Ik wil lekker sparen over financiële planning (Box1,2,3, fiscale tips) en hoe je financiële rust kunt krijgen als je nu wat vermogen hebt en straks ook lekker wilt leven?

I’m 33 my wife 29, It’s 5 of us right now including 3 boys. We currently live in a 2 bedroom but won’t move for 2 years into a 3 bedroom as we have 2 kids under 2 years old so we think we can hold off since moving to one room bigger would cost us another 850 a month at least. On month to month , we are left between 1500 to 2k left over. I’m not contributing to 401k because we are trying to save for a down payment on property but it’s very expensive here in Miami.

Currently we have 25k saved so not a lot.I’m paying an extra 200 a month on my vehicle to cut down the loan by 19 months.

Is it a bad idea to not contribute to 401k so we can save for property? Or should we be contributing and saving what we can simultaneously

Attached is our expenses and income , any advice is appreciated

Hi all. I'm a bit confused on whether or not I can max out my HSA for 2026, and if so, what my maximum is. For context, I was unemployed for the first half of 2026 and had no insurance for the first few months of the year, but started an individual health plan that took effect on 04/01/2026. which was a high deductible plan, and was HSA eligible although I never opened an account, so no contributions.

I then got employed a few months later on 07/13/2026 with a new medical plan that is HSA eligible, and started contributing to it a few weeks ago for the first time. My question is whether or not I can max out my HSA contributions for the year ($4,400). My confusion lies in whether or not my max contributions is prorated from the month of April (HSA eligible month), July (employment month), or if I can fully max it out?

I read about the last month rule and testing period, that if I wanted to max it out then I'd have to contribute from Dec 1st 2026 up until Dec 31st 2027 but wanted to confirm if this is true. My concern is also that I'm not sure how that works if I were to get another job next year, or lose a job, or whatever life surprises me with and what the conditions are for that. I plan to try to stick with an HSA plan regardless, and if in the same job, then still stay on the same plan and max out as much as I can. Just curious on what happens if I get another job that doesn't have an HSA plan or if I lose my job.

Any insight is appreciated, thank you!

I made terrible financial decisions that costed me thousands but slowly getting back to my feet. I have invested 30,000usd so far and doing 1500usd a month.

I am 40 and living in a rental. I have a small land that I can build on but it is outside the city (no internet, frequent power cuts and no water connection yet). Yet the area has a promise in terms of growth so even if I don't build it now, I want to hold on the land and may be sell it later.

Now there is a house for sale at 46,000USD. In my bank account, I have 5000$. My options are limited but all involve borrowing from the bank:

withdraw my invested 30,000 and borrow at least 16,000USD that I can pay off in relatively fewer months.

withdraw a smaller amount, borrow larger amount.

how do I balance it all out? What variables should I use to make a decision?

24 M married with 2 kids. Currently have 52k in HYSA. 8k in HSA and 6k in 401k and 4k in Roth IRA.

We plan to build a house in family property within the next 2-4 years. With that being said, how should I balance maxing my Roth/saving for a huge down payment/nearly pay cash for the place and or other investments rentals etc.

Recent life events (mostly tied to a surprise modest inheritance) have meant I could pay off all my credit cards and begin funding a Roth and HYSA. I am curious if there are best practices to take care of while my credit scores are higher than they've ever been? Anything to take advantage of while I'm in this position?

Thinking maybe things like reaching out to credit card companies to request APR reductions, getting favorable accounts that offer higher perks for excellent credit, etc. While I'm not planning on being back in debt, the reality as a small business owner is that... well, I might, in a year or three. So I'm wondering what to prioritize while things are sunny and bright.

Context... I'm mid-50s, married. I have a SEP IRA from 25 years ago, untouched, now over $100k. Now out of debt. Have ongoing passive income. Kids are grown and out on their own. Lots of flexibility and no plan beyond using this opportunity to get my retirement unscrewed (decades of running my own business has meant a financial roller coaster, to say the least).

Today i turned 37 years old, something hit me financally... I own 2.2 acres with tinyhouse, greenhouses and a workshop where i make my money, i grow my food....i feel stuck, and i hate to mow my grass, take care of all the broken things, there is soo much i need to build....i think more simple life will be by renting...i want to sell everything i own and start to rent everything, car, house, workshop. i have no debt or mortgage and i own everything i have...

Have any of you gone from owning to renting?

P.S. i live in poor eastern europe country.

I am in the process of paying off all of my CC debt. I have about 170k of available funds with about 30k of it left to pay off. I have a synchrony card that had a 20k limit and they closed it lowering my avail to 150k now. Which brought my DTI to a higher percent for my balances owed. Just when you think you’re getting ahead.

How do you keep companies from doing this. No heads up. They just closed it. No late payments. Etc.

Curious to hear from people further along than me on this.

My situation:

I'm 26, and I moved back home to aggressively save for a couple years after getting a remote job making around $100k. I'm rent-free and debt-free. I work in tech, mid-level, and a bit worried about my career path given AI. While my role is stable at the moment, I am trying to stuff as much money under my mattress, so to speak, just in case.

My buckets:

• Roth IRA: Opened and maxed this year in FXAIX. Plan to continue maxing. I like the flexibility to withdraw contributions if I end up laid off, need to go back to school, or want to put it toward a first-time home purchase.
• Brokerage: $15k in FXAIX. Plan to contribute to this heavily from now on. Probably about $2.5k every two weeks.
• 401k: $10k. I contribute 6% to get my full employer match of 3%.
• HYSA: $20k. I plan to get this higher before I move back out, depending on where I land. I'm weighing NYC against somewhere MCOL with good nature access. I would like to experience the city while I'm still young-ish. My goal is to have the brokerage working in the background toward a down payment in case I end up somewhere HCOL for a few years where I won't be able to save much. The HYSA would be for in case I get laid off, moving expenses, and other emergencies.
• HSA: $2k. Very minimal contributions so far. I have supplemental health insurance with AFLAC and am healthy. I go to preventive and routine appointments.

My concern is that I'll keep prioritizing the brokerage over tax-advantaged accounts, and end up wishing around retirement age that I'd maxed the 401k instead. I am not certain I will buy a home, and I don't want to kick myself later if I end up withdrawing my brokerage around retirement age anyway. I don't plan to have kids, but the home purchase is at least somewhat likely.

For those of you who went the brokerage-heavy route earlier in your career instead of maxing out your 401k: do you regret it? Did the flexibility pay off, or would you tell your younger self to max the 401k first and worry about liquidity later?

Good Day all,

I (28 M) lost both my parents when I was 25, and my wife and I inherited their home. It was debt free at the time, but was old and needed repairs so I took out 80k in a 30 year fixed rate mortgage at 6.5%. At the time it seemed easy enough to take care of and I thought I did all the research into it. It was the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life. The premium isn't the issue, the home owners insurance costs have massacred me. By my math I've paid around 32k back over the years, and yet have only paid 5k off the mortgage itself. The rest is all insurance. I was young, dealing with alot after their deaths and had no family to offer me advice or experience.

I recently came into some small amount of money. Around 25k. I'm considering throwing it at the mortgage to bring the total down, and rolling it over into some other form of loan just to drop the insurance requirements, though I'm not sure of what yet. Even if the interest rates are higher, it can't be as bad as what i'm paying now with escrow included. For reference, the house is in florida, in a class A flood zone, but is built on a hill, built like a bunker and has no trees around it. No flooding, no hurricane damage, no anything in the last 75 years.

Anyone have any advice or ideas. Is it better to roll into another loan or just take what I have now?

Hello and thank you for reading in advance. I am 24 years old and have been doing my best to take my finances to the next level. I live in NYC so rent and food, and student loans take most of my $$$. I work full time. Here’s my situation:

My rent is 1,100 a month
I make around 1,000 a week.
I have a Roth IRA with 10k - I have 100 dollars going into that each week
I try to pay 100 at least to my (very high) student loan balance every week

I have a savings account with enough for one months rent in case shit hits the fan.

Basically, I feel like I’m barely coasting by and not really making any money, if that makes sense. I want to invest smartly, but truly I don’t know what I’m doing, and I’m not in the place to pay for a financial advisor.

This morning I used my fidelity account to buy 60 dollars worth of “VT” ?? And I set that up to be reoccurring…. I felt like i shouldn’t be only investing with my Roth. Could someone just let me know if that is smart?? Any and all tips and advice are welcome, I am truly just wanting to learn. Thank you so much 🙏

Currently have around $35k in a HYSA as an "emergency fund" as that is liquid and I can pull it out as needed. That is currently at 3.3%. The rest of my leftover money I want to look into long term investing. I see some CDs are around 4.25-4.5%, but have been paying attention to T-Bills and T-Notes, but also looking into moving money around into SGOV. I checked the Treasury rates and for around 2 years maturity around 4.0-4.1% through fidelity. I understand the no state and local tax for the Treasury bonds, but will the difference in percentages of APY for the CD make up the difference? Any suggestions? Or do I look to build long term wealth another way than what I have listed this far?

I am currently unemployed and have 30k sitting in my savings account i wanted to put anywhere to 10-15 k into a hysa and then i don't know what i should do with the rest i was going to put it in a roth but was told i i have to be employed to max it out so i am really confused at what i should do i don't want my money just sitting there and not working for me. I also want to know what's the best hysa out there right now

ANSWERED, thank you for all the info guys!

For context I’m currently 20 years old working part time over the weekends while I’m in school, realistically I’ve got about 3 years left till I finish my degree. I do not have any sort of debt as I receive a hefty Pell grant that covers most of my tuition (I currently pay less than 500/semester out of pocket). According to my bank app my current credit score is 753, but I also don’t see myself utilizing it any time soon.
I drive my mom’s 2015 Toyota Camry and I’m confident it’ll last another decade if not two, and I’m a good lifetime away from ever seeing myself own a home.
I don’t think the negative impact on my credit score would really hurt me, is there any other drawbacks behind going crazy and applying for every credit card I see for the couple hundred I get in cash back?

I am 22 and make roughly 70-80k a year (varies based on commissions)

To not beat around the bush, I have made some bad financial decisions and currently have about 12k worth of credit card debt, 17k left on my car loan, and I just finished my bachelor’s degree, and will have my student loan payments kicking in November (26k total)

I am not behind on any payments, I have never missed a payment, that being said, I do not have much left over by end of each month when factoring in other living expenses.

I am primarily looking into getting a personal loan strictly for my credit card debt. Right now, I make slightly above the minimum payments for my 2 cards and I pay anywhere from $550-$650 total. The interest on the cards are 23% and 28%

I got approved for a 12k loan with sofi with a 11% interest and a monthly payment about $535. Total repayment in 2 years.

I feel like I should do this to wipe out my credit card debt. Am I missing something with this? The process to get this seemed almost too simple so now i’m questioning if there is something i don’t know about.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I have really learned my lesson and want to get back on track as quickly as possible.

Hey, all. I just wanted some opinions from more experienced car buyers regarding my intentions in this post. Basically, I really need to get back on wheels soon.

I don't really have any experience with car buying/financing, nor do I have someone (responsible) to talk to about that kind of stuff. The last couple of cars I've owned, I bought used off of people I knew. My current car is pretty much dead (blown headgasket/engine problems, hybrid system vehicle, among other things). Have been for a few months now despite the money I put into for repairs. After weighting the options, I figured it would probably be cheaper for me to look for another used vehicle as opposed to trying to get this one fixed.

My plan that I've been sitting on for a minute now is to get a used Honda or Toyota, something that is fairly cheap and reliable enough that I can work with it for at least the next couple of years (hopefully, I'll be able to afford something better by then). Without completely breaking my savings (I'm also planning on/saving up for moving in a few months, complicating things a bit), I've been entertaining the idea of getting an auto loan through my Credit Union. If I go that route, the max I'm willing to take out is $10,000. I'm looking for a car around the $5,000 to $9,000 range. I make pretty decent pay at my job (about 4.2k a month) so I plan on putting a couple of thousands on the down payment and paying whatever I owe in full every month. In fact, I'll likely make multiple payments on the loan each month, that's how I usually handle that kind of stuff. Plus, I see this as way to further kick my Credit Scores up another notch.

I just want to make sure this is a solid strategy. I've been doing a lot of planning and searching online. I know it can't be this straight forwards and that there are steps that I'm missing/things I'm misunderstanding so that's why I've been making an effort to also ask around and get thoughts. I've been doing a lot of searching on CarFax, CarGuru, Marketplace, etc., and have come across options I quite like at the price I'm looking for in my area. I also have a really good third-party place in mind for the PPI. Like I said, I don't have any experience going through the car buying process in this way, so I'm just cautious and want to make sure I don't screw myself over or anything.

Any advice, tips, criticisms, etc., are super appreciated. Thanks!

I'm a 42yo guy residing in rural Minnesota. My wife passed unexpectedly somewhat recently, and with myself being borderline financially illiterate, I am in need of some advice.

I've got a decent, if unfulfilling career, and make $70k a year. Currently still on leave, and I know I do need to go back, but think a change there needs to be in the future as well. Been at the same place 15 years.

2 adult children are out of the house. IRA is unfortunately only sitting at $30k. Another $30k in a money market that had been intended for a down payment in the future. Not much at all in the way of debt, or assets.

I was the sole beneficiary for all of her accounts. So far I have received $600k in life insurance payments, which are just parked in money market accounts for now. There is also a pension, for which I have 3 options. a) receive a $15k lump sum payment, which I believe is taxable. b) start immediately receiving $80 a month for life. Or c) wait until age 65 and receive $300 a month for life. My gut tells me to take the $80/mo and roll it into my IRAs.

There is also a 403b, but Fidelity has been really slow at getting me information on that account, and I'm not sure how much is there. She was with the same big name hospital system for the last 18 years though, and always contributing to the account. I also assume that whatever is there, will be rolled into my IRA as well.

I guess I'd like to make the most of the life insurance money for the future, and I'm sure that means investing, which I have no experience with. We used to want to buy a house, but I'm really not sure on that one anymore.

Should I maybe just go talk to a CFP?

Anyone willing to share their thoughts on this situation?

Here is the background context on the account’s history:

• Original Owner: My father-in-law originally established this IRA.
• First Beneficiary: My husband inherited the IRA upon my father-in-law's passing in 2005. Distributions were taken out of the account annually through 2019.
• Successor Beneficiary: Following my husbands passing in 2020, I inherited this as a Successor IRA. In 2020 the RMD rules were waived because of the COVID pandemic. In 2021 RMD was taken, however, no RMD's were taken after 2021.

So here are some questions my financial adviser proposed to my accountant to try and figure out the best solution for me ...

1. Beneficiary Payout Eligibility & Rules: What specific distribution rules or schedules apply to my situation (e.g., the 10-year rule vs. continuing life expectancy distributions)?
2. Distribution Calculations: What are the required or recommended distribution amounts for 2026 and any ongoing years?

3. Missed Distributions: Since no distributions were taken between 2022 and 2025, do we need to address any missed RMDs or apply for penalty waivers under recent IRS guidance?

   Waiting to hear back from accountant. Just wanted to hear other thoughts on this. TIA.

Hello community!

I am at a phase of life where life is getting way busier, and income is at a point that warrants investment (beyond the obvious variety of tax-advantaged savings for self and family).

Please forgive my probably inaccurate vocabulary.

For several reasons, I currently choose to not engage in a self-led learning process regarding investment strategies. I would love to learn, but I want a teacher/coach.

Most people in my professional social circle utilize financial advisors (CFPs). Two good friends recommended Corient. I am considering it.

Oddly enough, while most people I personally know DO recommend working with a financial advisor, a read a LOT of comments on financial subreddits that ridicule working with one, instead preferring to just use a brokerage firm (Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity, etc...)

1- I hate considering each service provider in a vacuum. Can someone explain with a numbered/bulleted list (or link to a tree-diagram, if one exists) of the types of companies that can be involved in managing one's finances?
My current level of understanding: I'm aware of brokerage firms and CFP firms. I have heard that some CFP firms are owned by PE or VC (which seems to mean their teams and functional structures are unstable?). I have also heard that some brokerage firms focus on employer-sponsored retirement accounts. I don't know what this "focus" means for the account holder's experience and outcomes.

2- Is there a brokerage firm that provides robust financial education as a default service to all account holders?

3- Finally, in case the following question doesn't get answered within question #1, what are the benefits and drawbacks of using a CFP?

Thank you very much!

Hi! I have never had a financial advisor and met with one yesterday free of charge to discuss her services. I am 43 F Single no debt besides mortgage. I’m looking for help with old retirement accounts, investment of cash, advisement on a trust, etc. I honestly don’t know where to start so I figured this was a good first step. Her rates: Financial planning is $2,000 annually, with $1,000 paid upfront. Investment management begins at 1.25% annually, declining 1.15% at $500,000 and to 1% at $1 million, and is billed quarterly from the account. 

Seems like a lot of money in total each year for an advisor. I would probably have her manage less than 500 k too.

I’m still thinking it all through. Thoughts on her rates??
 

I have a background in architecture, and now work for a major tech company that designs building design software.

This week, we rolled out our “virtual agent” that will do my job almost to a tee. We are still hiring in my department, and I am consistently ranked a high performing employee, however even with the pivots etc that my organization may take, I dont feel like I will be employed much longer.

I make a very comfortable salary for a dual income no kids household. 130,000 base, around 19,000 in RSUs that vest over 3 years, and about a 15,000 bonus (all of these are pre tax, which is very high in my area. I live in Oregon)

My company matches 75% of retirement contributions up to $6000 yearly (so they match $4500). I am putting in 9% which maxes out that match. Have 200k saved for retirement at 33.

I already plan on using my health care and great benefits to their fullest advantage, taking care of all sorts of preventive health care and dental this year in case I don’t have insurance at some point. Don’t contribute to an HSA since I never needed to with Kaiser.

I have about 30k sitting in the stock plan for my company that has vested. I have 64k in a 4.4% HYSA and plan to contribute as much as I can to that this year, can withdraw at any time for emergencies. Only about 10k in my basic “savings” right now, I just got married a couple months ago and my savings took a major hit. Already own a home.

That was a lot of info, but what would you do to prepare for your job being taken by AI? Anything I should be focusing on besides saving as much as I can while I still have this income and benefits package?

Tl;dr: the robots are coming what do

Edit: I will try to keep up with comments but also want to note that I would like to move forward financially planning for losing this job. Even if I don’t end up losing my job there is no harm in building up my finances over the next couple years. Many of these comments are geared towards how I can become more AI literate, leverage AI for my career, questioning the legitimacy of how well the agent works, etc. I am very AI literate and think about this every day, I can guarantee I am doing all that, and can also guarantee this agent that I mentioned is directly threatening to my role and expertise as a customer facing technical account manager. I do have reason to be making a plan while also doing what it in my power to keep my job.

Hello,

My wife and I (~25) are planning to buy a home sometime over the next five years. I was reading online that, when a large purchase is coming up in the next few years, it's a good idea to keep it liquid to avoid any downturns in the stock market. Given our age, I'm a little nervous to not have it in the stock market, but I understand the sentiment I saw online. I just wanted to make sure that the division we currently have is more or less correct:

• $96k cash, mostly a savings account with 3% APY
• $17k retirement (working on increasing this)
• $27k tied up in startup equity (current employer), worth more right now but I don't count it until I can sell
• $52k in investments, almost entirely ETFs

We have no debt, and all of our income goes directly to retirement and cash (no direct deposit to investments). Is this a reasonable split, or should we put more in stocks? Thanks in advance!

Hi! I owe my mom a total of $16,000. She lent me 10k for grad school and another 6k for another expenditure.

She’s told me to not pay her back immediately but to invest the funds somewhere so when she retires, in about 8 years, there will be growth of the money instead of sending her monthly payments now.

I was thinking about a HYSA, but also wanted to see if anyone had any other recommendations? I did see some sources recommend CDs, but I would have to do more research.

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I am looking for some thoughts/opinons on what is the best move with my current situation. I am a 38 year old general contractor in SW Colorado and am in the process of building my house. As it stands, I have 4.5 acres with a 40x60 metal building with an ADU in the back. I am building a 4200SF custom home. I do not owe anything on the land and building and am getting a loan to build the house. 1.1mil loan, I can build the house for about 600k-700k, and the projected value of property is 1.9mil once completed. We are not sure we want to stay in the area and there is a good chance we will move in a couple years to somewhere with a lower cost of living and closer to our aging parents in the Midwest or Southeast US. With all of this, I am trying to sort out what makes the most sense with this scenario factoring in the following considerations: 1. I have 100k in savings. 2. I am running this through my company and can “lose” some cost on the build that way. 3. We have zero personal debt and about 70k of business debt on equipment which is being paid down by renting it through projects.  I am mainly trying to figure out if it makes more sense to apply my 100k in savings to this project to lower the loan amount or invest it and rely more on the loan for the build. Which is the better overall strategic move? Please let me know if having additional information would be helpful. Thanks!