High Earners Anxious About Money Strategy

“SCHD is really inefficient, especially for the uncompensated risk. SGOV is basically cash equivalent savings but exempt from state and local taxes. If you want tax efficiency, go with VTI or VY and just sell the shares when you need the cash.”

“That’s what I put in my post and have done that but I don’t think it’s the smartest thing to do. I built up about six months of my salary in savings so far this year.”

“Assuming you have an emergency fund already, 100% should go to paying off the credit cards. Paying them off is equivalent to getting a guaranteed 17% interest on your money.”

“I have about six months of my total income in my savings account. I think I need to edit my post.”

“Honestly #2 sounds fun, but you are a) in completely the wrong sub-reddit, and b) left out your other expenses. Why is the debt plan 10 months? I’d put minimum into 401k to get full match and then eliminate any credit card debt as your absolute highest priority”

“I’d start with understanding where every dollar of your spend is going, split into three buckets: Necessities (rent/mortgage, car/commute costs, phone and utility bills, groceries / food, taxes) Wants (short term splurges, going out with friends, impulsive snacks/drinks, unnecessary/disposable shopping, entertainment subscriptions, gym membership) Savings / investments Everyone has their own comfort level of what’s the right mix of this. I think it really just comes down to “do you want to enjoy”

“Thank you. People are most important. Having loved ones in your life is what makes you feel truly rich. I'll try to keep this in mind.”

“27M Income: $90k/year - $2664.44 bi monthly after taxes 401k: 5% me, 10% employer | $22k (late start) Debt: Car - $398.99 23 months left Student Loan - $15,800 3% HYSA: $15,500 Checking: $1,500 Savings: $9,500 After everything is paid (rent, bills, subscriptions, etc.) I have roughly $2,400 left over. I am fortunate that my job pays for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I don’t do a whole lot outside of work as I work far away from friends and family. I want to use this job/time to set myself up, as”

“Thanks. I have a spreadsheet I've honed over the years but the truth is we are not great at budgeting, so I assume a lot for things like grocery (2000), eating out (800), fun/experiences (600), misc (400). I'm hoping that's enough hedge to make my budget realistic, but I take your point!”

“If I'm 65 and decided to return to the US, I estimated that I would owe about $4M in exit tax. Not a small amount. So I'm trying to figure out now what is best for the future. I'm already mid-40s. Another 40 years might be pushing it. lol. I'm likely over the midway hump so I started feeling time isn't on my side anymore. Portugal to the Netherlands sounds nice. Just a 3 hour flight? I searched online just now. That's really wonderful. If Japan were a shorter flight away,”

Finally someone who gets it

“Currently in a VHCOL family of 4 making a HHI of 1.5-1.8 million a year. Total invested assets right around 6.5 mil. My annual spend is around 250k a year, is it irresponsible to retire now? I want to spend more time with my kids, but not at the cost of being broke later in life. submitted by /u/Loose-Profession-516 [link] [comments]”

“Most banks have expense tracking you have to enable. I know BOFA and Chase do. In reality you don’t have to track. If you auto invest enough each month, that’s good enough. The most important thing is naturally living within your means. Most people struggle with that”

“Hey guys! Just finished my first year at my first job out of college. Been living at home with parents and very aggressively saving. So far I have: 10k in emergency funds 50k in my HYSA (for a house down payment) 23k in my 401k invested in their target retirement fund Looking to buy a house in 3-4 years and would like to dump a majority of my savings into their target retirement down payment. My question is, should I keep it parked in my HYSA? Or should I look into putting it into corporate bond”

“I’m 24 and own a vintage clothing/sneaker buy/sell/trade store that’s been profitable for a few years(opened in 2021). The business does around $50k-$60k/month in revenue, low overhead, I have no debt, and I’ve built up a solid amount of savings (150k liquid). We have a great community, I love what I do, and I believe in it long term. The business is a physical retail store with online sales. (About 90% of sales are in store). The biggest challenge right now is that I’m still the bottleneck for”

“Hi guys. I'm 39, with approx 520k net worth (35k in HYSA, 205k in brokerage, 197k in roth, 81k in traditional) I live with my mother in a paid off house, so very low expenses about $500 a month in rent/food just helping out a bit here and there. Current job pays 65k a year, and I have been here for 6 years. I am extremely stressed at work. We went from an old system to a new system and I have been doing the work of about 3 people for the last several years, and this change to a new system is”

“I FIREd this year at the end of March and just now realized I should have been paying estimated taxes on my interest income, which is substantial (for various reasons I have a great deal of money in a HYSA at the moment, and also CDs). I'm really worried now about penalties. I don't have a tax person but am looking. But in the meantime, I missed the April and June deadlines for estimated payments. My understanding is that I'll be charged interest daily from the IRS until I pay. I&#39”

“Who was the fee only financial planner you used to confirm you had enough saved?”

“I have a remote job and live with family so my only real recurring expenses are my car insurance, which right now is about $440 every 6 mos, although it might go down lower because I turn 25 soon. I work in public accounting. I'm salaried with overtime and all things considered I'm pushing $80k gross income. We have 26 pay periods per year and after deductions I net about $2k or slightly under per paycheck (not including overtime). Right now, this is how I've allocated (or plan to fo”

“Hi! I am 25 years old and earn 65K per year. I currently have ~5.5K in a 401K (entirely employer contributions; I don't put anything in there myself), 13K in a high yield savings account, 27K in a brokerage account that I opened in August 2025 (entirely invested in the S&P 500 ETF fund, as suggested by my cousin who works in wealth management), and $7K in a Roth IRA. I've worked really hard to have around $40K in savings that I can access now if need be and am really proud of myself.”

“Here are the facts: Age: Mid 30s HHI - $300k without bonuses HHI - $450-500k with bonuses Yearly expenses currently $95-115k (including my mortgage, taxes and insurance) Invested assets - $1.4M (mostly SP500 - 401k, IRA, and brokerage account) Remaining mortgage: $520k with a 6.6% rate. House is worth $885k. Yearly expenses would be closer to $50-60k if the house is paid off. I also won’t stop working, I would continue working in my current job for a while and I expect our pay to stay in line wi”

“Always always, ALWAYS keep an emergency fund. After that prioritize paying down that cc, absolute worst case scenario now is that in the event you don't get it paid off fully at that finally month deadline then you can dip into the emergency funds to pay for that emergency before the interest slaps.”

Thank you!

“It’s interesting to see someone that looks so financially sound, still worries and has doubt. To me you guys look in great position, even without the spouses income. I’d say the early car payoff so really just for piece of mind. You can probably earn another $5-6k on that $25k over 5 years, adjusted with the loan cost, but at that point maybe having less debt for 5 year horizon adds more value for your piece of mind.”

“Quarterlies aren't relevant, this is off my tax return. It's my total rate, not marginal.”

“i'm 21M and just graduated college and will be starting work earning a decent salary. i'm trying to figure out what is the smarter decision for my money as i have never thought about finances, money, or what it all means, until i signed the offer (my mistake i know) i have $29.5k in student loans current at a WAIR of 5.92%, with 2 of the 4 loan amounts with interest rates being about 6.5%. on a 10 year payment plan it leaves my monthly minimum at $324. i decided this is a debt i want to”

The $1.3M is only $750k after tax. So ratio is actually 8x

Another shock the nun alt lol

“Exactly. That sequence is clean: first find the expectation gap, then see whether the underlying job has enough pull to matter. The "check my bank balance and guess" substitute is especially useful because it gives you a concrete baseline to beat. That should lead to a much better interview than walking people through screens and asking whether they like them.”

“One other thing to consider: an extra $5M/y after taxes is a lot. Consider that even though you don't need it for your family's consumption, you could do a lot more good for the world through philanthropy than if you were to give it back to the company.”

“Yep, good point. My total rate is still correct, though. Seems crazy to come out at over 45% unless your local taxes are only barely lower. Top marginal federal rate is still <40%. Your local taxes must be pretty significant.”

“Income to net worth ratio should inform the decision of when to fire. At 1:1 ratio, I would recommend continuing to work in most cases, unless your health is at serious risk. Working 3 more years until you're 40 will allow you to triple net worth and have generational wealth.”

“How do you figure yourself to be a long way from your FIRE number of $15MM? Sounds like your comp allows you to stash $700k a year & you say you’re at $7MM. What am I missing? You should be able to FIRE within 5-7 years if not sooner.”

“51M been reading bogleheads for a decade and thought I had this figured out. Had BND in the taxable brokerage cuz I liked seeing interest hit checking, meanwhile VTI in the 401k. Ran the numbers last weekend for real. Over 8 years the tax drag came out to about 28k in extra taxes I actually paid, plus opportunity cost of 6 or 7k more if the money had grown in the right spot. Total damage around 35 grand. Wiki has been saying this for years, I just never did the math until now. Kinda feel like th”

“Long time lurker and admirer of the great community here. Really need the wisdom now that we are close to pull the trigger ourselves. Throwaway account for obvious reasons (new to posting on reddit too and happy to verify to mods). 37M in tech. working wife with decent but not crazy comp and one pre-schooler, VHCOL area, don't plan to move out any time soon. Current household NW ~11M: - Primary house 4M with 2M mortgage, investment house of 400k with break even cashflow - 600k 401k - 7M stoc”

“Early 40s here. $1.9M net worth. Will be debt free including MTG by year end. I’m in a career that pays extremely well, but is going to be changing significantly in the next 3-5 years. I have a narrow window to make amazing income, like $500k+/year and would like guidance on what you would do? TIA submitted by /u/Plane_Concern501 [link] [comments]”

“I’m going to quit my job in 2027. I work for a non-profit and will finally have my student loans paid off in January through PSLF. Once that goes through, I plan to quit and likely move out of the US for a few years at least as I make a career change. My bank recently merged with another and my HYSA is no longer high yield (I’m getting 0.10 on the $1 that I used to get….) so I’m looking to find a new bank with a good HYSA. I’ve also got money in a CD that’s about to come due and was planning on”

“Currently want to make sure I’m making my money work for me in the best of it’s ability. Currently have about 90k in a HYSA. I know I shouldn’t need all of that there but not sure how much to keep there and where to put the rest. 29 years old no debt except car payment. And about 180k in my 401k. Also adding money to my personal Roth and HYSA every paycheck. Please help! submitted by /u/OkDifficulty2581 [link] [comments]”

“Getting a bonus at the end of this year. Somewhere around 45k after taxes. My current income is just over two grand a month. A little over 15k in debt (Auto loan, credit cards). Just looking for some advice on what my next steps should be as far as budgeting, getting rid of debt, and overall building a good foundation for my future. submitted by /u/ParamedicSouth8605 [link] [comments]”

“I was talking to a friend yesterday, we both make about $100k annually. He mentioned his investment technique is more aggressive (trying to buy a house soon), and he doesn’t keep more than $30k in his HYSA, and invests the rest in the stock market. That really got me thinking! I never knew someone left so little in their HYSA. I’ve always thought I needed at least half of my annual income in my HYSA. For reference, I would love to invest in a residential property of my own (HCOL area) in the nex”

“So in a bad year you would have $1m to invest or save with your current expenses. You are going to hit goal in 5-7 years at most with enough cash flow to crush the mortgage as well.”

“I don't think about NW at all - I think cash flow. What I need per month and how reliable that income is. NW is a fantasy number that changes every day, my expenses and income don't change that often.”

“First some context, I’m 33M married to 32F w/ 3 kids in HCOL with $2mm mortgage, no other debt. NW is ~$7mm excluding primary residence, mostly invested in equities. I own the house I do because it’s the only good public school district within a reasonable commute time. I already work difficult hours, and I don’t want to compound this with a long commute. Making it home for the kid’s bath time in the evening is important for family/relationship with wife. I work in finance, and I’m a W-2 employe”

“Not to be argumentative but 12 million minus 1.6 home equity - gives you 10.4. Getting a net of 450 is above 5%. SS is not for a number of years. And it’s a longer number of years retirement. This would be too much risk for me but maybe not for the “Fire” crowd. To each his own. This sub came up in my feed and I’m not familiar with the thinking.”

“If you're so confident and know what you're you're doing, why are you asking reddit? I think most people would agree that paying the car off is the smartest thing you could do with that money. Having a fully funded emergency fund is next. And without a car note you could open a Roth IRA and invest every month in some good index ETFs and increase your 401k contribution. You are behind on your retirement savings, so the more you could increase what you're investing for retirement t”

“I'm not saying it's a replacement for the 401k. I'm saying I have that many years until retirement and I'm looking for long haul investment.”

Why VOO and VTI?

“Sure but it's not the spend in a vacuum that stands out, at least to me, it's the 450-600k against closer to 8 mill invested in the back half of your 50s that makes this relatively atypical for a FIRE post.”

“Ok fine, I'll do some math. Let's be very generous and assume their reduced target withdrawal rate of 450k is accurate and lets factor in their home equity as well, they are targeting a 4.5% withdrawal rate. This is already kinda high. However we should also account for: Most of their money is pre-tax retirement so they need to pay ~30% on withdrawal right? 1.6M+ of their NW is in home equity that they wont likely liquidate. Subtracting their home equity and accounting for taxes on 450k”

“There’s still no way he’s not cutting significantly into assets. Even after the college expenses. I think the number needs to be 16+ ex homes.”

“Well, I’m probably too conservative as compared to some. I’d want 100%. I’m sure you have an FA advising you.”

“Hi all, I'm about a year post grad and feeling lost on my financial journey (or rather that I have no plan). I have the following: 401K: 9K Brokerage + IRA's: 41K Home equity: 30K Savings: 30K Vehicle (paid off): 15K Much of this is savings from working through school and being able to avoid student loans. I'm saving +/- 40% of my income. Current salary is 63K in a MCOL area with PITI about 1K/month. Single, no kids. I'd like to hit a FIRE goal in my mid 40's but have no clue”

“It would seem like a lot if I were 40, but knowing it may have to last me 25 years is scary. Thank you, though!”

“IMO make a plan/prioritize which debt you want to erase first and automate your (additional) payments. Can't spend what you don't have access to.”

“cut out whatever you mathematically think is appropriate debt repayment. What this guy is saying is create a system where you cant even let lifestyle creep happen. Automatically the money gets saved/invested and you have no choice.”

“she shoulda said 9.85M … it’s really not as much of a precise science as we’d all like to believe”

“I’ve finally saved up $20,000; I’m on track to have $30,000 saved by the end of the year. At this current moment the only debt I truly have is my car note which is $18,000 with an interest rate of 5 percent. I’m trying to decide should I pay off my car or finally opening up a Roth account and max it out. It’s embarrassing to say but I’m 32 and a late bloomer to investing. Any advice on what I should do would be greatly appreciated! submitted by /u/dirkwavy41 [link] [comments]”

“Hello, fellow Bogleheads. My spouse and I are in our early 30s, have a high household income, and are approaching a transition point in our finances. We graduated with significant student loan debt. For the past several years, our strategy has been to: - Max both workplace retirement accounts - Max both Roth IRAs - Direct nearly all remaining discretionary income toward aggressively paying down higher-priority debt Some of our remaining debt is very favorably financed through family, so we'v”

“Hi, I am a single 32 male (turning 33 later this year). I have approximately 800-900k USD in cash and investment (all liquid, no car, no house, no physical asset) I am working a full-time job that earns approx 70-80k a year pre-tax. I take home about 50-60k every year. I have little to no hobby. so I have no other expenses other than food, utilities, and rent. My family goal is to hopefully get married before 35 but I doubt that will happen. I have dated several girls before but none that I real”