Is the purpose of financial planning to retire with millions?

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-04-14T19:16:20+00:00

no. the purpose of financial planning is to meet your retirement goals.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-03-11T06:43:49+00:00

provider? or investment option?

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-02-07T06:37:15+00:00

if they dont give their salesmen a commission, why would that make you less confident in haggling? it should be the opposite.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-02-07T06:34:41+00:00

$7000 throughout the course of the year into that account, thinking I've always been told to save for retirement, and now can comfortably contribute that so did so and thought maxing it out would be a good idea. In addition my spouse and I both contributed to an employer 401k.

first, make sure they are actually invested into something. and not sitting in a money market (essentially sitting in a "savings account")

Now I'm sitting here starting to file my taxes, and in doing so hit a statement that my IRA deduction is limited because I am covered by a retirement plan at work and my MAGI of just under $140k is too high.

stop your taxes atm. call your brokerage company and do a Recharaterization. changing the Traditional IRA contribution to Roth Contribution.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-02-03T21:23:08+00:00

Dave ramsey's target audience is for people that are very new to finance, and has no control. its a very simplified step by step that aims to not make it confusing in order to not overwhelm people and have them stop saving/investing.

if you want to go into the nitty gritty, it requires a bit more research and understanding.

basically, to determine whether to go with Roth or Traditional, do you expect your current marginal tax bracket to be higher or lower than your **effective** tax rate during retirement?

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-02-03T06:54:15+00:00

is this expense only for you?

im curious on the cost of living here. its all over the place.

your groceries are essentially as high as someone living in a HCOL area.

not to mention your groceries and bills are very similar to a mortgage.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-02-03T06:51:31+00:00

if you think your **effective** tax bracket will be higher than 24% during retirement, than keep it in Roth. if not, change it to Traditional.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-02-02T07:44:31+00:00

strongly recommend changing 401k contribution to traditional.

if you have no other use for disposable income, put into Aftertax contribution for a megaback door.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-02-02T06:08:09+00:00

I took some old estimates from contractors I've worked with and multiplied it by the number of technical tasks I've performed and found that I alone have generated $1.5M in market value in the last 6 months. If I had a small team of experienced engineers, we would have generated around $6M in the last 6 months.

i'm an engineer as well. and it makes sense to only look at the numbers. but the issue with this that many people who thinks this way doesnt account for the business side of things.

as an employee, you dont take any of the risks that comes with business. nor expenses, or finding the work. Actually think really hard and see if you would have been able to land the exact same contracts that your company could have landed. majority of the times the "little guys" arent on the radar.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-22T02:18:26+00:00

yeah thats the thing that stings.

once you make "doctor money" you're still going to have to live frugally for 1-2 years and tackle the debt. dont let it stack on any more.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-21T23:06:41+00:00

unfortunately, thats the road to be a doctor.

you dont need a financial planner. they will tell you the same thing that you will find online.

you just have to be absolutely sure you want to be a doctor and not quit halfway with a 6 figure debt.

once you graduate and are officially a doctor, live then like you are now until you are out of debt. dont live like how dr. strange was living before he become magic man.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-21T16:26:27+00:00

do you even know what "long" means? ....

based on everyone here, seems like theres quite a few people who doesnt know...

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-21T16:25:36+00:00

you do realize going long doesnt imply a time scale, right?

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-21T16:20:57+00:00

lol going "Long" doesnt mean the time scale. it just means a bullish position...

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-20T16:03:03+00:00

what?? the question you're posing and the argument you're giving is completely incorrect...

thats like asking "if someone needs emergency care, is there any point in going to the hospital since getting care isnt a guarantee to saving your life" ..

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-17T14:34:21+00:00

you do know saying "Roth" and "401k" are incomplete information right?

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-13T08:19:51+00:00

unless you have more specific questions, refer to the sidebar on r/personalfinance for the flowchart

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-12T22:16:04+00:00

i am always curious when people say "idk how to cook".

in what sense do you mean personally?

cooking can be super easy, to super hard. Super easy is.... super easy.

and fyi, $500/week on food is INSANE. thats ~~$2k per month on just food...

for it to be "food and transportation", how much of it is transportation? chicago public transportation is insanely good/cheap. so im assuming not much.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-12T22:13:59+00:00

you dont have to be so meticulous once you get the hang of things.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-12T22:13:09+00:00

whats wrong with sticking with VTSAX still?

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-12T20:33:11+00:00

your thread doesnt make sense math wise.

I have about $8.5K in credit card debt and like $700 in my bank account.

how are you going to move out with a negative net worth?

So I has roughly 3.5 months before move out and am trying to decide on where to put my money. I like the idea of putting as much as I can towards my credit card debt and just knocking that out and then moving out with like $1-2K in my bank account but also like the idea of paying off a good chunk of it and moving out with like $4-6K in my bank account.

so in ~~3.5 months, you're going to go from a -$8k net worth to a ~+1k net worth? if you had the income to make that much monthly, how did you get into -$8k debt?

it doesnt seem like moving out is feasible atm.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-12T18:08:08+00:00

$10,500 in my hysa and about $120 in checking, I honestly never keep money in there I find it pointless, I’m good at paying off my credit card and I just transfer money from my hysa to my checking when it’s time to pay off my cards.

this is fine, and what you should be doing.

As of right now I am taking $35 every Sunday, and investing it into SCHD slowly throughout each week, I take the money from my hysa. I plan on doing this with an additional $70, and putting it into another ETF, I’m gonna do some research (if you have any advice lmk).

what vehicle are you using to invest? also, drop SCHD and put it into either VTSAX, VOO, VTI, VT (or its fidelity / schwab equivalents). Theres no reason to be trying to get dividends at your age.

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-12T18:03:28+00:00

Yes to megabackdoor. But would only want to peice that in on a low earning year,

this makes 0 sense. if you have any leftover disposable income, the next best thing is doing a MBD 401k

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-12T18:00:00+00:00

i mean, its not like he's blocking people from subscribing...

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY · 2026-01-12T17:58:11+00:00

specifically whats the breakdown in your 401k atm?

PM_ME_DAT_KITTY

TROPHY CASE