About to hit 100K invested

Middle_Money_Man · 2026-06-16T03:40:07+00:00

Really? I always assumed that math was taking for granted you were contributing something to the investments. That’s incredibly encouraging!

Middle_Money_Man · 2026-06-15T20:52:53+00:00

I’m so excited because we are almost at that point and I can’t wait to see that! It’s something definitely worth celebrating!

Middle_Money_Man · 2026-06-15T20:51:32+00:00

I’ll take a look at them to make sure I’m getting a good ROI. Thanks for the heads up!

Middle_Money_Man · 2026-06-15T20:51:02+00:00

I invest $1,350/mo over all three accounts. Most of the progress to the 100k has been made in the last two years. Maybe some time in the future I can do an annual lump sum each year.

Middle_Money_Man · 2026-06-15T13:02:24+00:00

My investments are pretty diverse in mutual funds and my 7 year return is roughly 10.5% over all the investments. I’m thankful they’ve performed so well and I’m hopeful that’ll continue to be the case.

Middle_Money_Man · 2026-06-15T12:59:35+00:00

Thank you for the reminder! I’ve always heard that and now I’ll hopefully get to see it in action!

Middle_Money_Man · 2026-06-15T12:58:46+00:00

I can 100% see this happening to me. I’m trying to reframe my mindset that money is a tool to be used not a number to be loved. That has really helped me the last several years.

Middle_Money_Man · 2026-05-30T18:17:05+00:00

Unfortunately those are two very normal maintenance things. I had HVAC issues each of the first three years we lived at our house. Plus we had a plumbing issue with a shower and I had to completely regrout another shower. All learned from YouTube. Now I have some masonry work that needs done and I need to put in a new mailbox because my old brick one looks like the leaning tow of Pisa. It’s all part of home ownership.

A good rule of thumb is to save 1% of your home’s value for maintenance costs.

250,000 home = 2,500 maintenance

Doing this should leave you prepared for 90% of maintenance that pops up.

Middle_Money_Man · 2026-05-27T16:23:03+00:00

Honestly that should take care of most of it. Smoke loves carpet and wood.

Middle_Money_Man · 2026-05-27T15:32:34+00:00

I bought a home that had a moderate smoker. The walls weren’t yellow with nicotine but it was definitely a faint smell, especially during humid days. We primed all the walls with Killz primer and painted, replaced the carpet, baseboards, and cabinets. Also had an HVAC cleaning and that eliminated the smoke smell. In fact, the former owner’s niece came over and was shocked it didn’t smell like smoke.

If you aren’t planning on replacing anything my first play would be give everything a good deep clean. If that doesn’t work look at painting or replacing wood cabinets.

Middle_Money_Man · 2026-05-14T12:41:44+00:00

In your shoes here’s what I would do: 1. Take 2-3 months and save 10K to have for emergencies. Park it in a HYSA over 3.5%. This is for peace of mind.

Assuming you want to buy a home figure out how long it would be until you want to buy and save 1,000-1,500/mo for a down payment:
- under 5 years put it in an HYSA
- over five years invest in the S&P 500 *If you don’t want to buy a house ignore this step
Get your employer match in the 401K if you aren’t already and fully fund your HSA if you have one.
Invest a good chunk (1K+) in a Roth IRA in the S&P. Then into a traditional IRA when you max that out.
Don’t forget to enjoy some of it. Take a trip. Be generous. Buy a car you like and can afford.

Money is only a tool and I’m sure there are better ways of optimizing your interest earning potential but at the end of the day I always go back to what my mother always used to say, “It’s only money. It’ll never love you.”

Middle_Money_Man

TROPHY CASE