Hi all,
Long time lurker, first time poster. Throw away account for obvious reasons. I've been pretty nervous about posting here due to my ridiculously embarrassing amount of student debt, but I'm trying to stop taking the ostrich approach when it comes to my f-ed up finances! Looking for advice regarding savings, loan repayment and retirement. Constructive advice only please, I know how dumb it was to take out crazy amounts of student loans and constantly question all of my life choices, so spare me the guilt as I beat myself up enough over it. :P
I'm just shy of 29 years old. Finished graduate school last year and started working in the fall. Immediately put all of my efforts into paying off about 15k in credit card debt, so that is all behind me (credit score is actually decent, sitting in the 760s). This is the current picture:
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86k salary (I work in a medical field but do not anticipate salary ever being more than 110k). My current job does not offer a 401k or any retirement plan at all. Take home pay is about $5150/month after taxes and benefits.
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410k student debt (I know. No really, I KNOW.) Began paying $551/month in December 2016 in a REPAYE program. I consolidated, and everything is at 7% interest.
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Living with my parents for the foreseeable future, paying them $400 a month towards housing costs, cell phone, and food. I probably spend an additional $100 per month on entertainment. I would like to move out early next year, but I'm not in a huge hurry for it.
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$273/month car payment. My commute is extremely short, and I probably only fill up my gas tank once every 2 months.
Those are all of my set payments. I've recently begun contributing to some savings accounts through Ally and trying to save for retirement:
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$330 biweekly to a Roth IRA so I can max it out before end of year. Will reduce this to approx. $210 biweekly to max out in 2018.
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$300 biweekly to an emergency fund (currently sitting at $1600; would like this to be at 10k). May increase contributions to attempt to meet goal by end of year.
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$100 biweekly to a travel fund (currently at $500). Taking a least 1 international trip per year is hugely important to me, so I consider this a priority. I do rely on points for the majority of airfare costs.
After the emergency fund is set, I plan on establishing a savings or investment account to pay towards the loan forgiveness tax situation. This is my main concern. I was thinking I would match my current monthly loan payment (roughly $550/month) to save towards paying off the taxes on the amount forgiven after 25 years. I admittedly am completely clueless on how to project how much will be forgiven and how much I will owe in taxes for this come end of 2041, and this is a major stressor for me.
Also, aside from the Roth IRA, what's the best way for me to be preparing for retirement without a 401k? HSA?
Sorry for the novella, and for being a noob. Much thanks for any insights, or for pointing out holes in my current plan.
Submitted July 06, 2017 at 03:21PM by sharkhorse16 http://ift.tt/2tNCg9d
