Hello,

My 401k uses target-date funds. The plan is to retire at 55, which would be 2044. I know I won't be able to use my 401k money until 59.5 (2049). Do I set my target-date funds for 2049 or 2044? I'm assuming you set them closes to the year you will be withdrawing them?

I suppose this completely changes if I use Rule 55 and withdraw early. I guess that's something to consider too.

Thanks!

Im honestly just hoping to hear from people who made good financial decisions young that helped them. Accounts i might need. Etc etc. Dont really got nobody good with money in my life

So I just started my savings plan for my moving out!

It might be small but it’s a lot of money for me honestly.

My account looks like this:

$58. -Checking.
$3. -Evervalue checking.
$55. -Savings.

My checking is for spending and things that I might need. Does this look okay so far to start off with? I know that it might still be too low for some of you, But I did just start.

As well as going to college eventually and eventually retirement. I’m 31 now and need to seriously start saving up. Especially if I want to get a house before I turn 50 or at least at that age.

Getting a new house is also a goal, So I would love to start saving up for that as well. How do you guys separate your savings with only one savings account? I do currently have 3 accounts into one bank account, So I could easily separate the college savings and the house savings. But what about retirement? Can that go into the house savings as well? As I’d like to keep my moving out/college savings separate as well.

My main goal is to save up to $100k, At first. Then to $200-$300k to eventually buy a new house on my own!

Wish me luck!!

Also, Just to update, Once I get out of here, I do plan to work more hours and transfer to a different position at my job.

Hello,

I'm in my late 20s (27 going on 28 soon) and I just finally hit my first high paying job. In my first full year at my last job, I made about $84,000. At this new position, I'm looking to make around $182,000.

I am receiving my first full commission check of the new job, coming in at around $20,000-21,000 after taxes and deductions. ($32,000 pre tax and deductions with 8% to 401k, 5% to stock purchase plan and no state income tax). I currently have $4,500 of debt on a 15.5% APR credit card, and $5,000 on a 21.74% APR card. I also owe $15,000 on my auto loan (~3 years left at 6.49%) and have ~$21,000 left on my student loans (6 loans ranging from 2.75% to 5% interest)

My plan was to immediately pay off both credit cards to 0, and hold onto the rest in my HYSA as an emergency fund since I have no emergency fund. With my current goal attainment for the year, I'm all but guaranteed to receive another large commission check (~$20,000+) in a few more months. After paying of credit card debt, what should I prioritize? Should I then pay my car off, invest money elsewhere, do something else with it? I'll only be at around $15,000 contributed to my 401K at the end of the year, but with an increase of 4% withholdings next year I should be able to max it out consistently. Do I need to worry about trying to max it this year?

Currently in my early 20's and have been maxing out my Roth IRA and investing in a low-cost index fund for the past three years.

My plan is to continue maxing out my Roth IRA each year, maintain $25,000 in a high-yield savings account (HYSA) as my emergency fund, and invest approximately half of my paycheck ($1,500–$1,800 per week) into a low-cost index fund through a separate taxable brokerage account. I'll also keep enough cash in my checking account to cover my regular expenses.

This might not be the most optimal strategy, but is it a reasonable approach?

Context: My weekly spending is very low as I live with my parents and have a decent full-time position.

Im 23 and work for a municipality so i have access to a 457b plan. I started contributing this month at around $500 per paycheque which is around 1/4 of my biweekly pay after taxes. Im using the 457b-roth instead of traditional but dont know whether to split between the two or not.

Also have no clue how controlling my own investments works and am lowkey scared of the risk that comes with taking all of that into my hands.

I also get a pension which has a 5.25% contribution from me and a 16.82% contribution from my employer.

Is there a starter guide to investing or should i just let it sit as the default american funds plan?

Hi everyone! I’m trying to help my mom get her retirement savings on the right track, and I’d really appreciate some advice from people who have experience with retirement accounts.

My mom is 52 years old, and she currently has a SEP IRA with Primerica that has approximately $7,000 in it.

I’m looking into moving her money to Fidelity because I’d like to help her invest for the long term. I’m interested in the S&P 500 ETF VOO, but I’m still learning how retirement accounts and transfers work.

Here are my questions:

Transferring the money: What is the correct way to move her $7,000 SEP IRA from Primerica to Fidelity? Can she transfer it directly into a Fidelity Roth IRA, or would she need to open a Fidelity SEP IRA first? I want to avoid unnecessary taxes, penalties, and fees.

Taxes: Would transferring the money to a Roth IRA count as a taxable conversion? Would it be better to transfer the money into a traditional IRA first?
Investing: Once the money is at Fidelity, can she invest it in VOO? Is VOO a reasonable choice for someone who is 52 and hopes to retire around age 65, or should she consider a more diversified portfolio?

Monthly contributions: I want to help her contribute consistently from every paycheck. Approximately how much would she need to invest every two weeks to build a comfortable retirement by age 65?

Retirement projections: If she starts with $7,000 and contributes regularly for the next 13 years, what might her account balance look like under different average annual returns?

Other considerations: Are there any Primerica surrender fees, account closing fees, or other costs we should investigate before transferring the account?

My goal is to help my mom make the most of the next 13 years and give her a better chance at a comfortable retirement. I’m not trying to get rich quickly; I want to make sensible, long-term decisions.

If anyone has gone through a similar transfer or has advice on how to approach this, I’d be grateful for your input. Thank you!

My father is in his 60's. He was able to aquire 4 properties in his lifetime. Lately he has been getting sick and his memory is getting worse, and he's concerned he will die and that I will have to pay a lot for the properties he already owns, when I put it in my name/inherit.

He grew up dirt poor, rags to riches type of thing. He's been very independent with all finances, appointments, everything. He is now asking me for help putting everything in a trust fund.

Also, health insurance is so expensive in the US even with insurance. He was on medicaid but they've seen he owns property and are taking it away. He no longer works and has not yet filed for social security.

From my understanding a trust fund will help him qualify for medicaid as the properties or anything in the trust fund will no longer be in his name, in a sense. We should have done this 5 years ago, as I understand medicaid looks back 5 years into your Financials.

Regardless, I just need advice on how to start up this trust fund. Anyone in the Chicago area you recommend? I hear we should go with an attorney? What kind? Is a state attorney the same as the others?

Also, he has made like 200k from his 401k from his old job. He currently has it in a CD or insurance thing at some bank. Can that go into a trust fund as well? Just so it doesn't count and affect medicaid? And if it can go into his trust fund, can he still invest it so it can still make money as it's sitting there?

I should have begun helping him in all things work and financial years ago. I'm overwhelmed by all the things we need to set up like medicare (all the different parts and choices), medicaid, social security, needing to keep track of his finances and why his credit score is decreasing now (?).

I would appreciate any answers and advice. Thank you.

To be short, I have a 401k at my current employer with Fidelity that I took a loan out on. The loan requires biweekly payments that are payroll deducted. My plan does not allow any partial payments in addition to the payroll deducted payment. The only option listed in the plan is to do a one time payment in full of the loan which is not an option I can afford. I am changing employers, and plan to roll the 401k over to that employer who also uses Fidelity. I assumed the loan wouldn’t be affected because I had timed my leaving Company A on a Friday and starting with Company B on a Monday. Now Company B has moved my start date back a month, so I will be paycheck less for a month. I have some savings so that’s not a big deal, but will this cause the loan on the 401k to default triggering taxes and early withdrawal penalties? What should I prepare for/do in this situation?

I also have around **€**10.000 that I saved myself. No rent or plans to buy a house in the next 3 years but I would ideally have the option in the next 7-8 years.

No emergeny fund

Want to buy a car in the next months.

I mainly want to invest for pension so the time horizon in 30 years approximately.

Thoughts on how to proceed?

Also, since this issue is causing me a lot of anxiety, recommendations on a good financial advisor that knows about Cyprus or Sweden would be greatly appreciated as well as how much a consultation would cost

I’m looking for a tax professional, but I'm not sure exactly what kind of tax professional would be best for what I need. Tax advisor, CPA, Enrolled Agent, Tax attorney? The questions I would have for them are:

• What is the best tax strategy for drawdown in retirement from my various accounts?
• I have a tax managed account with a high advisory fee, after retirement will this account still benefit me?
• If the tax managed account won't be benefiting me, how do I unwind it?
• Would I get any tax benefits from a Roth conversion?
• Are my retirement planning estimates (done in Quicken) accurate?

Thanks for any help!

I have a 15 year old special needs son, currently working on setting up a special needs trust, and I'm looking into options for a savings/investment account to help pay for expenses when my wife and I parish. I would like to contribute biweekly or monthly into a long-term account (passive investments/index funds).

I called Vanguard and they told me to open a regular brokerage account. I concerned with capital gains taxes and don't intend on withdrawals until my wife and I are gone. Any suggestions? I've looked into ABLE accounts and this does not seem to be what I'm looking for as it has limits before it impacts SSI.

I’m 29 year old guy who moved in with his parents about a year ago and I’ve been doing my best to save. Right now I have like 12k in savings but if everything goes well, by the time I plan on moving out in 5 months I’ll have 21k. Possibly 25k-30k if I cut back even more on spending. The goal was originally to save an emergency fund because I plan on using my GI Bill to go to college full time next fall. I dont want to have to work full time and go to school, but the thing is I’ve never had this much financial control of myself in my life and I would like to do something with it to continue to make more money. I make like 45k a year maybe but I injured my knee back when I was in the military so I get 1400 a month tax free va disability. I don’t have much in the way of bills, I was given a car basically for free and it’s honestly been pretty reliable except for being a gas guzzler. I really only pay for my phone bill and car insurance which together is maybe like $250. I don’t have any debt at all. What are some things I should do or be looking into?

Just like what the title says, I badly need book recommendations for me to learn finance.

I'm a teenager that came from a very poor family. Its very easy for loansharks to take advantage for someone like our family to offer us loan with large interest due to the lack of financial literacy. My parents , as obvious at it is dont understand the concept of handling money.

I really wanted to know what the concept of interest , loan , mortages, or whatever about finance is . I'd also like to know how they are calculated and how much percentages are in each year. Thank you for understanding!

31 m and 31 f with two little ones.

we currently earn close to 500k gross income a year, are paying down our student debt aggressively and should be free of them in about 15 months. currently, we mortgage a 2500 sq ft 3b2b house in the suburbs. we’ve always wanted to live on acreage (5 to 10) for privacy, peace, and quiet. that will be about $1 to 1.5 million.

after we pay off loans, would it make financial sense to buy the home on acreage or stay in the current home and invest more to be financially independent quicker?

thanks so much.

How am I doing?

I'm 27 and for all intents and purposes, financially illiterate. I was foolish throughout my 20's and only have a few thousand dollars saved. I recently began a new job that matches 50% on the first 6% saved to your 401k. I contribute 8% of my weekly check to that account. I also contribute 8% to a Roth IRA (I think that's what it's called?) I earn about $800 USD a week so if my math is correct I am contributing $130 per week in total.

I know you should save as much as possible, but I recently had to start life over and am trying to get some basics (clothes, bed, furniture, cooking supplies, more reliable work clothes/boots, maybe save for a vehicle.) I think it will probably be close to a year before I have a good foundation to build a life on and ideally I would like to contribute more after I have taken care of some of the basics. Unless you all advise against that, I honestly am clueless and winging it at the moment.

My only regular expenses are rent ($1000) the only utility I pay is electric (usually $60 a month) my phone bill ($70) and $75/month for my bus pass. Apart from that I only pay for food, haircuts, hygiene products and maybe do something nice with my girlfriend a couple times a month (go see a movie, go out to dinner, etc. nothing crazy). Whatever is left at the end of the month just gets set aside and saved but not invested in anything.

How am I doing, what if anything should I change and what advice would you offer me? My mind and ears are open. I just want to set myself up to be okay in the future. Thank you for your time!

I just turned 18, have $8,000 saved, earn around $1,600/month, and can potentially save and invest $600+ per month. I currently have no bills to pay.
What should I do with my money to build long-term financial stability by age 25–30? I’m not expecting to become a millionaire or anything like that. I just want to build a decent amount of money so I can live comfortably and not constantly stress about finances throughout my 20s.

I have a high deductible health plan that covers myself and my two dependent children. I contribute the family max to my HSA.

Recently, their stepmom added the kids to her non-high deductible health plan; it's their secondary insurance.

Does this have an impact on how much I'm eligible to contribute to my HSA?

Thank you!

I currently make $240,000/year. I rent an apartment and don’t plan to own at all. I have no children and am unmarried. I max out my Roth IRA every year doing backdoor. I also max my 403b. I have HYSA. No credit card debt. I have a ton in student loans but it should be wiped after 10 years of service.

A while ago I wanted to know how I could maximize my money. I spoke with a financial planner through MassMutual and they suggested I sign up for permanent life insurance as a way to invest and grow my money. I can’t help but feel on the fence about that.

Can someone please advise me

I’m currently making 2000 a month but I owe over 5000 out at 19 and it’s all I can think about I’m on a DMP but it still don’t put me at ease what can I do I’m struggling to live week to week as it is

I have been interviewing financial advisors recently as me and the wife are turning 73 next year. I have been self managed and I believe I do ok in investing averaging 7-8% return. I have interviewed several FAs. So far, no one stands out for me to say they're the one. My big hang up is the fee which ranges from 0.7 -1.5%. I just do not see how paying 10k- 15k a year can justify it. And it's obvious, that's all they want. For that fee to work, they have to make me at least that much . Also, my main concern is tax planning related to RMDs and other tax implications. Maybe I'll just find an accountant and just continue managing the investments myself.

I’m caught between gratitude for where I am in my career and total paralysis about what’s coming.

Income: $170k base salary
Debt: $0 (completely debt-free)
Cash: \~$110k sitting in basic checking/savings
Retirement: \~$9.5k in a 401(k) (contributing 6% to capture the employer match)
Company Stock: \~$22k vested

My mom is battling a severe, progressive illness that will require intensive long-term care. Over the next 2 to 4 years, she will be receiving care outside the US, which will cost roughly $10,000 to $15,000 per year. Eventually, my goal is to bring her here to the United States for advanced treatment and specialized care.

I need help with a grounded strategy to start growing this money over the next 2–4 years without putting her care runway at risk.

I am seeking advice on choosing between NJ and Utah 529 plans.

I am a NJ resident.

If I chose the NJ plan, I'd be entitled to up to $10,000 in NJ state tax credits.

However, it seems that the NJ plan lags behind Utah in performance and low cost investments.

I am trying to determine whether the tax credits would offset the lower performance/higher cost over the course of 17-18 years.

Any advice would be appreciated

Hello Reddit. I am a 20M in MA, USA. I am currently attending college and am racking up an amount in loans that I don’t like to look at. Debt and interest scares me, so I am making this post. Here is my current situation:

Roth IRA: $9,140 as of 10/09/26. I contributed $6,300 in 2024 and I have not been able to contribute anymore since my current income is pretty much equal to my expenses. I hover around $2300 in the bank account.

Private loan (Sallie Mae): $7300 w/ 10.2% interest

Federal loans (from FAFSA): mix of unsubsidized and subsidized adding up to $14,300 principal with interest gained of $265. Interest rates are 6.39-6.53%. It is important to mention I have switched college programs for my last two years which are much cheaper, so I will only be taking out federal loans in the future.

I know this isn’t an investment subreddit, but with how high the market is right now I’m thinking of partially selling and withdrawing from my Roth to rid of this Sallie Mae loan. I want to either withdraw the $6,300 and take $1,000 out of my bank account (this option would make things really tight, but would be more beneficial long term) or withdraw around $6,800 (eating 10% loss on $500 gains plus taxes) and then covering the remainder out of pocket. I am currently contributing $50/mo to my Sallie Mae loan, this money would go to the Roth if the loan was eliminated. Is this a good idea? Thanks.

Hello everyone! First time poster. So, about me:

30(F), single. No Debt. Recently started my first full-time job as an Academic Scheduling Coordinator in university. I started back on August 31st, 2026. So the salary for that is $46,000/year.

I have no student loans, or other debt, and a credit score around 795. Also have roughly $19k in total (2k cash emergency savings, 16,979.50 in checkings). Note: I'm also in Georgia, and live with my parents because I take care of them (Dad- elderly, fronto-temporal dementia, Mom-high blood pressure, and diabetes)

I am required to choose between Teacher's Retirement System of Georgia (TRS) or Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) within 60 days.

I understand the basic differences:
TRS:

• Pension
• 10-year vesting

ORP:

• Defined contribution plan
• Immediate vesting
• More portable

The problem? I genuinely don't know if I'll still be working within the University System of Georgia in 10 years. I've only been in the role about a month. (And I am enjoying it!). And honestly staying that long scares me. I'd be 40!

For additional context, before landing this role I spent several years in graduate research positions at university, and, while job hunting, I was simultaneously working a mix of research, contract, part time AI evaluation, and seasonal roles (TELUS Digital, Measurement Incorporated, Mercor projects, etc.).

For those who had to make a similar pension vs. defined-contribution decision early in their careers:

What factors helped you decide?