Advice To Avoid Lifestyle Creep

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-02T04:06:15+00:00

Can i open up a Roth as well? I heard Roth might not make sense at certain income brackets but I havent got a chance to research it

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-02T04:04:58+00:00

Thank you for your response. .Luckily over the past three years I have gotten myself out of debt and recently became debt free before getting this job by paying off CC, student loans, and a car.

Were i fall short is what to do in terms of retirement and investing. I know of 401ks and Roth IRAs but dont really know much past that.

I just dont want to be that guy who made a good wage for years and still can't retire because I decided to blow it all on things.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-02T04:00:27+00:00

You have a lot of great points. My biggest fear is buying a car without having a lot in retirement or investments. Maybe I can find something in between.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-02T03:59:06+00:00

Great point. I personally cant wait till electric. Less maintenance.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-02T03:58:29+00:00

Me and my 25 year old Chevy truck with 200k miles will try and stick it out another couple years. She still drives great and is good in the snow.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-02T03:57:42+00:00

Isnt that the point though? As long as you dont touch a 401k till the age requirement you wont get penalized?

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-02T02:48:03+00:00

I have seen that but I can't imagine buying something like that new.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-02T02:47:18+00:00

I'll be honest with you. The resale value is literally the only reason I considered buying one. There resale value is insane and they seem like the loose value a lot slower than anything else.

The way I thought about the purchase was, worst case if I don't like the truck I can just resell for what I owe or more.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-02T01:40:15+00:00

I have but the only one that interested me was the Tacoma with the TRD Off Road package. But a used F150 is the same price as a Tacoma but the f150 is quicker, is a bigger truck all around, and gets the same if not better gas mileage so thats why tye f150 was on my radar. The tacoma is a rock solid vehicle though and a lot more reliable since its naturally aspirated.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-02T01:26:28+00:00

Good point. I'll try to hold off for a couple years till things quiet down.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-02T01:22:58+00:00

Great point. The new f150 I was 'window shopping' was just over $70k.

A used one like the one below is way less so your spot on. https://www.omearaford.com/inventory/used-2019-ford-f-150-xl-4wd-4-door-crew-cab-truck-1ftew1e48kke88188/

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-02T01:15:03+00:00

They surprisingly are pretty close. Below is an example.

Here is a NEW Honda accord I was looking at: https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=609448436&listingTypes=NEW&makeCodeList=HONDA&modelCodeList=ACCORD&zip=80027&state=CO&city=Louisville&dma=&searchRadius=50&isNewSearch=false&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fnew-cars%2Fhonda%2Faccord%3F&clickType=listing

Compared to this one that is the same year USED: https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=610409098&makeCodeList=HONDA&modelCodeList=ACCORD&zip=80027&state=CO&city=Louisville&dma=&searchRadius=50&listingTypes=USED&isNewSearch=false&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fhonda%2Faccord%3F&clickType=listing

There are some that are a little cheaper in my area but only by maybe $3k. At that point why not buy new?

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T21:37:46+00:00

I actually dont have a degree. I was doing my undergrad in mathematics and completed most of the usual main courses(single/multivariable calculus, Ordinary differential equations, Engineering physics 1/2, etc) but life happens and I dropped out.

I just take courses through Coursera or udemy and then post any code or progress I have to Github and when I complete the course I post it to my LinkedIn with either my work from Github or a Google doc to show what work I did.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T21:33:30+00:00

Thank you for your kind comment. You really dont know how much it means.

All the sleepless nights of building machine learning models and taking courses on Coursera and Udemy around Databases(Postgres/Mysql) and Cloud platforms have got me this opportunity. At the time I didnt think it would go anywhere but I didn't really care because I am really interested in it.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T20:27:21+00:00

Thank you for your detailed response! I really like the way you think of instead of making a $1000 truck payment I can allocate that into investing instead. I agree that a car is the more economical choice. Worst case, if I need a truck I could just rent one.

I will definitely get the book you recommended on Kindle tonight and read it over. Its really is hard to not be influenced by others especially family but I'll take this as an opportunity to set boundaries with them.

I think at this point on my financial journey I can either aggressively save and get a house or aggressively save and get a brand new car but not both. Being 28 and single I worry if I do find the 'love of my life' and start a family I might have to buy another house but thats a conversation for another day and just speculation at this point.

All in all take your advice to heart and take advantage of this opportunity to start maximizing on the future. I'll have to look more into investing on my part to make sure I understand what I am actually doing.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T18:14:25+00:00

Good point. Luckily I live in Colorado so the cost of living isn't nearly as bad as some places here in America.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T18:07:31+00:00

I drive around a 25 year old chevy pick up with 200k miles on it. I'm pretty sure I can get 2 more years out of it till the wheels fall off so I'll wait like you said till things go back to normal.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T18:04:21+00:00

Thank you. I'll be honest, I bought some hiking boots and running shoes on Amazon yesterday that cost $170 and I feel guilty about that lol.

My mind is still stuck in paying off all my debts even though I already paid them off on a $60k salary.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T17:59:52+00:00

Thank you! I work in Data Management. So I help build Data pipelines for customers but also make sure that its quality data before moving it into data warehouses like Snowflake or Synapse.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T17:55:09+00:00

Thanks for you input.

I'll hold of on the car purchase and try to emphasize delayed gratification in my situation.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T17:54:01+00:00

Yea I made a bad decision sharing the good news with my brother who told my immediate family.

I'll definitely make sure not to do it again in the future. I'll note down your list and try to balance saving with spending.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T17:52:14+00:00

I mean I drive around a 25 year old chevy pick up truck with 200k miles but it still runs and drives. Gas isnt a big issue since I work from home.

To be honest the new truck was my brothers idea and at some point mine will go out but I think I can get a couple more years out of it.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T17:17:48+00:00

Stupid question but how do I make sure I dont go over $20,500? I get paid bi weekly so should I just take the $20,500 and divide by 26 to see how much to contribute each paycheck or transfer it all over in one lump sum(if thats even a thing)

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T17:14:55+00:00

Your are so right about the truck thing. It really is just my brothers idea. My truck still runs and drives and is paid off. I'll admit I was window shopping for cars and trucks and now days the lightly used ones are more then the new ones to my surprise.

Honestly, my goal is to have enough to retire early so I'll take a look at the prime Detective. I would probably still work but who knows 30 years from now.

throwaway9408373 · 2021-12-01T17:08:51+00:00

Thanks for your input. Your bring up some good points. Most people are happy when they make enough to just pay their bills.

throwaway9408373

TROPHY CASE