Assessment: Personal Finances?
Question:
1. married, no kids, 33 yrs. old; 2. own house, $54k equity on $214k home, pay two extra payments a year; 3. $12k cash for emergencies; 4.save 25-30 percent in emergency savings and retirement accounts combined (before and after tax) per month; 5. $38k in investments (including 401k, 403b, RothIRA, stocks); 6. no credit card debt, no car payments (own two cars); 7. But, have $50k in student loan debt that we pay $600/month (more than the minimum, am trying to get rid of it fast even though rates are as low as 1.65%)
Is there anything else we should be doing? Or some area that we haven't addressed? Thanks for any and all suggestions!
Answer:
You are off to a great start! You might want to consider taking your time paying off your student loan and putting that towards your home. Interest on your student loans as low as 1.65% doesn't need to be paid off quickly because you can keep that money in a high interest savings account currently earning around 5%.
That's good you both have life insurance, but you might want to consider having enough life insurance to pay off the mortgage ($160k), student loan ($50k), and provide a buffer for the surviving spouse (up to you) should one of you pass away unexpectedly. A term life insurance policy is all you need. It shouldn't cost you much to increase your face value. Just get a quote to see if it makes sense for you.
Everything looks good. But you should have more in those retirement accounts. 38K seems low for two people. Up your contributions. Those plans are designed for you to increase your contributions until you reach the maximum.
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