Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:09:57 here...

You may find it worthwhile to get a financial planner. Usually, the minimum of managed assets is $500k, but they often bend this for younger people where the potential is there going down the line. There are plenty out there to manage money, so my only caution to you would be to choose one that doesn't offer investments. In other words, don't use Fidelity since they'll just sell you Fidelity funds, and so on. Pick one where you just pay a fee based on managed amount, and where they don't offer their own funds nor get a cut for recommending some.

This is terrible advice. If you want help, get a fee based financial planner/adviser with an HOURLY rate. Why on earth would you pay somebody for advice and base the fee on the amount of money you're looking for advice on?

Meh, we do. To each his own. It's not uncommon to have assets professionally managed. He gets us into the right PE deals, etc.

Because it's common doesn't mean it's good advice. Just about all of the research concludes actively managed assets do not do better-and actually perform worse-than simple index funds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:09:57 here...

You may find it worthwhile to get a financial planner. Usually, the minimum of managed assets is $500k, but they often bend this for younger people where the potential is there going down the line. There are plenty out there to manage money, so my only caution to you would be to choose one that doesn't offer investments. In other words, don't use Fidelity since they'll just sell you Fidelity funds, and so on. Pick one where you just pay a fee based on managed amount, and where they don't offer their own funds nor get a cut for recommending some.

This is terrible advice. If you want help, get a fee based financial planner/adviser with an HOURLY rate. Why on earth would you pay somebody for advice and base the fee on the amount of money you're looking for advice on?

Meh, we do. To each his own. It's not uncommon to have assets professionally managed. He gets us into the right PE deals, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:09:57 here...

You may find it worthwhile to get a financial planner. Usually, the minimum of managed assets is $500k, but they often bend this for younger people where the potential is there going down the line. There are plenty out there to manage money, so my only caution to you would be to choose one that doesn't offer investments. In other words, don't use Fidelity since they'll just sell you Fidelity funds, and so on. Pick one where you just pay a fee based on managed amount, and where they don't offer their own funds nor get a cut for recommending some.

This is terrible advice. If you want help, get a fee based financial planner/adviser with an HOURLY rate. Why on earth would you pay somebody for advice and base the fee on the amount of money you're looking for advice on?

Agree 100%

Anonymous wrote:09:57 here...

You may find it worthwhile to get a financial planner. Usually, the minimum of managed assets is $500k, but they often bend this for younger people where the potential is there going down the line. There are plenty out there to manage money, so my only caution to you would be to choose one that doesn't offer investments. In other words, don't use Fidelity since they'll just sell you Fidelity funds, and so on. Pick one where you just pay a fee based on managed amount, and where they don't offer their own funds nor get a cut for recommending some.

This is terrible advice. If you want help, get a fee based financial planner/adviser with an HOURLY rate. Why on earth would you pay somebody for advice and base the fee on the amount of money you're looking for advice on?

09:57 here. I was in a similar position to you around your age. I was making $100k/year and didn't really have a lot of expenses because I worked so much. I barely went out, and so my main bills were my mortgage and car payments. I saved a lot only because I didn't have time to spend the money. Clothes shopping became show up at a nice store, tell the people to pick stuff for me, and hand them my credit card without even looking at prices. (Easier for men to do this since in general mens' clothes aren't that pricey.)

I think your financial situation is perfectly solid. You have a nice stable base of savings, which is good as your income is probably "lumpy" (irregular), like mine is now since I own a business but dont' take a salary from it (annual profits instead).

You may find it worthwhile to get a financial planner. Usually, the minimum of managed assets is $500k, but they often bend this for younger people where the potential is there going down the line. There are plenty out there to manage money, so my only caution to you would be to choose one that doesn't offer investments. In other words, don't use Fidelity since they'll just sell you Fidelity funds, and so on. Pick one where you just pay a fee based on managed amount, and where they don't offer their own funds nor get a cut for recommending some.

OP here. I'm going to attempt to multi-quote these messages:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a trust set up to protect your nephew? if his parents are irresponsible, they will just spend the money anyway if you die while he's a minor. How about a 529 for him, you'd potentially have a tax benefit to claim too.

Anonymous wrote:I'm working on this next month with an attorney. They're not horrible people but they've made bad decisions about the little money they do have.

OP, you're right that there are advantages to being single and gay. My gay boyfriend travels relentlessly while I'm home with my husband and kiddos. Jealous!

I think you're being pretty reasonable. You're trying to balance "saving for the future" with "living well now" and that's hard to do. Luckily with your salary, I think you're doing both pretty well.

You said that you tend not to spend as much as is in each category and just roll it into savings. Given that, I think you're fine. I think 3K/month for housing is a reasonable amount here in DC where housing is just ridiculous. I *might* cut down the clothing budget and consider the eating out / food / PT your "splurge" amount each month, but it's nothing crucial.

If you end up saving 3-4K/month you're going to be in great shape later on. You may not live at your current level of lifestyle, but you're not going to end up in a Medicaid nursing home.

Good luck!

Thanks for the message. You're right that I most certainly feel I could be saving more but at the same time I work ALL THE TIME and I'm trying to introduce more balance into my life. I don't think making money simply to save it is the answer for some people.

The savings amount I listed really is what I consider the minimum, and in the spending categories, those are what I consider maximums. I try to be diligent about asking myself whether or not something I'm buying is adding to my life vs just a distraction.

There's a reasonable chance that I'll end up selling my current company to one of our current partners, which would change everything but for now I'm keeping my head down and chugging along Tell that gay husband of yours you want to join him on one of those trips!

Anonymous wrote:If saving is your priority, you could slash your transp/food/clothing/personal budgets in half. We spend way less than that as a family of 5. If you're into fitness, try riding your bike as much as possible to get around and your transp costs should fall dramatically. When I was single, I saved at least half my pay each month. All depends what your priorities are though.

You saved 1/2 your take home pay? Wow. As I make more money I can see myself doing that. I going to avoid "lifestyle creep" as much as possible.

My priority is to save a significant amount (for now) but to also balance it well enough that I feel I'm not depriving myself everything I want. My splurges are typically things that free up my time because I never seem to have enough of it. I don't own a car but the transportation includes metro, several trips I have to take to NY every month to work with our web team/partners, and some Uber trips here and there.

Anonymous wrote:Male here. I'm 38 and my life insurance is $480/year for a $1mil policy, 15-year term life. You may want to drop your policy to term life if not already.

Also if you want to do college funding for a relative, use a 529 instead -- tax benefits.

Your savings rate is good. Clothing budget is a bit high, but at your income level it's OK.

Thanks. I double checked. It's a 20yr, $1.5M policy at $688/yr. I'll check again to see if there is a better deal out there

Anonymous wrote:you should be investing at least 5k a month. if i were you, i would shoot for more.

you went from having to move back in with your parents recently to netting 10k a month. remember that. plan for a rainy day. stop spending so much on clothes and organic mushrooms or whatever the fuck.

I should be? Is that written in stone some place? I'd like to poll everyone to see how many people are saving 50% of their after tax earnings. I didn't have to move in with parents for lack of money but it did give me the ability to completely focus on debts I wanted to pay off in addition to reinvesting in my company. Read the thread.


Thanks for the continued responses. I probably should have asked in the first post about everyone's spending/saving allocations. I know some people who save 50%-90% and maybe more of their earnings but those people make a LOT more than I do so it works out well. As my income/wealth increases I too plan on investing more as a percentage of my earnings. Maybe I'll start that poll.

you should be investing at least 5k a month. if i were you, i would shoot for more.

you went from having to move back in with your parents recently to netting 10k a month. remember that. plan for a rainy day. stop spending so much on clothes and organic mushrooms or whatever the fuck.

^^^ It's fast, fun, and a great way to keep fit, which is a priority for OP.

Anonymous wrote:If saving is your priority, you could slash your transp/food/clothing/personal budgets in half. We spend way less than that as a family of 5. If you're into fitness, try riding your bike as much as possible to get around and your transp costs should fall dramatically. When I was single, I saved at least half my pay each month. All depends what your priorities are though.

I don't understand why anyone making $10,000 a month would want to be riding their bike around as a mode of primary transportation.

Male here. I'm 38 and my life insurance is $480/year for a $1mil policy, 15-year term life. You may want to drop your policy to term life if not already.

Also if you want to do college funding for a relative, use a 529 instead -- tax benefits.

Your savings rate is good. Clothing budget is a bit high, but at your income level it's OK.

If saving is your priority, you could slash your transp/food/clothing/personal budgets in half. We spend way less than that as a family of 5. If you're into fitness, try riding your bike as much as possible to get around and your transp costs should fall dramatically. When I was single, I saved at least half my pay each month. All depends what your priorities are though.

OP, you're right that there are advantages to being single and gay. My gay boyfriend travels relentlessly while I'm home with my husband and kiddos. Jealous!

I think you're being pretty reasonable. You're trying to balance "saving for the future" with "living well now" and that's hard to do. Luckily with your salary, I think you're doing both pretty well.

You said that you tend not to spend as much as is in each category and just roll it into savings. Given that, I think you're fine. I think 3K/month for housing is a reasonable amount here in DC where housing is just ridiculous. I *might* cut down the clothing budget and consider the eating out / food / PT your "splurge" amount each month, but it's nothing crucial.

If you end up saving 3-4K/month you're going to be in great shape later on. You may not live at your current level of lifestyle, but you're not going to end up in a Medicaid nursing home.

Good luck!

If I were in your shoes I'd save more aggressively - every dollar you put away now will 4 or 5 dollars when you retire. That said, your budget is totally reasonable for a single dude, especially if, seeing as your gay, kids may not be part of the long term plan anyway.

Do you have a trust set up to protect your nephew? if his parents are irresponsible, they will just spend the money anyway if you die while he's a minor. How about a 529 for him, you'd potentially have a tax benefit to claim too.

Anonymous wrote:At your age, you should be paying alot less for life insurance, fyi.

I think your savings are fine. Why Gtown vs somewhere else?

The $60/mo covers 10x my current salary which seems reasonable. If you know where I can cover it cheaper I'd be very happy to take a look.

I was living in Gtown before simply because I liked the location and the place was awesome. I don't need to be location specific with the new place