Hey all,
I'm in my 20s and currently living at home rent free, but will be moving out jointly with my SO later in the year. Currently, I work part time making 21k a year, roughly, but will be graduating with my BA and subsequnetly receiving more hours and a promotion around the same time, landing me in the 35k a year range, roughly, by the time I'm on my own.
Between relatively low education costs and living at home, I've been very lucky, and now have close to 40k in savings and no debts. I just started contributing to a 401k in the last month. My parents have been very adamantly against retirement accounts because they dislike their lack of liquidity, I grew up with them both complaining about my dads 401k, and it took some time to break myself from that mindset, though honestly I still have anxiety around it.
We're in a high cost of living area, so I expect I'll be paying about 1900 a month for all my living costs (I've created a slightly inflated estimate in hopes I'm at best over prepared rather than unpleasantly suprised). We plan to move out of state to a cheaper area after a year. Depending on what I make, it'll leave me with somewhere (hopefully) between $350-800 remaining each month. I'm also hoping after getting stable I can start seeking a job in my preferred field, but we'll see.
Honestly, I'm just not sure what my best course of action is moving forward. I've read several threads and been trying to put together a long term plan for a few months, but I'm still a little lost and don't have anyone with experience to consult with or talk to.
How much of my savings should I keep liquid right now? 20k, or more? That would cover me for about 12 months if something went wrong, 6 months if it's both my SO and I in a bind and I need to support them. Should I be maxing out my 401k contributions, or additionally opening an IRA of some kind? Should I make other investments, such as mutual funds?
Putting a significant part of my savings into retirement accounts right now honestly makes me nervous, especially with moving out and the possibility of unforeseen circumstances, like having to replace a car, or a high medical bill, as well as future moving costs. But I also don't like the idea of sitting on 40k that's doing nothing for me or my future because it's in a savings account.
I will also, eventually (along with my sibling, and hopefully not for a very long while) be inheriting my parents two homes (they just bought a home where they want to retire, and had inherited the home we live in now). My mom has let me know that while we'll get the houses, theres no money in the trust and there likely won't be when they do pass. Shes suggested my brother and I place money in the trust so that when the time comes, we will have funds to give us the option of keeping the homes rather than being forced to sell them. While I trust they wouldn't touch the money, I also don't think it's a good place to put my savings right now.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Submitted February 23, 2021 at 11:06PM by LestradesDivision https://ift.tt/3pSH7yN
