Any advice on how to building wealth while making $80k a year? I am invested with my company’s 401k and am looking to buy a house. I have been working for a year now and have saved over $40k

like
Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

From one software engineer to another: DM me and I’ll refer you. We start at 201k

funnylikeuplifting

I’m a college hire (bachelor’s) they started me at 201k

like

Keep doing what you are doing. Keep expenses low and keep investing

like

Yeah you could definitely live off of $30k a year

like

Lower your expenses and increase your salary. You’ve got this!

like

How do you save over $40k so far with only one year of work under your belt?

With $80k, taxes alone will eat up about 1/3 of your income, so you are only spending <$15k a year

like

That’s with 2 years of interning and 1 year of working!

like

A home doesn’t exactly build wealth. My advice would be to put as little down as possible (while still ensuring you can afford the monthly payment) when you are ready to buy. Interest rates are so low that the opportunity cost of investing is much greater than the likely interest rate on your mortgage. Max your 401k, Roth IRA, and HSA accounts—ensure the investment mix for each is heavily allocated in stocks. Invest the remaining amount of savings in etfs (I like to do a mix of total market and blue chip) and don’t touch the portfolio. Keep dollar cost averaging as much as you can each pay period, and continue maximizing tax advantaged accounts. Compounding is key. Assuming you are young, these accounts will generate substantial wealth in 30-40 years. No free lunches—just patience, time, and discipline.

helpful

Live below your means (keep expenses low while maintaining a comfortable lifestyle).

Cutting expenses and staying consistent has double the impact of earning income because

1) Each additional dollar you earned is a taxed at marginal rate. That marginal rate will increase as you pass more levels

2) Cutting expenses permanently reduces the amount that you need to live on.


Now that doesn't mean that if your income increases you never increase your expenses. What you can do though is consistently let your savings increase relative to your expenses and get to enjoy a little more of your money as income grows. With this you're still avoiding lifestyle inflation.

like

Related Posts

I’m looking for a position with a good organization as a 100% remote case manager. A position that meets my salary requirements and has good health insurance. I love case management and found it when I needed a break from bedside. Any guidance would be deeply appreciated!

like

What % of post-tax income do Londoners usually spend on rent?

Offered 6.2k per month post-tax and thinking of spending 2k on base rent, single household. Does that seem reasonable for someone who wants to save and invest?

like

When determining your retirement spending, how much do you anticipate and budget for healthcare costs? This is for the US.

like

I’ve been practicing in traditional labor for about two years now (although about a decade of labor relations experience) but I’m trying to break into employee benefits law. Unfortunately I’m not being given much experience in benefits as I’m pretty typecast as a labor atty. Any advice on how I can go about getting employee benefit experience? My long term goal is to have benefits be my main area of practice.

like

How much are you all paying for yard work and house help in the bay area? New to the city. New house. And no time to take care of these. But also worried about spending too much

like

Anyone ever have experience negotiating a new offer to include unvested 401k match and stock grants from your current employer? I hate leaving money on the table but there are some good roles out there. I’m not fully vested in my current 401k yet and my stock grants haven’t matured yet either. This would be at a global director level.

Have an acquaintance who is a single mom; she purchased a used car 3 mos ago. Six wks later her 17yo wrecked it, air bags deployed, and estimates have ranged between $10-$18k in needed repairs while $21k is still owed. Acquaintance was switching insurance policies and flubbed the coverage dates and there were a few days where the vehicle was uninsured. No GAP insurance. I'm not seeing many options for her besides to continue pmts, fixing just enough to drive or voluntary repo. Thoughts?

like

6 months pregnant and just laid off. And 40% of my severance was just taken in taxes .. I just spoke with paid family leave and I no longer qualify even though I had been paying into the program (thanks NY).. I already applied for unemployment but doctors are telling me I’ve got 10-14 weeks left in this pregnancy.. so stressed having twins and being unemployed, no maternity leave, no paychecks coming in, and I’ve been applying but not a single interview.. just ugh. 😭

like

I’m a healthcare admin professional looking to transition into a new role & I’ve just updated my resume but I’m afraid it’s too long. I’ve even taken irrelevant experience out & it’s still about 3 pages long. How do I shorten 10 years of experience to ONE PAGE???? Helpppp lol

like

Any info on FTI Consulting? Heard about a senior consultant job in the restructuring group and curious what people have to say about it: salaries, benefits, WLB, growth, etc.

like

What’s the best way to finance a remodel? Probably need about $40k on top of what I haves saved. HELOC? I’m not really sure where to start researching.

like

Friends what are the benefits of green card for parents if they do not want to relocate? Anyone else faced similar situation

like

Big 4 junior level feels while trying to get promoted with no raises, no bonuses, no travel benefits, and 60 hour weeks with no separation between work/home “but you should just be happy you haven’t been laid off”

Post Photo
likefunny

Has your company issued a statement regarding the overturning of Roe v. Wade? Kroll announced today that it would provide benefits for medical treatments sought outside of an employee’s home state.

like

What was your 30 day PNL %? Gaging where my 187.8% stands as I’ve been hit and miss on buying weekly dips.

like

Hi new to dfw area looking to buy a house. How’s the commute downtown from Frisco/McKinney area?

like

Is Monaco a good buy? They’re being Listed on 3 new exchanges in Dec, but down 15pc today!

like

What’s a good budget for rent if I’m making 138k + 14k sign on in NYC? I’ve got like 10k in student loans and about 5k in credit cards. No other obligations.

like

Is it possible to be a “silent” investor (party A) with a friend who’s an accredited investor (party B)investing in a company? So if B is investing $50k in a company, and A wants to give B $25k of that investment, is this possible with an agreement between A and B, where they’re responsible for their own portion of taxes?

More Posts

Hot take. Is FAANG even a thing? Or was Cramer just worried about the acronym if he took out Netflix?

likefunnysmart

Can we leave CG a month after joining?

like

Anyone else ever in a slow patch where you get assigned ONE thing and still procrastinate it because you’re slowly becoming accustomed to using your down time for life stuff? I feel like I should be crushing things in an instant since my workload is so light, but I’m also enjoying this rare moment of down time before a launch later this summer...

like

I know a lot of firms have strong LGBT groups, and I'm definitely not saying it's the same, but any idea how poly people are treated or if you've even seen anyone out about it?

USI Producer Job, how is it? Currently an Account Manager and looking at this opportunity. Also, really any advice from service to a sales transition is much appreciated!

like

Hello Fishes, I've joined IBM last year( Oct 2021). Am I eligible for hike this year? If yes how much % can I expect? YOE - 4.2 years & pmr ratio - 1.12 band - 6B

like

Hey fishers, I'm looking for a job change. I have close to 10 years of experience in Google Ads Marketing (PPC)

Please let me know if there are any openings for the same.

Thank you

like

Asked my manager whether the company sponsor for Product Owner certifications and he asked me to build/ create a case and share with him so that we can check with the higher management.

Any ideas/ guidance on how to go about it? Are there are templates for this?

like

Any Newcastle fish know the (rough) current L9 salary for EPS resources?

like
like

Do you see an increase in ER visits during the holidays? If so why? What is the weirdest story that you are willing to share?

Salary for the head of production at a small post house + sales. Leaving agency to do so. Thanks in advance!

Hi I am making an internal move (Program Management) in the same org but different team, from London to another EU locale . The offer unfortunately did not offer relocation package. Am I able to negotiate salary (pounds to €) , or is it fixed and no room for negotiation? Thanks

I have 3 years of Experience working as a fullstack developer using .NET Core, Angular, React, and Postgres.

I have also done certifications in Machine learning using Python and Tensorflow, but I am unable to land an interview with Microsoft, even if my profile matches the job description.

Any nudge in the right direction would be appreciated.

Thanks.

like

Is Hewlett-Packard Enterprise a product based company? Will it be affected by the recession?

like

Is paying a career coach worth it? $4000-$5000. I was looking at Madeline Mann. How true are the success stories?

like

I give massive kudos to all the parents out there juggling work and home life. But it’s starting to feel like I pulled the short stick by not having a kid. Really struggling to pick up all of the slack from all of the colleagues that do have kids and feel like the expectation is that parents should turn off while the rest are working from 7am - 2am everyday to make up for it.

like
like

Locums-are you flying or driving to assignments? If flying, how are you dealing with flight changes?

like

Today's dinner: Zucchini noodles in butter, garlic, lemon, and basil sauce with a side of chicken thigh.

Post Photo
like

Additional Posts in Personal Investment Chatter

How does one decide whether to buy in a normal brokerage account vs. Roth IRA?

like

What’s a good target annual earning % for interest and dividends relative to portfolio size? I am new to investing and am generally just invested in the SP500 and total stock market via index funds

When determining your retirement spending, how much do you anticipate and budget for healthcare costs? This is for the US.

like

529 prepaid tuition plan: Anyone here who has purchased this? Would be great to discuss pros and cons. I’m thinking about this using Illinois Bright Start 529.

like

Just checked my credit score and it’s an 835. Is it possible to ever get an 850? If so how? (Know it’s not impacting any of my loans, just curious)

like

My parents have very poor credit scores (<600). What’s a quick way to get this up? They recently paid back all debt but only have one credit card. Outside of paying back on time, should they open a new account to increase credit line / lower % of credit used? What options are best to quickly improve credit scores

like

This is a post to reach out to Indian professionals working in US. How do you feel about investments in India vs Investments in the United States, all inclusive - real estates and stocks ETFs
TIA

like

Is BRK-B a buy right now?

like

Grade my allocations!

VTI - 50%
VXUS - 15%
VUG - 15%
QQQ - 10%
VYM - 5%
FALN - 5%

like

What's the best airline stock to get into before the possible travel rebound next year? Do you also get in now or Q1/Q2?

like

Been using HMBradley since February and very happy so far. Getting 3% as advertised.

Post Photo
like

High risk, low reward investment ideas?

funnylikesmart

Question on after-tax contributions. I’ve recently upped my contributions to after tax through payroll (already maxing our 401k+contributing to traditional Ira to be converted to a Roth shortly contd

Recommendations for best ways to save for retirement after contributing to 401k up to match and maxing out Roth IRA?

like

What finance podcast/show/guru do you prefer? Do you have go to finance books you recommend?

like

Recommendations for how to allocate 401k with Fidelity. Just switched jobs and have to move from Merrill Lynch to Fidelity

like

Anyone ever bought two adjoining townhouses and knocked down some of the non-load bearing walls between them to combine them into one bigger home? Ones you own of course, not rent, and assuming local town and HOA rules allow for it. Thank you!

like

Balanced portfolio: hows’s your stock: bond ratio? Within stock , which index funds do you invest ? I have mostly invested in vtsax and vigax, and tiny percentage in vviax. Do I need to increase in vviax?

like

I’m trying to buy my first house and my wife and I have a few IRAs from previous employers (Roth and non Roth). I read I won’t be penalized if I take out upto 10k from my IRAs for a first time house (except for taxes on the non-Roth accounts). Anyone know how true this is, how the process works, or have any advice? Is it a good idea

like

My lease is expiring and a friend wants to buy the car . Anyone do this before ? I guess I would have to buy it and then sell it to them ?

like

New to Fishbowl?

Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
  • Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
  • Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
  • Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.

Already a user?
Login here

Share

Embed this post

Copy and paste embed code on your site

Preview

Download the
Fishbowl app

See what’s happening in your industry
from the palm of your hand.

A phone with Fishbowl app

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

Download app

Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Already have an account? Log in

Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use(New) and Privacy Policy(New)
Messaging rates may apply

Already have an account? Log in

For account settings, visit Fishbowl on Desktop Browser or

General

Legal