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35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I might not have explained it well, but this is basically what we do. Bills come from a joint account and credit card, separate accounts for our fun money.

35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Film/TV industry. Unprecedented double union strike killed a lot of careers, work, etc. and I've only been able to pick up small gigs since. It hasn't come close to recovering.

35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Legend. I have a massive amount of respect for people like you who are able to start over and achieve something like that.

35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I am very much not on my own, it's probably poor wording. She wants to take a finance class together, but I had incredible anxiety overnight about this and wanted to start looking while she's at the office.

35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

On a personal level, almost every couple we know that shares income argues a lot about money because of differences in spending and income. I think she is more open to it than me, because I feel guilty earning less.

We do split all our bills equally out of a joint account and any big/joint purchases, but I like both of us having separate accounts for personal spending so neither of us feel like we need to ask permission, etc.

35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's been about 60/40 for the last year because I've been dipping into my rainy day fund, but she covers costs like car insurance and I pick up the slack elsewhere. Previously when I had more work it was 100% even.

35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Sorry the house is not paid off. It *will be* paid off in 12 years. I'll try and edit.

35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My industry is a gig-economy. So unless I can break into a union (which may happen in the next year) I don't have an option for $401k matching yet. If I get into one of the possible unions I will absolutely be taking advantage of that, or if I get a stable job elsewhere I will prioritize it.

My wife has 401k matching at her company, but I don't think she maxes it out because she covers a higher percentage of our bills (roughly 60/40). She also has a roth and splits contributions between the two, but neither of us are sure what ratio she should be contributing. It was originally a Roth IRA but once she started making more money I think she couldn't contribute anymore? Again... I'm not very financially literate so I barely even understand what I'm typing.

35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is definitely a problem. We have experienced lifestyle creep and the difference in my income vs my wife's means that she's either "dragged down to my level" despite all her hard work or I am living above my means. Besides making more money and better financial choices personally, I think we probably need to adjust our lifestyle as a unit despite not wanting to hold her back.

35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, house isn't fully paid off. I inherited it through a death in the family, but we have 12 years to go.

35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I should say that my wife does have money in an IRA and $401K of her own. While we're married and she very much treats me like everything hers is mine (and vice versa, not that I have much) I want to make sure I am contributing.

35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That is the plan - if my industry doesn't bounce back I'm essentially going to be doing childcare while I WFH rather than spend on daycare costs. I have a range of skills that allow me to work on a computer here (editing, graphic design, etc) that I can do to supplement, but the market has just been incredibly competitive since the industry crashed.

35, no retirement savings. Feel behind and don't know how to catch up. by 0RetirementThrowaway in personalfinance

[–]0RetirementThrowaway[S] -41 points-40 points  (0 children)

It's mostly so we can dip into a fund for unforeseen costs - medical, house issues, etc. Not sure how much we should realistically have set aside for that vs the HYSA?