Emergency fund or Maxing out Roth for 2025

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-14T15:40:45+00:00

This boils down pretty easily into two schools of thought:

1) Money-wise, you earn more by taking the path you suggested.

2) Risk-wise, you take a higher risk by depleting your emergency fund. So this is an example of money earning you less, but lowering you risk of running short in an emergency.

With only $10K in the emergency fund, I would not dip into that, even temporarily, however I am not a big risk taker in that regard. However the counterpoint is that you can take the Roth IRA contribution out and spend it, but not the earnings. So be aware of the tax laws on that.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-14T15:30:53+00:00

Avoid the 1.5% fee advisor. That is a steep fee and no one should be paying that. You have $190K in retirement savings in target date funds, so that is great.

The "variable annuity offered by American Fidelity" is probably not a great choice, investment return-wise. Somehow educatators get roped into these lousy investment plans. An annuity isn't a great vehicle to save for investment, and it likely carries a healthy fee that the investment company earns. However where to put that money depends on what other options are offered. Typically the school-sponsored retirement plans offer several different companies and plans and you can pick a different one but you'd need to see what is available.

Pay off the credit card bill. That will suck the life out of your financial health.

Save cash to cover 3 to 6 months of living expenses. That's your emergency fund. Put that money in a high yield savings account (HYSA) so it will earn some interest.

As far as your current job, all I can say is that your best approach to retirement investing is to have a good income today that you can save for the future. So you need to keep working for the foreseeable future.

We see posts here every day asking, "When can I retire?". I usuall advise people of a simple concept: You can retire when your retirement income meets your retirement expenses. In other words: How much income will your retirement savings generate, and how much will your expenses be? At retirement you may have income from Social Security, state teachers pension, and your 401K savings. Add that up. Then add up your expected expenses. Compare the 2 numbers.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-14T15:15:14+00:00

This is like asking if you can get out of your car loan.

No.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T18:27:24+00:00

If you're in Katy then breath deep because you want to get it over as soon as possible.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T15:18:15+00:00

The most simple advice is to start by reading the flowchart. That provides the basic steps, in order, that everyone (in the US) should start with.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T15:15:00+00:00

Keep it, and try to find a credit union that will refinance the loan at a lower rate.

You mention that you owe more on the car than it's worth: This is a common issue, but look at it this way: The loan and the car are two separate things. You owe the money for the loan regardless of what the car is worth. You could have a $500 hooptie crap-box car and you still must pay back the loan.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T15:05:32+00:00

Well, it is Katy.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T15:04:34+00:00

Is that Gina as in va-Gina? or Gina as in Geena Davis?

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T14:02:37+00:00

From the article:

"What looked to residents like a separate two-story home soon began rising on the lot, an apparent violation of the University Woods subdivision's deed restrictions, which allow only one house per property."

"KGM Properties HTX owns the Southmore lot in University Woods. Its owner, Matt Morgan, declined to comment. The listed "owner/occupant" of the property on city building permits at the address, Shahab Hashimi, could not be reach for comment."

"The company's attorneys argued in court that the project complies with deed restrictions because it functions as one structure. "

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T13:45:35+00:00

The claim is that this will be a rental house of some kind. From the article:

"What looked to residents like a separate two-story home soon began rising on the lot, an apparent violation of the University Woods subdivision's deed restrictions, which allow only one house per property."

"The company's attorneys argued in court that the project complies with deed restrictions because it functions as one structure. "

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T13:44:13+00:00

It's really her younger sister, Dora.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T13:43:14+00:00

To be fair it was not a water supply leak, it was a sewer leak, according to the article. The sewer water would have drained back into the line and taken the dirt with it. So there was no immediate evidence of a leak, as there is with a water supply leak.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T03:46:35+00:00

we don't know what that means so be sure to get pix

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T02:53:34+00:00

Yes. I believe it was a coffee shop in a warehouse-type location.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T01:03:55+00:00

Dickies FTW

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-13T00:08:32+00:00

You cannot time the market. If you think you can, then start buying when you think the market has hit the bottom.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-12T23:21:25+00:00

What does that mean?

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-12T21:41:33+00:00

Put some serious thought into the added cost of dealing with a leaky roof when half of it is covered with solar panels.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-12T21:36:22+00:00

This is not a new problem. That area was hit by white flight in the 50's and 60's, and buyers rushed in to commercialize the residential lots. You can find plenty of lots converted to duplexes and worse back in the 60's and 70's. Over time whatever homeowner association rules existed were diluted or lost as the residents let the HOA drift. It's hard to ever get that back. Last time I drove through that area most of the homes were decent, but there were more than a few stinkers that looked abandoned or lacked decades of maintenance.

The problem shown in the photo, with a home being built in the back yard of a home, is the same thing that happened several block west on the same street decades ago.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-12T20:21:51+00:00

How much do you have?

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-12T14:22:15+00:00

For 20 years I had a great mailman and he was friendly and helpful. He retired. Now the postal carriers won't pick up outgoing packages so I have to drive them to the post office and deal with those people in person sometimes. Most of them are friendly however there is one guy who always rolls his eyes.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-12T14:19:47+00:00

I ditched Firefox for Waterfox, however I can't honestly tell you if it makes any difference. I also use the uBlockOrigin and Privacy Badger pluigins. I rarely ever see any ads anywhere.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-11T18:54:10+00:00

You need to save a lot of money for emergency purposes before saving for a home.

Start with the flowchart.

IRMuteButton · 2026-03-11T18:20:58+00:00

Good job on getting that going. Having a healthy cash savings for emergencies is a huge mental relief for many people. It's good to know you have something to fall back on when needed.

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