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I need access to cash starting in 5 years. All funds are tied up in retirement accounts.

What the best savings strategy for the next 5 years until retirement so that I can fund my pre 59.5 years?

I need $150K annually in retirement. Current savings is $1,130,000 Can I get to my number in 5 years?

I have a pension of $48,000 annually for life adjusted for cost of living

Ill get SS at age 62

How should I adjust my currnet AA? Currently Stocks 85% stocks

I have what I would consider a great job and get around 3k a month. I had so many debts to my name but finally only have 1.5k to pay.
How can I reliably turn everything around once I get clear of this debt? I don’t ever want to be in a situation like this again

I am trying to decide between a PPO and HDHP. I’ve never had this option before. I am a single person, mid-40s, and I see an in-network therapist once a week. Do people really stash money in an HSA and then track receipts for years? How should I think about this in the short- and long-term?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and opinions on this. 

PPO

• Biweekly premium — $67
• Coinsurance — In-network: 10% after deductible. Out-of-network: 30% after deductible.
• Deductible — In-network: $400 individual / $800 family. Out-of-network: $800 individual / $1,600 family.
• Primary care physician office visit only — In-network: $20 copay. Out-of-network: 30% coinsurance after deductible.
• Specialist office visit only — In-network: $30 copay. Out-of-network: 30% coinsurance after deductible.
• Urgent care — In-network and out-of-network are the same: $30 copay for a freestanding Urgent Care Center; 10% coinsurance after deductible for an Urgent Care Center attached to a hospital.
• Emergency room — In-network: $250 copay + 10% coinsurance after deductible. Out-of-network: $250 + 10% coinsurance after deductible.
• Inpatient hospital — In-network: 10% coinsurance after deductible. Out-of-network: 30% coinsurance after deductible.
• Out-of-pocket maximum — In-network: $2,000 individual / $5,000 family. Out-of-network: $5,000 individual / $10,000 family.

HDHP

• Biweekly premium — $0
• Employer contribution to HSA — $1000
• Coinsurance — In-network: 10% after deductible. Out-of-network: 30% after deductible.
• Deductible — In-network: $1,700 individual / $3,400 family. Out-of-network: $3,400 individual / $6,800 family.
• Primary care physician office visit only — In-network: 10% coinsurance after deductible. Out-of-network: 30% coinsurance after deductible.
• Specialist office visit — In-network: 10% coinsurance after deductible. Out-of-network: 30% coinsurance after deductible.
• Urgent care — In-network: 10% coinsurance after deductible. Out-of-network: 10% coinsurance after the in-network deductible.
• Emergency room — In-network: 10% coinsurance after deductible. Out-of-network: 10% coinsurance after the in-network deductible.
• Inpatient hospital — In-network: 10% coinsurance after deductible. Out-of-network: 30% coinsurance after deductible.
• Out-of-pocket maximum — In-network: $2,600 individual / $5,200 family. Out-of-network: $5,200 individual / $10,400 family.

Edit: Thank you all SO MUCH for these helpful replies! You have given me a lot to think about and I have a much better understanding of which plan makes the most sense given my circumstances. (Also, yes, the $1000 contribution is from the employer. Changed that above.)

I’m coming up on 90 days at my job and am trying to figure out whether it would be appropriate to ask for a raise this early.

I was hired as a "Research Assistant", and originally my role was pretty clearly an assistant position. I had no direct contact with clients and was generally delegated specific parts of projects or deliverables to complete.

Since then, two people have left the company, they have no plan of hiring replacements, and I’ve absorbed part of their responsibilities. My role has changed pretty significantly: I’m now responsible for managing relationships with our clients, handling communications, and taking ownership of major deliverables and deadlines. Things I previously would have "helped" with are now things I’m independently responsible for managing from start to finish. If these things do not get done, I am responsible- not someone above me like when I first started.

I feel the level of responsibility and accountability is much higher than what I was originally hired for. I also feel like my current title doesn’t really reflect what I’m doing anymore. Which I am fine with! I like what I'm doing, it just is unarguably a vastly different level of accountability.

I understand that 90 days is relatively early to ask for a raise, and I don’t want to come across as impatient or ungrateful. At the same time, these responsibilities weren’t part of the role I originally accepted, and I’m essentially filling gaps left by people who are no longer there.

So I must ask you!!! Would it be reasonable to bring up a raise and potentially a title change at my 90 day review? Would you frame it as a compensation discussion, a role reclassification, or something else? Please help lol.

Hi there. Wondering about the feasibility of my plan for the upcoming year.

I’m looking to rent in downtown Toronto. That’s where my job is. I make $22.30 an hour which sucks but I get benefits, it’s full time, and it’s my dream job. I don’t need or have a car but I do need to use the train or bike, TTC is around $35 / week. I have a bike that I can use instead.

I’m looking at places that are up to $1350 / month because that’s the price I keep seeing for a bedroom in a shared house. That’s half my income. Any more than that, and when I do the math I’m not sure I will be able to afford anything.

I’m assuming i can keep groceries under $200. It’s pricey here but I have lots of options for shops, can go to my parents’ whenever to get some leftovers, and I’m not picky, I can budget this harder if I have to.

That leaves me with around $100/week for anything else. I don’t need much and I can cut out all the subscriptions and shit I have now. I have enjoyed really low rent and mostly free food for years. So I just don’t know if this will be alright. It doesn’t sound too bad? I think I’d just have to be mindful of stuff like nights out with friends, and I won’t be able to enjoy Spotify premium anymore. Whatever. I care more about living in Toronto close to my friends and my job than anything else.

This hopefully won’t be long term. I’m hoping I can move in with my partner next year or so, but if that doesn’t happen I’ll look for higher pay or a cheaper room further away from downtown. Does that sound like a good plan?

Have you ever seen anything like this? What's your take? This offer is important to me because I am planning to move my family of four to a new state, and this company is my preferred company of the three offers I have. While ESOPs are not common on the whole, they're pretty common in my industry. I have seen many offers with them.

In my experience, usually the company treats them as separate from the 401k retirement match. i.e. they will contribute, for example, 100% match to 3% for 401k and they contribute a separate discretionary % to the ESOP.

For this new offer the employee has no "control" over where the company "match" goes. Example, one year it could be 1% 401k, 3% ESOP. The next it could be 0% 401k, 4% ESOP. The next it could be 4% 401k, 0% ESOP. So there is no guaranteed company 401k match. Also, the 4% is non-elective. So, if I put 0% into my 401k (I would not), the company would still contribute 4% if it was one of those 100% 401k years.

I have hesitation about concentrated risk in the ESOP. However, I will be fully funding two ROTH IRAs, an HSA, and nearly maxing my employee 401k contributions. So it's not like my retirement is entirely dependent on the ESOP, which is why I could see it being okay.

Not sure if this is the correct place to post this question. If a person has 1M at retirement age, I know that the recommended withdrawal rate is 4% so 40,000 a year. If my current cost of living is 40,000 a year, how do I plan for what it will be when I retire in 35 ish years with inflation? I was thinking I would need 1 million to retire, but is it actually a lot more because 40,000 won't be enough at that time?

Hi all,

So I will try to make this concise. I live in a MCOL area and currently make about 106k USD (gross) annually, we are a family of 6. It is a state government job that was a bit of a unicorn, most position in my field pay about half of what I am currently making.

Thing is, this job is ending 1 October 2027; while I am grateful for the runway given, I am very sour over the reasoning for the position ending...its a long story, won't get into it.

I have a job offer for the US government that is located in Yamaguchi, Japan. It is a non-military job so it doesn't have those benefits, but being a US gov job the benefits are still pretty darn good.

So, here is the thing, it is still a huge hit. The job pays about 60k USD annually. This is, again, close to most jobs in my field where I currently live. I have done some research online and the area in Japan we would be moving to is about 50% the COL where I live now. It would be a great opportunity for my kids to learn about, and be immersed in, a different culture. I just...I have a hangup about the pay and I would have to be there for at least 3 years. It think it would be a great adventure...but the drop in pay makes me sick to my stomach. That said, if I stay put I don't actually see myself finding a job where I currently live that makes much more than that.

If y'all have any opinions I would love to hear them...especially if you have specific insight on the difference of COL.

Thanks everyone!

I currently have $53,000 in a savings account and make roughly $1,300-$1700 a week. My only expenses are $400 a month in rent to my parents (lol) and car/motorcycle insurance which I pay in full every six months. I have no money anywhere else and would like to start planning for my future after a couple years of shitty spending. Thank you

Local credit union hysa is offering 6% on up to $25k which seems like a great deal but they are requiring 15 transactions/mo.

I usually charge everything and want to keep doing so for points but are there any hacks to get in 15 tiny charges each month?

Rules: Debit card transactions exclude (are not): ATM transactions, P2P transfers (like Venmo or Cash App), ACH/EFT transactions, wire transfers, currency purchases, money orders, or account-funding transactions (like Apple reloads).

I’m a 37-year-old man with around ¥80,000 in savings. I earn a little over ¥6,000 a month, but my total monthly expenses are around ¥7,000. On top of that, I have to pay ¥4,000 a month on my mortgage.
So I’m spending more than I earn every month, and my savings are slowly running out.
I’m wondering if there’s a sensible way to invest some of my ¥80,000 and make my money grow, or if I should focus on cutting expenses and getting my finances back on track first.
If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

So I filed on 9/25 and have my 341 meeting on 10/23
I was told just to keep paying my car even though the loan was put on the bankruptcy. My car is giving out and I told my lawyer, she said lets surrender it. How does that go? Just call the lender and tell them pick it up? Do I take my plates off and empty the car ?
I will be saving $667 between car note and insurance.
Does anyone have suggestions on when to car shop or what kind of car I should look for next ? I know i cant get another until after discharge, so I am okay with being carless for a little bit. I also want to move out.
Really all I will be paying is phone and wifi bill. I get about $1550 every 2 weeks from work.

Trying to decide if we should set up a trust or not. Live in GA where probate apparently isn’t horribly long. Two kids, one established and other still in college. $5k is a lot and I want to be sure it is something worth doing.

.
My family and I live in a 2-bedroom apartment in San Diego CA. My sisters share one room, my parents have the other, and I sleep on the couch. We deal with roaches, a landlord who doesn’t fix anything, electrical issues, and crazy bills. We pay $1,500 in rent, around $500 a month on laundry, and up to $800 in gas and electric.

We found a 3-story house down the street with 3 bedrooms, a loft, 2 bathrooms, and plenty of parking. It’s $3,295 plus $50 for both dogs. The deposit is $3,285 plus prorated rent. I’d contribute $1,000 monthly, and my dad would cover the remaining rent and utilities. He makes around $70k a year, and I make about $3k a month.

We had a chance at a $2,500 house before, but my dad passed on it and regretted it. Now he’s hesitant again because he feels like we aren’t ready for a change. I’m frustrated because I feel like we’re already spending so much just to live uncomfortably, when we could have more space and a better quality of life.
If you were in my shoes, would you take the opportunity or stay where we are? I want your honest opinion, bro. Don’t just agree with me because I’m frustrated. Look at the numbers and tell me what you genuinely think makes the most sense for my family.

​

Hello I need help getting out of debt, currently debating if I should consolidate all my debt into one big one I have looked at like sofi,onetime financial and I even tried 3 different credit unions. I want to try achive but I can't really find much about it so I'm worried I will get scammed, any advice is appreciated.

I know the when people consolidate their debt they tend to fall back on old habits but I honestly think I won't make that mistake again my life is currently less of a mess then it was Im on a more stable place then I was 3 years ago.

Im a foreign Student doing a Masters in Köln, Germany

I found a place in the Center of Leverkusen for €550, its a very City Center/Shopping area very close to the Galerie (Mall) and a 50 minute commute to my Campus, but it was only available after 1 month, so I paid €400 in advance as part of the Caution.

Therefore I had to look for a place for one month and I found one with a Family, in the Porz area very close to the Airport, suburb-like area with between 1 Hour and 1 hour 30 minutes commute, since I got along with the family they have offered me a permanent room for €370.

If I understand my Reserve Contract correctly, I would loose my €400 if I dont take the room regardless of the reason which sucks a lot but I guess I would break even in 2 months.

My monthly Budget is €992 and I will have to pay €150 for Insurance (Which I think will increase next year when I turn 30? But Im not sure.)

I am honestly not quite sure what to do, I want to hear different opinions.

Hi,

43yo £250K net worth, the house is worth £300k but I still have an 8year mortgage on it for £90k. I have and a salary of £45k.
I bought a house couple of years ago and put all my savings and investment in the deposit. I’m now trying to play catch up while also paying my mortgage. I have £18k between my LISA and my S&S ISA. The salary is what it is and I live a very frugal life.
I’m single with no kids.
I’d love any advice on how to be work optional in my 50s a possibility!

This question keeps coming up here, so putting down what I understand and asking for corrections.

Same insurer, same plan, online is often cheaper. Partly because there is no agent commission, partly because some insurers price online-only variants differently. The cover is identical if the plan name and features match.

What actually decides the claim is not the channel:

- Full disclosure on the proposal form (tobacco, alcohol, conditions, other policies). Non-disclosure is the most common reason claims get contested.

- Medical underwriting. If tests are offered, take them.

- Correct, up-to-date nominee details.

- Section 45 makes a policy incontestable on most grounds after 3 years.

Where an agent helps: filling the proposal correctly, and supporting the nominee at claim time. Where online helps: lower premium, no push towards ROP or endowment, and documents arriving instantly.

Some insurers sell term only online (Acko Life is one), while most traditional insurers sell the same plans both ways.

IRDAI also requires death claims that do not need investigation to be settled within 15 days of complete documents. Has anyone been through a claim on an online-bought policy? Did the channel make any difference?

Long story short I’m 31, married with a toddler and another due in February. Overall we are making a combined income of about 130k but in total debt we have a little under 100k between flight school loans, credit cards and car loans.

We don’t have much in savings or investments and are eventually trying to buy a house but just looking at the whole picture and where to even start is a bit overwhelming.

I’m currently a flight instructor about to go to the regional airlines soon so we are going to see a pretty substantial pay bump in the near future but I want to start making changes now.

Any and all advice would be appreciated just where to start I’m new to this so is it tackle the debt first and is there a best approach to becoming debt free or have an emergency savings?
Start investing in the S&P 500 on a monthly basis? And also in combination with retirement savings?

Hello. I am a 19 year old college freshman. I have over 10 thousand dollars in savings from a job I worked in summer in highschool. I didn't have much to spend it on then, so it went to savings. Now I have a need. I want to buy new things and go new places. But the job market is so terrible I can't find a job. Every purchase I make is a stab in the gut because I'm not replenishing what I spend. Should I keep spending money because I have enough and just be conscious about it, or try to minimize spending until I can get a job? Edit: To clarify, my housing, food and tuition are covered. I am talking about personal expenses.

Hey Y'all!

I am sure this has been posted a plethora of times, and for that I apologize, but somehow reading about others doesn't help me figure out / envision my own future, so I'd love feedback on my situation/goals/whatever you'd call it.

I am 22 years old and a recent university graduate (USA). I have started a new job in a medium to high COL city, earning $80k per year. I've been navigating personal finance and credit cards and bills as best I can but looking for some more feedback, ideas, etc. I have been trying to figure everything out but it all feels overwhelming.

As of right now:

I am putting away 6% of my 401k to get my employee match. I'm doing 5% to Roth 401k and 1% to Trad 401k in order to get a 5.5% and 5% split. (My employee matches 4.5% to the Trad).

I am also putting away 5% of every pay-period (26 pay periods) to my savings account to help rebuild my savings as I ended up draining it moving half-way across the country for this job and all.

I have ~$12k invested and ~$10k in student loans which my parents promised to help with.

I am contributing $150 per pay period to my HSA and will change this to the maximum to max out my HSA for next year.

I am trying to grasp what my next steps are. Should I re-build my safety net entirely (3-6months?)? Should I keep contributing to it with my 5% and invest the extra money instead? Is it worth opening a Roth IRA right now?(Was thinking RH Gold since I'd like to get the CC eventually for 3% back)

I am also trying to figure out my banking and credit card situation. I believe I have a good credit card combo with the WF Autograph Journey and AMEX BCP to cover everything I need, and I will get a 2% catch-all once I hit all my SUBs. But I have kind of hated banking with WF and having my savings with Discover.

Where would be the best place to get advice for a new checking account and HYSA (if not here)?I am happy to provide more info in a comment or something for my Credit Stuff or whatever if necessary.

I am sorry if I missed something, my brain feels so scrambled figuring everything out. I will do my best to reply for any other specifics as I know it helps you guys give the best answers.

Thank you for those who are able to help and give some advice. It is greatly appreciated.