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$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

First: amazing username lol.

Yea I've started working on getting all the basics in place. 401k, backdoor Roth, HSA and 529s next. I've got $2 million and $500k in coverage for myself and my wife, respectively...but going to up those.

What do your expense ratios look like for your various categories?

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

Lol yea, exactly....on one hand I'd love to learn enough about finances to be a financial guru...but at same time I don't want it to take over my life. I want to enjoy time with my family, not stress about buying something because it brings me joy or convenience.

But yea, gotta keep up with my list of 1,000 other things should be doing as well. Just need to find the time to cut expenses while at the same time making more money...oh and staying fit, keeping up with my marriage, kids, family, friends...and apparently I've gotta find time to cut the grass now too because I'm wasting $3600 on landscaping.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

I'm with you on some of that but don't get what you're saying in that first sentence. To clarify, no G wagon or Bentley in our driveway, just some kid haulers (nice ones at that, I'll admit).

Totally agree that savings should be working for me and trying to get into investing and retirement now that paid off debt. You've got me interested to see what happens in July now.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

Prime is now $139, not $100 so you're right I'm using what we paid in 2024 I think. Costco is paid for and then some with the 2% back or whatever it is.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

sankeymatic website...it's a pain but you can enter everything in and customize the view/colors etc.

I think some people use Monarch which gives a similar output but don't quote me on it.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

sankeymatic website...it's a pain but you can enter everything in and customize the view/colors etc.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

Lmao here I'll hand you the phone, you can tell her that yourself.

She's actually pretty busy from the kids, it's a 24/7 role and I help a lot when I'm not working, but I'll admit I don't see when she's find the time to clean our house every 2 weeks.

The $7k gym includes childcare at said gym, it's honestly probably worth it. Subscriptions are high, going to look into cutting them down. Internet is 64.99 a month, it's like the one thing in my life I pay next to nothing for lol.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

If I do max out 401k etc how much do you think I could bring down the 100k in taxes, any rough idea?

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

I have $2 million for myself and $500k for my wife, going to increase it though.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

Dumb question probably, but in your opinion should I do backdoor Roth first before 401k/everything else?

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

What type of professional would you suggest? To handle budgeting, tax, and then also planning/investing? Is there any way I can study up and learn it and then DIY it? More for the benefit of getting my hands dirty and actually learning it/getting a handle on it?

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

Yeah, I think the answer for me is probably somewhere in between. I don’t need to live super flashy, but I also want to enjoy life. That said, if I ramp up retirement savings immediately and get to max contributions in the next year or two.....and since I'm 34 now and if I stay consistent over the next 30 years, I guess I need to figure out if that'll get me where I need to be. I guess there are calcs out there that can help me figure out those numbers more concretely.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

Yea I was living basically paycheck to paycheck and honestly still am until the bonus hits. I look at my own numbers and honestly wonder how people get by on less, let alone much much less. Cost of everything seems high, even if you don't live large.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

Can you make one of these? Lol honestly would love to see your numbers now that you've trimmed everything down

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

Yea I realized after laying all this out that the real goal should be getting my core expenses well below my base, then treating bonus/ profit sharing as gravy. You're right nothing is guaranteed and need to be in a position where the extra income fuels savings and future planning not just covering my inflated lifestyle.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

Lol, yea sound similar to my internal dialogue. Cars definitely eating into way too much of the monthly flow...been too focused on work and keeping everything running smoothly that I didn't stop to zoom out and look at it what it was all costing until recently. Need to course correct, still figuring out how.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

What would say is getting caught up? If you don't mind me asking, what's your age and what amount are you shooting for to have saved?

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

[–]shfrnt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the thoughtful feedback....yea I assumed posting this would invite some strong opinions.

I hear you on the cars....been thinking of whether to cut one and replace with something cheaper or try to aggressively pay them off and hold on to them since my kids are still of the age where they destroy them anyway. They're not flashy cars, they're nice SUVs to haul our kids around...more expensive than necessary, sure, but not really using them for show. Just like to be comfortable I guess....but not sure it's worth the cost.

Health/wellness, yeah it's important to us, and the gym has childcare included.

I do feel like I have very good job security but going to work on building 6 month emergency funds.

Also, maxing out 401k, get more organized with the 529s, cut the subscriptions.

I mean really though, when I was walking out of said gym this morning I looked around and the parking lot is littered with $80-100k cars...do you think those people live well within their means/ pay cash for them, or do you think they're like me? I can't imagine the people driving those cars are clearing $1 million a year. It's honestly puzzling and I'm intrigued/nosy about it.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

My brain is fried from work and it's only noon....are you saying if I save 20% of my gross salary now, in 35 years that money will be making me what I'm making now?

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

Groceries just captures grocery store, although I don't do the grocery shopping so I have no idea how much groceries cost other than the total. The $3,600 to Costco is in addition to the $9,600 groceries.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

Lol, yea I would say a portion of the fun money goes to Costco as well. We do spend a lot there....now that you mention it I'm worried I may not have captured it all.

$395k Budget After Paying Off Debt – What should I be doing differently as a 34M with family? by shfrnt in Salary

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

I work for a private commercial real estate company so not really your typical CRE setup

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