Money management ,S&P 500 vs realestate vs elsewere

[robkatch78]

35 year old E5 in the national guard looking for advice . Have abt 135000 in hysa and 90000 in a regular jumbo savings account . I started my 401k contributions later in life in comparision to my peers and it stands abt 70000 . Apart from this have abt 42000 in company stocks and abt 40000 spread across treasury bonds and low yield cds ( abt 3.9%) .dnt have any assets apart from my vehicle. I have always been bad at proper investing . My question is
1) can i take all the money in hysa and put it on s&p 500 fund . I dnt intend to touch until i retire
2) the 90000 i have set aside for a house . I have access to va loans . Would it be better for me just invest that 90000 somewhere and use the interest to help with the increased monthly payments on a house that i would buy
3) do you think the money i have spread across cds can be better invested elsewere with better returns

My primary goal for the hard cash is to get in a safe and highest possible interest earning entity which i understand to be s&p 500 funds , until i decide to invest in property but i'm open to suggestions too.
Additional info : did 5 years active 5 years national guard , currently employed in it full time . No wife , no kids

 

[bradwebdev]

@robkatch78 Just to recap:

HYSA: $135,000

Savings: $90,000 (set aside for a house down payment)

401k: $70,000

Company Stocks: $42,000

Treasury Bonds / CD's @ 3.9%: $40,000

Goals:

Buy a home

High interest for hard cash

Potentially invest in property

Questions:

Do you plan to do a full 20-year career & collect pension?

Do you plan on having a spouse & children eventually?

Do you have an emergency savings at all?

Is there a plan for the $135k in HYSA?

You own a significant amount of company stock - is that out of a brokerage account, or earned through investments elsewhere?
What is your career field / specialty in the service?

Advice: A lot of this depends on the questions I listed above, but here goes nothing. I'd lower the 90k you have saved for a house down to around 50k (you're eligible for a VA loan, which requires zero down, but the 50k would at least give you some early equity in whatever you're purchasing). The elephant in the room is the HYSA. $135k in a HYSA is pretty wild, considering there's a lot of wickets to hit before that (in my opinion). Here's what I would do with that money: First, you need an emergency fund... my general rule is 3 months of paychecks or 6 months of bills, whatever you're comfortable with. I'm assuming the 401k is TSP, you would start by maxing that out each year. Then, contribute to a separate Roth IRA and max that out as well (all of this money coming from that $135k, post emergency fund). Whatever is leftover, look into the bogleheads three-fund portfolio and go that route. You'll earn interest / stock along the way. Are you obligated to hold company stock? If this is just a brokerage account, lump that into the $135k as well. Same can be said for the $40k in low-return bonds / CD's.

 

[robkatch78]

@bradwebdev Thank you . I'll answer your questions as best as i can
1) would love to finish 20 years in the guard ,but i am still deep in thought abt it. just washed out of ocs because of injuries so i am thinking of giving it a second shot at the end of this year depending on some things or go warrant or stay enlisted
2) yes i do
3) i do , have abt 10 grand( which i believe should suffice for 3 months of car payments and living ) that i am slowing growing seperately from main funds
3) none at the moment . Honestly i just want to lock it up in a long term investment or endevour( was thinking rentals ) and not touch at all
4) this is through espp that i am contributing towards through scwabb . The dividends ( abt 2000) i reinvest in an s&p 500 fund on scwab
5) i am in information technology

Other information
The 401 k isnt tsp , its through fidelity . I have a couple of hundreds in tsp
The brokerage is seperate from hysa and other funds
The treasury/ cd divide is 20000 in i bonds and 20000 on cd ( 3.9 avg interest rate )

The goals specified are what i'd like to aspire to

 

[chemnitz]

@robkatch78 Maybe check out some Boglehead investing tips or find a fiduciary advisor. Looks like you have your emergency fund. Next I would focus on maxing TSP/401K followed by other IRA tax friendly accounts. Then move to taxable brokerage.

 

[foundlamb]

@chemnitz This, tho i would swap ira and tsp around, i would just do the match on tsp if you have it and put the rest into an ira until that maxes out

 

[chemnitz]

@foundlamb I don’t disagree with you. Just curious why you advocate that order? My thinking in referencing TSP first would be the low cost aspect of it. Very little fees with a decent number of funds to choose from. Curious your thoughts.

 

[foundlamb]

@chemnitz I just like the freedom of choosing what i want, i don’t do index investing or target date investing. And tsp severely limits what i can invest in. Plus it’s easier to max out my ira than my tsp. But you’re right, i don’t normally recommend that people normally cuz most people can’t handle the hundreds of choices you get in an ira.It’s just what i do personally.

 

[kirag]

@robkatch78 Head over to the r/personalfinance wiki linked HERE

You will find sound information that will answer all of your questions. Also, based upon your current portfolio, you would do well to follow the principles laid out in the r/bogleheads. Their wiki also is full of great guidance.

 

[robkatch78]

@kirag Thanks

 

[robkatch78]

My primary 401 k is fidelity through my employer , my tsp is small fyi