Hello! I am a 26 year old, single software engineer living in San Francisco. In the few years since I've graduated I've been very overwhelmed by the choices one has to make for saving and would like some advice on how to better utilize my earnings and save up to someday have my own place. I see myself staying in San Francisco for the foreseeable future, so I'm prepared for the worst when it comes to down payments. I could also take some advice on handling my company stock grants.
My info:
- Income: 140k salary + 14k bonus + ~35k yearly stock vest = ~190k
- Monthly expenses: 2k rent + $150 utilities + $500 car + $250 insurance + $400? food = 3.3k
- Debts: 5 year car loan at 2.84%
- 401k and HSA: maxed, employer does some matching
- Roth IRA: no, I need to setup a backdoor but I'm procrastinating
- Normal savings account: 25.5k
- Checking account: 3.3k, landlord hasn't cashed rent check yet
- Vested RSUs: 32k
- ESPP: 26k
First order of business: I'm using a normal banking account I'm thinking of transferring 10k (~3 mo living expenses) to a high yield online savings account like Goldman Sachs: Marcus (2.25%).
The second order of business is that I need to (re)invest. So there's that remaining 15k, and my vested stock. I have 9.5k that qualifies for long term capital gains and I've been holding onto the rest until it qualifies which may not be for the best. I work for one of the oldest FAANG companies and it feels secure, though I know nothing truly is.
My goal is to have a down payment within...5-10 years. Looking at NerdWallet has me thinking I should do some combo of index funds, but I'm hoping to switch to stocks with less tech in them, since I am so deep in tech rn. My mom also suggested Betterment (and I guess there's also Wealthfront) so I don't have to be overwhelmed trying to manage things myself. I see CDs are an option for shorter term goals, but I honestly don't know how long it'll take me before I even make enough money to afford a place here.
note: things in bold are things I'd like comments on
Submitted April 09, 2019 at 01:24AM by TechGirlInTheBae http://bit.ly/2G9J5ay
