I'm 31 and just starting to figure out my finances (thanks in large part to this sub!). I've got as far as step 1 in the "prime directive" in the wicki, but I'm a little confused about what comes next and would really appreciate some personalized advice.
The TLDR version: I've figured out my budget, I have an emergency fund, and I don't have any debt. So what do I do with the money beyond my emergency fund?
A little background/context: I'm single and don't have or want children. I grew up super poor, spent all of my 20s in school, then had to leave a PhD program before finishing due to a medical problem. I got a civil service job earlier this year and it's the first time I've ever had a real/non-grad student income. I want to figure out how to start planning for retirement, but I've never had anything fancier than a savings account and don't know where to start.
My financial situation: I'm currently making about $65k/year. I have ~$20k in my savings account and no debt. My living expenses are around $2500/month, though I'm planning to cut it to ~$2000 in 2-3 months when I'm moving to a cheaper apartment. I'm currently saving $1,200+/month, plus another $400/month that's going into a pension fund.
I'm not planning to stay long enough to qualify for the pension, but I can roll the money I contributed into a retirement account when I leave (it's currently ~$2k). My employer doesn't offer a 401(k) because there's a pension system.
My questions: where do I put the money beyond my emergency fund? Do I start with a 401K or IRA? My coworker told me we qualify for 457 accounts, so should I look into that instead? Can/should I try to start one of these accounts before Jan 1 for tax purposes?
And how do I literally start the account? Do I just Google it and open an account with a company online?
Any advice would be much appreciated, and the simpler the instructions the better! I know I should be able to google/read about some of this on the wiki, but I'm easily intimidated by this sort of stuff and keep getting confused and putting it off. TIA!
Submitted December 20, 2020 at 03:33PM by fitza32 https://ift.tt/3pbhIRi
