[USER]

Hello everyone, I need your guidance! I am 39 years old female. Family of 4. Husband’s salary 130k. I am looking for work (so no income from my side). Two young kids. Husband’s age 43.

Lives in California (everything is expensive).
Rental 3200 (it’s the biggest).

After all the expenses, we can save up to 900 per month now onwards. Before that it was paycheck to paycheck.

Total savings so far is 60k.

We have our own struggles and came this far. I would like to start and have focus, control my finances. It freaks me out what will happen at later stage.

Please guide me. I can’t afford financial advisor. So I hope we has gone through and can help me in starting the stock journey will be helpful.

1) I know that we can not time the market. What number should I put in the beginning as lumpsum? And what is right number to put for monthly?I have installed fidelity app.

2) is there any one who can refer me in finding job in IT? I have 14 years of IT experience but finding hard to get any job.

If I get the job then it will improve our situation a bit. I am specialized in Product Management.

I will be forever grateful!! I know this is not a platform to ask this but desperate times, desperate measures. Without networking, my resume is not going anywhere.

My monthly budget is tight that I can’t spend it on a book so I did ChatGPT summary. So I hope it counts as getting some knowledge on this subject.

Pls GUIDE me!!

It’s a serious post so no trolling or sarcasm pls.

Adding more details: since we could not save, we could not invested in Roth IRA or 401 or college fund or any such thing. It was pay cheque to pay cheque.

Now we can have disposable income as $900 per month.

What should be the first move to invest? Roth IRA or s&p500? Thanks

[Russell]

Usual advice is that there’s no point trying to time the market, so just put it all in at once if you have a lump sum.

The shock of taking a large loss if the market dives the week after you do that can be super discouraging though…so a common alternative is to spread it out over a period such as 3 months.

Typically you’d want to save 3-6 months of an emergency fund first.
So, Step 1: put about $40k-$45k in a HYSA.

Step 2: put the remaining $15k-$20k into a low expense index fund (for example, VTSAX, VTI or SCHG). Possibly spread it out as $5k per month.

Step 3: Invest the $900 per month.
You probably want to look into maxing out your IRAs as part of that $15k-$20k, and then as the priority each year at the start of the new year.

Assuming I estimated your annual expenses correctly at about $83k, you’ll need a minimum of a little over $2M.

With a target date of your husband turning 65, and starting with $20k in the market, you’ll need to be contributing $2k per month to get there.

[Clara]

Forgive me if I’m wrong but from it sounds like you’re from a different country. Maybe your resume needs some fixing so it looks better for US employers?

I say this as an immigrant who had to learn how to draft a resume that is appropriate for the US job market and how to position myself in a way that makes me stand out.

I’d be happy to take a look at yours and help you w that!

[Ella]

Read personal finance books because every situation is different and you need to figure out a strategy that is specific to your lifestyle/situation.

If you can’t afford the books, you can borrow books for free in a public library – physical books, ebooks, or audiobooks.

Audiobooks have been a game changer for me coz I can listen to it while doing chores. Good luck!

[Stefanie]

First step is an an emergency fund and max 401k contribution

[Ruthy]

Congratulations on being able to save! The below is not advice but food for thought.

1. Sounds like you’ve already built a budget, but take another look.

2. Use ChatGPT for resume assistance. It could be that the resume needs work More income is crucial for you all. Your state should have free employment services.

3. See if your state also offers free financial literacy or counseling.

4. Build your SMART financial goals. Include short term (2 years or less), mid term (2-5 years) and long term (5+). Goal timelines should drive what savings or investment vehicles you use.

For example, if you have a short term goal of a vacation in one year, that money should not be invested in stocks. This is just an example. The sooner you need it, the safer the type of saving or investment.

5. Build your goals into the budget and adjust accordingly. You may find that you have to make changes.

6. Think how much you might need in retirement per year. It’s usually recommended 80% of current expenses.

Once you have that number, you can figure out how much income you’ll need to generate once retired from sources like pensions, social security and investments.

Common practice is to multiply the amount by 25, but that’s only one method.

7. Prioritize your retirement savings over college savings for the kids.

8. Don’t over complicate investing. Look up index funds. Fidelity has articles explaining them, since you’re inclined to them already.

You may want to consider moving to a less expensive area with better employment opportunities for both you and your spouse. Easier said than done, but could be a game changer.

I really wish you all the very best.

*Not advice*

[Author]

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