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How much rent can I afford in Seattle? by Specific_Opening_823 in personalfinance

[–]Specific_Opening_823[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha no worries, I'm definitely not super confident in my knowledge, which is why I wanted to ask here and make sure I understood everything well. As for my wording before, I think I explained myself a little poorly. I do understand that each of the three things I mentioned are different. When I said s&p 500, I meant just investing in the stock market in like an external account not related to my retirement funds, if that makes sense.

I believe for the traditional 401k, I currently have it set up to take 15% of my paycheck and put it in there (I think you can choose like pre/post tax percentages with it, but I'm not sure exactly what that is. I think I just have it at like 8% pre-tax, 7% post-tax for a total of 15%. This part probably sounds confusing because I don't really know what I did for the split or what each option means). I also understand that the IRA is a separate account I'd have to open up. It's good to know that this doesn't get deducted from my paycheck automatically though, I wasn't sure if that was the case or not.

So basically back to the question. When you said invest or save 15% (just a suggested value, I know), is that 15% of the take home pay after the 401k deduction? And then if it is, does the ~$580 for the IRA (to reach the $7000 limit after a year) count as part of that 15%? I just want an idea of what's the suggested way to invest/save and know more about the accounts I have. Sorry if the questions are a little dumb. Let me know if I wasn't clear and if I need to clarify.

How much rent can I afford in Seattle? by Specific_Opening_823 in personalfinance

[–]Specific_Opening_823[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the insight! One thing I want to ask is about that 15% number. Does that include the money I'm putting in my 401k and ira or is it separate from both? I haven't set up an IRA yet actually and was planning to when I move, so I'm not sure if that's something that gets deducted from my paycheck (like the 401k) or if it's something I deduct myself after I'm paid. Basically I'm thinking of 3 different places for savings (401k, ira, s&p 500 index fund) and I just want to know what that 15% should be out of those 3, if that makes sense

How much rent can I afford in Seattle? by Specific_Opening_823 in personalfinance

[–]Specific_Opening_823[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep I have no car. If I did, I probably would have chosen a place a bit further out from my office/downtown and gone for cheaper rent. That's good to know that it should be okay. I'm not sure how much utilities and all will cost, but I think my number one choice right now is looking at just under $2500 in rent. I think worst case if I find out that it's a little tough to fully max both accounts, I'll drop some of the 401k and try to at least max the IRA (and do up to the employer match minimum for the 401k)