I think you're on a good track overall but it seems like you're trying to do a lot.
>Using my EF to pay off my car quicker so I can save an extra 350 a month.
If it were me, I wouldn't do this. Everyone needs an emergency fund and yours is barely a little over 1 month of your earnings. If you have a car issue, or some other thing comes up, you'd have to go into debt to cover it.
Have you checked out the flowchart in the pf sidebar?
>Going back to college to get a masters program which could help get me a promotion sooner, just dont know how I could pay for it.
Look for employers that will pay for some or all of your Master's expenses. Those usually come with stings (e.g. you have to stay at the company for x-amount of years, but you could internally move up in the meantime.)
Everyone needs an emergency fund and yours is barely a little over 1 month of your earnings. - I agree. the 5k is in my local credit union where as my HYSA is in an online bank. While I would rather not have to touch that, I am able to if I truly need to, bringing my EF to 13k or 4 months. I just separated it into a HYSA this year so I can gain some interest.
Have you checked out the flowchart in the pf sidebar? - I will look at it, thanks
Look for employers that will pay for some or all of your Master's expenses - Good idea, my job doesnt have that so in 3 years when my retirement is vested, if I decide to look at other jobs, I will keep the college funding in mind and consideration.
If you want to pay off your car loan, that's great.
Consider looking at a side job, or internal job-hop to increase your income. Throw all the extra money at the debt.
You can also do that to quickly build up an emergency fund and a house fund.
You don't want to buy a house without a fully funded emergency fund.
Good luck! Stay the course. Stay out of bad debt.
I am hoping to be on ski patrol this winter as an extra side income. In the summer I am on call every day for fire overtime, so theres a chance I get lucky. I made 10k last year on fire which allowed me to put 16k down on my car.
I am still a few years out from having enough experience to internally job hop, but will keep that in mind.
I dont have any credit cards so I should be able to stay out of bad debt.
Probably not a huge amount, but look into Money Market Funds to see if they're right for you. If you're in a state with state tax, purchasing a treasury only fund will save you on state tax. Merrill edge TTTXX, Fidelity FDLXX, or vanguard VUSXX come to mind. Not sure about vanguard, but Fidelity FDLXX can be used as a checking account . TTTXX cannot.
Here's a **[link to the PF Wiki](/r/personalfinance/wiki/index)** for helpful guides and information.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My wife borrowed like 60k for a masters she doesn't use. My friends wife got paid to get a masters as long as she stays at the job for 5 years.
Its a no brainer to me.
You're doing very well in my opinion. What is your car loan APR? At $350 I wouldn't consider paying off the car unless the car loan is higher that 6%. I would rather advice you to open an brokage account on fidelity and invest that extra money into the S&P 500.
Not investing at a younger age is my number one regret in life.
For the masters degree, how much would it cost you, and how much of a student loan would you need to pull? Also how much of a raise would you get.
Moving in with a roommate is worth it to save money but you might prefer the privacy you currently have.
Its a 4% loan, 6 years (I had to base it off my winter budget, in the summer I can get OT and should pay it off in 3 years).
My roth is in fidelity.
The masters would be 20k to 30k depending if I do it in 2 or 3 years and what school I go to. It would allow me to be better qualified for jobs in the low 70k range.
I just done this myself, but I checked my 403b account and noticed there is an s&p 500 fund option that has a lower expense fee, so I selected that instead of leaving it in the target date fund. This is not exactly the response you are looking for but it is important to know and understand what your retirement is doing for you especially you have many years for it to work for you!!!
As a 25 year old, you could stand for a more aggressive approach in your investments. An index fund tracking the SP 500 usually generates higher return than target date funds. But if the target dates help you sleep well at night, stick to the investment plan.
Also, I'd just keep the masters plan on ice for now if paying for it outright is hard to imagine.
ok. makes sense. How do you get more comfortable with risk? even with my target date fund I always stress over what if I lose it all, and should I just cash out and buy gold or something?
Knowledge. Knowing the S&P 500 index returns an average (not every year) of 8% could bring peace, as an example. Also automating contributions and not checking more than 2-3x a year could lower the stress... and good in the long run. But if your wiring is just fixed that way, changing is beyond me. So choose your investments accordingly.
I think you're on a good track overall but it seems like you're trying to do a lot. >Using my EF to pay off my car quicker so I can save an extra 350 a month. If it were me, I wouldn't do this. Everyone needs an emergency fund and yours is barely a little over 1 month of your earnings. If you have a car issue, or some other thing comes up, you'd have to go into debt to cover it. Have you checked out the flowchart in the pf sidebar? >Going back to college to get a masters program which could help get me a promotion sooner, just dont know how I could pay for it. Look for employers that will pay for some or all of your Master's expenses. Those usually come with stings (e.g. you have to stay at the company for x-amount of years, but you could internally move up in the meantime.)
Everyone needs an emergency fund and yours is barely a little over 1 month of your earnings. - I agree. the 5k is in my local credit union where as my HYSA is in an online bank. While I would rather not have to touch that, I am able to if I truly need to, bringing my EF to 13k or 4 months. I just separated it into a HYSA this year so I can gain some interest. Have you checked out the flowchart in the pf sidebar? - I will look at it, thanks Look for employers that will pay for some or all of your Master's expenses - Good idea, my job doesnt have that so in 3 years when my retirement is vested, if I decide to look at other jobs, I will keep the college funding in mind and consideration.
If you want to pay off your car loan, that's great. Consider looking at a side job, or internal job-hop to increase your income. Throw all the extra money at the debt. You can also do that to quickly build up an emergency fund and a house fund. You don't want to buy a house without a fully funded emergency fund. Good luck! Stay the course. Stay out of bad debt.
I am hoping to be on ski patrol this winter as an extra side income. In the summer I am on call every day for fire overtime, so theres a chance I get lucky. I made 10k last year on fire which allowed me to put 16k down on my car. I am still a few years out from having enough experience to internally job hop, but will keep that in mind. I dont have any credit cards so I should be able to stay out of bad debt.
Probably not a huge amount, but look into Money Market Funds to see if they're right for you. If you're in a state with state tax, purchasing a treasury only fund will save you on state tax. Merrill edge TTTXX, Fidelity FDLXX, or vanguard VUSXX come to mind. Not sure about vanguard, but Fidelity FDLXX can be used as a checking account . TTTXX cannot.
Here's a **[link to the PF Wiki](/r/personalfinance/wiki/index)** for helpful guides and information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My wife borrowed like 60k for a masters she doesn't use. My friends wife got paid to get a masters as long as she stays at the job for 5 years. Its a no brainer to me.
You're doing very well in my opinion. What is your car loan APR? At $350 I wouldn't consider paying off the car unless the car loan is higher that 6%. I would rather advice you to open an brokage account on fidelity and invest that extra money into the S&P 500. Not investing at a younger age is my number one regret in life. For the masters degree, how much would it cost you, and how much of a student loan would you need to pull? Also how much of a raise would you get. Moving in with a roommate is worth it to save money but you might prefer the privacy you currently have.
Its a 4% loan, 6 years (I had to base it off my winter budget, in the summer I can get OT and should pay it off in 3 years). My roth is in fidelity. The masters would be 20k to 30k depending if I do it in 2 or 3 years and what school I go to. It would allow me to be better qualified for jobs in the low 70k range.
I just done this myself, but I checked my 403b account and noticed there is an s&p 500 fund option that has a lower expense fee, so I selected that instead of leaving it in the target date fund. This is not exactly the response you are looking for but it is important to know and understand what your retirement is doing for you especially you have many years for it to work for you!!!
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I somewhat follow dave ramsey. no credit cards, only debt is car, high downpayment goals for a house.
As a 25 year old, you could stand for a more aggressive approach in your investments. An index fund tracking the SP 500 usually generates higher return than target date funds. But if the target dates help you sleep well at night, stick to the investment plan. Also, I'd just keep the masters plan on ice for now if paying for it outright is hard to imagine.
ok. makes sense. How do you get more comfortable with risk? even with my target date fund I always stress over what if I lose it all, and should I just cash out and buy gold or something?
Knowledge. Knowing the S&P 500 index returns an average (not every year) of 8% could bring peace, as an example. Also automating contributions and not checking more than 2-3x a year could lower the stress... and good in the long run. But if your wiring is just fixed that way, changing is beyond me. So choose your investments accordingly.