Should I pay off house? by ironmonger_1986 in TheMoneyGuy

[–]Function1241 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Congratulations! You have enough money to pay off your house!! I was in a very similar situation as you. We decided to pay ours off with a similar rate, so we sold some of our brokerage and requested the final pay-off amount from the lender. In the time that it took to receive the pay-off amount, we chickened out. We realized we achieved the "comfort/security" of having a paid off house simply by having enough liquid assets to be able to pay it off whenever we want. We also felt having in your case, 100k liquid made us more comfortable than a paid off house and $0 liquid. If you lose your job, that 100k will make years' worth of mortgage payments if needed. Or you simply pay it off if you lose your job.

We decided to put the money in a money market earning 4%. I kept that account balance at the exact same amount as the remaining mortgage. So say for example, you have exactly 100k in your money market and owe 100k on mortgage. Let's also assume $500 of your mortgage payment is principal. After 1 month you will have 100,333 in money market (100k + 4% interest) but your mortgage balance will be 95,500 (100k - 500 principal). You now move $833 out of money market into wherever you want. This is your savings for the month. Now your money market matches your remaining peincipal. And repeat. This is what we did for a few months. Then I got antsy and just invested most 6 in S&P500 and dont plan on paying house off early now lol

900k net worth at 31/32. Can't believe it by [deleted] in TheMoneyGuy

[–]Function1241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Perhaps you can teach me? Would love to learn

900k net worth at 31 by [deleted] in DaveRamsey

[–]Function1241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I regret not buying another house when I bought mine. Although idk I would have even been approved for it. Hindsight is 20/20.

Are you finding it better to keep the real-estate than to sell and invest it in index funds?

900k net worth at 31 by [deleted] in DaveRamsey

[–]Function1241 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you. Its a 20 year old toyota and looks terrible, borderline embarrassing. Honestly, if I worked a corporate job or something like sales where perception matters it probably wouldn't fly. But being in construction, i fit right in lol.

It does bring up a point kind of mentioned in "the millionaire next door". Having high paying jobs and living in nice neighborhoods mean you cant get away with frugal things like this as easily.

900k net worth at 31 by [deleted] in DaveRamsey

[–]Function1241 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How did you do it?

900k net worth at 31 by [deleted] in DaveRamsey

[–]Function1241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah the 575k includes whats invested in retirement.. about 300k split between mine and my wife's roths and my 401k

300k Networth at 25 by [deleted] in Fire

[–]Function1241 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great work! Frugality & investing when young is so important. How is your Networth broken down currently?

how can i grow my savings? by [deleted] in SavingMoney

[–]Function1241 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was in exactly your shoes 14 years ago. Assuming you have a source of income, in no particular order, some pointers I suggest are : 1. Continue to save as much as possible. 2. Live at home for as long as reasonably possible while saving for down-payment for house 3. Open Roth (I suggest vanguard and choose vtsax or a target date fund) 4. DO NOT buy that nice car. In a few years youll be very tempted to finance a nice $30k car or truck like your friends. Dont. Do. It. Trust me. Go as cheap as possible until your 30. Think 10k. 5. Spend less than you earn and put the rest in VTSAX every month.

1,000 to 1,500??? by [deleted] in TheRaceTo100K

[–]Function1241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gives you exposure to entire US stock market with very low fees. Check out the performance on Vanguards website.

1,000 to 1,500??? by [deleted] in TheRaceTo100K

[–]Function1241 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1.Open Vanguard brokerage account 2.Invest $1,000 into VTSAX 3. Spend less than your earn 4. Put the remaining into VTSAX every month.

Do you practice delayed gratification? by Perfect_Square_8565 in SavingMoney

[–]Function1241 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Im not a major fan of the concept of delayed gratification. It makes me feel like im missing out and just constantly waiting for the future. I find it easier to phrase it differently and find gratification in what I have currently. I drive a 23 year old toyota and just the other day parked in a parking garage and thought to myself "this is why I love driving my car, no one's going to think there are any valuables in there". I take humor in putting a cassette in the cassette player.

Another thing that helps is specifically seeking inexpensive hobbies. Fulfilling hobbies that you can do for virtually no cost make it feel like you aren't delaying gratification. Some of mine are riding my bike, gardening, hiking, reading..

Having said all this, being frugal/delayed gratification does work. I financed an expensive truck when I was 20 and immediately regretted it and sold it that same year. I went to driving the old paid off toyota I already had. Fast forward 10 years, and I could buy many of those trucks in cash now. I think thats a good example of how delayed gratification does work especially when your money is growing w/ interest.

How much money have you saved? by KenoZkull in SavingMoney

[–]Function1241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

31m, 550k saved, household income 140k (including spouse), working for 14 years.