#PersonalFinance #EnjoyLife #BalanceIsKey
Are you feeling the financial strain, but not experiencing the joy in life that you anticipated? It may be time to reassess your approach to personal finance. 🧐
Finding Balance: How to Enjoy Life While Managing Your Finances
Evaluate Your Priorities
– Reflect on what truly brings you happiness and fulfillment
– Reassess your financial goals and make sure they align with your values
– Consider if you are sacrificing present experiences for future financial security
Adjust Your Budget
– Look for areas where you can cut back expenses without sacrificing your quality of life
– Set aside a portion of your budget for activities that bring you joy
– Prioritize experiences over material possessions
Embrace Mindful Spending
– Focus on purchases that enhance your well-being and experiences
– Avoid impulse buying and make intentional spending decisions
– Practice gratitude for what you already have
Taking Your Foot Off the Pedal: Is It Okay?
It is essential to find a balance between managing your finances responsibly and enjoying life to the fullest. If you feel like you are constantly steering towards financial goals without experiencing joy along the way, it may be time to take your foot off the pedal a little. ⚖️
Remember, personal finance is not just about saving and investing; it’s about creating a life that you love and enjoy living. By finding the right balance between financial stability and life satisfaction, you can achieve true wealth and happiness. 💰🌟
So, go ahead and give yourself permission to relax a bit, enjoy the journey, and savor the moments that make life truly meaningful. After all, what’s the point of financial success if you can’t enjoy the fruits of your labor? 🌺🌈
In conclusion, prioritize your well-being, adjust your financial strategy, and find harmony between financial health and life enjoyment. Take a step back, breathe, and remember that happiness is a key component of a successful financial plan. 💸✨
Sounds like you’ve been really disciplined and focused on getting rid of the debts and letting your income work for you. Plan a week trip or vacation for the summer. You deserve it. When you come back, you’ll be refreshed and you can reassess your budget and see where you’re at.
You’ve done great. Sounds like you are burning out. Maybe consider skipping a month of investments and use that $2.8k for a nice vacation. In the future, consider setting aside a couple hundred/whatever you want towards a fun money fund.
I have built into my budget a “mad money” fund. Money for when I’ve gone mad. I have given myself permission to use this money for whatever the hell I feel like. I don’t end up spending it every month or anything (but I could if I want), so it stacks up… when I get the itch, I’ve got it.
Edit to add- your budget should reflect your values. If you’re someone that values a nice outfit, you should have a line item in your budget for clothes. Doesn’t mean you have to spend it every month, but putting some money aside for clothes means you can get that outfit and you’re not breaking budget- you’re simply using your money in a way that you value. That isn’t mad money. That’s just something you value. Maybe also consider putting some money aside for things you value, like set aside some $ every month for a clothes fund and a vacation fund (since those seem to be what you feel you’re lacking)
Oh man in a similar boat. Hit a steady point but feeling the same way.
If I were in your shoes, I would go one that one trip and spend money on that new outfit. Ease into it, see how you feel after the experience, return to moderation and keep your head about your finances afterwards.
In terms of enjoying life, most of my hobbies are online or portable so it’s easier to feel fulfilled at home. I also created accounts purely for my interest online with no connection to anyone IRL. The side effect is that I don’t see anyone’s IG stories or posts which can cause FOMO.
Even without an employer match, 401k will still save you on taxes. You should be putting extra after the $7k towards the IRA into your 401k unless the funds are really bad. Think of it like a 12-24% discount (depending on tax rate).
If you are talking about a US total index fund then just choose an S&P 500 etf or Us total index fund. If you are talking about a world total index fund, then pick just one of them. Like if you are looking at VOO, VTI, and VT, just pick one. VOO is most of VOO, VTI, and VT. If you want the overlap, then go for it.
Keep going friend. Investing early means more than investing later. Here check out this chart/article: [https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/08/self-made-millionaire-david-bach-a-chart-changed-the-way-i-think-about-money.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/08/self-made-millionaire-david-bach-a-chart-changed-the-way-i-think-about-money.html)
I’d put as much into it now as you can. Then you can ease off more in a few years, maybe when you start making more.
You’re doin good but remember you only get one life and never know when your final day is coming. Make sure to enjoy yourself and the things of life that make you happy!
You are doing amazingly! Far better that I was doing at your age! I kind of did the opposite. No college, traveled the world and lived in 5 countries by the time I was 22.
I was able to buy a home at age 26 (it was the 90s) and didn’t start Uni until 28 and had 50k in loans whilst working full time. I was 32 , a graduate….and penniless!
Your school loans are over already and you have been incredibly diligent in your investing and savings.
Here’s the thing – it doesn’t have to be One or The Other. You can save plenty, based on your numbers and still put fun money away. Putting $300 away/ month will give you 3.5 K for international travel , weekends away and enjoying weddings etc. You can well afford that. You can afford the best of both worlds at your young age. Don’t allow youth to be wasted on the young! Tomorrow isn’t promised! You are planning for the future but you also need to live for today.
Keep up the saving/investing and you’re on track to earn a much higher income soon. As long as you have your health, you have the world at your feet.
*Just don’t forget to enjoy the world now as well as later*.
You make so much more than me I just can’t figure out how you’re having trouble. My expenses are $900 a month. Maybe just adjust your standards and stop thinking about what your friends are spending their money on. Consumerism and jealousy are the enemy. Go on a camping trip and get away from the hustle bustle of things.
Felt the same way: this week I just booked a $3K week vacation later this year and I’m stoked for life again! Find something that brings you joy and do it, and make sure to take a couple days off in the year that are random and not necessarily vacation/trips.
What are your goals? If you want to retire early with a lot of passive income by like age 45 or something, then aggressively saving early is the way to go. If you want to just not have to worry about money and you’re in a career that is relatively stable (i.e. CPAs don’t wash out by 50 like software engineers tend to do), then you can take your foot off the peddle a little bit and increase your monthly entertainment budget. A $500 outfit isn’t going to break the bank, but dropping $500 on discretionary spending every week might. You’re young. Save for the future, but don’t forget to live in the present.
Consider the envelope method of budgeting. In your savings account divide up on a spread sheet what your emergency fund is, a fund for travel, large purchases, events, car repairs, etc. Make goals for each of those categories. Then each payday when you toss money in the savings account decide what you want to allocate towards each category. Then whenever you have enough money in an “envelope” you can go do the thing and not worry about overspending because that money is set aside for that specific task.
Invest in the 401k instead of the brokerage! You will be losing money to taxes otherwise!!! Only when the 401k is maxed out do you invest in brokerage (for long term)
Seconding what RainyDaysBlueSkies said—put $300 per month away into a vacation fund. I do this as well and it’s been great! The money is allocated for that purpose only and so I’ve been able to take some fantastic trips. All while being responsible!
I am younger and make less than you (turn 24 next week and make ~80k a year depending on bonuses) but I also aggressively save. I find what works for me (and I think is applicable to you and adaptable to your needs) is I save 35% of each paycheck. 25% is hard savings. It goes into retirement, emergency fund, brokerage etc and the idea is I don’t touch it except for actual emergencies or maybe if I was planning on buying house. The other 10% is a bit more flexible. I keep it in just a plain old savings account and whenever I want something a bit fancier, like a trip or just recently I bought skis, I pull from that. The important part is I don’t let that account get bigger than $3500. That means if I don’t have any trips planned or anything, then all 35% becomes hard savings.
$3500 is just an arbitrary number I’ve decided would be the most im comfortable spending on a vacation or something and the amount of interest lost per year by it not being in a MMF or HYSA is negligible.
The reason I like this system is it prevents life style creep. I immediately pull the 35% from my checking account on pay day and budget the rest of my expenses from the 65% so I’m not tempted to just spend that money on eating out or stupid stuff. And then there is a little nest egg for when I have the opportunity to do something special. A friend invited me to go to Las Vegas for the 4th of July and having this money set aside already means I can go without thinking about. And since it has the cap of $3500, most of the time I end up saving a lot more but the money is there when I want something special.
I would think so. As long as you invest at lease 10%. You should also invest in living. Set aside some fun money as time can not be bought.
You need a budget item for fun. Don’t over or under spend on it.
Learn the difference between peddle and pedal before doing anything else! Haha jk, couldn’t resist teasing.
1) You are doing great
2) Make sure you are taking full advantage of the tax advantaged investment accounts. If your company does not offer a match, the Roth IRA definitely comes first. But you can still get benefits investing through the 401k compared to a standard brokerage account.
3) Recreation is an essential part of a balanced life. Road trips with friends, a weekend at the beach, family reunions, are all things that should be part of the plan. Add it to the budget and plan something for a few months from now.
It’s good to have a balance. Life experiences are important as well. A lot of older people (myself included) save all their lives and it becomes such a habit that they can’t stop doing it.
I have been retired for 4.5 years and I currently am “saving” 3 times the amount of money each year for “retirement” than I did when I was working. Between social security, my dividend income, and my wife’s salary, we will make $180k this year and I’m still afraid to spend any of it.
You sound like you have a good mental/emotional framework for personal finances. One of the things you’ll likely discover is that, if you have good income streams, you can spend a couple of thousand on a trip and replace it more quickly than you think. It doesn’t sound like you “fritter” away money, so I think you should allow yourself some freedom to enjoy things.
We go hard on saving and investing. Got burned out on the grind but so do happy we started young as we are really seeing its payoff now.
We now set aside money monthly in a little escrow account that we call our “mental health fund.” It’s for vacay, dining out, silly small purchases. It has really helped.
Yes, you can. You’re doing very well.
You are in a fantastic spot. Keep your nose to the grindstone, then re-compute your future when you reach 40. A lot can change in 13 years.
Life is meant to be lived. Go on trips. Treat yourself every so often. Just keep doing what you are doing overall, and you will be fine.
My dad worked his entire life, and saved a ton of money. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 62, hid it and kept working until he was 68, then spent the. Ext six years fighting the disease. Fortunately, him and my mom visited over 30 countries along the way, which he was very proud of.
Point being: life is finite and your health isn’t guaranteed. Enjoy life while you can.
Congrats on the student loan repayment. Huge milestone!
Two comments, which you will need to balance out for yourself:
-Your young working years will benefit the most from compound interest.
-The benefits of frugality are much diminished of a person falls into depression or burnout.
Be careful about not letting your financial restraint cause you to miss out on life, especially on activities which help keep you connected with friends.
Consider carving out a slice of your monthly takehome strictly for discretionary fun expenses at a level you’,d consider sustainable. I started doing that a long time ago. If it accumulated too much, I’,d use that as a signal I need to take a vacation or something. On flip side, if I would overspend there, I’,d consider throttling down.
Especially If you are able to grow your income, make sure to adjust the fun budget over time.
At a very similar point, almost to the dollar, nearing 26. One thing I’d say (and advice I often have difficulty adhering to myself) is to spend things on experiences vs. things.
Frankly, it’s fine to let your lifestyle inflate a bit as you earn more money, but you have to make value judgements on where to spend that extra money. It’s frighteningly easy to piss away money on nicer apartments, cars, luxury goods, etc. but these generally don’t improve your life much past a certain point.
Thirty years from now, you probably won’t reminisce on a $500 outfit you wore for a few years back in your twenties. Going on a weekend trip with your best buddies? Taking a family vacation? These are things you’ll remember forever. Spend wisely, but time with friends and family should be the goal, not an impediment to growing an account balance.
>I am not investing in a 401k due to my company not offering a match.
You’re losing tax-sheltered space by not investing.
Even if you plan on retiring early, you can still take advantage of rules of 55 or 72(t) SEPP. A brokerage is much less restrictive with far more options but you’ll have capital gains.
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>Like would it be crazy to just go on a trip and spend a couple grand?
No, not necessarily. It just depends on your goals.
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>am I ok to start taking my foot off the peddle a little bit?
Again, it just depends on your financial goals which you omitted in your post. It seems that you can if you don’t have any specific financial goals which again, you did not mention.
I am in no way incentivized to recommend this, but “I will tech you to be rich” by Ramit Sethi would be a worthwhile read for the situation that you are explaining.
If you have to ask, it’s time to splurge and look after yourself. No point in saving it all if you’re feeling sad about it.
Putting aside a set amount each month of must spend fun money can be a great reward and incentive for you to actually make MORE money
Is it okay? No one is going to stop you or have room to judge you with everything being solid. Build the life you want to retire to. Don’t allow yourself to be deprived, especially if you are on track/ahead of the curve for retirement at 65 or earlier.
Life is for living…don’t forget to stop every once in awhile to enjoy it.good job paying off that debt…take a small vacation to celebrate.
The formula on budgeting should include today’s and tomorrow’s living in it. After a certain level of income you must decide what percentage of your income goes to tomorrow (retirement and property purchase) and how goes to today living. Then you open a second checking account and ask your employer to allocate tomorrows percentage in it automatically. That account you look at it sometimes to make your investment decisions. And the other will be you expense account for everything else other than building wealth. Hope that makes sense. Once you do that you will get used to living off only the portion you decided to go into that account. Good luck.
Yes, enjoy your life. It’s best practice to pay yourself first (retirement accounts, HYSA, etc), but why not enjoy yourself? Make a list of things you want to experience at this phase of your life and see what it will take/cost. The only time I’d recommend such conservative saving practices is if someone’s in crippling debt.
Using a brokerage over your tax advantaged 401k is costing you a shit ton of money in the long run. Sure, it feels nice with the brokerage that there is no withdrawal penalty, but is it worth the literal thousands (hundreds of thousands) it will cost you over 30-40 years of compounding? Absolutely not.