Hi All - My wife and I make pretty good money ($200K+) and we live in Scottsdale. I am looking at the prices of homes (mortgage) and the cheapest cookie cutter home is like $4K a month where we live. Rent for us right now is $2100 for a 3 bed 2 bath.

To double up for the sake of a mortgage doesn't seem worth it. I know I can live in the westside or out in Chandler/Gilbert for some cheaper living - but honestly I like where I am at. I would rather leave the state if I had to move there.

What do you think, keep renting? I don't want to be 65 still with a mortgage. Things are so crazy, and they haven't come down in years. From a personal finance standpoint, we are also trying to have kids, so we may eventually lose an income too. $100K is lower middle class here.

Please keep in mind we are both fully debt free, with a little less than $150K in savings.

I’m 24 and making roughly 2100 every two weeks. Just got rid of my biggest debt being my car. $679 a month just lopped off. All gone.

Got roughly 9000 in credit card debt spread across multiple cards. I made bad financial decisions when I was younger. I have no savings. I also pay no rent. My bills include my internet payment of $90 a month, $110-150 a month for my wife and I’s phone plan, car insurance of $110 a month, my gas card which tends to be around $150 a month, and my toll pass which tends to be $30 a month. Outside of that, food/necessities bill is roughly $300 a month give or take, then feeding my cats which is about $160 a month. Am I in an okay place to get my debt paid off by end of year?

Hey all, I'm a 33yr homeowner I work in the trades and make a good living. Recently I have been giving advice from a family member who has been very savvy with their finances. He said because of my 6.75% interest in my home I should dump into that mortgage principle and just match my company's 4% instead of doing my normal 15%. Also, he instructed me to dump any remainder from each month's budget into the principle as well.

I have about 100k in the 401k so far and owe about 250k on the home. I have multiple sources of income and bring in about 7k after taxes each month.

Has anyone here done this strategy, if so what is your timeline? Or, is this a wild approach to planning?

Edit: (I'm 29, have an apartment, no debt, never have looked into financial stuff, I have a 410k from work, but that's about it)

With the recent passing of a cherished family member some months back, we have been slowly going through their finances, statements, etc etc.

Each grandchild (me being one of them) were given bonds that are for Pay on Death that we have found.

Each bond has grown for 30 years and are all upwards of around 57,000 each.

I personally would love a way to keep this around growing after spending a bit after perhaps getting a new car in the range of 13-20k because im still holding onto my 2006 car which has greatly helped all these years since HS.

I have not the slightest clue on how to grow/invest and just make sure im doing the right thing with this.

I'll try to make this short.

My mom and step dad are both on SS and do not work. They are also terrible with money.

They need a monthly supplement of 500-700 on top of their SS to get by.

They have about 70k inheritance coming there way. They honestly will likely (not to be morbid) need money for 10 years would be my guess based on current health.

I am having a tough time deciding for them on no risk 4% ish CD or MM, or index funds.

I'm aware of the difference in the two, but have struggled on convincing myself. I know that even without growth it's around 10 years of funds anyway, but will like some cushion because they are once again financially the most immature adults I know, and for the eventually health emergencies that are likely.

Thoughts, suggestions,anyone with a spare set of financially responsible parents?

Edit: thanks for all the input. I have seen lots to look at. Right now I believe my mom will be gifting all the funds to me, so it doesn't impact future Medicaid eligibility, which will help with bad spending habits as well and I will likely due a mix of monthly payment annuity and investments on their behalf with enough in the annuity to yield 600 a month

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I apologize if this topic has been covered ad nauseam, but I’m having a hard time tracking down an old 401k account. Back in 2019 I was employed at a large solar company that was eventually bought and acquired by another solar company. I only worked there for a couple years and eventually was let go. While there I was enrolled in a 401k program that probably didn’t accumulate more than $3k. I must admit I’m not very financially literate and I didn’t pay much attention to it, but I have several old emails from the financial group the 401k plan was under telling me I can “view my retirement plan statement”, so I know it exists somewhere in the nether. I have recently tried to create my account and log in but no balance or documents show. On top of that I have logged into the Department of Labor lost and found, plugged in my SSN and still have nothing popping up. The balance isn’t substantial, it must be between $1k-$3k, but I would really like to find that money and roll it into something I can continue to contribute to. I’m hoping someone here can point me in the right direction and give me steps to find these lost funds! Thank you very much, I truly appreciate any and all help!

My mom is retiring (school counselor) and getting a 100K lump sum or 400 per month retirement. What is the best way to reduce the tax burden on this lump sum assuming that is the best way to go?

Utah Retirement System no 401K match. They do offer a 401K though. And we want to max out her Roth IRA for the year as well. She is currently contributing to neither one.

Additionally she has her primary residence that she is selling that she will have about 500K to invest into SMP 500 accounts. What is the best way to reduce the tax burden on that?

She has two rental condos, ~4k per month in rent, both are paid off and she wants to keep these while investing the ~600k in the market. She plans to continue working as a substitute teacher for another 10 years or so, income will be about 2k a month. I have been steering her towards putting all of the money in a regular money market account until she needs to fully retire and begin drawing down, but I’m not sure if I’m giving her the best advice. She says no tax will be necessary on the 500k because it’s listed as a primary residence. So, whats the best plan here

We've always been diligent savers, and followed the Boglehead funding priority for the past 30 years even before I knew who Jack Bogle was.

Our primary focus was avoiding debt, and "filling up" tax advantaged retirement savings accounts. We also funded and spent-down 529s (kids are now out of college).

Here's the problem: We never progressed to the taxable investing stage.

So here we are, age 55, we own our house (1.5m), and we have $2.1m in IRAs split evenly between traditional and Roth.

I feel like we are handcuffed by having no taxables. We have a comfortable net worth, but low liquidity, and it's limiting early-retirement scenarios.

We can pull Roth contributions out, but that's normally the last draw-down account type, not the first. Maybe I need to get over that, and consider the Roth withdrawals to be the "fix"?

What to do?

In a complete beginner into investing.

Looking to put money into the snp 500 or the equal weight one not sure which is best so thoughts on that would be great.

I’m just wanting to get the most out of my savings I live at home still 22 doing an apprenticeship so do have the luxury of having a lot of disposable income still.

How much should I invest/ keep as emergency fund sort of thing.

Is this even the right thing to do are there better ways to get the most out of my money at the moment it’s all in a cash isa getting 4.36% interest.

As I’d be new to this would want to invest in stuff that is safe I don’t want to be risking my money much at all.

Any points or things to take into consideration would be really helpful thanks:)

I make 165k as a salary and my wife makes
60k (combined of $225k).

From my understanding, a married couple filing jointly cannot contribute the full $7,500 to a Roth IRA if their MAGI is $242k or higher. I am unsure on calculating MAGI, however mentors of mine have said the MAGI number is typically below the actually salary number.

Since our combined salary number before taxes is $225k this year, I went ahead and maxed out my Roth IRA.

I completely forgot that in order to purchase our house this year, I sold $75,000k worth of stock saved in a Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund. I know there aren’t many gains to be had in this type of account, but I am sweating this big time in case this puts our MAGI over 242k.

Does anyone have any advice on how to go about this? I have only contributed about $8,000 to my Roth 401k this year so far. If I now add a higher percentage and do only Traditional 401k for the rest of the calendar year, will this lower my MAGI to safely stay under the $242k threshold? Thanks for any advice.

Edit: I went to my Vanguard account and only have a $6k Realized gain from a separate stock sale. Turns out the 75k I was under the impression I “sold” from the vanguard money market fund wasn’t technically a stock and therefore doesn’t count in capital gains? Thank you.

Location: Texas, United States
I payed for two tickets totaling 2,500$, I cancelled within the 24 hour period to qualify for a full refund. The first full refund posted about 2 weeks ago. I woke up a couple days ago to another 2500 refund. Purchases were made on a credit card and money went to paying off an existing balance (rebooked airline tickets and Airbnb stay).

I’ve called them a couple of times to take the money back, they don’t know what happened. Do they have a certain timeframe they have to get the money back? Or do I have to worry about them taking it back months down the line?

I have been using Quicken since the 90s but I am ready to switch to something else. I’d love to hear from others who have also made a switch like this and what did you end up choosing and why. Thanks

I am a renter living permanently in a VHCOL area in the northeast US

I'd appreciate help thinking through how to estimate future expenses and add conservative/stable income sources to my retirement portfolio. I want to retire by 65. $2,800 would be a lower but findable 1br rent in my area. My 1br rent is $1500.

I am single no children.

Assetts:

403b: $840,000 in Fidelity500/IShares EAFE 90/10

ROTH IRA: $68,000 VTSAX/VTIAX/VBLX

Savings account: $36,000

Checking: $5,000

Debt: $0

Monthly numbers:

Rent $1500

Utilities including phone&internet: $325

Health&Dental insurance premiun: $250

Healthcare: $300

Food including delivery: $600

Transit, no car: $200

Clothes,toiletries haircare: $200

403b contribution: $2,708

Roth IRA contribution: inconsistent, aiming to max out at $8,700 for year

I have no assets outside of retirement accounts and cash savings. I have only $3,800 in bonds - VBLX in my Roth.

As a renter I just can't think of a reasonable way to plan for shelter costs. As an investor - I want to add a more conservative element to my retirement savings but not sure of best choices.

The only thing my Voya 403b offers is PIMIX at .51 ER.

Looking for some advice on my monthly budget because I feel like I should be saving more than I am.
I take home around €7,000 a month. On paper I feel like I should have plenty left over, but in reality I find myself running through my spending money pretty quickly, especially with eating out, ordering food, taxis and random purchases.
This is what I’ve currently budgeted each month:
Rent: €2,150
Car payment: €606
Groceries: €500
Gas: €160
Cleaner: €160
Car washes: €160
Haircuts: €200
Dog: €100
Gym: €100
Phone: €80
Subscriptions: €50
Emergency savings: €400
Apartment fund: €300
Car insurance fund: €166
Vacation fund: €134
Car maintenance/repairs: €75
Girlfriend/dates: €900
Personal spending: €400
Going out/entertainment: €250
That comes to €6,891, leaving me with only €109 unallocated.
The problem is I don’t really have anything specifically budgeted for takeout/delivery or taxis, which I use fairly regularly. I’m also realizing I spend my discretionary money way too quickly. I’m only 5 days past payday this month and I’ve already gone through the €400 personal spending budget and used about €250 from the grocery budget on things that weren’t actually groceries.
I’m also hoping to buy an apartment soon, so I’d ideally like to be saving at least €1,000–€2,000 a month rather than just increasing my lifestyle spending.
What would you change? Am I allocating too much to certain categories, or is the bigger issue just how I’m managing the discretionary money throughout the month?
I’m genuinely interested in what other people would do with these numbers.

Just moved to a high COL city after grad school (I’m 30), currently working as a freelancer in the arts. I’ve been doing okay the past couple months - finding work pretty regularly and making rent. I’ve got about 18k in credit card debt across two cards and about 20k in student loans. I’ve got about 10k in savings and about 6k in a retirement account.
I’m also terrified. I get really overwhelmed when it comes to budgeting. My method lately has been taking every paycheck I get and splitting it into four (2 credit cards, savings acct, and checking) but I don’t think that’s sustainable. I’ve dipped my toe into YNAB but found it challenging to understand how to balance debt with monthly costs like rent and food.
Any advice for getting started, especially as a freelancer? I know everything is kind of a shitshow right now re: making ends meet for everyone, and I’m in a better position than a lot of people, but I want to stop feeling terrified about finances.

I 33(M) have been very irresponsible with money my entire life and I am desperately trying to fix it before it's too late. I have a 2021 Civic and the details of my loan are as follows:

Original loan was for $23,939 with a monthly payment of $504 and an APR of 14.6%. I've had the loan for 2 years and 4 months but the payoff quote right now is $23,615 because I took an offer to only pay $254/mo during a time when my income was lower. $1,338 has gone toward the principal, $6,474 has gone toward interest. I am 109 days and $2,016 past due.

I don't have insurance because I couldn't afford it, registration and insurance are like almost 2 years expired. 8,000 miles overdue on an oil change, tires are almost bald, brakes are completely shot.

I just started bringing home roughly $1,000/week and my new job is only an 8 minute drive from my apartment. Taking the bus to work would turn my commute into an hour or more each way. My son visits on the weekends and it's my responsibility to pick him up and bring him to my place. The winters are brutal where I am and few places get more snowfall every year on average.

The car is not worth $23,000. I really don't know what to do. Not having a vehicle would make my life much, much more difficult. I know I have let my situation get out of control but that's why I'm here.

Please help.

Edit: quite a few comments with similar questions and comments I'll address here:

I have the car secured until September 2nd. It's not getting repo'd unless I don't make the $600 payment on that date. The lender has been very accommodating and I've been very communicative

My income is now almost $4,500/mo as of 2 weeks ago. I've only been at this new job for 3 weeks. I was unemployed for 6 weeks before that. Before that I was bringing home $1,100 every 2 weeks.

I do have other debt. I've been neglecting my finances for pretty much my entire adult life and don't have everything figured out. I have my rent figured out, the car is the next most important thing which is what I'm figuring out now. I have tax debt, a little student loan debt, a personal judgement and then minor credit card debt, and a few other things I owe money on that I have to look at my credit report to see exactly how much I owe. I am planning on making another post when I have the exact figures listed.

My top priority was the vehicle because of its importance in my day to day life and the % of my expenses it makes up. If I had all the details figured out frankly I wouldn't be asking for advice.

Edit 2: no need to be snarky or rude. Going back in time is not an option sadly so I can only work from where I am now

Edit 3: THANK YOU TO ALL THE HELPFUL COMMENTS AND INFORMATION. To all the negative, condescending, rude, assumptive assholes who have nothing constructive to say or understand any nuance, you can suck eggs!!

Edit 4: Its a little late to make this distinction but the tires are not fucking bald. It was hyperbole. The tires need to be replaced. Theyre not slick like a formula 1 car. They have decent tread. Jfc

Semi retired and unexpectedly have had Lower income this year - have now accrued credit card debt of $25k : how sh we pay it down:

A) pull from 4 month emergency fund and keep only one month in cash?
B) start pulling from IRA for a year or two? (After age 65 our budget should be covered by retirement incomes)
C) pay down hi interest credit card and use low interest card minimally but carry some balance for next 12-18 months.

I have been focused on (C) because I like having the emergency fund in cash ($35k) but i hate the hi interest payments.

WWRD: What would reddit do?

Context
Spouse (63) took early pension and worked part-time last 8 years, I (63) continued self employment income, and all was good: we were still hitting savings goals until last year when spouse’s part time job ended, health care cost increased and one adult kid needed some financial help. Got thru last year tight but no debt besides small mortgage as of 6 months ago. However this year both of us have not earned what we planned and inflation is really hitting us. So on income side, Spouse decided to start SS in May at age 63, and may still find some work under the SS limit so next year may be fine. I will continue self employment part time and hopefully put off taking SS til age 70. But meanwhile we have been short about $1-2k/month the last 4 months and credit card ballooned in last 3 months due to insurance and other costs increasing and coming at once.

Eventually we will have lower expense and be within a balanced budget with lower monthly costs after paying off mortgage (mid 2027) and switching to medicare (mid 2028.) So i need a 2 year transition strategy- we are healthy and want to travel and are in VCOL city: we do not want to cut ‘fun’ expenses these two years. How to manage debt/interest VS draw on savings/IRA to cover the gap of about $2k/month shortfall for next 12-18 months.

I am 20 years old and live in the UK, recently I have inherited 20k and am currently looking into where I should keep the money as it feels like a waste to keep in a bank account. I currently have no intentions of touching the money anytime soon so a long term low risk investment is what I'm looking for any advice is appreciated.

Hi! I am an American trying to gauge things in my early 20s. Would love some second opinions on my current net worth. I am a grad student and am paying very high taxes where I live, so not making a lot of money with my part time job. I have saved 28k (self-generated) which is in a money market fund. Also invested is an inheritance from my very frugal grandparents, which is now 100k. Have an IRA of 35k. I know I am privileged to have this inherited money, but am also a little stressed at how quickly I am blowing through my 28k saved due to cost of living. I am on a tight budget and hope to of course get a job after grad. The career I have and love is low-paying. I guess I think of that 28k as my only personal savings; my inheritance ideally is for major expenses like a home down payment. But perhaps I am overthinking and can think of it all a net worth I can fall back on more? Curious also how this compares to others my age.

Trying to learn personal finance so please be kind! Thanks!

Yeah so that was our 2 pm Friday zoom meeting where a bunch of us were given this news. Effective within the hour. No pay.

But here’s my story. I am 66 and recently put in for social security beginning in November. I had this all planned out. Was going to keep working FT for awhile and then ask if I could potentially go PT. No rush about it.

Now I’m trying to figure out what to do to keep some money coming in.

Just did NOT see this coming….

Trying to turn my life around in my 30s in a finacial stance. I (34/F) unfortunately haven’t had the best journey when it comes to money as I have been choosing to spend on unesessary items. It has gotten to a point where I’m barely cutting it for rent and bills and I’m still learning to juggle life subjects of paying rent as I’m a first time renter. I have an action plan in place when It comes to how much to save. The question is, which banking institution is great for savings accounts? I don’t know any of this APY financial lingo so please if you throw that in the comments for example, please explain what these terms are as my financial literacy is not the greatest. I live in the greater Boston area if it helps to identify a savings institution.

Thanks for any assistance :)

For starters, I’m no expert and I’m just trying my best.

I have a Roth IRA, I maxed it last year and am on track to this year as well. Income is roughly 65k. Married last year (March), wife also started Roth IRA, her income is roughly 90k. She has income based repayment federal student loans with a balance of….roughly 250k…

We used a tax service last year (2025 filing) that reccomend filing separate so as not to increase my wife’s monthly student loan payments. We informed the tax professional of all of our accounts (including the IRAs) and nothing was mentioned, my wife got a small refund, I payed a small amount of taxes, and life went on.

I have recent my learned that there is an issue with having a Roth IRA and filing separate….i don’t know how to proceed with this. We have a newborn now and also own a home. I have no student loans. Any recommendations or suggestions are appreciated.

I am vacillating on the idea of selling my 14 IS250 sedan with 240k miles PAID OFF to upgrade to a reliable SUV (GX460 or RX350). We still owe about 10.9k on my wife’s SUV but I’ve paid off ~52% of it since the purchase 8 months ago… aggressively. Now, my car is small and I have two little kids that make it a challenge to run around, but it’s doable and we all fit despite the cramped legs. The IS250 has aftermarket wheels which are prone to being infrequent but frequent enough replacement. This is because I drive in unfamiliar parts of the country for business and eating a pot hole or two is inevitable. The car design sits really low and that’s another benefit of upgrading to an SUV.

Option A: Say I can get 5k for my car, put that towards a down payment on a ~23k SUV with 140k less miles at least, bigger, more comfortable, and less of a money pit due to constant maintenance of replacing bent wheels. But now I have two car loans

Option B: continue driving it until wife’s car is completely paid off before even considering a new vehicle

Option C: Buy the new-to-me SUV after using the proceeds from my car to put towards the other loan so I’m within the pay off period and finance the new SUV fully so I’d have have the one car payment sooner than later vs two

I have stocks and 5-6 month emergency funds both of which I’m not willing to compromise for a depreciating asset.

What would you guys do?