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ItsWetInWestOregon t1_jecr2xz wrote

You have gross income listed, but I don’t see a line item for retirement. What are you putting away for retirement? If that is gross, what is it after tax?

You have $10k in debt. What was that from? You should clear that debt before buying a house. If you can’t clear the debt, you can’t afford a house.

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Adventurous-Coach-11 t1_jectaqf wrote

We have no retirement fund. We have a 529 for my son, and will open one for our daughter once she’s born.

I have no knowledge of where to start with retirement, or investing. I am at a complete loss.

After Tax, I take home $681 plus $316 cash. I am contracted as well and paycheck is $800-$900 monthly depending on hours and I obviously have to take taxes from that.

10k was from moving to where we are now two years ago. We could pay it off but we would not have the money to do the things we want to do to our house once we close, it’s 22 year old house and needs repainting & some fixing up work nothing too major, mostly cosmetic.

We may just have to bite the bullet and pay the 10k off and wait on house repairs.

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InteriorAttack t1_jecu4dt wrote

> We have no retirement fund. We have a 529 for my son, and will open one for our daughter once she’s born.

You can't afford to pay for anyone's college. Sorry. You have no retirement funds, 10k in high interest debt, and a 40k car loan along with other items in your budget that seem way way too expensive. So I think the answer to your title is yes, very

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Adventurous-Coach-11 t1_jecvduv wrote

I’m 23, while I definitely think retirement is an important aspect of my life. I really do believe I have plenty of time to really decide what to do on that end.

I wish I could attach an excel sheet, expenses would be easier to list out.

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ItsWetInWestOregon t1_jecwb8t wrote

Oh whew. Yes at 23 you can safely start now. You don’t have plenty of time. The younger you start the less you have to put in per month due to compounding interest on retirement. So if you can start now, you won’t be playing catch up when your kids are in highschool and ready to go off to college. You can start lower. 10-15% in your 20’s.

Do either of your employers offer a 401k

If they don’t you can open an IRA with vanguard or fidelity pretty easily.

Play with some retirement calculators and see what the difference will be if you wait.

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HydraKirby t1_jectdyb wrote

They're not looking at retirement. They're looking at if their current lifestyle costs are sustainable.

What the debt is from isn't applicable.

You can have debt and take on a mortgage.

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InteriorAttack t1_jecu8f5 wrote

They should be looking at retirement. OP isn't in good shape at all

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HydraKirby t1_jecuivq wrote

No I completely agree they should be looking at it. Everyone should be and have retirement in the back of their minds.

But their question wasn't retirement focused. OP is currently concerned about meeting their immediate lifestyle costs.

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ItsWetInWestOregon t1_jecu3fj wrote

Well it’s not sustainable if they also don’t have a plan for retirement. Current lifestyle costs for everyone need to include the retirement plan. If the debt is for everyday expenses they are already above their means. If they can’t pay off $10k in debt when they have less expenses, how would they pay for any home maintenance or emergencies once their bills rise?

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