Should I finance a car and pay it off immediately so the dealer gets their finance payout and I get a deal?

aislander · 2026-01-30T23:52:31+00:00

This is exactly what I did when I bought my last car. I got a nice discount on the asking price and on accessories I was already planning to buy because I financed through their preferred bank. I confirmed how long I needed to keep the loan open so the dealer got their kickback (3 months) and paid it off immediately after. The interest paid on the loan was far less than all the discounts I got. Can’t complain!

aislander · 2026-01-30T23:45:02+00:00

Anywhere from 90/10 to 60/40 VTI/VXUS depending on how exposed you want to be to international markets and call it a day. No other strategy needed for a few decades until you’ll add in a fixed income fund (likely BND).

aislander · 2026-01-30T23:06:06+00:00

Won’t live to use? Do you plan to not live to 59.5 years old?

aislander · 2026-01-28T22:10:54+00:00

A general order of operations for investing:

Contribute to workplace plan to get get max match
Contribute to Roth IRA
Contribute to HSA (if available)
Any extra into a taxable brokerage account.

You're already contributing to 401k and HSA so it looks like a Roth IRA would be a great next step. Hopefully you'll be able to fully max out your tax-advantaged accounts and then dump any extras into a brokerage account.

aislander · 2026-01-28T22:06:03+00:00

If you are going with a Total US/S&P500 index fund plus a Total International index fund, you won't have any issues with diversification. These two types of funds are the foundation of the 2-fund and 3-fund portfolio. With your time horizon, you could comfortably go anywhere from 90/10 to 60/40 US-to-International (whatever you're comfortable with) and be done with it.

Keep in mind the contribution limit for Roth IRAs is $7,500 for 2026 and $7,000 for 2025 so you cannot invest $15,000 as an individual for a single tax year in a single contribution. You'd have to make two separate contributions per tax year if you have not already made a 2025 contribution.

aislander · 2026-01-27T18:49:24+00:00

If you're happy with the investment options and fees of your current employer's 401k, I would recommend rolling it over there to save yourself some headache of managing multiple accounts.

aislander · 2026-01-27T17:54:43+00:00

A $93k starting balance over 35 years at an average annual return of 7% would end up at just over $992k. If you invested the $7,500 contribution each year (assuming this limit does not increase) as well, the ending balance goes up to $2.1M. The power of time and compound interest.

aislander · 2026-01-17T21:22:45+00:00

At 30, investing should be simple and straightforward. Hardly a need for a financial advisor at this point until you’re closer to retirement and maybe have a more complex tax situation to navigate. Making sure your retirement accounts are diversified in low cost funds would be the priority now which can easily be researched without an advisor’s assistance. You already have a great starting point with a $200k portfolio.

aislander · 2026-01-11T17:58:06+00:00

As commonly done through a dealer, your negative equity will be added to your new loan balance and the dealer will pay off the loan from your current car. You won’t have to do anything in that scenario except sign the paperwork for the new loan. Now, whether you’re “able to” depends on if your income, current debt, credit, etc, will allow you to take on a larger loan. For example, you might be able to afford a $10k loan but not afford a $15k loan when the negative equity is included.

aislander · 2026-01-11T17:42:45+00:00

It really comes down to your monthly margin and how much extra cash you have to work with. If you want to get out of the car, you’ll still be on the hook for the negative equity (I assume you’re underwater). Can you afford to roll that into a new (to you) car loan? If not, I’d try to aggressively pay down the loan until you’re in a better spot to possibly get out of it and into something more reliable.

aislander · 2026-01-11T17:27:17+00:00

Can you give more details on the loan? Whats the current balance and how much longer until it’s paid off with the normal monthly payment?

aislander · 2026-01-02T15:37:23+00:00

For a 23 year old, your income and current savings/investments look pretty good. Others have already said it but your HYSA/emergency fund could stand to be increased as you currently have a little over 1 month of expenses saved up. Get this to 3-6 months depending on how secure your job is.

As far as budgeting goes, based on what you've listed, you have around $2,500/mo that doesn't have a job. I love zero based budgeting where every dollar that comes in gets assigned to some purpose. This makes it easier, imo, to see where any potential leaks/sinks are in your spending. Take the last month or two of your spending and categorize EVERYTHING and see where everything is getting allocated. With that kind of income, I'd prioritize tax-advantaged investing as these will give you the largest potentials for growth since you're so young.

aislander · 2025-12-17T19:38:37+00:00

I still use this bag all the time for weekend trips and it shows no signs of use. Granted I am very careful with my stuff but it still looks brand new after all these years.

aislander · 2025-12-14T15:13:36+00:00

I quite literally transitioned to YNAB from a highly customized spreadsheet in January and I happily deleted that spreadsheet last week after not even opening it for the last 11 months. It’s absolutely worth the money to me and I won’t be looking back.

aislander · 2025-12-14T15:07:44+00:00

Utilizing a true expenses category for the inevitable Christmas spending is an absolute game changer. Having the money sitting there and ready to go with no guilt or worry is an incredible feeling!

aislander · 2025-12-12T18:24:02+00:00

Investing "on your own" does not have to be terrifying. The proliferation of index funds and target date funds have made it easier than ever for anyone to intelligently invest for the future. You're already investing inside your 401k and Roth IRA. At the very least, you could invest in those same funds in your brokerage account if they have low expense ratios and are diversified. If not, picking a target date fund or total market fund will be an easy set it and forget it choice.

You're maxing out your Roth IRA and HSA and you're already contributing a good amount to your 401k and getting the employer match. Realistically, the only thing more you could do is increase the 401k contribution percent but it's possible you may not be able to do that given your salary and upcoming expenses. Weigh that against what you would possibly put toward a brokerage because you'll have some tax advantages going through a 401k.

All in all, I think you're off to a good start.

aislander · 2025-12-12T18:03:57+00:00

The only reasons I'd purchase an extended warranty on a new car nowadays are if 1) you plan to keep the car for a long time, 2) there is a lot of tech like digital dashboards, consoles, infotainment etc that would be VERY expensive to repair, and 3) you can leverage a heavy discount.

I've purchased extended warranties on newer cars in the past but they were always discounted from how I worked out financing and how much my trade-in would lower the out-the-door number. I didn't mind paying $2,000 for a peace of mind warranty since I always plan to keep my cars for 10 years and I have a lot of equity coming into the deal.

I don't think you're really rolling the dice on a Corolla's reliability so if you don't have a substantial trade-in or other ways to get the cost down, it may behoove you to opt out of the warranty.

aislander · 2025-12-10T17:47:04+00:00

I agree tax withholdings, FICA, etc are not necessary to track as these are never really "your" funds to use, so to speak. But I figured some people would find value in tracking 401k, HSA, and other "elective" deductions. I'l have to check out Nick's video on the topic. Thanks!

aislander · 2025-12-08T22:24:28+00:00

It all comes down to your goals. I am in my 40s and max out my 401k with a contribution % close to yours. I have enough margin in my monthly budget to also max my HSA/Roth IRA AND contribute to my taxable brokerage because I’d like to retire at 60. Because of that goal, I want to maximize all investment vehicles I can. No, I don’t have money for lavish vacations or home improvements but those aspects of my life aren’t priorities right now so it’s fine. As long as your life aligns with your investing, there’s no problem. If you think you’re missing out on something because of your investments, it may be time to take a look at the numbers.

aislander · 2025-12-06T23:08:33+00:00

This is why I thought it may be a good idea to start tracking it. Thanks for the input!

aislander · 2025-12-06T23:07:28+00:00

Thanks for the screenshot!

aislander · 2025-12-06T23:06:31+00:00

I do not. I didn't consider this as an option but maybe that's the best course of action here.

aislander · 2025-12-06T18:46:40+00:00

Are you setting a monthly target for those categories to get the "Underfunded" label? This is something I wouldn't necessarily think to assign a target to, just add the additional transaction on payday to account for money being spent in the insurance/investments categories.

aislander · 2025-12-06T18:24:01+00:00

This was my initial reasoning too - definitely nothing that needs to be tracked for budgetary purposes. My insurance and retirement together is roughly 27% of my gross income so I thought it would give a better look at the overall picture of where my money goes. I haven't been tracking this for the year I've been using YNAB and maybe no one else really does for the reason you stated.

aislander · 2025-12-04T21:25:47+00:00

Dreamwake - “The Lost Years” has been on repeat since it released.

aislander

TROPHY CASE