I'm 27
Single, never married
No children

I'm salaried at 56k per year. That's exactly what the average household income is in my area.

I have 15k in savings, and in savings only. My employer offers a 403b and matches. I don't contribute enough (iirc 3%?) I know I need to improve here. Up until now I've never thought about it and have no idea how much is there. I need to work on this.

No debt of any kind (CC, mortgage, student loans)

I have three cars. All are paid off. I plan on selling my extra soon, I have no need. The third is a classic car that I inherited and can't sell for sentimental reasons.

My rent is 300, insurance 100 and cell phone and internet 100 combined.

I have a bachelors degree in my field. (Business management). My current role is mid level management for an organization that has never had a layoff in its existence. I have a resume that shows solid gains and represents an up and coming employee.

The average home price is 195k.

Am I doing alright?

Home or apartmemt?
Have a car that's paid off and mechanically sound?

Those are the two places people fuck up besides not putting into retirement or investing what they don't.

Eta: if you live in a apartment that above 800 mo then that's equity out the window, if you don't have a car that mechanically sound then that's a money pit.

Not for GD you're not; you're salary, home, and dick are all too small.

In Alaska, youre doing ok.  in bum fuck Texas, youre doing amazing.  in NYC, youre broke dick.

Sure
Do you need the affirmation?

Sounds like you need some Title II items in your life

Yeah sort of. I'd like to buy a house and don't see how it's possible...

If you can eat and pay rent, then everything else is icing on the cake, is it not?

Make sure you don't get married or have kids and you'll be fine.  Work hard.  Put a good chunk of any raise into savings or investments.

With such minimal expenses, I would think you would be able to sock away more money.  You should be utilizing that 403(b) and get to save pre-tax.

Lol wut
3% down, pay PMI or just get an 80/10/10 loan
You must be BLOWING a ton of money if you can't afford a $1500 note

ETA: 200k, $10k down, keep $10k in the bank for emergencies
$1190 PMT

I have four dependents making less than you and my rent is around a G. You could probably swing $300k +
Something's fucky

WTF are you doing with $3k/month

You need to buy a house. My son is 24 making 60K a year. No debt except his mortgage. He bought his house 2 years ago for 240k... already close to 300k now according to zillow. Tempe AZ

I think you should be working HARD to get a $100k job, while saving as much as possible to dive into the stock market next time it collapses (sooner than you think).

Also, avoid LTRs with women; catch and release my friend. Get married when you're 35 and thank me later.

If a 403b is anything like a 401k I'd say crank that thing up.
Go for 15% or more.
It's still your money, and can be borrowed against or taken with a penalty.
You want to get the funded early to maximize compounding.

or not, whatever.

A 150k mortgage will be around 1100 mo after taxes @30yr fixed, 1100yr tax, and insurance for 175k.

Your payment will be 13200 yr after taxes ect, with any write offs and a room mate you could probably swing it if you have a down payment.

You could also find a foreclosure or quick sale and go that route, I would advise against it unless you can have a nice and clean inspection.

How much do you spend on Hookers and Blow per month? Serious question.

OP why are you not married?

Seriously. He should be floating in cash

Or, just choose wisely and live the normal American life

Where the hell do you live that rent is $300 a month?

Your rent is $300 a month?

Where do you live/how many roommates do you have?

I have pretty similar financials but my rent is $1000 a month.

WTF? He added that shit after I posted. OP, if your rent is only $300 per month, you either REALLY shouldn't buy a house or you REALLY should buy a house.

OMG that's the last thing he needs, some chick sinking her claws into him. He should be building his wealth and skills right now, not raising a family/supporting dependents.

Dont even consider a wife until you're over $100k dude. Also, find one who has education and skills too otherwise you'll have a huge liability if she decides to leave you.

How many more of these threads are you going to start OP?
ETA. Do you still live with your parents?

Being ahead of everyone else doesn't necessarily help if everyone else is headed for a financial disaster and you're only doing a little bit better than they are. 

Here are questions to consider:

1. How much more money am I bringing home every month than I am spending?

2. At my current rate of saving, how long will it take me to save 20% for a down payment on a house, plus closing costs, plus moving expenses and maintain a safety net for any upgrades or unforeseen circumstances? 

3. If I buy a house through different methods (20% down with a 3.5% interest rate on a 30 year loan, 5% down on a 30 year FHA loan, VA loan if applicable etc.) then how much more will my monthly housing payments be than my current rent payment? Include property taxes, PMI and insurance in your calculations. 

4. Will that increase in housing costs have a significant impact on my lifestyle? Will going from an apartment or whatever you're renting now, to a house also include an increase cost of utilities, gas, transportation?

5. How will buying a house impact my ability to save for retirement?

6. What is the opportunity for advancement in my current position? Are you happy making average money and living in an average house or do you want to make above average money and live in an above average house?

7. Since I don't have a wife, kids or property and am still young with an education and experience, what is keeping me where I am? Are there better opportunities somewhere else where I can duplicate the important things that I like about living here (climate, politics, family, laws, cost of living, etc.)

8. How long do I want to put off saving for retirement? Can I max out my retirement contributions and still meet my other personal goals? How much can I afford to contribute while maintaining my personal goals? How much will I have to curb my current lifestyle if I buy a house and save for retirement?

9. Do I have a sufficient safety net now in case I get sick or am injured? Do I have short or long term disability insurance? Will I have to become dependent on government programs if I can't work? How long will I be able to live off savings, food stamps and unemployment if I get laid off or fired tomorrow? 

10. Do I want to get married and start a family? If I were to get married then would my income be able to support a wife and child in a house while saving for retirement? 

Of all the stupid shit I've read on here...

Some good advice in this thread from last month.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1951042_How-far-away-am-I-from-buying-a-house?

Or this one from December.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1844211_How-is-home-ownership-possible?

I have had several relationships over the years that should have turned into marriage. For whatever reason they all left me for other guys

You're alright.  Put 15% towards retirement.  Start now.  You'll feel like a genius later.

A family owned house that is paid off. I could purchase it for a good deal but is in an undeseriable location and unlikely to increase in value. Also has not been updated since the 70s and would need major expenses to make it marketable for any reasonable price.

As mentioned, what are you blowing your money on? $300/month rent and no other bills except insurance, utilities and food???  You should be able to save $1,000/month easy while sticking 15% in your 403.

Retirement accounts?

Get a Roth and invest in several stocks

I have only recently started saving...in my last relationship I was spending 1200+ a month on bar tabs, dinners out, vacations etc.

If I understand correctly, you're puting 3% into your 401k/403b, and your employer is matching with another 3% = Total of 6%.

Regardless of employer match, I recommend strongly that you double your contribution to a total of 6% (+3)=9%. If your employer match is anything above the 3% they're matching now, you're a bafoon for leaving that money on the table.

This is the minimum amount you should be putting in. If you don't do it now you'll be behind for the rest of your life. With compounding interest, what you put in now is more important than anything you'll do later in life. That said, at least you've been doing SOMETHING.

Oh, I get it now. You're a child.

Better than I was doing at that age


Now go out and stick it in crazy

You need to save for retirement yesterday.  Tomorrow is too late.  You are missing out on the most beneficial factor of wealth...TIME.

You need to curb that shit dramatically. I make significantly more money than you do and that is more than I spend on groceries, gas, entertainment and clothing. 

Sorry bud.  You can get laid on like +/- $200-300 a month, what in the hell are you doing with yourself?.. pics of this girl, she better be a super model.  Seriously, you're keeping up with the jonses'.  Don't go to the bar, exercise or do outings on the weekends that are fun and not $100+ a pop.

Girls for dates get either ICE CREAM, A HIKE, CHIPOTLE, TWO DRINKS @ $6/each.


I'm 28, $60k, $36k in student loan debt (masters degree), rent is going to be $900/mo, $180/mo on a commuter box.  I'm into cycling, RC, computers, guns, so that's essentially too many hobbies for my pay grade.  I also have ~$20-25k saved.

I was contributing 22% to a 401k when I wasn't paying anything in rent this year - and if you're only spending $300/mo in rent.. you should be doing the same thing.  But hey, I actually want to retire at a decent age, not feed some girl fancy meals throughout my 20's and 30's.

I'm not trying to justify it, but I've got to be honest that's almost normal of a relationship. Groceries, rent, going out to bars both weekend nights...that's what everyone else does and one of the reasons I'm single...I got sick of spending so much.

Cause he's smarter than the rest of us.

Do I have to show you the part where he was leasing $1200/mo in girlfriend fees? (I am not pro marriage by any means either).

My first reaction is to say do not buy a house.  Buying a house can be a good move if it fits you.

The reason why I say not to buy, is that your rent is so low.  You need to focus on stashing cash to avoid PMI.  I don't know what you've been doing with your income.  Maybe you were putting it all towards car payments.  IF you are blowing it, I suggest you setup a savings account that you put 'x' number of dollars in that equal a house payment, taxes, utilities, etc. and see if you can 'live' off of the remainder.  If not then you need to change your life style.  If you can't change your lifestyle, at least you aren't saddled with the house.

Do you currently have a relationship that could lead to marriage?  If so, you may not want to buy a house if that relationship may lead you to move to accommodate her career pr her lifestyle.  

Do you see yourself staying at this company for an extended period of time?  Do they have other offices that you could be transferred to?  If you could be on the move in the next couple years for a better work opportunity, don't buy a house.

Try living on a smaller budget, stash cash and look at buying a house later this year if payment burden isn't too great.

Good luck!

56k won't buy a $195k house, so... maybe you should marry a nice girl who has a good job, like a nurse.

It's really easy to follow a 50/25/25 budget.

50% for expenses
25% for saving
25% for fun

Notice that those are percentages of net pay. You should also max out an HSA annually and put an absolute minimum of 5% into a pretax retirement account.

Also, do not sell the second car. That's dumb. You'll lose money on it and have to take a chance with an unknown used car or buy a new one. Keep it.

Your rent is $300?    I guess you don't ever have to worry about a woman taking half of your stuff... or getting laid.

That's an hour per week with a clean PSE escort. 

Yeah, because nobody ever marries a woman who makes more money than they do really? I make a hundred grand a year and my wife makes 170k a year. Around where I live it's not unusual for a nurse to make a hundred K. He could improve his financial situation by marrying a nice girl who has a good job.

My answer was different before I saw how much you blow on drinking and women.  

You are an idiot, but luckily there is still time since you are only 27.  You need be putting at the least the amount into your company retirement account to get the full match.  If it's a shitty plan just do that.  If it's a good plan with low cost funds in it I would say at least 10% preferably 15%.  Fully fund an Roth IRA every year at 5000(I believe) a year.  If you sign up right now for a roth IRA you can contribute for 2016 and 2017.  

Take 5K of your savings and start the Roth IRA right now.    Leave the rest in savings for an emergency fund.

Stop spending that much money on women and booze right now.  You can wine and dine women and buy beer at the grocery store for a 1/4 of the amount you are spending right now.

If you want a house stop blowing over 1K a month and you can have a down payment very quickly.

You are doing better than many 27 year olds.  The biggest thing you should be doing is maximizing your retirement contributions.  At bare minimum, make sure that you are contributing AT LEAST the amount that your company matches. If you are contributing less than your company matches, you are literally leaving free money on the table.  Money that you contribute today will grow exponentially between now and when you retire.  You should try to contribute the max allowed by the IRS (I think around $18k/year), but that might be tough to do on $56k per year.  However, your expenses are virtually nothing, so you could definitely contribute much more than you are now. (edit: I did not see the $1200/mo bar tab, pretty much the dumbest way to spend money possible)

I would not rush to buy a house, especially if you are single and only paying $300/month in rent.  You can choose to live cheap right now, it's much more difficult when you get married and start a family.  $15k in savings is more than I had at 27, but if homes in your area are $200k, I'd keep squirreling away savings until you have a much larger down payment.  

Three cars seems excessive, but if they are all paid for, I suppose it isn't a significant issue.

I, personally, will only buy a home if I can rent a portion or the other half of it out to cover my mortgage expenses.  Saw a place in Irving for $160k with an attached rental that was like $700/mo in rent currently.  Would've covered the $650/mo mortgage easily.  

But then again I'm cheap.