off through a consolidation company (Liberty Capital) for like $65 a month each for two cards. Our fixed monthly costs are a PSE&G utility plan for $200, car/life insurance for $200–$250, and he’s paying $332/month for my little brother's school trip (which he shouldn’t have done), groceries can even go up to $1,600 a month alone… There’s another random recurring expense of $400/month that I forgot the name of. Also, because of the income gap from the layoff, he’s been borrowing from multiple cash-advance apps like Albert to get by. All his regular bills are on autopay. Right now, we owe $5,000 in back rent. Our landlord is a private individual, and he just texted threatening to file formal eviction paperwork by the 30th if we don’t have the cash. My dad is at a 10/10 stress level. Because his account is set up with all those automated bill pulls and the cash app auto-drafts, he knows the money gets taken out immediately when deposited. To bypass this, he wants me to turn my weekly paychecks into physical cash to hand straight to the landlord for rent so the apps can't touch it, and he says he’ll use Uber cash for his half. I also have $6,300 left in savings, but it’s sitting in a Till Financial account, which is a custodial teen account he has admin access to. I want to open a private individual adult account (like Chime or Capital One 360) to move my $6,300 tonight so it's safe. I suggested taking over the bills using my card to manually force his expenses down so he can focus his cash on the landlord, but he seems really objected to it because his autopay goes towards everything and he thinks having me do it manually is too risky. He keeps insisting I give the checks to the landlord in cash. I am posting this because I am completely terrified, shaking, and I don't know what to do. My absolute main priority is keeping my 15-year-old brother safe and housed, but I feel completely cornered. I want to have my own money so I can have a nest egg if things go south so I‘ll still have something for all of us and not go completely broke and but I'm so scared of making the wrong choice and getting us evicted. Should I just pay it all off and get it over with so this can finally be done? But if I do that it’ll probably happen again next month and then I won’t have any savings to help out, I don’t know. Please help me out. Given how his biweekly paychecks, automated bills, and cash app withdrawals are spaced out, what is the best way to handle the cash flow this month? Will a private landlord or a Hudson County court accept partial weekly cash payments toward a $5,000 balance, or will the landlord still file the paperwork on the 30th anyway? What is the actual legal timeline for a landlord filing a non-payment case in Hudson County, NJ, and how long do we typically have before a real court date is set? How can I safely set a boundary with my dad about keeping my paycheck in my own account without making his stress worse? Should I look into getting a second job alongside my full-time work and put in 60-70 hours a week to help clear this, or is that a losing strategy with his account setup? submitted by /u/mr-doinky to r/personalfinance [link] [comments]

I am currently 28 years old and my wife is 26 years old. We have one child just born in February. I currently have a hard time deciding how much is enough to save each month for retirement with how far out we are. I guess my biggest issue is finding a retirement number to aim for, as it is very hard to imagine what expenses will be like then. I know starting out in our 20s is better than nothing, but I want to make sure we are on the right path with so much on the table between now and then. The pension also complicates my thinking on this. I am open to any and all advice! Ideally would like to retire in our mid 50s. Gross household income: $186,000 ($133,500 me, $52,500 wife) Current Emergency Fund: $20,000 in a HYSA. My Roth IRA: $22,452 Wife’s Roth IRA: $44,526 My work Roth 401k: $27,414 Total retirement accounts: $94,392 Taxable Brokerage: $972 We currently both max out our Roth IRAs at $7500 annually in each. My wife is a teacher so gets the Nebraska Teacher Pension. They take 8% of her paycheck currently, but could be anywhere from 7.25-9.75% depending on how funded the plan is. The calculation for this is ”Years of service x Final Average Monthly Compensation (highest 5 years) x formula factor (2%) = monthly benefit. Has a rule of 85, meaning age + years of service must equal 85 or more. Minimum draw age of 60. I get a 4% match on my work 401k. I then contribute $336 with each biweekly paycheck. We contribute $350 monthly to the taxable brokerage. Thoughts are that this is for goals more than 10 years out. Like a vacation home, retiring early, build a new house, etc. Whatever we would want to do with it by then. We contribute $100 per month into a 529 for our kid. Current balance of ~ $315. We also have sinking funds of: -$625 monthly for vacations -$500 monthly for house project/maintenance -$50 monthly for car maintenance -$932 monthly for daycare (starts August 2026; $4683 saved ahead of time) For debts we have: -$335,000 house loan at 6.99%. Worth approximately $380,000. $3070 PITI. -$24,000 on my truck at 4.85%. $550 monthly on a 60 month loan. -$27,000 on my wife’s car at 2.99%. $530 monthly on a 60 month loan. -$25,000 of my student loans from pharmacy school. ~4.5% interest rate. Graduated in May 2024. Minimum payment of $379, but pay $1250 monthly. Should be finished April 2028. submitted by /u/Pharm4NU to r/Fire [link] [comments]

Hello everyone! To start I want to say I am looking for any guidance on how much I should put towards my student loans, car payment, and towards savings. I am a recent graduate (graduating this Sunday!) and am starting my first full time job on the 18th. I am payed hourly (30.50/hr, then 45.75/hr for hours over 40 per/w). I expect to work at least a full 40 hours every week with a high likelihood of overtime. Post tax/HSA/insurance/401k I would be making ~1,600 on a biweekly schedule (assuming I worked a full 40 hours each week). I plan on contributing $260 per pay period towards my HSA so I can max it out by December and am going to contribute at least 4% of my pay towards either a 401k or Roth plan. I have a total of ~31,000 in federal student loans with an average interest rate of 5.8% ($338 minimum monthly payment, for 10 years). I also recently purchased a car for ~20,000 (with tax & 4 year total warranty included) on a 72 month loan at 6.29% (350 per/m). Beyond student loans and a car payment I have no other dept. I am going to be living at home with my parents and commuting to work since I am required to travel frequently (anticipating at least 60% of the time out of office), so I will not have to pay any rent. I anticipate my gas, car insurance, and grocery expenses will be ~650 a month (my parents are having me help around the house by buying groceries instead of paying them rent). Beyond that I don't have any necessary expenses but would like to set aside at least 200 a month for fun things (eating out, gym memberships, movies, etc). With paying minimum monthly payments on both my student/car loans, paying for other necessary expenses (car insurance, gas, etc), and setting aside 200 a month for myself my total monthly expenses are ~1,500 and I have ~1,700 left over. I would like some guidance on what I should do with that extra 1,700 a month. My goals are to pay off my students loans as fast as possible, save up an emergency fund worth at least 3 months of my take home pay, save for a down payment on a home, and overall save towards retirement. TLDR; recent grad with a monthly take home pay of at least 3,200/month with living expenses of 1,700/month looking for advice on how to save/pay off loans to meet my goals. Any advice on what to do is helpful! submitted by /u/cathunter1842 to r/personalfinance [link] [comments]

26 y/o, living with my parents in NYC, and trying to be intentional about getting debt-free while still building savings and enjoying life. I’d really appreciate some honest feedback on whether my current approach makes sense or if I should rebalance. Income • Salary + bonus: $120k • Net biweekly take-home: $2,792 • Effective tax rate: ~30% Assets • HYSA (3.5%): ~$22k (about a 6-month emergency fund) • Roth IRA: ~8k (maxed 2025, working toward maxing 2026) • Old 401k: ~$17k • Current 401k: just starting contributions Debts • Parent PLUS loan: $31,358 at 7.25% (accruing ~$6/day interest) • Federal student loans: $14,674 at 2.75%–5.05% (on SAVE, paused until Oct 2028) • Credit cards: paid in full every cycle (no revolving balance) Monthly / Paycheck Breakdown (biweekly) • HYSA: $1,500 • Roth IRA: $278 • Parent PLUS loan: $500 • Credit card spending: ~$1,000 (includes bills, groceries, misc. items) • 401k: 3% (increasing to 6% when match starts) • Pre-tax transit: ~$120 Current Plan 1. Pay $1,000/month toward Parent PLUS 2. Continue saving $1,500 per paycheck in HYSA 3. Max Roth IRA through consistent contributions 4. Increase 401k to full match once eligible 5. Leave federal loans alone until forbearance ends in 2028 Goals • Short term: Pay off Parent PLUS loan • Medium term: Build enough income/investments to have more flexibility (possibly start a business) • Long term: Buy a home and relocate my parents to a nicer area • Overall: Be debt-free while still feeling financially secure and not overly restricted Questions 1. Since I already have a 6-month emergency fund, does it make sense to slow down HYSA contributions and redirect more toward the 7.25% loan? 2. Is increasing loan payments (e.g., $1,500/month) while reducing savings a better balance? 3. Should I ignore the federal loans entirely until 2028 given the current pause, or start chipping away at them? 4. For someone my age in a HCOL area (NYC), how does my savings situation compare? Thanks in advance — I’d really value hearing how others would approach this or what’s worked for you. submitted by /u/RemoteAd7861 to r/debtfree [link] [comments]

Hey folks, need a gut check. Found a townhouse-style condo (6 floors, concrete) in a Montreal neighbourhood I love, right next to the canal. 1,274 sq ft, 3 bedrooms (third faces living area, other two on a separate floor). I don’t need the space today, but will in 3 years when kids come. Current situation into: -30 years old, buying alone, girlfriend won’t contribute until ~Year 2 (finishing pharmacy school) -Base salary $146K + ~15% bonus = ~$168K gross -Biweekly take-home (after tax, QPP, EI, 5% RRSP): $3,200 first half of year ($6,900/month), $3,700 second half ($8,000/month) -Bonus net: ~$12K -Savings: $90K non-reg, $55K FHSA, $157K RRSP, $170K TFSA (won’t touch TFSA) -20% down from non-reg, FHSA, RRSP (HBP) -Current rent: $1,300/month all-in The unit is listed at $900K, new construction, no parking/storage. Condo fees $648/mo, property tax ~$542/mo, hydro ~$100/mo. Builder keeps GST/QST rebate, so the net price is what I finance. Resale in the same building: $1M for smaller units (for phase 2, the unit I’m looking at is phase 3). Nearby 3-beds: ~$950K and higher for older, ~1,050 sq ft places. Developers seem desperate to deal, so I think this is my window. My planned offer: $870K total + with free parking ($65K) + free storage ($4K) + 2 years condo fees covered. After rebate (~$41K), net price ~$828,572, down payment ~$165,714, mortgage ~$662,858 at 4% (5-yr fixed, 25-yr amortization). Monthly costs: -Mortgage: ~$3,485 -Condo fees: $0 (first 2 years), then $648 -Property tax: $542 -Hydro: $100 -First 2 years: ~$4,127/mo -After: ~$4,775/mo My take-home is $6,900–$8,000/mo, so after housing I’d have $2,800–$3,900 left. The bonus adds buffer. Cash flow seems to work on paper. The dilemma: numbers seem solid, resale comps make it look like a deal, but I love the place and worry I’m rationalizing an emotional decision. If I wait, I’ll likely pay $950K+ for something older and smaller, I don’t see affordability improving in a decade, prices will remain high. Am I being smart or letting my heart run the show? Edit: -Building is concrete, 6 floors. It’s literally steps from the canal. The unit is ground floor. It will be a forever home, not a starter home. It’s 10 mins walk from the metro, then 15 mins to downtown. - I hate the suburbs, I don’t own a car. submitted by /u/Signal-Specific-1704 to r/PersonalFinanceCanada [link] [comments]

EDIT: Thanks to everyone who has commented and given advice to my post, you have no idea how much it means to me. It is clear from most of the advice I have received that I need to aggressively tackle the debt rather than investing, and also limit the help I give to my family to keep myself afloat. Thanks so much! Hi everyone, I've been lurking for a while and finally decided to post after seeing some “late bloomer” threads. I'm a 32F, single, no kids. I moved to Canada about 6 years ago for grad school. A big part of my financial situation is that I’ve been supporting my family back home and here. This includes contributing to a sibling's post-secondary expenses (tuition, meals, allowance), parents' living expenses, and helping other siblings in need. It's culturally expected and something I've felt responsible for (especially since my parents sacrificed a lot for me to be here) but it has significantly impacted my ability to save. I recently got a promotion, bringing my salary to ~$128k, but it is a term position ending in August (it's a parental leave cover), so I'm trying to get my finances in order quickly in case there’s a gap in employment. I would really appreciate candid advice on how I should prioritize things. My main goals are to: build an emergency fund, start investing properly, get out of debt, and be in a stable position when my contract ends. Income: ~$6,250/month take-home (paid biweekly) Debt: ~$22,000 (high-interest loans + credit card). EDIT: Breakdown is ~$5900 credit card debt and ~$16100 in high interest loans. Savings/Investments: ~$2,000 total, TFSA (ABYSMAL, I know). Monthly Expenses: Rent: $1,320 Debt payments: $1,118 Groceries: $500 Utilities/phone/internet: $352 (includes ~$200 family phone plan, planning to reduce after August when contract is up) Subscriptions: $57 TFSA contributions: $1,400 (currently $600 cash / $800 investments) Irregular spending (medication, etc.) ~200 Flexible spending (transportation, sibling care, etc.): ~$1,360 I would like advice on the following: 1) Is my current savings rate too aggressive given my debt? 2) How should I prioritize debt vs emergency fund vs investing in my situation? Especially given that I am now financially responsible for a sibling who is living with me and cannot currently work due to health and other issues. 3) Any suggestions for tightening my budget without burning out? I am currently considering side hustles to increase income as well. I would appreciate any honest advice and hearing where I can be doing better. TLDR: I feel very behind for my age and income level. A lot of my past income has gone toward family support, and I’ve only recently started consistently saving/investing. My job ending in August is adding urgency, and I’m also trying to balance helping family vs. building my own financial stability. submitted by /u/rocketmercury to r/PersonalFinanceCanada [link] [comments]

I posted 2 weeks ago photos of my fridge, pantry, produce box and meal planning. That was my first grocery shop of the month. This is my mid month update. I try to spend per week at the USDA Low Budget Food Plan level. Link to July 2025 USDA Food Plans at the end. For a female ages 19-50, that's $61.60. Per the chart, if you are single add 20%. For me that, $73.92/week which I round to $74/week or $320/month. I grocery shop on a Saturdays. So I tend to budget my months as 4 Saturday months ($296) or 5 Saturday months ($370). It's also worth noting that I live in a middle cost of living city so my groceries run pretty close to average. We also don't have state sales tax on groceries. So if this seems high or low to you, it's likely due to your location. The Menu for the first 2 weeks of the month was: Stuffed peppers Spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce and salad Ham and Cheese Sandwiches with Carrots Chili and Corn Bread Chicken, potatos, and broccoli Banana Bread Peach crisp Eggs, bacon, and Hashbrowns Oatmeal For the first two weeks of September, I actually spent: Bountiful baskets (produce box) - $22.50 Natural Grocers (cornmeal, tea, oregano) - $17.44 My Fresh Basket (bullion) - $4.91 Trader Joe's (everything else) - $104.13 Grocery's in Yellowstone (lettuce, cornbread mix, cream)~ $15.00 Total: 163.98 or $81.99 The additional groceries are because I went to Yellowstone and added enough ingredients to make salad, chili, cornbread, and peaches and cream for the group. I froze the chicken and broccoli to eat this week instead. As mentioned in my previous post, I make my meal plan after I pick up my produce box to make sure to use everything up. I got zucchini, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, green onions, lettuce, peaches, apples, cantaloupe, pears and nectarines this week. I have potatoes, onions left from last week's box and a few mushrooms to use up. I picked up a bag or carrots, cherry tomatoes and avocados at the store for this menu. For the next two weeks, the menu is: Chicken, potatoes, and broccoli Roasted Zucchini and smoked salmon pasta salad Potato soup (making extra to freeze) with sour dough bread Rice bowels with zucchini (sage sausage)meatballs and roasted carrots and sweet potatoes Beef lettuce wraps with a side of cucumber salad Optional - Pepperoni Pizza (I might invite friends over for a pizza night) Splurge - peanut udon noodle salad and edamame Breakfast options: Green onion and mushrooms omelettes with hash browns Avocado Toast and Melon Oatmeal Before I started shopping and meal planning this way, I was spending $100/week on average. Five changes have made the biggest difference in cutting my grocery spending: 1. Ordering a produce box. 2. Meal planning around the produce box. 3. Switching to shopping biweekly, based on a meal plan for 5 meals of 4 servings plus breakfast and snacks/sweets. 4. Making Trader Joe's my primary grocery store. 5. Cooking everything from scratch including my sweets and snacks. The only thing that I didn't make from scratch this month was the bread and corn bread because I didn't want to pack baking supples while traveling. I focus on eating clean in addition to the budget. I could probably save a little more at WinCo or Walmart or Supper 1 but there foods have a lot of high fructose corn syrup, chemical preservatives, dyes, etc. which I don't mind paying a little more to avoid, especially if the price difference is small. A few TJ's products do contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), but most do not and the store does not use artificial dyes or GMOs in their products. They also primarily uses natural preservatives like sugar, salt, vinegar, etc instead of artificial preservatives. That means that I can buy almost anything at TJ without having to pay extra for HFCS, preserve free, etc. ( My one complaint about TJs is how much plastic packaging they use. ) I also choose to buy organic pastured eggs, milk, and meat when available. I can usually get chicken and beef organic and often pastured but pork is not usually available. My produce box is only availble non organic but there's rarely plastic. If I need to buy additional produce, I buy organic if it's on the dirty dozen or the price difference is small. This probably adds $20+/month to my grocery bill. However, I balance this cost by being careful about my protein choices. I make at least 1 of the 5 meals in my meal plan vegiterian and at least 1 with legumes (beans or lentils). This meal plan that's the potato soup and the beef lentil wraps. I also generally plan my meals around 3 affordable proteins - whole chicken or chicken thighs, ground beef and italian sausage. I slo buy 1-2 breakfast meats/month like a pack of bacon and a pice of ham. I sometimes check the circulars for my nearby grocery stores on shopping day if I'm in the mood for something different. If there's something on sale that looks good, I will swap it for one of the 3 affordable meat options that I usually buy. Or if I have extra from the previous week, I will splurge on something else. For example, this week I had bacon left in the fridge so I bought some smoked salmon instead of breakfast meat. Finally, I have also reduced my eating out spending by making sure that at least 1 of my 5 meals is portable and can be eaten without heating. Examples are the ham and cheese sandwiches and the pasta salad. That way if I can pack a lunch won't be home or near a microwave like at work. The sandwiches made for a nice picnic in Yellowstone. (I did indulge in an ice cream cone but that's a lot less expensive than buying lunch in the park.) (I also picked up a produce box for my mom, so there is twice as much lettuce, cucumbers, and zucchini in the fridge than in my produce box. You might also notice that I splurged on a pre prepared peanut udon noodle salad and edamame. My mom is coming by to help me with work in the garden. She likes asian salads so I got this as a treat for our lunch. I think that the cashier missed scanning the salad since it's not on the receipt). submitted by /u/jone7007 to r/budgetfood [link] [comments]

I’m OE in a non-tech field, so I’m pulling in $80k at J1 and $67k at J2. I’m maxing out 401k and HSA at J1, and doing 5% 401k at J2 for the match (don’t worry I won’t over-contribute). On top of that, at J1 I’m withholding a decent amount extra to help avoid the tax burden. I’m also maxing out an ESPP, which I know I’ll get back when I sell every quarter, but it still leaves me a little cash poor. I also have insurance taken out of J1. After tax at J1, my checks are around $500. And my checks at J2 are around $2,200. So I’m basically living off $2,700 biweekly. Which is still great considering last year I was living off $1,500 bi weekly when I only had J1 and I contributed a lot less to these retirement vessels. Anything extra I have left each pay period after paying bills, I toss at our car payment since it has a 7.9% interest rate. I’ve paid off roughly $12k this year. It’s funny because I still feel like I’m living paycheck to paycheck. Financially I feel no different from last year, which is crazy to feel, since in reality I’m saving a boat load and steamrolling my debt. I guess it’s just kind of an “unsexy” thing to do. The only thing I’ve really increased spend on is dining out. My wife and are are just too exhausted with our kids to cook for ourselves most nights, so we DoorDash probably 4 nights a week. That’s really the only splurge OE has caused. I’m looking forward to the days when debt is paid off and I can potentially splurge on more than just food! EDIT: I struck a nerve with the DoorDash comment lol. Guys honestly we’re not eating anywhere crazy with DoorDash. It’s mostly fast food like chipotle and McDonald’s. It’s only $30-40 total to feed us both when I have DashPass and know how to shop deals (spend $25 and get $7 off, spend $15 and get a free chicken sandwich, etc.). I get that it’s still a stupid amount of money and incredibly unhealthy. We’ll try out some precooked meal plans you’ve all recommended. And we took out the 7.9% car loan only 6 months ago and OE has helped me go from $20k to $8k. I’m not gonna bother refinancing when I’m on pace to pay it off by the end of the year. I appreciate the concern though. submitted by /u/yiggity_yag to r/overemployed [link] [comments]

Clarification, I'm 17 years old until mid December and have earned my high school diploma. My dad has been able to live comfortably recently because he went back to school later in life and is now working at a hospital as a medical professional. For the last month I've been working at a restaurant bringing in $500 biweekly. I made the commitment to save 60% of each paycheck towards saving for a car, which would be around $600 monthly. (Saving $600 monthly towards a cheap used car) Last Wednesday was the day me and my mom left for a week long trip, my dad had been working that day but stopped back home on his break shortly before he had left. We hadn't been arguing but he told me that starting next month he'll charge me $300 a month for rent as well as requiring me to be home by 9 every night. I didn't argue but it has been stressing me out throughout my trip. Today is the day I left to head back to my dads and he informed me that he updated the set of rules and they go as follows. "Home contributions, Responsibilities and consequences $100/month - internet contribution +$50/month utilities. Follow house rules ($10 fee for each infraction): Keep room as clean as dads 2) Do dishes - M,W,F by 8:30 pm 3) No food or drink upstairs (WATER ONLY) 4) Ask before having guests 5) if using gym, everything in its place when done 6) NO trash, dishes, OR laundry lying around common area Home by 8:30 - spend the night elsewhere otherwise Feed + walk dog daily - morning + evening $10 fee for each *All Contribution fees due on the 1st, monthly • A $10 fee will be enforced for each day after the 1st" This is what he sent me over text, followed by "I love you bud. Can't wait to hear about your trip. Glad you're coming home. See you tomorrow". I have no problems with the majority of the rules, it's mostly basic responsibilities. However, it doesn't sit right with me that I'm being required to contribute while having to tiptoe around this system that is now in place. (((EDIT))) By fee I meant he’s charging me $10 for each time I miss any of the chores/rules he put in place. EDIT 2: the internet, utility bills, and fees are in place of the of rent. Wanted to clarify that my dad has sleeping problems, the problem isn’t that I’m out being bad at night. He wants me home early because he’s a light sleeper and doesn’t make exceptions. Just got home after being gone a week, as dad stated I do dishes M,W,F. He clearly hasn’t been keeping up with his end of the dishes, came home to a completely full dirty sink. BIG UPDATE!!!! Talked a little with dad, didn’t go as planned. He came with the my way or the highway approach and I wanted to see if I’d be able to make functional compromises. My dad has always been very flip floppy so throughout my life he’d go back and forth between being super chill and then getting very strict. He told me that it’s not up for discussion so I’m going to my mom’s. submitted by /u/crank991 to r/AdviceForTeens [link] [comments]

My husband M(36) and I F(32) have been married for 6 years. He is the most negative and self depreciating person I have ever met. We live in a 3/4 bedroom home, two stable incomes, two car family, 3 children, make enough to have at least 1 family vacation out of state, bills paid with enough left over to save. We are surrounded by family( mostly mine now since his parents passed), We make biweekly trips to the larger city to pick up my step son, so we have variety in entertainment if needed. My kids are happy, I am happy, we have a good life. My husband however, If the slightest thing goes wrong-- not that he is a planner-- he will throw his hands up and and say "that's my effing luck, nothing ever goes my way". He constantly runs himself down before a job interview, which there has been a lot of in the past, he has a steady one currently. He constantly says he's not betting on any of those jobs or plans because it never works for him he's "not lucky like some people" which he then glares at me. Then shuns me like it's my luck that I have my dream job, not that I havent worked my butt to get here. He has dropped a ton of weight within the last two years, his parents passed within months of each other. He has since then started having hip pains, some in the lower back but not as much as his hips. He went to a doctor and he kind of dismissed his pain as him just being on his feet too much and recommended medication. His family has a problem with pill addiction so he does not want to go down that road. They tried a few holistic remedies and nothing got better. He has since given up and now takes Tylenol daily, he is discouraged to try anyone else new. I tried to set an appointment for a specialist and was quickly shot down because he said "why bother going when they will say the same thing, so you can just cancel that "sweetie"( he calls me that instead of b*tch). He constantly asks or says he just wants a fucking beer or shots because it will make him forget his shitty life or body pain. We had a knock down drag out fight 5 years ago, it ended with him in the back of a police car and me packing the kids up and moving back to our home town. When he was released (just in case you are wondering: I didn't drop the charges) he came crawling back. No apology because he says he doesn't remember the fight, he thought I called the police because he was drunk again. He would drink A LOT during that time, even going as far as to take the kids Easter money to buy himself a beer. I told him if he comes back he needs to go to therapy and stop drinking, it makes him mean and hateful. Now all he does is shout how he wants a shot or a beer when he gets mad. I have since given up denying him that, I tell him to go and do it, just don't come back. I am at a loss of what to do here, He is always complaining about his shitty job, his car, his body, this town, wanting beer and his bad luck. He is constantly shitting on the life we are building and it hurts. How do I get my husband to appreciate any of it? submitted by /u/Pizza_lover_91 to r/helpit [link] [comments]

Wife and I are both early thirties with no kids, but we are planning. Financial situation is as follows: Starting January my take home is roughly $2050 biweekly and wife is $1650 biweekly We both contribute 6% to a 6% employer matched 401k. I'm at ~50k, she's at ~30k $15,500 in an HYSA & $3800 in a robinhood account that I never touch anymore 240k remaining on mortgage @ 2.875% | ~13% equity | $1535/month 2 paid off Toyotas. One at 110k miles, one at 155k miles. No issues, but work commute is 300 miles/week for both. $3400 balance on some furniture that is 0% interest until December '24 $1115/month for utilities, subscriptions, insurance, phones (includes $300 for furniture) Admittedly, we don't track food spending. Maybe $100/week on groceries and we tend to dine out a few times a week without a second thought. Despite having some decent income, my wife and I only managed to save an average of $1000-1500 per month. We also got some travel out of our system but now we're ready to really save. My wife's long term goal is to eventually stop working and we would both like to get started with rental property income. My father makes a living entirely on rental properties so I'll have his guidance there, but we don't have the money to start yet. How can we manage our money best while it's growing? I feel like we're missing out by not having Roth IRAs but it really feels like a ton of money to set aside at $13k per year that we, ideally, never touch. Will our 401K be enough to carry us? My current idea is to pay off our furniture right now so that our (non-food) monthly expenses drop to $2350. I'll set my wife's paycheck to auto-deposit into our HYSA, mostly because I don't know what else to do with it in the meantime? Owning rental property is something we'd like to do and I don't know how to keep it somewhat accessible in case we do want to purchase something. With this plan that means we'd be throwing $3300 into our HYSA every month and we'll have $1750 (4100 - 2350) to spend on food, gas, and wants. Is that perhaps too much? I still want to have some luxuries and comforts. And since we're biweekly I know to expect 2 extra checks. I'm not very good at planning specifics, but what's the best way we can go about this? Perhaps I'm not looking at enough other accounts or avenues, but finding passive income so my wife can retire early and be a SAHM is our goal. ​ submitted by /u/wheretofinance to r/personalfinance [link] [comments]

Hi, just wanted to share how I've been tackling my 6-figure loans over the past couple of years and my plan for the future. The amout used to cause a lot of anxiety for me, but I am at a point where I feel I have the payments under control. I have a Bachelor's (public school) and a Master's (private school). I did them one after the other and finished my Master's in 2021. I live in a medium to high cost of living area. I am completely financially independent and live by myself. All of my loans are federal and I have benefitted immensely from the pause. Loan Breakdown: $1000 @ 5.30% (Grad PLUS) $2000 @ 3.76% (Unsubsidized) $4500 @ 3.76% (Subsidized) $5500 @ 4.29% (Unsubsidized) $7500 @ 4.45% (Unsubsidized) $7500 @ 5.05% (Unsubsidized) $11012 @ 5.30% (Grad PLUS) $13000 @ 7.08% (Grad PLUS) $20500 @ 4.30% (Grad Unsubsidized) $20500 @ 6.08% (Grad Unsubsidized) $21500 @ 7.08% (Grad PLUS) Total: $114,512 with an average interest rate of 5.13% 2021 - Started a job at $65k annually, which was at market value for my degrees - I was paid weekly, so $300 per paycheck went to my loans. At the time, I didn't have a payment estimate, but I knew someone else who had about the same loan amount and was paying $1200 per month, so I used that as my guide. - Decided to pay by paycheck so that a) I never got used to having that money, b) it would lead to an extra payment every year, and c) slight reduction on interest charged - Not sure how much I paid by the end of this year, but at some point I got super into Dave Ramsey and utilized the snowball method to pay off the smaller loans quickly - Quit my job that fall, got a new one paying $69k and threw another $1k from my bonus towards the loans 2022 - Stopped paying and started putting the money into a HYSA. I was originally getting a little over 3%. This account is now at 4.3%. - EdFinancial finally showed an estimated payment of . . . $1250. I panicked and started putting away $1300 per month instead ($650 for every biweekly paycheck). This amount was much closer to what my original payment would have been because at this point, I had a few of the loan groups paid off. - Got a raise to $75k, upped my student loan savings to $1400 per month ($700 for every biweekly paycheck). 2023 - Had over $15k in the HYSA by September - Paid a little over $10k to clear three more loan groups and brought my monthly payment down to a little under $1100 - Working towards killing another loan group to get my payment under $1000 - Currently putting $550 every paycheck into the same savings account and will set up autopay through this account so I can get the interest rate reduction Originally, I wanted to continue paying $1400 per month to wipe these things out, but pouring this much money into a loan is not worth it at this point in my life. I want a more reliable vehicle and an apartment that doesn't have rats eating my food. It felt daunting initially to have a loan that was nearly double my salary. There are a lot of things I could have done differently to avoid this situation entirely, but . . . the past is the past. I'm happy with the work that I've done to reduce the monthly payment and put nearly $500 back into my budget. I breathe a lot easier than I did two years ago. submitted by /u/LawfulnessStreet1075 to r/StudentLoans [link] [comments]

Details first, then I'll explain the situation I'm in: ​ Income $7,364 take home, monthly Bills I cannot change $2,467 Rent (including internet, water, parking) $94 car insurance $140 monthly total for therapy $80-ish medical prescription $130 cell phone plan, two lines, locked into contract for two more years (ugh) $130 Electricity $23 Renter's Insurance Bills I could change but am choosing not to & why $5 Family Album - photo sharing with family members, I don't use social media to share pics of my kids and this app has been great $10 Google Storage - I will eventually backup my photos another way, but for now this is necessary to me $3 Patreon - the one video game I'm excited about that is probably not releasing for years $11 Spotify premium - drowns out the sounds of my toddler and his sitter while I am working from home Debt payments I'm currently making, w/ remaining balance as of today $89 on a $1,032 hospital bill, 0% $377 on a $3,769 furniture finance, 16.93% $95 on a $1,865 furniture finance, 0% $350 on a $3,730 credit card balance, 26.99% $99 on a $198 furniture finance, 0% $0 on $11,345 student loans, not due until October - all government loans $2,953 @ 3.4% $3,785 @ 6.8% $800 @ 3.86% $3,807 @ 3.86% $504 car payment (still owe $22,188 @ 7.95%, value on KBB is $17,000, so upside down) Monthly Expenses, from tracking for the last two months $600 groceries - I meal plan & prep weekly, but only use whole ingredients, very little processed foods so it's a little more expensive. Feeds me and my toddler. I do our shopping at WalMart and not at some fancy pants ridiculously expensive health food store. $150 dining out - somewhere between once a week and once every other week. Like once every 9 days. Want to set a dedicated biweekly or monthly dine out day to look forward to and control this expense. $200 household supplies like toiletries, cleaning supplies, will likely be less as I had to buy everything all at once $350 on random things needed for our home, as we get more settled this expense is smaller every month. $40 on gas - work from home, rarely need to fill up $100 on clothes - probably can cut this a lot now that we're settled in $20 fun activities/attractions - lots of free things to do with toddlers around here so this is low $100 diapers and wipes $50 arts and crafts projects - we do some kind of arts and crafts nearly every day - my toddler loves making things! Now that we have most of the supplies, this should be less. Current cash on hand $6,187 checking - all bills for May have been paid - I always pay everything on the 1st. $1,003 savings - my kid's "piggy" bank I contribute to weekly - this is absolutely never being touched. My goal is to start contributing $500 a month and invest it, eventually, but I'm a ways off from that because... No retirement No investments No emergency fund What happened? I was not in a good marriage, and am getting divorced. Our home has been on the market since I left. In December my toddler and I moved to another state, where my family is. They provide childcare, so that is not an expense I need to worry about. I work from home, in technology. We got our apartment, and it is average priced for the area. There were more affordable options, near my family, but I did not qualify as they were low income housing. I left with nothing but my luggage and my kid. I had to set everything up on my own. I used all of my money getting here, getting the apartment, and shipping my car. I had to buy furniture, clothes, household items, everything. That's why I think a lot of my variable expenses are going to be less moving forward, because that was a huge hit setting it all up. Little expenses do keep popping up, like I realize I want to make us toast when meal prepping, but still need to buy a toaster, or things like that. Those expenses are getting less and less. I used financing and credit to buy a lot of this. Before this my only debt was the car and student loans. I considered thrift stores and second hand to buy my furniture, but in the end that would have taken way too much time and work that I really couldn't afford. I don't have a way to transport furniture - my car is too small, so it was much easier having it delivered and assembling it here myself. Also I really thought that since my house was on the market it would eventually sell for a good price, and I would be able to pay off my car, loans, and consumer debt. Ha... ha... ha... The market screwed me. Selling my home As it sat on the market, the value dwindled, but it is finally going to close in a month! I will receive about $11,000 according to the title company, which is my half since my ex is taking half. The reason I have all this debt with $6,000 sitting in my checking was because we had a forbearance plan, so no mortgage was due until June. I didn't think I could count on my ex to cover his half, so I was saving the cash. Now, we will not be paying mortgage unless the closing gets pushed past our grace period. Why didn't I have it in my interest bearing savings at least? Good question, I don't have any idea. Plans for the money & future I'm keeping the $6,000 buffer in case I have to pay the mortgage before closing. I want to get my variable monthly expenses down to $750. My immediate plan after closing is to pay off the debts in order of interest rate. Starting with the 26.99% credit card, then the 16.93% furniture finance, then the rest toward the car loan. I'd be just barely in the green on the car then. Then, I will prioritize saving money over all else, squeezing my budget tight, and really going hard on it. I would be paying the normal monthly payments on the 0% debt. I want to save $14,000, enough to cover all bills and basic necessities for 3 months. I think this will take me 6 months. Then I want to tackle the remaining debts with interest rates, going just as hard as I did saving, but now going after the car first, then the student loans in order of interest rate. I think this would take me another 6 months to pay off the car, and 4 months for the student loans. Next, I want to save an additional $14,000 bringing my emergency savings up to 6 months. I think that would take 4 months, since all my remaining 0% balances should be paid off with their regular monthly payments by then. This timeline puts me around February, 2025 I think. I will be 36 my then. Retirement/investing Then I can start saving for retirement. My company doesn't match AT ALL and I am not willing to leave them yet, because of many reasons. They are incredibly good to me. But maybe at this point, when I finally start saving for retirement, I might be thinking about it. Because I need whatever boost I can get. I'm so behind! So I want to see how comfortable I've been living on a restricted budget, and if I can continue at this point, I might as well max out IRA and 401k investments. And I want to start saving my $500 monthly for my son at this point. My reservations I've historically not been good with money and have just been incredibly lucky. $65,000 windfall here, $34,000 windfall there, inheritance, lucky bonus, whatever but barely scraping by until credit cards are maxed and then one big lucky day and "WOW this was the reset I needed" Enough is enough! I want THIS to be my last big reset. I don't want to do this any more. I have never outlined a plan like above, or given it any thought. I am in therapy and have identified a lot of reasons I keep ending up here - it's not shopping addiction, or not being frugal enough. It's been life circumstances every time. But that doesn't mean it was out of my control. I only recently started making so much money. Up until 2019 I was making minimum wage and raising my niece (she's an adult now and lives on her own). I continuously have been in survival mode, with bad living situations, letting manipulative partners have too much control over my money, one mental health issue that went untreated for too long. These have been reasons my money issues are where they're at right now but for the first time I have this feeling that I truly can get it under control and have a long term plan. I mean it, I need this to be it. I have a little man who depends on me, and I love the stability I have been providing him for the last five months now that it is just the two of us My questions What do you guys think of this plan? What changes would you make? Why? Should I be thinking about anything else? Do you see any issues? What am I not thinking of? ​ Thank you! submitted by /u/iamsickoflistening to r/personalfinance [link] [comments]

Hey everyone, I'm 28, male, not married, no kids, my fiancee lives with me and she is NEET due to health conditions. Living in somewhat rural Iowa, so COL is extremely low. I cover 100% of our financial costs. I am currently living with my mom and her boyfriend since 06/22 after landlord ended my lease bc they planned on selling the house. I couldn't find a new place in time, so went to my parents temporarily while looking for new housing, and then got hit by tech layoffs in early October. I was on unemployment from Oct-Jan, and finally just managed finding a new job beginning of Feb. I started working on 02/20. It's a remote IT job working 9-5, Mon-Fri. I said 2/3 months in my title post because I am planning to use this money to find a new place of my own to live in by around May/June. So I will have significantly more monthly expenses by that point. Prior to layoffs, I was making about $42,000/yr Currently, I am on track to make $114,000 this year. (Paid bi-weekly) I have never in my life made anywhere close to this much money, and need some guidance on the best ways I can invest, save, pay off some debts, and utilize the amount of money I'll be getting to better situate myself for the future. This is a substantial increase for me, as I've lived mostly in poverty or paycheck to paycheck my entire life. I've never really been in a financial position to save money, or where I'm making significantly more than my monthly bills/expenses. since this is significantly more money than I have ever made in my life, I want to be as responsible as possible and try and use the money to set myself up to be financially safe for the next 10+ years or so, and beyond if this job works out long term. Since I currently reside with my mother, she's helping me get back on my feet and not expecting too much from me financially, but I help out where I can. Usually $100-$300 each week for bills. I have no car payments. Insurance is like $100 every 3 months. I have no student loan payments, no other financial obligations each month. I only have about $2000 in current debt from medical bills, and unpaid utility bills from around the time my lease was ended and I lost my job. (70% of debt is medical, other 30% is utility bills) but I also have about $2000 in defaulted college loans from about 6 years ago, however this doesn't show up on my credit report in a way that I can pay it off, as it's been closed or something to that extent. Total Debt with bills and defaulted school loan $ is about $4000 I currently do not have a "physical" bank account and have been using Chime for my direct deposits, as well as their credit builder to increase my credit score since beginning of 2022 or so. I'm trying to figure out what the best way(s) is/are for me to move forward with saving up money, getting an emergency fund (and how much that would reasonably be for me in my position) as well as how much I should be investing or setting aside towards other things. I would like to get my debt taken care of immediately and try to find a place of my own for my fiancee and I to live in again since living with my parent hasn't been ideal, although I'm grateful for the help and being given a place to rebound and get back on my feet. (TL;DR Credit score: (590, up from sub 500 at beginning of last year) Current income: (Just started new job, will be - ) $8,800/mo (Pre-tax, only received one half check so far, biweekly pay, not sure what $ looks like after taxes yet for full check) Total monthly bills: (Less than $1000/mo) $450/mo for rent/utilities $35/mo for car insurance $60/mo total for my and fiancee phone bill $500 or so for food between fiancee and I Total Debt: Roughly $2000 - No recurring payments. (specifically medical bills and unpaid utility bills from around layoff, leaving last house) I'm wanting some information on the best ways I can utilize this new income, best ways to pay off my $2000 in debt and defaulted $2000 school loan from 6+ years ago, best ways to set aside money/invest to create a savings and emergency fund. Also, wanting to know the best ways I can use this money to increase my credit score even further, as I would like to be able to get my credit score up to the 700-800 range by the end of the year. ) All help and input is appreciated 👍 🙂 Thank you all for taking any time to help me out with this and grant me some advice. submitted by /u/Afflictionxx to r/personalfinance [link] [comments]

36 single female. I work a less than $15/hr job. I really enjoy it and get lots of OT. But my checks are between $400 and $1000 after taxes, health(173.85) dental(7.00), mortgage(150.03), and $49.97 savings, 15% Roth 401k. Biweekly. Monthly bills: Property tax: $125 (sinking fund) Insurance: $131.59 (house & car) Internet: $74.99 Electric/gas: $100 Water: $150 Living: $350 (cat, food, gas, miss) I live comfortably frugal and my house will be paid off in October (foreclosure bought for $45,000 after 08 housing bubble burst) but I only have about $100,000 in retirement. I max out Roth IRA every year and in years I have a HDHP available I max out my HSA. My employer matches 25% if I put in 6% but it gets matched in an ESOP plan. Most of my funds are Roth and in VTSAX & vanguard TR2055. I live off about $12,000_$15,000 a year very comfortably but I understand my costs will be higher in retirement. I keep hearing by the time I retire I'll need between 1 & 3 million I'm not sure if that's even possible or necessary on my income. Any thoughts? Clarifications based on comments I have a $10,000 Emergency fund. I understand everyone thinks I should make more money but my question is really about what moves I should make to utilize the income I have well and set myself up for a realistic retirement. Upon looking into health care costs current medigap plans can be between $1,500 and $3,500 a year and average health related costs in retirement are 387k not including Long term care. So I definitely need to up my projected income needs. submitted by /u/Brokewest to r/personalfinance [link] [comments]

I am working full-time, currently averaging 80-90 hours biweekly, at a rate of $15.75 and saving as I live with family. I intend on resigning by May 31, 2020 and would like to travel a little before starting school in August 2020. My current savings is around ~10k and growing. My 401K through work has ~2k and used to match but no longer does. I am paying off my interest on current loans monthly. Total current debt is $49,638 Existing student loan debt from undergrad: ~$3,500 at 3.4% ~$4,500 at 3.86% ~$5,500 at 4.86% ~$5,500 at 4.29% Existing student loan debt from master's: ~22,000 at 6% ~10,000 at 6.6% My grace period will be over on 5/20/20. I have a double cash back credit card that I use on all of my purchases and pay it off immediately. I have accrued some cash back there as well and my credit score is ~750. I have another credit card from college that I stopped using when I got the double cash back card. The bank will be discontinuing this card by the end of the year if I do not use it. Are there drawbacks to this or should I let them discontinue the card? My expected tuition for medical school over the 4 years will be ~160k in-state. I will be moving near school and living with my partner who works full time in his profession and will cover cost of living for us. My main questions include how can I best manage the money I have and will have, to accommodate the current loans, plans, and begin saving. When I resign should my 401K be moved somewhere else? Should I start a high yield savings? I am clearly very new to this and would like to help my future self as much as possible. I know it is not much to work with but I would love some guidance. I also completely realize how fortunate this situation is compared to other medical students. Thank you! ​ *Edit: anticipated appraisal/raise in January ~0.03%, so rate should change to close to $16 submitted by /u/MindfulLurker to r/FinancialPlanning [link] [comments]

Hi, PF! I (32m) have just been hired at a company that has a 401k plan, and (just as the title states) they will match up to 4.5% provided I put away at least 6%. I'm trying to decide if I should put away the max amount they would let me select, which is 12%. I would still only get 4.5% from them, but here's the factors on why I would think I should deposit as much as possible: 1) At this point, I have absolutely no previous savings. I feel like I need to get serious about this NOW, and aggressively start saving. 2) This job pays significantly better than my previous employment with amazing healthcare benefits and other perks. I went from $28,500 at my last job, which after taxes and $800 a year being deposited to an HSA netted me about $800 a paycheck (biweekly pay). I now make $44,000 a year, still have a plan to deposit $800 into an HSA this year, and so far my first couple of paychecks seem to have me bringing home about $1,300 a paycheck (again biweekly pay). 3) I have zero plans to increase my quality of life, so the way I see it is that I'm making around $1,000 a month now of disposable income that I want to use wisely and not waste on fickle wants. I'm even looking at more things to lower my amount of money necessity expenses, e.g., cheaper cellphone plan, different car with lower monthly payments, etc. So if I'm depositing a bigger chunk of my new monthly disposable income, isn't that the right decision to put it in my 401k? I just want to make sure that there's a solid reason to go above what gets me the highest matched percent through my company, and that the extra amount I'm considering depositing wouldn't be more wisely invested elsewhere. Thanks for the input! EDIT Firstly, thank so much to everyone that has responded! It is much appreciated. A couple clarifications on my original post, because I wrote it up during a break time during training and there was no way I was gonna be able to respond on mobile to the best of my abilities. 1st Clarification: The company is not limiting my ability to deposit at an absolute maximum of 12%. There is just an Easy Signup on the company login that gives us these options: 6%, 8%, 10%, or 12%. There is an area to do more customized options; which includes higher deposited amounts; but I'm just getting started, still going through training, and trying to get a grasp on all of the information that's being thrown at me. So I wanted to pick one of the easier 4 available options to get started so I at least have SOMETHING started. I figured anything was better than nothing. 2nd Clarification: Anyone who commented on paying off my car, it is a leased vehicle. The contract on it runs out in March 2020, at which point I will NOT be leasing another vehicle ever again. I've seen at what a poor investment leasing a vehicle essentially is. To justify my decision a little on leasing my vehicle, it's an electric car which I believe is a poor decision to purchase at the moment due to their overall cost and sharp depreciation value. After this lease, I'm going to find a used gas vehicle that I can pay off quickly so I'm no longer making any kind of car payment. I think I've decided on how I will go about my investment path based on the many insightful comments that everyone has provided: 1) Set my 401k investment to 8%. I'll get the 4.5% match with my company, and I'll even be saving just a little more to stay slightly on the aggressive side of saving. 2) I have to get an emergency fund of at least 6 months more funded, because as it stands I would only have 1 month worth of savings I could survive on and I'm not comfortable with that little of a buffer. 3) With my 401k investments totaling 12.5% being saved, I will put another 7.5% towards being saved in a Roth IRA so I have a total of 20% of my income being saved as I saw recommended. 4) With the remaining disposable income after everything else is squared away, I'm going to go full bore into eliminating all of my debt. This is actually only the remainder of school loans that I have from attending college a second time, and should take me less than a year to eliminate. At which point I will be completely debt free and able to take what used to be loan payments and use them to save even more. Many thanks to all the PF'ers that gave me their input, and I feel like I finally have a solid path to financial freedom for the first time in my life! I can't overstate my appreciation for the advice. submitted by /u/BangHerInBangor to r/personalfinance [link] [comments]

It feels so good to type/shout this! I paid off my student loooooans! Ahh...that felt good. It's been about 4-5 years since I started my debt reduction plan and this last 2 years it really has been moving quickly. And now I just clicked "confirm payment" on the Payoff Loan button. Lookout next debt, here comes a snowball! ​ Edit: A Gold?! Wow thank you so much. I hope this post helps others be inspired to get rid of their debts. I'm not done yet, but so far it's a great feeling. Thank you everyone, and thanks again for the gold! Much appreciated. ​ Edit 2: Thank you for the Silver too. This is amazing. I hope this post helps a lot of people. I am getting a lot of "any advice and how did you do it" comments. I'll try to share how I started my process so you all can too. Advice Whats the cost is the site I used to enter all my debts and how much I was paying to all of them. Once you enter all of that, toggle between Balance and Interest first, to see what is best for you. For me, Balance first saved us a few thousand, plus at the time it was hard to be paying to a debt for years to have it still be there. Even if you pay a few grand more over 5, 6, 10 years. Seeing the number of debts you have get less and less is a great reward and feeling. Otherwise, you are getting your debt reduced by dollar amount, but the number of debts are still there and it feels like you're getting nowhere. That being said, I like to pick Balance first, but everyone is in a different situation, and it may be best for you to pick Interest first. Now that you have a debt reduction plan, don't forget to update it! New debts come up sometimes (like car problems). Redo your debt reduction plan when needed. I have updated mine about 10 times in the last 5 years. Half of those changes where because I put 90% of my tax return towards debt. Taking thousands off a debt in one go. So, don't forget to redo your debt reduction plan when needed. Next, know your finances (what's going in & out). Before I would get a check, put it in my account and pay bills, go out to eat, whatever. Having to check my account afterward to see if I had any money left or if I spent too much. Once I got my Debt plan set up, I then talked to my wife and financial advisor through my credit union (for free) and came up with how I manage my money now. I found a video last year that really summarized what I do with my bank account and how I know how much money I have each week. Here it is - How to Properly Manage Your Money Like the Rich | Tom Ferry - Watch this 18 min video and you will understand how I have my account setup. I'll come back to this in a second. Next, I made a Google Sheet (or use Excel). I look at my bank account to see what the lowest average of my last 5 or more checks was. I use that per check (biweekly) $# and use it for all my calculations. Now I take all, and I mean ALL of my recurring bills each month and list them. I take the monthly amount and divide it by 2 (in the sheet multiply by .5) to get a per check amount. Yearly bills divide by 24 to get biweekly. Total all of the per check amounts (in sheets =SUM) and have that go to a line (labeled Bills) that subtracts from my lowest check amount. Next, I figure out how much I need for groceries each week. For me $120 per check, and have that subtract from my every check. Next, I put ~$50 into savings each check as well. Lastly, I put a line item(s) for my debts to come out of my check. So my google sheet looks like this: ​ Lowest Biweekly Check $1,000 Bills -$300 Groceries -$120 to Savings -$50 Debt1 -$200 Debt2 -$100 Debt3 -$130 To Spending (whatever is left of check goes here) $100 ​ Lastly, coming back to that video, I go to my credit union and have them make a bunch of accounts (checking and savings) under my one account. I then change the names of the accounts from "Checking 1, Savings 1, Savings 2..." to match the above "Bills, Groceries, Debt 1....and Spending" I have the bank set up my account so when my check is deposited into my checking, it automatically sends the amounts I have listed in my Google Sheet go to each account or loan it needs to. So a lot of my debt reduction and budgeting is automatic. Spending and Bills are checking accounts with their own debit cards. Recurring bills use the Bills account card number while I carry around the Spending Debit card to use for gas, going out to eat, whatever. After all my deductions come out of my Google Sheets calculations the remaining amount of my check goes into my Spending account, this lets me know how much I have each week to spend (about $100 a week for me). If I work more hours, more money shows up in Spending. Which I put extra towards a debt or I get myself a treat. Again this needs to be updated a lot as bills and debts change. If my spending line item in Sheets ever is a Negative number, I know I need to cut some things out (like Hulu, or get a cell bill deal, remove cable TV...) to make it a positive number. ​ This process has helped me and my family for the last 5 years. Hope this helps anyone who reads it. submitted by /u/KickAClay to r/CasualConversation [link] [comments]

First post Year One update Hello everyone, I figured I would do a yearly update and crosspost to both PF and the FIRE subreddit. THE DEBT Down to 362K as of today. I ended up refinancing my loans to a private lender. I debated long and hard about continuing with PSLF, but in the end, the risks far outweighed the potential benefit. There was no guarantee that my loans would be forgiven, especially as my employer was not 501c3 certified. Even though it is considered a non-profit and provides public health services (it is an independent physician group and is not technically part of the hospital), there is nothing to prevent the government from denying the forgiveness claim. I ended up refinancing to a 3.8% fixed rate loan for 6 years. However, I have been paying biweekly instead of monthly, and that has shaved off a significant time off of my payoff period. Deciding to refinance was one of the toughest financial decisions I made. It may be possible that I could have gotten my loans forgiven had I stuck with it, but I simply wasn’t willing to take the chance of my loans ballooning to a massive amount (my average interest rate for all my loans pre-refinancing was about 6.8%), and then finding out I didn’t qualify for PSLF. Ultimately, I feel better about paying off loans at a regular interval, and watching the total principle decrease. Although it’s easy for me to say I wish I had started paying off in residency, hindsight is 20/20 and what’s done is done. I’ve made the commitment to get rid of my loans, and to be honest, it feels like a dark cloud has started to lift knowing that they are finally being payed off. Again, I have no credit card debt, and pay off everything at the end of the month. PERSONAL STUFF AND EXPENSES My car now has 130k miles, but I’m starting to feel the pull of lifestyle creep. I can’t help but constantly look up newer model cars, and think about how much better my 15min commute would be with heated/cooled seats. I follow Doug Demuro on YouTube, and wish I had a car worthy of being reviewed for it’s quirks and features. I'm still leaning hard towards a CPO Tesla! I’ve decided to update my wardrobe once a year, but only around great sales. This year, Macy’s had a great deal around Veteran’s day, where they had an extra 20% off coupon. Ended up purchasing a ton of dress shirts, pants, and shoes for less than $300. I’m subscribed to /r/frugalmalefashion which is where I can keep an eye out for these deals. I reduced expenses: Again called my ISP and was able to keep my 50/10 internet for $30. My modem and router have paid for themselves, so again, no rental fees :) Ended up joining my brother’s family plan. Cost was an extra $18 to his plan, which I pay off. Over the last 2 years, I've reduced my cell phone bill from $75->$55->$20! Kept my Costco executive membership and am using their credit card. This combo essentially pays for itself through the combined 4% cash back, as well as 4% off their gas (which is already about 20c cheaper than surrounding gas stations). THE JOB Received a promotion, with a stipend attached to it. It’s a little more administrative than I thought, but it’s providing me with an opportunity to learn leadership skills. THE BENEFITS/INVESTMENTS 403(b): 18.5k fully maxed out last year. For 2018 and going forward, I’m spreading the investments over the year. Non-governmental 457: 18.5k fully maxed out last year. Again, for 2018 going forward, I’m spreading the investments over the year. 401(a): employer contributed. Finally qualified this year! Roth IRA: $5500 fully funded the beginning of every year. I have basically been setting aside $211 every pay period so that I can fund at the beginning of next year. Emergency fund: fully funded. Ended up closing out my Ally CDs early since their savings interest rate was more attractive than the CD. Taxable brokerage accounts: I ended up keeping only the Vanguard account open. I haven’t really been contributing as I have been saving up to purchase a home in the area. I do have 2 individual stocks I purchased near the end of last year which have done reasonably well. I’m a fan of index funds, but these 2 were “fun” stocks to play around with. Cryptocurrency: I really wish I wasn’t greedy or had FOMO syndrome. I could have made a small profit had I sold at the peak. Instead, I only have about 25% of my original investment left. My only saving grace is that I did not pour too much into this, and can absorb the losses. Do I truly regret it, though? Not really…I was thankfully reserved enough not to invest too heavy, and I can treat it as a lesson learned (albeit a pricey one). NET WORTH Since I started calculating this in October of last year, my net worth has gone from -$311k to -$170k. Using excel’s trendline tool, I’m expecting to hit net 0 in September 2019. Here’s a visual of my net worth, debt load, and investment value since I started tracking in October 2017. THE PLAN FOR THIS COMING YEAR Continue to max out 403b, 457, and backdoor Roth IRA. Once I save up 20% for a down payment, I’ll restart m contributions to the taxable brokerage account. Continue to pay off student loans regularly. Currently I have under 5 years left on my loan repayments (I have been paying a little extra every month in addition to making biweekly payments). Having an auto-debit from my banking account has done a lot to ease my mind. Any extra cash I make will be used to pay off loans. Continue contributing to nephew and niece college funds. Since I have started making massive student loan repayments, I have been able to avoid lifestyle creep simply because I don’t have the money to do so. That being said, although I still live like a resident, I don't have to live like a hermit. I was able to afford a vacation abroad this past year, I continue to have dinners and drinks with friends, and am still able to afford the occasional nice bottle of Japanese whiskey once every few months. As usual, thank you for reading this long post! Any suggestions, comments, or criticisms you can provide will be much appreciated! submitted by /u/NewDoc2016 to r/personalfinance [link] [comments]

Hey there, I'm a dad in a family of four (wife and two boys; 6 and 4). I'm the sole provider for the family and recently left a job where I was making under 30k a year for a new job where I now make a 45k yearly salary. Which is amazing to me as it has lifted a huge burden. My kids were previously fully covered in medicaid and my wife and I had share of cost. On top of that we also were living on foodstamps ~$285 a month. And yet, because of some poor financial decisions in the past and using too much on credit cards to get by, I was still drowning in bills even with the extra help from the government. Finding this new job has definitely helped but I am still having some challenges. Now that I don't qualify for medicaid in the state of FL or foodstamps I have to take on both now, which is fine, but I'm struggling finding a way to insure me and my family. My job offers insurance but their rates are way too high for me: (Biweekly) Employee Only $ 92.30 Employee & Spouse $ 336.55 Employee & Chld(ren) $ 255.13 Family $ 519.76 When I found this out I turned to the marketplace to see if there were better prices but even there the prices don't really seem possible for me without going into a danger zone again. I applied for all four of us but I only got options for my wife and I because it's referring my kids to CHIP for eligibility instead, so I have to wait on a letter from that which will most certainly be after the open enrollment period closes :/ . The lowest offer I got for my wife and I was $466 per month, which I'd have to pay for the moment I sign up, under the catastrophic plan option which barely covers anything before a 7k deductible is paid. I have attached a picture of my income and monthly bills. I just signed up for the YMCA for all of us and will probably have to get rid of it now that I know insurance is so much. Netflix can also be gotten rid of. My main goal is to see how I can insure at least my kids without redlining again as I'm already close. I'm already thinking I'll have to pay the penalty for my wife and I. I'm currently working to get all the damn debt paid off but I won't be able to if I have to use everything that's left just on insurance. I have no savings either. Any advice? Edit: holy freaking cow I didn't think there'd be this many responses. Went to a birthday party and came back to this. I'll try and reply to a lot of you guys. Edit 2: Im overwhelmed by this response and all you helpful people. Thank you so much. And everyone who pm'd me too. I did have a few mean ones but I've been on reddit too long to care lol. Cheers! submitted by /u/Thr_away123 to r/personalfinance [link] [comments]

Hey r/relationships! To preface: This is a throwaway (like most posts on here) because my SO is also a redditor and I want to discuss this with him when I am ready and don't want him to come across it. On to the story. We've been dating for 6 years and everything has been great. We have been living together for over 3 years and planned on getting engaged and married in 2015. He talked to my Dad, we talked about rings, etc... but about a year ago he sustained an injury that put all of that on hold. He has had 3 surgeries (one of which was an emergency surgery due to an infection from the second surgery. Thanks MRSA.) and continues to have physical therapy once a week. Recently, they made it so it's biweekly which is a step in the right direction! As expected, the bills have really piled up. His savings has been wiped out from this. In addition, he has payment plans on all of them (hospital, anesthesia, physical therapy, surgeon costs, and now the ER visit and hospital stay). He has been paying them off since last June when he was able to go back to work, but since the last surgery happened at the end of the year new bills are starting to pile up again. He also had to take about a month off for the second and third surgery which really hurt the financial situation yet again. It doesn't help that his insurance plan changed and will not cover anything until his much-higher-than-last-year deductible is met. That means every physical therapy session means a new bill. Anyway, without saying it directly this has really pushed back any plans of us getting married. The savings he had for a ring and to help with the ceremony is gone. He will likely be paying this off for another 6 months or so, depending on how much more physical therapy is needed. I have been doing my part by helping him communicate with different places he owes money and organizing bills, in addition to paying a bit more of our bills and rent for the time being (as much as I can, as I make less than him and have medical/dental bills of my own to pay off). I don't know what to do. How do I approach this without seeming selfish? I want to take the next step in our relationship but I feel like we are stuck for financial reasons. Should I sit him down and lay out all the bills and re-vamp our plan to pay them off? How do I even tell him that I feel this way? I don't want him to feel guilty for something he had absolutely no control over. I'm just frustrated. (sorry for the jumbled thoughts) (Note: He has already tried to get them to do a financial review for the bills. Some wont even consider it, and the hospital bill was not that expensive because they submitted their claim after the anesthesia and that took up most of his out of pocket max for the year. I might suggest he resubmit one since he was out of work for a month and has had two surgeries since then. Thoughts?) tl;dr: BF and I had plans to start the process of getting married in early 2015. We had to put it on hold due to an injury (and 3 surgeries) and the bills that came along with that. I don't know how to bring it up that now, a year later, I want to start that process again without stressing him out. submitted by /u/injurydelay to r/relationships [link] [comments]