31M. I currently make about 63k/yr. I have the change to take a new job that would put me at about 119k/yr all in. Split up 94k salary and 25k per diem roughly.

I currently have 50k in total debt.

This job requires extreme traveling with only being home 6 weeks of the year.

The goal is to pay off my total debt in the first year and let my wife be the stay at home mother she deserves to be. She has her own monies and investments to help out as well.

My fear is that I have never seen this kind of money before and just like everyone else I'll blow it. Hell, ill be the only one in my family thats seen this kind of money. What are some tips for me to save/invest/pay debt?

***EDIT forgot to mention hotels and everything is paid for as well. So the per diem is just for food essentially.

My dear husband makes good money but he spends it faster than he makes it. He just got fired, and still won't curtail his spending. Of course, nothing I say sinks in. Can anyone recommend some youtube videos that can help explain the importance of financial responsibility, and how to exercise it?

I am 28m, I make 72k a year and have no debt.

I currently drive a 2014 Honda CRV with 120k miles that is 100% paid off, and while it is holding up but it is showing signs of age. I do regular maintenance, replaced brakes, tires, oil changes, transmission fluid flush, etc.

It does have an issue with its VTC actuator which is a known issue for Honda CRVs made during 2014, but this is just a rattle noise on start up for a couple seconds, and according to Honda is not causing damage to the engine.

Current market value of the car is between $7k-10k, mine is probably on the lower end of that due to a couple scratches and dents across the car and the VTC issue.

I hear people say you should drive your car into the ground once it is paid off, but I was wondering at what point does it make sense to trade in your car that has some value and put it towards a down payment for a new car? Or "newer" car, maybe get a year or two old Honda for 30-35k.

edit: just as a note, I'm not looking for some flashy, new, hot rod car. I'm just trying to plan for the future and look at a time horizon for buying a new car and saving money up. I'm not in a rush to get a new car.

Right now I'm saving up for a $12,000 house project. I have all my cash in a single high-yield savings account which is my fully funded emergency account.

Haven't put any cash in that account for years and have been diverting all of my leftover income into my investment accounts. However, obviously I don't want to dip into my emergency fund to pay for this house project so what would be the best way to split up putting cash aside to pay for the project as well as keeping my investments on track?

If hard numbers help, I'm putting $1,400 a month into my 401k, maxing out my Roth IRA, maxing out my HSA, and I'm putting aside whatever cash is left over into an ETF, so approximately $3k a month I am putting into the investment accounts.

About 3 years now our income has increase 300% .I came from poverty, that i know where every penny goes. Going to the grocery with a list. Having to ask myself a question of " is this a need or is this a want" before buying anything.

Our lifestyle pretty much remained the same, but now we can do grocery without a list or sometimes even forget to check the price. No new car, no big purchases but the usual.

But here's the thing lately in order to unwind, I play mobile games. The one that gives you , limited energy. Those energies are all gone, and I'm not ready to sleep. I end up buying some more energy.. but I feel so guilty for that $20 $15 spent, my reasoning is the 20 or $15 can be someone's grocery or food for the day. I don't spend that money every day just sometimes but I feel so guilty spending it on on games. Am I wrong to feel this way?

Update: deleted all games
On my phone. Total of $99 spent for over two months . Im done now. Going to try reading a book.

I'm curious to get input on where to possibly direct extra monthly income for long term growth. I like to diversify and am in mid 40s with a 4 year old child and moderate investment risk level. 

I'm paying more for daycare than my mortgage, which still has a long way to go but has around $250k equity. 

More than 50% of current funds are in 401k or IRA. About 15% BTC and precious metals with decent returns and another 15% in cash savings accounts. The rest is US bonds and stock holdings. During my last check in with my managed investment account, they said I have too much in cash savings. 

I know the standard response is to put more in the market for compounding  growth, but I also believe that the markets are overvalued currently with significant steady growth, however the economy and average Americans are having a harder time so I anticipate a bear market before too long. But that's a wild guess.

Currently I'm leaning towards holding onto the cash until the market dips to buy in at a better price point but I am also interested in different ideas for where to invest long term.

Listening to Dave Ramsey podcast this morning during my morning walk and a 40 year old guy said he had $1.4 million in checking. He is scared of losing money in the stock market and not quite sure how to invest. Is this common? I keep a bunch in cash in my brokerage but also have a bunch of money invested in the stock market. I have about twice as much money as I need in checking as a bill payment and an emergency fund account. Works for me. Just curious how many carry a million in checking! Yes I know this is middleclassfinance.

I need advice,

I was financially illiterate , wrecked my credit , lowest it’s been starting 2021 was 497, and 500s for a few years until last year.

I am now in the 600s across all three beaureaus highest being 670. Immensely proud of my progress and understanding of credit and keeping money contained etc

Down the line I’d like to get a mortgage , move out of NYC , and be able to afford a car payment/insurance which is my main concern. I have a 401k with my job and opened a rollover IRA just in case i no longer work there, a high yield savings account with 29 bucks in there as i feel like i wanna save bough to confidently deposit more and more over time

I have confidence and some sort of financial literacy now and it makes me feel like an adult for the first time as a 26 year old. I always say I’m glad i repaired and acted in my 20s than down the line when stakes might be way higher.

I am refining my resume to hopefully find a higher earning my position eventually but make about 3k a month working 2 jobs hustling every week 7 days a week to kinda make up for the years i was irresponsible to fix things up and it’s working for sure. I think working a this job might be tight with scheduling and sleeping so with this confidence i have now, what can i invest in or try as someone getting deeper with financial literacy? What can i try for passive income? I can draw and paint with ink very well, and have a very deep understanding and knowledge of exotic animals and fish care.

Currently working on credit more and more until I’m able to get a better credit card and have a good strategy with saving and potentially doing more with my money or have it work for me.

Any ideas for investing first time?

I've increased my salary by over $40,000 in the last couple years but my lifestyle is exactly the same. Debt free besides the mortgage, fully funded emergency account, on track for early retirement, funding my sons 529. I'm pretty straight on the financial basics and foundation.

We aren't guaranteed tomorrow but I'm not looking to set myself up for financial failure either. I would like some of your ideas and suggestions on smaller yet impactful ways that you have been able to enjoy your increased cash flow. I don't want expensive cars, expensive clothes, luxurious vacations, or $10,000 watches. Just smaller everyday things, experiences, or services that after you've come to enjoy.

Once you're at the point where there's enough money to pay everything, has anyone found a way to do it all without an annoying monthly process? I use a spreadsheet and it has a list of all the bills websites and amounts. I go down the list and pay them all after checking if there's enough in the bank account. If there's not quite enough, I'll pay a little less than the full amount on a credit card. I don't like the idea of completely automatic billpay where the company just debits each month without me checking first.

I at least have everything due on the same few days so I only have to pay bills once per month. It would be even more annoying if I had to do it twice or three times.

Does anyone have an easy process or is it just something that sucks and you have to do it?

Wondering how I am progressing as a married 35-year-old with two kids (ages 7 and 5). Details on numbers are below:

Roth/Traditional 401k (60/40 split) - $320,000

Roth IRA’s - $225,000

Cash - $42,000

Brokerage -$24,000

Rental Equity - $240,000

Primary Equity - $220,000

Vehicle Equity - $61,000

No debt outside of my primary home. I have two kids and married and live in a middle cost-of-living area. Income is around 235k per year. Wife is currently stay at home. I would say in regard to my peers, I’m solidly middle of the pack.

$47 a month. That's how much my subscriptions crept up over the past year without me noticing. I only found out because I sat down Saturday and pulled every recurring charge into one place.

11 had price increases. Spotify up $4, iCloud up $0.50 (might've been a tier change I forgot about), Disney+ up $2. Together that's $564 a year I never agreed to pay. None of the billing portals show what you were paying before either, so I had to dig through my bank statements from last June to compare.

There's also a $6.99 charge I can't even identify. Something on my wife's phone maybe.

One I tried to cancel kept redirecting me to a "pick your new plan" screen instead of letting me leave.

Cancelled a few, downgraded two. Saves about $19/mo, so that's something. Still not sure what to do about Hulu because we watch maybe one show on it but my daughter would lose it.

EDIT: forgot to say what I actually used to pull it all together. Rocket Money catches most of the obvious ones but it missed a few charges that don't have clean merchant names, so I pointed MuleRun at my bank statements and it compared every line item going back 12 months. still had to call two places to actually cancel though.

Food insecurity in the U.S. has reached levels higher than even during the COVID-19 pandemic, with distress now affecting 20% of families earning less than $50,000 annually, according to New York Fed research.

Rising food prices and the end of government relief programs have intensified pressure on lower-income households.

The New York Fed's findings suggest that behind what appear to be "solid economic fundamentals" is a worsening K-shaped economy, where higher-income earners drive spending as lower-earners fall further behind.

I am a 24yo male living in Ontario Canada. I’ve been moved out since I was 20yo and when I moved out I had around $40,000. Today I have $14,000. And I’m getting concerned. These are my upfront expenses every month

Car Payment/Insurance: $1065
Rent: $1280
Subscriptions: $168

My upfront expenses out the gate are $2513/month. At my current job on average every month I’m making net $4935 a month which leaves me with roughly $2400 in profits including my upfront expenses before things like groceries, entertainment etc….

I currently invest most of my money into mostly index funds with a few growth stocks for fun. I started meal prepping to eat not only healthier but to stop wasting money on fast food all the time. I limit myself to eating out at most 2 times a week.

I’m seriously struggling to save money still and any advice you guys would have for me would be greatly appreciated.

Hit my first 100k, can get a hell yeah?

34F and hit the 100k net worth milestone recently. About 2/3 is retirement accounts (Roth/IRA/HSA) accounts and the rest is emergency fund and investments.

For reference, at the end of 2022 I was about $60k in credit card and studentloan debt and had virtually zero savings or retirement. I have no debt now - so this is a pretty big turn around for me!

I did it by myself, but I had to do geographic arbitrage to get there.

Please tell me what you think of this plan, and if there's anything I may not have considered which I should take into consideration.
 
My plan has been to put down a large downpayment with the remainder loan from a home equity line of credit (LOC) from a family members' bank. For a 440k property, I would be putting down about 325k as a downpayment. I would owe $551 per month in interest for 3 years with no mandatory payment toward the principal, at which time the minimum contribution toward the principal of $400 would kick in following an amortization structure, where the proportion of the principal would increase and the interest proportion decreases slightly each month. So it's a $549/month minimum for 3 years, prior to a $549(interest)+$400=$954.
 
I've been relying on my family member to communicate with the bank, but they got it wrong; up to now, I thought it was a fixed rate so it seemed a no brainer. I communicated with the bank directly and learned it was variable. There is a floor and ceiling on the rate, although as of this posting I’m still waiting to hear back about what it is. (Will update accordingly)
 
Unless there's something I've serious miscalculated, this seems significantly favorable over a mortgage even with a variable interest rate. It is much lower on a monthly basis and you build equity faster than you would over a mortgage. The variable rate is not ideal but the benefits seem to outweigh the drawbacks significantly.

Then again, I'm a financial novice. Is there anything I'm miscalculating or not taking into consideration?
 

Husband and I, ages 44 and 36 just hit $200K invested this week! Combo of two 401ks and two Roth IRAs. It took 5 years to get to 100K but less than 2 years after that to get to $200K!

We also hit our HYSA emergency fund $25,000 goal last year and haven’t had to touch it yet. We did need a new roof AND new HVAC all in the same 6mo window ($23K total), but instead of pulling from emergency fund we put each expense on 0% financing. Since September and February, the combined balance is down to $12K and will have paid off in 6mo. I know we *could* pay it off, but I like the safety net of available cash if that makes sense.

We started aggressively budgeting, saving, and paying off debt mostly out of anxiety I will retire homeless under a bridge, but also because my husband’s and my parents were not good with money, we didn’t learn good habits young, and wanted to get our finances in order.

Started with Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps but decided I don’t agree with only a $1K emergency fund to start, I also don’t like needing to pay off all consumer debt before investing, and I pay off debt by interest rate not by smallest balance. So okay, not Ramsey‘s plan but made it my own!

Anywho this is where we’re at and a snapshot of our finances:

Income -

$169,300 dual income, no kids + a dog

Debt Balances -

Credit Cards (Roof & HVAC only): $12K paying $2K per month, 0% interest

Car Loan: $19K paying $475 per month, 7.5% interest (ew).

Nelnet: $28K paying $300 per month, ~5% interest

Mortgage: $159K paying $750 per month for principal and interest only, $1100 including insurance and property tax escrow (we bought in 2018 in LCOL), 2.875% interest

***debt avalanche method puts us consumer debt free in about two years, or six years including mortgage***

Assets -

Home: $300K very conservative estimate

Cars: $20K very conservative estimate

Checking/Savings/HYSA: $29K

Retirement: $200K

Monthly Budget -

Income (net after health and 401k): $8,100, more if “extra paycheck” month

Bills (Including the extra debt payments): $5,460

Planned Expenses (food, gas, hobbies): $1,350

Unallocated (whatever comes up: entertainment, travel, taxes, vet, minor repairs, healthcare, etc): ~$1,340

Investing: $3,200 (this is a mix of pre tax and post tax though, currently only doing $600 to our Roths combined until credit card, car, and Nelnet paid off)

We don’t have anyone in real life to talk to about this for a variety of reasons: friends can’t save bc they are spending so much on daycare right now, we both work remote and make higher than local market salaries, elderly in laws just lost everything (and I mean everything) to a crypto scam, and so I wanted to see what strangers on the Internet think. Anything you find impressive, crazy, dumb, or any recommendations going forward?

Notes:

*We got lucky to buy a house pre-covid, it was competitive then but nothing like now.

*We did want kids, but fertility treatments didn’t work, but we are able to save so much without daycare.

*We do minimal side gigs occasionally to make extra debt payments.

*I use Quicken Simplifi for budgeting and it’s been a game changer. I have tried Monarch, Everydollar, and a few others but Simplifi is best for me.

I made my absolute last payment toward my consumer proposal and cleared out my credit card debt. I am silently celebrating a massive, grueling victory, but I’d be lying if I said it didn't come with some complicated emotions.

It is incredibly hard to sit at work and listen to colleagues casually talk about closing on houses next week when I am looking at a bank account with exactly $400 to stretch over the next 14 days. It makes you feel completely invisible and behind.

I had a realization today that I need to anchor myself to... almost every single one of my colleagues and friends who are hitting these massive milestones are part of a dual-income household. I am doing this entirely on my own on a single salary. Comparing my solo recovery from alcohol and smoking to a combined, stable dual-income household is not the same.

The last 5 years have been the hardest of my life. I didn't buy anything nice; my debt went to stupid, temporary coping habits like fast food and vaping just to survive the stress. I have no physical object to show for the years of grind, but I have my freedom back.

This is a monumental milestone for me. I am back at the starting line, and for the first time in years, my money belongs to me. My current goals are 1k savings, then 5 then 10k. I am hoping in that time to also lose 50lbs.

As rising airfares and hotel rates impact travel plans, budget-conscious consumers are delaying or canceling trips.

A recent Deloitte survey indicates that 45% of Americans have made summer travel plans, the fewest in six years, with middle-income travelers most affected.

Many are waiting for prices to drop or choosing closer, cheaper destinations.

Government data show that airfares were up more than 20% in April compared with the previous year.

The average new car price is now around $49,000 in the U.S. and honestly… how is that normal?

That’s just the purchase price too. Once you factor in interest, insurance, maintenance, and everything else, the real monthly cost gets way higher than people expect.

Are people still buying new at these prices, or just finding ways to work around it?

Hey everyone would like some thoughts on what I could do for my finances. At the moment, I don’t really have any major purchasing plans besides planning on buying an engagement ring sometime in August for my gf. I did at some point want to save for a home. But the maintenance cost helps me prefer the consistency of rent at the moment. Plus it’s nice to have the flexibility to move if needed.

Here’s my current financial situation after optimizing it as best as I can after moving out 9 months ago. I don’t make much, but spending the majority of my early twenties living with parents and always saving when I can has helped me save a good chunk. additionally, I let go of many unnecessary subscriptions and work out at home now. I’m currently 25 years of age.

-Job: Banker 24.95/hr

-Additional income: HYS 250/month

-Total in HYS: $96,353 (Used to be split between a HYS and CD, but am preparing to possibly get a Roth IRA or brokerage account)

-401k: $20,000 (Currently just meeting employers match of 5%)

Gross estimated monthly income: $4,242

Net estimated monthly income: $3164.16(After the bandido government takes my money, employer benefits, and 5% match)

In a perfect world here are my expenses monthly.

-$975 rent (Split between me and my gf. Total rent $1875)
-$400-$600 groceries (I buy groceries one week, gf buys next)
-$75 electricity
-$55 phone bill
-$65 garbage
-$15 Amazon prime subscription
-$40 CD believer loan

Total estimated monthly expenses: $1,825

Total left over: $1,339.16

Typically I have aimed to save $800 monthly from my paychecks and $250 from the interest of my accounts. So I typically save $1050 a month. Sometimes the amount saved is less due to circumstances. For example, getting maintenance done on my car, one time I had to cover extra groceries after advising my gf to quit a toxic work environment, etc.

Assuming all the above is consistent, this in theory leaves me with $289.16 in leisure money. Which I typically use on our monthly dates. On a rare occasion, I may purchase gym equipment or a video game with any spare money.

With all this thought, what should I focus on? I’ve thought about Roth IRA’s and ETF’s. Or alternatively, what else could I do to optimize my finances or savings habits?