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BAE OF PIGS
Nov 28, 2016

Tup
Howdy.

I've been following different threads in BFC for a while. I was around for the original Zaurg thread, I've been using YNAB for years and I've been trying to follow the advice BFC has given others. I was making pretty good money at my last job, and was able to pay off all my student debt early. I got engaged last summer, and my fiancee has a masters in archaeology. It's apparently a difficult field to get any kind of stable work in, and most jobs in the field are seasonal and have no benefits, so in the fall when she was offered a permanent state job in Washington that pays well, we decided to move.

I ended up finding a job in the same industry that I worked in previously, but I had to start at the bottom. I've worked my way up quickly, and it seems I'll continue advancing quickly. Ultimately, my fiancee's pay went from ~$28k/year to $60k/year, where mine went from $58k/year to $37k/year, so in the end, the move made sense for us.

The reason I'm making this thread though is to put my budget out there, and to see where I can make improvements.

So about me:
I'm 33 years old and I make about $37k/year.

These are my current assets:


And here is my budget (Left is January, middle is February, and right is March):



I'm currently putting 14% of my income into my jobs 401k. Last year I was able to max out my Roth IRA, though I don't think that's going to happen this year with my current income.

I guess I'm basically hoping for someone to look at this and let me know if I'm loving up something big that I've never even thought about. I have a bunch of credit cards, but I pay them off every month. I have no student debt, no auto loan, and no debt of any kind. The same goes for my fiancee, except she does have some student debt still.

Let me know if you have questions. I feel like I'm doing fairly well, but I'm sure I could be doing something better.

BAE OF PIGS fucked around with this message at 05:20 on Mar 7, 2020

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moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web
Are you planning to combine assets after the wedding? If so, I wouldn't bother doing the work until after, when poo poo is going to be all mixed up anyway. You're going to be fine just following the reddit flowchart for now. Max what you can max. Planning on kids soon?

BAE OF PIGS
Nov 28, 2016

Tup
We haven't talked about it much, but we've kinda settled on combining finances for the big purchases, such as house down payment, replacement vehicles, travel, etc. while maintaining separate finances for the smaller things and personal wants.

Kids are a maybe around 3 years or so down the line. She used to be against them, but now that her friend had one, she has fallen in love with it and wants one. I could go either way, but the idea of not having to worry about the finances of raising a child appeals to me.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR
Apr 12, 2010



Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22
you best hammer that out - what does "combined finances on big ticket items" really mean? do you contribute all of your paycheck save x% or $y in to a joint account? or do you somehow allocate expenses and then pay in to joint account?

acidx
Sep 24, 2019

right clicking is stealing
Most people recommend 3-6 months savings in cash for emergency funds. You're quite a ways above that. Is some of that allocated towards a home and wedding and whatnot?

BAE OF PIGS
Nov 28, 2016

Tup
Honestly I think it's just out of an abundance of caution that I have that much. Part of it is that that my fiancee is just starting out with her career and doesn't have a whole lot saved yet. She wasn't making very much money until this last October and really I guess I was planning for a worst case scenario where we both lost jobs or something. Additionally, up until our move, we both had some pretty horrendous healthcare, so I really had wanted to make sure I had a robust emergency fund. I probably could reallocate that money a bit, but I was planning on no longer adding to that once I hit $12k.

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web

"BAE OF PIGS" posted:

Kids are a maybe around 3 years or so down the line. She used to be against them, but now that her friend had one, she has fallen in love with it and wants one. I could go either way, but the idea of not having to worry about the finances of raising a child appeals to me.
Yeah, don't have a kid unless you really want one imo. Maybe do counseling before you marry to hammer that out? I know it isn't strictly bfc related but kids change absolutely everything and getting a divorce will murder your finances.

BAE OF PIGS
Nov 28, 2016

Tup
Welp, considering the current economic downturn, I'm going to continue to plow money into my emergency fund. My job is definitely safe, though I'm not too certain about my fiance's. I want to assume that during times like this government's won't lay off employees to keep unemployment from being even worse, but I honestly have no idea.

So with that, I'm going to play things safe and keep throwing money in my emergency fund. I'm also probably going to increase my 401k contributions to 16%.

Random Human
Feb 1, 2010

moana posted:

Yeah, don't have a kid unless you really want one imo. Maybe do counseling before you marry to hammer that out? I know it isn't strictly bfc related but kids change absolutely everything and getting a divorce will murder your finances.

Pretentious rear end advice right here.

What kind of person says "don't have a kid unless you really want one".

"Maybe do counseling".

loving log-OFF, moana, permanently.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web
No kid should have a parent who doesn't really want to be a parent. It's a grueling job, thankless, and if you don't feel strongly that you want one then you are chancing ruining your life and the kid's.

I went to counseling with my husband before we had kids to make sure we were both totally on the same page before, you know, bringing another human being into the world who would depend on us for everything.

Edit: o wait, just checked who I was responding to, lol

Nam Taf
Jun 25, 2005

I am Fat Man, hear me roar!

Random Human posted:

Pretentious rear end advice right here.

Shut the gently caress up, zaurg, and get probed for evading probe

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Nocheez
Sep 5, 2000

Can you spare a little cheddar?
Nap Ghost

Random Human posted:

Pretentious rear end advice right here.

What kind of person says "don't have a kid unless you really want one".

"Maybe do counseling".

loving log-OFF, moana, permanently.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

Permaban this idiot and all his parachute accounts.

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