We don't know current savings, may be significant?

1900 a month for travel seems excessive considering income level and also trying to save for a house

It could keep further going down. Nobody knows the future.

Invest according to your risk tolerance

You aren't factoring into losing 3 months of that interest as a penalty when they withdrawal.

It's also not 6% for the whole year. It adjusts every 6 mo.

Current mortgage rates are also not 8%.

All around bad advice.

Remember taxes are progressive. You aren't changed 22% on the entire amount. Only on the amount above the previous tax bracket.

You've learned to invest yourself. Learning how to calculate when you have enough and how much you can withdraw to not run out of money is just as easy.

You get to keep the fees too, which over 30 years is a LOT.

If you have a place where you normally do your work, and really only do work, you can likely consider it a home office.

If the market goes up, doing it all right away is better.

If the market goes down, slowly throughout the year is better.

It's anybody's guess for what happens next year, the choice is yours.

Age will def play a role in whether the timelines are worth it for you. Most PhD programs should give you a stipend and cover tuition, but it's peanuts.

The Society of Toxicology publishes a paper with salary figures of it's members every 3 years. The last was in 2020

Those in industry are all over 100k, topping 150k around 10 years exp, 200k around the 20 yr mark.

Independent consulting is well over 200k with 10+years experience.

The Society of Toxicology publishes a paper with salary figures of it's members every 3 years. The last was in 2020

Those in industry are all over 100k, topping 150k around 10 years exp, 200k around the 20 yr mark.

Independent consulting is well over 200k with 10+years experience.

In the biological sciences, you really need the PhD to maximize income.

Toxicologists are in high demand right now, and 6 figs with a PhD is pretty easily doable.

It's not clear if your budget breakdown is your half of the finances or both. You should really be sharing both as it's not a question of if you can afford it, it's a question of can both of you afford it.

IE- Is the $1000 your total mortgage you're budgeting for or only your portion of it?

30 fixed.

If rates drop refinance, if they don't you'll be happy.

You're in your 20s. You want the market low. Your best case scenario is the market stays low for the next 20 years.

What the market does today, tomorrow, or 5 years from now should not impact your retirement planning.

Nothing like locking in that loss by not being able to cancel some of it out with gains when the market goes up, right?

Banks are alerted of an incoming deposit and make the funds available that day.

There's no guarantee the stocks will be a better position next year.

They can verify current salary in many states.

Flip, it back on them. Ask the range allocated for the role, and if it's in line with expectations say you're confident we can come to an agreement.

Seems like a question for your bank

Ibonds are not a good vehicle for an emergency fund. It's not liquid.

Where you deposit it really doesn't matter. You can move money between accounts.

But you should NOT have even the 10k you have now in a debit account. That's asking for trouble.

Start a savings account. Even if it's a low yield it's safer than your checking account. You can figure out the best option after that.