31 years old. My wife (32) has been unemployed for 3 months. Looking for input on our financial position.

[shavit]

@alicia0201 dude let your wife take some time off. Pretty sure you can live comfortably on 230K. Definitely have to manage the money.

 

[mrzennoboss]

@shavit so true! OP let your wife chill for a bit, the job hunt is stressful and the market is really weird right now.

 

[lucash]

@alicia0201 Monthly expenses you need to break down

Food
Travel
Gas

All of that to figure out where to save.

As for 401K contact your current provider see what options they give. Usually they send you a sheet, you fill it out with proper information and then they pretty much take care of it.

 

[ft89]

@alicia0201 Yea your DTI needs some work. But overall seems like you’re doing well!

 

[goneguy]

@alicia0201 You have 300k+ at 31… you’re probably fine

 

[calo]

@alicia0201 What is your career?! we're out here surviving off 90k combined. I think you're doing really good damn

 

[jlynns456]

@alicia0201 She has the option to roll over her 401k to an IRA if desired. You can do the same with your old 401k. You can also roll over your old 401k to your new 401k if you prefer that. It's very easy to do. Basically, open the account, then initiate the transfer through the 401k custodian. If the 401k custodian happens to be Fidelity, you can transfer to a Fidelity IRA fully online.

Just an example. Not that you need to use Fidelty.

https://www.fidelity.com/retirement-ira/401k-rollover-ira-steps

You cannot combine her account with yours.

 

[sowhatwithit]

@alicia0201 Priority 1 should be figuring out your life plans. You shouldn’t look to make adjustments (or god forbid liquidate a retirement account) until you decide if she will even be returning to work and when.

If she is going to be returning to work, set your limits and requirements. Sure she may be worth a 6 figure job but if she cannot find one for the next year, she should take something lesser.

Final input is to move your own 401k to a self directed Roth. Pretty sure she can back door into an IRA but you make too much and should settle for a traditional Roth 401k.

 

[faithscribe]

@alicia0201 You're getting crushed on that $11,300 your CD's are earning...that's getting taxed at something like 45 percent. I'd start by closing all of them when you can and putting the cash in VTI/VXUS. You're getting crushed on those old 401ks because the old providers are taking a cut every quarter. Roll all them over into an E-Trade or TD Ameritrade rollover IRA that will have some kind of account opening bonus and no fees. Start with that $6k a year and go from there.

 

[alicia0201]

@faithscribe they take an additional cut beyond the management fees of the ETFs I’m invested in? My old 401k is fidelity netbenefits

 

[faithscribe]

@alicia0201 It depends on how the company pays for the 401k fees...some pay it for you, others take an asset based fee from the plan participants. I can never tell exactly what they're charging but I always feel like I'm getting ripped off. In a rollover IRA they'll give you a bonus, charge you nothing, and you can own whatever securities you want or just have VTI at .03 percent. But yes the 401k provider always takes a cut on top of the fees the investments themselves charge.

 

[slicey]

@faithscribe One counterpoint. He will lose the ability to create a penalty-free backdoor Roth if he moves the 401k money into an IRA.

 

[resjudicata]

@alicia0201 I'm genuinely curious what you spend 3.5k on per month after bills. Do you guys eat out every night for every meal? If you do, that could be where you can cut costs. Since your wife is unemployed for now, maybe she can do the cooking until she starts working again?

 

[alicia0201]

@resjudicata Maybe I wasn’t clear, that 3.5 goes into savings.

 

[resjudicata]

@alicia0201 That makes much more sense

 

[resjudicata]

@alicia0201 VHCOL = SF/Bay Area or NYC? $200k isn't much in those cities. Cut unnecessary spending until she finds a job.

 

[alicia0201]

@resjudicata NYC

 

[resjudicata]

@alicia0201 Alot of opportunities in NYC! She will find something quick!

 

[alicia0201]

@resjudicata Ty! I appreciate it. It’s been a stressful search. She has a degree in journalism, but hasn’t been getting much much in the market these days.

 

[tladams6980]

@alicia0201 Transfer the old 401k in to self directed IRA's, and invest in some real estate.