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Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 12, 2022 7:02 pm

Market and salary: NYC, 180k
Rent: $1500 (split with wife)
401(k) Contribution/Retirement: $0
Health Spending (Insurance, HSA etc.): Insurance is like $85 per month and I put $50 a month into HSA.
Transportation: $240 pretax for public transit, $180 per month for car insurance + parking.
Student Loan Payments: $0 thanks to the pause.
Savings: $75k, with $25k going toward my loans when they restart.

I take home just under $10k a month.

I try to save $7k a month. I know I should be investing/putting money into 401k. I will eventually, but right now I’m trying to stockpile a bunch of cash.

thisismytlsuername wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 13, 2022 1:51 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 12, 2022 7:02 pm

Market and salary: NYC, 180k
Rent: $1500 (split with wife)
401(k) Contribution/Retirement: $0
Health Spending (Insurance, HSA etc.): Insurance is like $85 per month and I put $50 a month into HSA.
Transportation: $240 pretax for public transit, $180 per month for car insurance + parking.
Student Loan Payments: $0 thanks to the pause.
Savings: $75k, with $25k going toward my loans when they restart.

I take home just under $10k a month.

I try to save $7k a month. I know I should be investing/putting money into 401k. I will eventually, but right now I’m trying to stockpile a bunch of cash.

Jesus Christ lawyers are bad with money.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 13, 2022 4:42 pm

thisismytlsuername wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 13, 2022 1:51 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 12, 2022 7:02 pm

Market and salary: NYC, 180k
Rent: $1500 (split with wife)
401(k) Contribution/Retirement: $0
Health Spending (Insurance, HSA etc.): Insurance is like $85 per month and I put $50 a month into HSA.
Transportation: $240 pretax for public transit, $180 per month for car insurance + parking.
Student Loan Payments: $0 thanks to the pause.
Savings: $75k, with $25k going toward my loans when they restart.

I take home just under $10k a month.

I try to save $7k a month. I know I should be investing/putting money into 401k. I will eventually, but right now I’m trying to stockpile a bunch of cash.

Jesus Christ lawyers are bad with money.

Saving 7k per month on that salary is really good...

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 12, 2022 7:02 pm

Market and salary: NYC, 180k
Rent: $1500 (split with wife)
401(k) Contribution/Retirement: $0
Health Spending (Insurance, HSA etc.): Insurance is like $85 per month and I put $50 a month into HSA.
Transportation: $240 pretax for public transit, $180 per month for car insurance + parking.
Student Loan Payments: $0 thanks to the pause.
Savings: $75k, with $25k going toward my loans when they restart.

I take home just under $10k a month.

I try to save $7k a month. I know I should be investing/putting money into 401k. I will eventually, but right now I’m trying to stockpile a bunch of cash.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 13, 2022 5:45 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 12, 2022 7:02 pm

Market and salary: NYC, 180k
Rent: $1500 (split with wife)
401(k) Contribution/Retirement: $0
Health Spending (Insurance, HSA etc.): Insurance is like $85 per month and I put $50 a month into HSA.
Transportation: $240 pretax for public transit, $180 per month for car insurance + parking.
Student Loan Payments: $0 thanks to the pause.
Savings: $75k, with $25k going toward my loans when they restart.

I take home just under $10k a month.

I try to save $7k a month. I know I should be investing/putting money into 401k. I will eventually, but right now I’m trying to stockpile a bunch of cash.

Is this health insurance through your firm? My option through the firm is like $300/month for a single person jfc...

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:15 pm

Market and salary: Non-NYC, 215k, Stub
Rent: 3k
401(k) Contribution: 6%
Health Spending: How do people figure this out? I know my plan has $250 deductible, but not sure how to figure out monthly spending on health
Transportation: None
Student Loan Payments: 2k per month, on average, but sometimes more; trying to be aggressive about this
Savings: 5k (did not work before law school, and I put whatever savings I had toward paying down loans)

Would appreciate any feedback on how to better take advantage of income!

Sackboy wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:47 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:15 pm

Market and salary: Non-NYC, 215k, Stub
Rent: 3k
401(k) Contribution: 6%
Health Spending: How do people figure this out? I know my plan has $250 deductible, but not sure how to figure out monthly spending on health
Transportation: None
Student Loan Payments: 2k per month, on average, but sometimes more; trying to be aggressive about this
Savings: 5k (did not work before law school, and I put whatever savings I had toward paying down loans)

Would appreciate any feedback on how to better take advantage of income!

Max your 401(k) and HSA. Use your HSA as an extension of your 401(k) and not to actually pay medical expenses. If you invest $26,350/yr. (the combined 2023 401(k)+HSA max) for 40yrs into your 401(k)+HSA and make an 8% average market return (average market return for the last 50yrs has been 10-11%) and did NOTHING else, you'd have $6.8 million to withdraw from at that point.

Also build your emergency fund to be 4-6 months of liquid reserves that are not subject to the whims of the market (i.e., cash or bonds). I keep about 2 months in cash and 4 months in I Bonds. I Bonds can't be cashed before a year, so they are not a good idea to go all in on right away. You can ease into them over time. They're pegged to inflation, so they won't devalue like your cash and turning them into $$$ takes 24-48 hours at most (quick enough where you can just float something on a credit card for a day or two if needed).

Pay off your credit card in full every month.

For 401(k) and general market investing, just buy an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 and has a low expense ratio (e.g., VOO). You don't need to be fancy. You don't need to "diversify" (VOO is already 500 different companies that have domestic and international presences and a wide variety of products in a wide variety of industries). Then, stack stack stack. Never panic sell. Always hold. It'll bounce back, even if it's down 30%.

The build will be slow, but it is the tried and true way to becoming financially secure

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 6:57 pm

Sackboy wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:47 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:15 pm

Market and salary: Non-NYC, 215k, Stub
Rent: 3k
401(k) Contribution: 6%
Health Spending: How do people figure this out? I know my plan has $250 deductible, but not sure how to figure out monthly spending on health
Transportation: None
Student Loan Payments: 2k per month, on average, but sometimes more; trying to be aggressive about this
Savings: 5k (did not work before law school, and I put whatever savings I had toward paying down loans)

Would appreciate any feedback on how to better take advantage of income!

Max your 401(k) and HSA. Use your HSA as an extension of your 401(k) and not to actually pay medical expenses. If you invest $26,350/yr. (the combined 2023 401(k)+HSA max) for 40yrs into your 401(k)+HSA and make an 8% average market return (average market return for the last 50yrs has been 10-11%) and did NOTHING else, you'd have $6.8 million to withdraw from at that point.

Also build your emergency fund to be 4-6 months of liquid reserves that are not subject to the whims of the market (i.e., cash or bonds). I keep about 2 months in cash and 4 months in I Bonds. I Bonds can't be cashed before a year, so they are not a good idea to go all in on right away. You can ease into them over time. They're pegged to inflation, so they won't devalue like your cash and turning them into $$$ takes 24-48 hours at most (quick enough where you can just float something on a credit card for a day or two if needed).

Pay off your credit card in full every month.

For 401(k) and general market investing, just buy an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 and has a low expense ratio (e.g., VOO). You don't need to be fancy. You don't need to "diversify" (VOO is already 500 different companies that have domestic and international presences and a wide variety of products in a wide variety of industries). Then, stack stack stack. Never panic sell. Always hold. It'll bounce back, even if it's down 30%.

The build will be slow, but it is the tried and true way to becoming financially secure

Awesome advice, thank you. Regarding 401(k) and HSA max: how do I factor student loan payments into this? I've been told that I should hold off on everything else until the loans are paid.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:12 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 6:57 pm

Sackboy wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:47 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:15 pm

Market and salary: Non-NYC, 215k, Stub
Rent: 3k
401(k) Contribution: 6%
Health Spending: How do people figure this out? I know my plan has $250 deductible, but not sure how to figure out monthly spending on health
Transportation: None
Student Loan Payments: 2k per month, on average, but sometimes more; trying to be aggressive about this
Savings: 5k (did not work before law school, and I put whatever savings I had toward paying down loans)

Would appreciate any feedback on how to better take advantage of income!

Max your 401(k) and HSA. Use your HSA as an extension of your 401(k) and not to actually pay medical expenses. If you invest $26,350/yr. (the combined 2023 401(k)+HSA max) for 40yrs into your 401(k)+HSA and make an 8% average market return (average market return for the last 50yrs has been 10-11%) and did NOTHING else, you'd have $6.8 million to withdraw from at that point.

Also build your emergency fund to be 4-6 months of liquid reserves that are not subject to the whims of the market (i.e., cash or bonds). I keep about 2 months in cash and 4 months in I Bonds. I Bonds can't be cashed before a year, so they are not a good idea to go all in on right away. You can ease into them over time. They're pegged to inflation, so they won't devalue like your cash and turning them into $$$ takes 24-48 hours at most (quick enough where you can just float something on a credit card for a day or two if needed).

Pay off your credit card in full every month.

For 401(k) and general market investing, just buy an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 and has a low expense ratio (e.g., VOO). You don't need to be fancy. You don't need to "diversify" (VOO is already 500 different companies that have domestic and international presences and a wide variety of products in a wide variety of industries). Then, stack stack stack. Never panic sell. Always hold. It'll bounce back, even if it's down 30%.

The build will be slow, but it is the tried and true way to becoming financially secure

Awesome advice, thank you. Regarding 401(k) and HSA max: how do I factor student loan payments into this? I've been told that I should hold off on everything else until the loans are paid.

Stop paying your student loans. Interest is at 0% and could stay that way until September 2023. That gives you 9 months to stack cash without having to worry about loans.

Wubbles wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:53 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:12 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 6:57 pm

Sackboy wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:47 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:15 pm

Market and salary: Non-NYC, 215k, Stub
Rent: 3k
401(k) Contribution: 6%
Health Spending: How do people figure this out? I know my plan has $250 deductible, but not sure how to figure out monthly spending on health
Transportation: None
Student Loan Payments: 2k per month, on average, but sometimes more; trying to be aggressive about this
Savings: 5k (did not work before law school, and I put whatever savings I had toward paying down loans)

Would appreciate any feedback on how to better take advantage of income!

Max your 401(k) and HSA. Use your HSA as an extension of your 401(k) and not to actually pay medical expenses. If you invest $26,350/yr. (the combined 2023 401(k)+HSA max) for 40yrs into your 401(k)+HSA and make an 8% average market return (average market return for the last 50yrs has been 10-11%) and did NOTHING else, you'd have $6.8 million to withdraw from at that point.

Also build your emergency fund to be 4-6 months of liquid reserves that are not subject to the whims of the market (i.e., cash or bonds). I keep about 2 months in cash and 4 months in I Bonds. I Bonds can't be cashed before a year, so they are not a good idea to go all in on right away. You can ease into them over time. They're pegged to inflation, so they won't devalue like your cash and turning them into $$$ takes 24-48 hours at most (quick enough where you can just float something on a credit card for a day or two if needed).

Pay off your credit card in full every month.

For 401(k) and general market investing, just buy an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 and has a low expense ratio (e.g., VOO). You don't need to be fancy. You don't need to "diversify" (VOO is already 500 different companies that have domestic and international presences and a wide variety of products in a wide variety of industries). Then, stack stack stack. Never panic sell. Always hold. It'll bounce back, even if it's down 30%.

The build will be slow, but it is the tried and true way to becoming financially secure

Awesome advice, thank you. Regarding 401(k) and HSA max: how do I factor student loan payments into this? I've been told that I should hold off on everything else until the loans are paid.

Stop paying your student loans. Interest is at 0% and could stay that way until September 2023. That gives you 9 months to stack cash without having to worry about loans.

In addition to this, even once student loan payments kick in, you should be maxing 401(k) and HSA contributions before going beyond the minimum student loan payments required on the 10 year repayment plan. Your tax leveraged space is limited by year and once it's gone you can't go back and top it up anytime soon.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 11:19 pm

Wubbles wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:53 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:12 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 6:57 pm

Sackboy wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:47 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:15 pm

Market and salary: Non-NYC, 215k, Stub
Rent: 3k
401(k) Contribution: 6%
Health Spending: How do people figure this out? I know my plan has $250 deductible, but not sure how to figure out monthly spending on health
Transportation: None
Student Loan Payments: 2k per month, on average, but sometimes more; trying to be aggressive about this
Savings: 5k (did not work before law school, and I put whatever savings I had toward paying down loans)

Would appreciate any feedback on how to better take advantage of income!

Max your 401(k) and HSA. Use your HSA as an extension of your 401(k) and not to actually pay medical expenses. If you invest $26,350/yr. (the combined 2023 401(k)+HSA max) for 40yrs into your 401(k)+HSA and make an 8% average market return (average market return for the last 50yrs has been 10-11%) and did NOTHING else, you'd have $6.8 million to withdraw from at that point.

Also build your emergency fund to be 4-6 months of liquid reserves that are not subject to the whims of the market (i.e., cash or bonds). I keep about 2 months in cash and 4 months in I Bonds. I Bonds can't be cashed before a year, so they are not a good idea to go all in on right away. You can ease into them over time. They're pegged to inflation, so they won't devalue like your cash and turning them into $$$ takes 24-48 hours at most (quick enough where you can just float something on a credit card for a day or two if needed).

Pay off your credit card in full every month.

For 401(k) and general market investing, just buy an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 and has a low expense ratio (e.g., VOO). You don't need to be fancy. You don't need to "diversify" (VOO is already 500 different companies that have domestic and international presences and a wide variety of products in a wide variety of industries). Then, stack stack stack. Never panic sell. Always hold. It'll bounce back, even if it's down 30%.

The build will be slow, but it is the tried and true way to becoming financially secure

Awesome advice, thank you. Regarding 401(k) and HSA max: how do I factor student loan payments into this? I've been told that I should hold off on everything else until the loans are paid.

Stop paying your student loans. Interest is at 0% and could stay that way until September 2023. That gives you 9 months to stack cash without having to worry about loans.

In addition to this, even once student loan payments kick in, you should be maxing 401(k) and HSA contributions before going beyond the minimum student loan payments required on the 10 year repayment plan. Your tax leveraged space is limited by year and once it's gone you can't go back and top it up anytime soon.

Not OP but isn't there a case to be made for paying as much student debt down before interest kicks in? Interest can accumulate quickly.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 6:57 pm

Sackboy wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:47 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:15 pm

Market and salary: Non-NYC, 215k, Stub
Rent: 3k
401(k) Contribution: 6%
Health Spending: How do people figure this out? I know my plan has $250 deductible, but not sure how to figure out monthly spending on health
Transportation: None
Student Loan Payments: 2k per month, on average, but sometimes more; trying to be aggressive about this
Savings: 5k (did not work before law school, and I put whatever savings I had toward paying down loans)

Would appreciate any feedback on how to better take advantage of income!

Max your 401(k) and HSA. Use your HSA as an extension of your 401(k) and not to actually pay medical expenses. If you invest $26,350/yr. (the combined 2023 401(k)+HSA max) for 40yrs into your 401(k)+HSA and make an 8% average market return (average market return for the last 50yrs has been 10-11%) and did NOTHING else, you'd have $6.8 million to withdraw from at that point.

Also build your emergency fund to be 4-6 months of liquid reserves that are not subject to the whims of the market (i.e., cash or bonds). I keep about 2 months in cash and 4 months in I Bonds. I Bonds can't be cashed before a year, so they are not a good idea to go all in on right away. You can ease into them over time. They're pegged to inflation, so they won't devalue like your cash and turning them into $$$ takes 24-48 hours at most (quick enough where you can just float something on a credit card for a day or two if needed).

Pay off your credit card in full every month.

For 401(k) and general market investing, just buy an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 and has a low expense ratio (e.g., VOO). You don't need to be fancy. You don't need to "diversify" (VOO is already 500 different companies that have domestic and international presences and a wide variety of products in a wide variety of industries). Then, stack stack stack. Never panic sell. Always hold. It'll bounce back, even if it's down 30%.

The build will be slow, but it is the tried and true way to becoming financially secure

Awesome advice, thank you. Regarding 401(k) and HSA max: how do I factor student loan payments into this? I've been told that I should hold off on everything else until the loans are paid.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 11:19 pm

Wubbles wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:53 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:12 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 6:57 pm

Sackboy wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:47 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:15 pm

Market and salary: Non-NYC, 215k, Stub
Rent: 3k
401(k) Contribution: 6%
Health Spending: How do people figure this out? I know my plan has $250 deductible, but not sure how to figure out monthly spending on health
Transportation: None
Student Loan Payments: 2k per month, on average, but sometimes more; trying to be aggressive about this
Savings: 5k (did not work before law school, and I put whatever savings I had toward paying down loans)

Would appreciate any feedback on how to better take advantage of income!

Max your 401(k) and HSA. Use your HSA as an extension of your 401(k) and not to actually pay medical expenses. If you invest $26,350/yr. (the combined 2023 401(k)+HSA max) for 40yrs into your 401(k)+HSA and make an 8% average market return (average market return for the last 50yrs has been 10-11%) and did NOTHING else, you'd have $6.8 million to withdraw from at that point.

Also build your emergency fund to be 4-6 months of liquid reserves that are not subject to the whims of the market (i.e., cash or bonds). I keep about 2 months in cash and 4 months in I Bonds. I Bonds can't be cashed before a year, so they are not a good idea to go all in on right away. You can ease into them over time. They're pegged to inflation, so they won't devalue like your cash and turning them into $$$ takes 24-48 hours at most (quick enough where you can just float something on a credit card for a day or two if needed).

Pay off your credit card in full every month.

For 401(k) and general market investing, just buy an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 and has a low expense ratio (e.g., VOO). You don't need to be fancy. You don't need to "diversify" (VOO is already 500 different companies that have domestic and international presences and a wide variety of products in a wide variety of industries). Then, stack stack stack. Never panic sell. Always hold. It'll bounce back, even if it's down 30%.

The build will be slow, but it is the tried and true way to becoming financially secure

Awesome advice, thank you. Regarding 401(k) and HSA max: how do I factor student loan payments into this? I've been told that I should hold off on everything else until the loans are paid.

Stop paying your student loans. Interest is at 0% and could stay that way until September 2023. That gives you 9 months to stack cash without having to worry about loans.

In addition to this, even once student loan payments kick in, you should be maxing 401(k) and HSA contributions before going beyond the minimum student loan payments required on the 10 year repayment plan. Your tax leveraged space is limited by year and once it's gone you can't go back and top it up anytime soon.

Not OP but isn't there a case to be made for paying as much student debt down before interest kicks in? Interest can accumulate quickly.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 30, 2022 1:05 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 11:19 pm

Wubbles wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:53 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:12 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 6:57 pm

Sackboy wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:47 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:15 pm

Market and salary: Non-NYC, 215k, Stub
Rent: 3k
401(k) Contribution: 6%
Health Spending: How do people figure this out? I know my plan has $250 deductible, but not sure how to figure out monthly spending on health
Transportation: None
Student Loan Payments: 2k per month, on average, but sometimes more; trying to be aggressive about this
Savings: 5k (did not work before law school, and I put whatever savings I had toward paying down loans)

Would appreciate any feedback on how to better take advantage of income!

Max your 401(k) and HSA. Use your HSA as an extension of your 401(k) and not to actually pay medical expenses. If you invest $26,350/yr. (the combined 2023 401(k)+HSA max) for 40yrs into your 401(k)+HSA and make an 8% average market return (average market return for the last 50yrs has been 10-11%) and did NOTHING else, you'd have $6.8 million to withdraw from at that point.

Also build your emergency fund to be 4-6 months of liquid reserves that are not subject to the whims of the market (i.e., cash or bonds). I keep about 2 months in cash and 4 months in I Bonds. I Bonds can't be cashed before a year, so they are not a good idea to go all in on right away. You can ease into them over time. They're pegged to inflation, so they won't devalue like your cash and turning them into $$$ takes 24-48 hours at most (quick enough where you can just float something on a credit card for a day or two if needed).

Pay off your credit card in full every month.

For 401(k) and general market investing, just buy an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 and has a low expense ratio (e.g., VOO). You don't need to be fancy. You don't need to "diversify" (VOO is already 500 different companies that have domestic and international presences and a wide variety of products in a wide variety of industries). Then, stack stack stack. Never panic sell. Always hold. It'll bounce back, even if it's down 30%.

The build will be slow, but it is the tried and true way to becoming financially secure

Awesome advice, thank you. Regarding 401(k) and HSA max: how do I factor student loan payments into this? I've been told that I should hold off on everything else until the loans are paid.

Stop paying your student loans. Interest is at 0% and could stay that way until September 2023. That gives you 9 months to stack cash without having to worry about loans.

In addition to this, even once student loan payments kick in, you should be maxing 401(k) and HSA contributions before going beyond the minimum student loan payments required on the 10 year repayment plan. Your tax leveraged space is limited by year and once it's gone you can't go back and top it up anytime soon.

Not OP but isn't there a case to be made for paying as much student debt down before interest kicks in? Interest can accumulate quickly.

I don’t really think so. If you really want to take advantage of zero interest, each month you could always take what you’d pay on your student loan account, put it into a bank account, and let it sit there until interest starts up again. I have a chunk of money that I’m going to pay on my loans the second that interest starts back up. Until that point though. there’s really no reason to actually make the payments. You’re better off holding onto the chunk of money until payments restart.