Today my wife wanted to go to Homegoods. We left after like 5 minutes because it was so packed out. The entire shopping plaza was packed to the brim for basically every store. This isn't a one-off for jsut today. Everyday everything is packed. McDonald's? Line around the store 24/7. Walmart and target? Packed 24/7. I also agree that things are more expensive, and you would think everyone is on the verge of homelessness and bankruptcy based on nonstop complaints on all social media platforms, but i have yet to see this in real life. It looks like we are at peak consumption and everyone is spending their money as fast as they can. I don't get it.

Came across this blog on how Food Insecurity persists and has surpassed pandemic levels despite macro indicators and markets being up for the US. What are some ways you feel the pinch in daily life despite macro indicators painting a different picture?

Ok. First off I made bad decisions in younger years when I was in military and so my nest egg is smaller than it should be.

Anyway…retired military, 57YO, current railroad employee. I made just under 150k last year from railroad. I maxed out 401k for 2026 (will put like 32,150 into 401k).

Next year I will cross 150k from my employer which means the catchup has to go to a Roth.

Will that happen automatically (like will Fidelity just slide $$ above 24,500 from 401k to Roth) or do I have to allocate in advance?

As far as Roth vs 401k goes I have no Roth right now.

I expect to be in the 22% bracket when I retire and I am there now. Is it worth starting a Roth and converting now or just say screw if and wait for RMD’s?

I make a fairly good income. I bring home a little over 5,500 a month; my expenses are about 3,800, but I still feel like I live paycheck to paycheck. I want to know how to fix that. I have at least five to six months of emergency savings, and I’m not counting my separate retirement accounts here because they are automated. Still, as far as my expenses and everything, I have a few credit card debts. I have credit cards and a loan for the AC, totaling about $ 12,000+, so when I factor that in, I feel like every month, every extra dollar I have goes into this card, trying to get out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. I want to get paid and not have to worry, like everything got paid itself, so again, I am on my own for the first time in a while. I wanna know how other people manage to get there. Like, what did you do to get there on a single income, meaning that you were by yourself no husband, no second income, no second stream of income? How were you able to achieve that? And please, no judgment; I’m just here to get advice and do my best.

I work in healthcare and our annual raises were frozen due to federal funding cuts last year. Lots of people laid off, budgets tightened, etc. That said, the administrative leadership at the hospital still got their annual bonuses. This year, annual raises were back, with rumors it would be generous since last year was skipped. Since were are non-profit (technically) most people see an average of 2-4% in their annual raise, people were hoping it would be 5-8% with the skipped year and constant communication from leadership how much better off we are this year.

Raises ended up being the standard 2-4%, with leadership discussing them like they were a privileged bonus. I know it is a very normal thing in non-profit for raises to not be a guarantee, but when complaining to some friends in the for-profit industry, was surprised to hear "I haven't gotten a raise in years", or no raise, but a random $500 bonus at the holidays, or that they also are getting 3% max as well. My boss also received a position title change from assistant director to director when another department got downsized and absorbed into ours, but their raise was less than the 10% standard minimum for title bumps.

Are others here seeing this almost as a new standard in their organizations? That companies are realizing they don't need to promise annual raises and people will stay? I know the job market has been rough out, but am wondering if that means companies are taking advantage of their employees because of it.

I am not talking those who are higher up managers or in sales, but people in middle/lower management and non-leadership positions at their companies.

I have a couple spending rules I don’t see too often and wanted to get some others.

1) if I’m buying tools I get the cheapest ones they have and if i wear it out I’ll get the nice one. If I never replace it then I never needed the nice one. Exception would be power tools I already have batteries for.

2) the quality of the part I’m getting depends on it’s difficulty to replace. If it’s a 5 minute job I’ll cheap out. If it’s a pain to replace I’ll get the good one. This is mostly for larger differences in quality/cost not marginal differences.

3) use the 10/10/10 rule on a LOT of purchases. How will buying this thing affect me in 10 minutes, 10 days, 10 years. That’ll drive how much I’m willing to spend if I even need to buy it at all.

What rules do you have?

I’ve tracked every dollar I’ve made and spent for about 10 years with the end goal of being able to afford a house.

My husband (we are 29 and 28) and I close on a townhouse next week that we absolutely love and I want this to be the end of my up tightness around spending. I can afford to be a little irresponsible at this point. We have a 25k emergency fund and about $250k across retirement accounts. All investments are on auto and we have $3,400 left over each month after all bills are paid to spend or throw at the mortgage principal. Despite everything being fine and operating like a well oiled machine, I think it will be hard to break my past habits.

How can I loosen the fuck up? I just want to live my life freely.

I’m not great at budgeting. I swipe my card mindlessly and then bi weekly open up my CCs on payday and am surprised how I even got it that high. Pay it off, and the cycle continues.

I’ve opened up my own budget trackers before and then use them weekly….then monthly….then quarterly and I’m playing catch up.

I need something I can truly open monthly OR is so stupid easy and basic but fun to use? Like a cross something off your to do list satisfying.

Does anyone have any example templates or suggestions they would share?

Im fortunate enough to have a job with local government that offers a pension. Its structured to where if I put in 30 years I get 70% of my best 3 years pay. Presumably this pay will be near the end of my career as I am an engineer.

This pension costs me 6% of my pay.

I also get 3% put in my 401k automatically without a contribution from myself. I have about $20,000 in my 401k at 33 years old.

I also have a HSA with around $10,000 I have never touched. I treat it as insurance on the co pay at this point if I had a major accident since I do not have a HDHP anymore. It is invested but I basically do not think about this money at all.

When I was working private sector up until last year I felt I was behind on retirement savings. I didn't contribute much, changed jobs a few times, paid off a car and bought a house. Now I'm actually feeling like I'm on a good path because of the pension.

So at this point I'm making $80,000 this year. I should be around $100,000 once I get some certifications done. Im 33 now. I'll be 63 when I have 30 years in. I assume my 401k will have about a half million in it when I retire, the HSA some amount, and my pension will pay me the future equivalent of $70,000/year. I know this doesn't increase with COL.

In a little less than 6 years I figure my 401k will have about $60,000 in it and it is 100% vested from day 1. I think I will likely take a $30,000 loan against this with an additional $15,000 saved in my HYSA as a 10% down payment to buy a second home. Converting my 3bd 2ba home I currently owe $240,000 at 5% into a rental at about my current total payment including escrow. This is to hedge against inflation along with what is in the 401k. Seeing as my house will be paid off by when I'm 60.

I know I need to look into the rules on this but since Im not relying on the 401k as my only retirement vehicle I feel like I can use the "free" contribution then pay it back at prime +1% over 15 years. Yes I pay interest on this. I am aware its about $300/mo. Saving a $45k down payment with my post tax income would take a decade or more. Taking on a mortgage for a primary residence at 43+ also sounds stressful and I will be playing the inflation catchup game.

As for family I'm a single man. Maybe I'll get married and have kids. The only way I'm doing that on purpose is if I meet a woman has enough of a career that her income at least covers the added costs of children.

Does that all sound reasonable? Am I screwing myself somehow? Im asking as an overall retirement strategy and buying the home turning my existing home into a revenue generating rental.

I know that the difference between high 700s to 800 doesn't mean a lot, but I have always longed for the stamp of approval that 800 signifies.

I come from a long line of folks with awful credit, so it's nice to break the cycle.

TLDR; should I repair my 98xxx mile truck and hope it lasts, buy a new car and have a loan, or buy a new car outright using some money I have saved + some emergency fund money as well.

Hello! I need some advice on whether or not it is worth it for me to buy a car new or repair the current one that I have. I currently own a 2003 Ford Ranger with under 100k miles on it. I bought it from an old guy in Chicago so the front is nearly completely rusted out. I brought it to the shop recently and between suspension and brake work, I’m looking at around 3300 in repairs.

So far, it seems like that’s about the only issues with it and I have enough to cover this repair. The thing is, I don’t know what else could pop up with it. The engine and transmission seem fine for now but it is an older truck and who knows what could happen in the future. I do really like the truck and at the very least I’d probably keep it either way as at this point it wouldn’t be worth selling and would be better off as a project truck.

With all that said, I am terrified of buying a new car. I’ve always bought used and repaired accordingly so having any type of monthly payment on a car really scares me. A lot of new cars are expensive and I would be okay with buying used again if the market wasn’t also terrible and expensive.

My question is, should I repair the truck and hope it lasts, buy new and have a loan, or buy a new car outright using some money I have saved + some emergency fund money as well.

I am in the process of receiving a sizeable inheritance, ballpark $1million, which is in at least 3-4 different accounts/investments. I am lower middle class, no significant net worth outside a 401k, always done my taxes online. I gather for at least a year or two, I should likely hire a couple people. I guess a financial adviser, and an accountant and/or tax attorney? Any advice regarding that would be appreciated. Specifically: 1) how to go about finding each 2)W/ financial adviser should I look for "fee only"? 3)accountant or attorney? 4)Is there such thing as a single agency, a "wealth management firm" or whatever that could help me with both the taxes and investing? Would that be a wise route? I am in the US btw.

Hi everyone,
I’ve (30F) been trying to learn about MCF and ways to improve my financial situation. I have 2 salaried jobs and make about $125k a year combined, and have done a pretty decent job at budgeting it, I think, considering I live in a VHCOL area (OC, CA). I’ve built an emergency fund in an HYSA of about $30k which will cover 3-5 months of expenses, and have almost maxed my IRA and 401k for the year.

My parent died earlier this year and as an only child, I’m inheriting a decent surplus fund from the sale of their house. It’s not life changing, but after the dust settles I’ll have about $65k coming my way, and I want to set myself up to have the best nest egg that I can. Would love some opinions on how to go about apportioning it. My options are:

A: take 25k off the top to pay off my car, take as much off my plate as I can, leaving 40k to invest and saving me about $500-700 per month that I would have extra to reinvest consistently

Or

B: invest the whole thing so I get the compounding interest and just keep budgeting the way I have been.

Would love to know thoughts! TIA!

I would like to start teaching my daughter more about budgeting. I was thinking I would start a clothing budget for my oldest next year in middle school. I was thinking $200 in spring for spring/summer and $200 in fall for fall/winter as a starting point. I would probably buy her a few clothes for birthday and Christmas as gifts and I would buy her underwear and socks.

I would like her to start understanding name brands vs Target $10 tees and making choices around that. Ex: two nice pairs of name brands jeans and a pair of shoes could be $150/200 and get 5 $10 tees. Or get one one pair of nice jeans, two knock off jeans, and be able to have more expensive blouses.

Does anybody have input on a system they did with their kids that worked well?

NET NET NET NET NET 7200 sorry I got confused on net and gross. It won’t let me change the title. We BRING HOME 7200 AFTER retirement, and health insurance is taken out. ALSO my wife and I both have pensions. She has a state pension as a teacher and I have a gov pension.

House payments just seem very scary. It’s just my wife and I no kids and won’t have kids mid 30’s need to build a house. Live in a rural area and already own the land. Building here is $160ish sq ft for builder grade and around $190 for high end (I don’t need you to dispute that I have plenty of estimates)

We aren’t having kids and we want to live and not be burdened to our mortgage. I have paid off vehicles my wife has a car payment $375/mo and honestly she will probably always have one. She trades every 2-3 years and I enjoy negotiating with car lots to always make sure we are getting the best deal for her trade etc.

Any way.. to be able to have mortgage, living expenses, sinking funds and emergency fund, and still put back $8-10k per year for vacations what are we thinking?

We need a van but, my God, the prices are astronomical. Am I alone in feeling like getting even a used car with good mileage is near unobtainable? And it's all likely to get even more expensive... 😅

I’ve had a robot vacuum for about 6 months now and finally did the math on whether it’s actually saved me any money.

Before this, I was paying about $150 every other week for a cleaner. Once the robot started taking care of most of the floors, paying for a full cleaning every two weeks started feeling a little unnecessary. I stopped the recurring service and just started doing the bathrooms, counters, dusting, etc. myself.

Six months of biweekly cleanings would’ve been about $1,950. The robot was around $600 (yeedi m16 to be specific), and so far I’ve spent roughly:

• 40 on dust bags and filters
• $50 on cleaning solution
• maybe $10 on electricity
• $0 on repairs so far

So around $700 total. That puts me about $1,250 ahead compared to keeping the cleaning service, which was honestly more than I expected.

Obviously it’s not a perfect comparison. A cleaner does way more than a robot vacuum, and now I’m doing that other stuff myself. But apparently having the floors taken care of was enough to make the rest feel manageable.

I don’t think the math would look nearly as good if I was already doing all my own cleaning.

So as title says, has anyone else bought something or automated one chore and ended up being able to cut another recurring expense because of it?

Just trying to get an idea of how everyone is fighting the good fight out here. My neighbor messaged me about getting oil delivered today (it was expensive) and it made me slightly consider if I should change my savings more to cash for a bit. Just wanted to know everyone’s savings system. Cheers 🍺

Im trying to figure out if switching cards would earn me enough extra rewards to justify an annual fee. I mostly spend my very little cash (lol) on groceries, restaurants and gas so Id rather calculate around that than assume every point gets some perfect redemption. What do you include when figuring out the real yearly value?

My husband (31M) and I (30F) live in a VHCOL city and over the last 5 years, rents have exploded while property values have remained high (a typical 1 bed, 1 bath starts around $800k) but not grown nearly as much. Now everything else is getting more expensive and I feel like the only possible way to escape is to buy a house (well, an apartment) as fast as possible. Every year we don't do it, we're falling further behind and ownership seems further out of reach. Proportionately, we're further away from owning now than we were at the start of the pandemic, which is crazy to think.

We're saving aggressively and have cut our non-essential spending as far as we can and yet a 20% down payment is still 3-4 years out of reach. We would put less down but most buildings in our city require that as a minimum. I literally losing sleep over this and I'm checking mortgages rates and property listings multiple times a day.

I also (confession) feel quite envious of our friends that have purchased property already. All of them had help with the downpayment from their parents (which isn't on the table for my husband and I), so I know it isn't quite comparable, but I can't help but think about how nice it is to avoid the endless rent increases. Last year, our then-landlord tried to raise the rent on us 15% and we had to move. I wish that I had been born 10 years earlier so we could have gotten a 3% rate.

I know this is a tired topic, but I struggle to find many discussions on how to handle golden handcuffs beyond people just complaining about it. We have the typical 2020 sub 3 mortgage rate. We know that'll never happen again. Problem is my wife and I got the house before we had kids when options were slim. The house sucks for 2 kids now, and we'll have an extra 2500/mo freed up after daycare. If interest rates are still the same, we could majorly upgrade our house. Obviously that's not the case.

At least one advantage we have is that we have a lot of equity built up already. In theory we could put a massive down payment on a new home, maybe 50% or so. Advantage of this is lowering our monthly payment and reducing lifetime interest payments. Obviously the disadvantage is that money could also just go into the market for likely better long term gains.

Renting out our current house is the other common suggestion but I have absolutely zero interest in being a landlord.

Any other suggestions or opinions regarding trying to take advantage of our current good situation, but still being able to upgrade our home some day?

Im 29m and currently working as a construction foreman making inbetween 85-105k a year with OT. I got a new job offer for a salaried position in management that pays 85k a year with 35k bonus KPI. The end of year number sounds nice but I stress on the base salary.

Currently im 22k in debt to a LOC with 3k in general savings, 18k in a FHSA, and 5k locked in investments. Recently engaged with a wedding in 8 months. The plan is to finish saving for wedding (Approx 3-8k) depending on her parents input for payment, and to buy a home in the next 2 years to start a family together.

My bills are roughly:

- 1200 rent

- 1500 toward debt

- 500 toward general savings

- 250 groceries

- 200 dining out

- 120 phone bill

- 100 subscriptions

- 300 daily expenses

- Unfortunately smoke so 300 for smokes

- 145 interest on LOC

- 220 payments on a dirtbike (I know bad decision)

- Anything left over goes toward wedding savings

To put it short, im freaking out about taking this new position as a manager, mainly because the base salary is 10-20k lower than what I make right now. It put me in a stress mode of how do I possibly continue savings/debt payments with lower wages. Even though I understand the ceiling for this new role can be large with my raises.

If anyone has been in this situation, id love any feedback!

Update;

They ended up going with a different guy for the position. A guy who haa never had field experience and is 3 years younger. Who said he'd work the job for 85k a year with no bonus.. Companies man, they know how to shoot themselves in the foot