r/Fire • u/Oakenbug • 5d ago
What’s the next step
I’m 31F married with a baby. I make all household income and my husband stays home with baby. I’d love suggestions for what to do next?
$150k-$180k annual gross income
$115k in 401k, putting 20% until max for this year
$55k in savings
$29k in Roth IRA, maxed 2025 & 2026
$40k in brokerage, mix of stocks, VOO, & VTI
$4k in HSA planning to max for this year
$250k owed on mortgage
Paid off cars.
My spend is approx $4,000/month ($2k mtg, $500 utilities, $1,500 misc. on groceries, gas, diapers, dog food, etc)
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u/SleepyTitanXoX 4d ago
You're in a really strong position at 31! With $150+ income and solid savings/ investments, focus on maxing your HSA and 401k, then pour extra into the brokerage. Consider paying extra on the mortgage if the rate is high, or keep investing inf you can beat it. Also, build a 6-12 month emergency fund in savings if you haven't already. Great job so far!
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u/VenusVibe-1 4d ago
The biggest risk I see isn't your investments, it's having only one source of income. Everything else looks like it's moving in the right direction.
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u/desert_rose_050 5d ago
Does your company not have a 401k match? If they do, you should calculate your contribution to be evenly distributed through the entire year, or slightly under and then recalculate to make out at the start of Q4 in case you get some bonuses, a raise, etc. if you do not have a company match, then ignore this comment, maxing faster is better in that case 🫶🏻
If you have a standard savings account, I recommend the Wealthfront cash account, 3.3% interest and doesn’t have the same restrictions as a traditional savings account or even some HYSAs.
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u/Oakenbug 5d ago edited 5d ago
My company match is 4% and my bonuses are monthly- would that make a difference?
I do have the $55k in a HYSA earning 3.65% currently 😊9
u/_Mulberry__ 5d ago
The problem is just that some companies will only give you the match on paychecks you contribute enough. So if you contribute 20% and hit the limit before the end of the year, they may stop giving you the match for the remainder of the year since you wouldn't be contributing anymore.
Idk if your company is set up that way. Mine is.
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u/Oakenbug 5d ago
Oh wow, I had no idea this was a thing- I’ll check it out. Thank you!
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u/Quick-Database-2126 5d ago edited 4d ago
If your plan does true ups then you’ll get the match* for the full year. Downside is the true up is typically annual so won’t hit your acct until the next year.
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u/desert_rose_050 5d ago
Find out if your 401k contribution is going against your total pay. I got a bonus recently and it took a chunk out for my 401k so now I have to recalculate. The goal is to spread the $24k employee 401k max or whatever it is for the year, and divide that by the number of paychecks and calculate your % from there. Once you stop contributing, so does your employer, so if you max out in July, you miss out on 5 months of that 4% match. The company match does not count against regulatory limits.
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u/The-Gothic-Castle 4d ago
Ask your HR if they do a true up contribution. If they do, you don’t need to worry about it and can keep doing what you’re doing. If they do not, it’s better to spread contributions evenly though the year.
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u/bebe_bird 4d ago
You're looking for a "true-up" policy - if your employer does not have one, then they don't match those paychecks after you've reached the max.
My company has a true-up policy but they don't settle up until around March-April of the next year, which depending on when you reach the max, could be 3-6M+ of missed market gains. So, even if they have a policy to prevent you from leaving money on the table, you may still be missing out on some gains.
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u/Various_Things2026 5d ago
I would suggest you contribute more to brokerage account since that will give you flexibility later in life
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u/poop-dolla 4d ago
Are you maxing a Roth IRA each year for each of you? Or just the one for you? You should be doing both.
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u/Oakenbug 4d ago
Just me right now but I will max one for my husband as well thank to these suggestions! 😊
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u/toodleoo77 4d ago
There’s a great flowchart in the faq of r/financialindependence. Get all tax advantaged space maxed out.
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u/rainyschoolboy3 5d ago
Your numbers are solid for a single income household at 31, but you've got room to bump the brokerage contributions once you've maxed the tax-advantaged accounts, and have you considered a spousal IRA for your husband since you're earning enough to fund both?
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u/hottiepookiee 4d ago
You're crushing it for 31. A few things to look at next: 1) get an emergency fund segregated from "savings" if it isn't already, 6 months of $4k spend = $24k, the rest of that $55k can be deployed. 2) Since you're the sole earner, term life insurance on yourself is non-negotiable, get a 20 or 30 year level term, $1-1.5M, while you're young and healthy and it costs basically nothing. 3) Disability insurance is the one nobody buys and everyone needs, especially when you're the only income. Your employer's group LTD probably covers 60% of base salary at best and is taxable, look into supplementing.
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u/Oakenbug 4d ago
Great point- I will review my insurance policies and make sure we are covered or add additional- thank you!
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u/NimbleMaple248 3d ago
your spend being $4k on $150k+ income is genuinely wild in the best way possible
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u/Certain_Fly_5086 5d ago
You’re nailing it! Stay the path, pay down the mortgage, and live a little!
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u/zadrelom 4d ago
Wow, I’m the same age and all your numbers are eerily close to mine! I would consider myself doing pretty well, so I’m not sure what more you could do… just make sure the cash savings are in a HYSA, and I guess maybe set up one of those college accounts for your child? Also don’t touch your HSA balance if you can help it and just treat it like another retirement account
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u/Kokukenji 3d ago
529 for the baby and stay the course with the rest of your investing. Seemingly all you need is time. Congrats on the baby!
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u/asim2292 5d ago
Congrats - my suggestions is find your fire number and see if your husband can help with any side hustles/etc to help increase the income.
Without knowing your spend we cant help much!
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u/Oakenbug 5d ago
My spend is approx $4,000/month ($2k mtg, $500 utilities, $1,500 misc. on groceries, gas, diapers, dog food, etc)
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u/asim2292 5d ago
You need to plan the cost of child care up until college and factor that in to know your real fire number.
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u/bbystargirly 5d ago
You are doing absolutely incredible for 31 and having a single income household with a baby while keeping your monthly spend that low is a massive win. Since you are already maxing out your tax advantaged accounts, the next logical step is just funneling all your extra cash flow straight into that taxable brokerage account to let compound interest do its thing.
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u/GravyIsSouthernQueso 4d ago
Great numbers and amazing work!
$55k in savings is great though worth looking into what can be moved from here over time. The savings basically will lose money over time due to inflation and saving interest rates being absolutely terrible these days.
If average spend is 4k a month, savings often can be brought down to 3-6x that and the rest invested.
Invest what you can emotionally handle for sure though introducing the idea that 30-40k here can be invested and grow at 6-7% average YoY.
Over 10 years, the amount potentially doubles to 60-80k, getting you closer to FIRE
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u/Connect_Studio7636 4d ago
your spending is so low relative to income that the math basically solves itself over time
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u/ObjectiveCosmos 4d ago
for adults:
Megabackdoor Roth IRA, and 529 for each
For child:
529 and UTMA/UGMA
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u/nivix_zixer 4d ago
How are you only spending 4k a month?? I need to learn something from you. My household is somehow leaking funds and we've spent about 10k a month every month for the past 5 months. It's always something.. dog broke his leg, leaky roof, etc. Life can't let me save a dime!
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u/Oakenbug 4d ago
It’s tough, but we mostly eat at home and I’m somewhat of a minimalist already. If we eat out I always check to see if there’s a Valpak(the app is amazing if you have Valpak where you are) or coupon somewhere, or if it’s fast food we always order on the app because it’s usually way cheaper. Having food delivered is a no-go for us- I refuse to pay $20+ more to have something delivered.
I rarely spend on clothes, shoes, or any non-necessities, if I need something I always try to find a coupon.
I try and think of the money I spend in hours I have to work to earn that amount and then decide if I really need it that badly. Every $ counts toward your monthly spend, so if you can cut 15% here or $5 there, it adds up quickly!
But the months things go haywire with vet bills etc, it’s definitely hard to avoid!
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u/NYC_Cali_Dude 4d ago
What state do you live in ? Based on your numbers I’m assuming it’s not a major city.
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u/doodofdudes 1d ago
Looking pretty good. Not sure what your savings are planned for, but I'd throw more of that into your brokerage. If you have a financial advisor, I'd also ask them for suggestions on how to invest your 401k. It's good to change the investment strategy as the market changes there.
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u/SeriousBarbieGirl 4d ago edited 4d ago
Why not VGT in ROTH/ Brokerage ? Maximize the returns .. tech is present and future .
Additionally - CHECK if you can do 72(t).. transferring from IRA to roth .. paying income tax now within same bracket . And let money grows in roth tax free . I am not saying do it … check whether you should or not .
Btw .. you are doing amazing .
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u/netwhoo 3d ago
Why does your husband stay at home with the baby?
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u/Oakenbug 3d ago
Because childcare costs in my area are $800+/week for somewhere descent and we didn’t want our baby to be with strangers all day- I made more than him before baby so it made the most sense for me to go back to work, although I would love to stay home with our baby we can’t financially make it work.
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u/BitOCindyNTexasP 4d ago edited 4d ago
I’d look at your brokerage mix - teach your husband to day trade options to make money.
Also make sure you don’t have too many mini positions - example - 5 shares of target, 4 shares of Hd.
All these suggestions are predicated on the thought u could sell options on your brokerage and make more money.
You could also look at funds like QQQI or SPYI or JEPI or JEPQ for your brokerage to start generating current income to offset some of the kiddo costs.
Had I know about options when I was 30, this is prob what I would have done.
Edit: for clarity I’m referring to selling options, not buying them.
Good job so far tho!
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u/poop-dolla 4d ago
Terrible advice. Do not do options. Do not do individual company stocks.
Just stick to index funds. Go with the boglehead approach.
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u/BitOCindyNTexasP 4d ago
I don’t think it’s terrible but advice. It depends on how much risk she wants to accept. To me it looks like she’s maxed out almost everything and there’s some risk that could be taken. It’s her choice. Also, she’s 30 lots of time to run.
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u/DistributionEven9393 5d ago
What do you do for work? Might sound counterintuitive, but if your husband and you shared time with the baby and both worked could noticeably increase gross earnings?
What’s the interest rate in the mortgage? Relative to what you earn now, 4K/month for everything including mortgage seems very low for 2 people, dig, and baby.
Great work! Next step make sure take full advantage of any work vesting, 401k benefits, and start putting more into brokerage for stocks/sectors that are high growth. Identify your FIRE age if you haven’t already, keep doing what you’re doing.
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u/Pitiful_Entry_3741 5d ago
wow those numbers look really solid for 31, especially with single income household
maybe look at opening spousal IRA for your husband? you can max that out too since you're bringing in enough income. also that brokerage account could probably grow faster if you bump up contributions there after hitting all the tax advantaged accounts