What's your current major financial goal?

[sfedai0]

Trying to figure out how to buy a house. The problem is, I own a condo, but it has dropped in value by like 25% over the last decade. I have it like 50% paid off, but I'm still not sure I'm willing to take the 25% loss to sell and have a down payment on a new place. So the other option is save for another down payment on the house and rent out the condo, but my city has a very high vacancy rate, so if I want to rent it out right now, I'm barely going to cover off my expenses....so I'm thinking, just sell the condo, take the hit, use that money as a down payment on a house, which should be cheaper now than it was 10 years ago too, and just have the one mortgage to deal with.

There's no good answer here. I've talked it over with realtors and my accountant, and most of the advice I'm given is just "If you want a house, sell the condo and buy the house. You can afford it.". But then I have other people telling me that "You don't want a house because you work too much already and don't have time to maintain a house", which I get too, but I work fucking hard, I make a decent living, and all I really have to show for it is a tiny ass condo and a head full of grey hair.

The other option is, just stick it out with the condo, pay it off in a couple years, and then have a lot more deposable income to put towards more frequent vacations, or even a summer cottage or something, and maybe have more money to put towards an early retirement.

Basically...I don't have a plan. I wish I did though.

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Damn, where are you located? Its pretty uncommon to be underwater on a property in the US. Why is your market tanking? Also, dont succumb to societal pressure to own a house solely because youre at a certain point of life.

Im in the east coast and the market is way too overpriced and Im content investing my money in the stock market and renovating my studio condo. Im all about being efficient and since Im single, it makes no sense to buy a house and not utilize every inch of that house,

 

[Deleted member 4367]

That's what I'd like to do but I haven't figure out how to calculate insurance which is absurd.

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I'm hoping for m4a by then.

 

[molnizzle]

Mid 30's.

Shorter term - pay off mortgage completely
Longer term - comfortably retire retire before 60

 

[Walter White Walker]

Retirement.

 

[CopyOfACopy]

destroy capitalism

 

[Goldenroad]

Damn, where are you located? Its pretty uncommon to be underwater on a property in the US. Why is your market tanking? Also, dont succumb to societal pressure to own a house solely because youre at a certain point of life.

Im in the east coast and the market is way too overpriced and Im content investing my money in the stock market and renovating my studio condo. Im all about being efficient and since Im single, it makes no sense to buy a house and not utilize every inch of that house,

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I'm in the prairies in Canada. Things were booming here 10 years ago, when we first bought, due to the oil and gas sector. With that industry being in the tank, so are property prices, and at the time developers were way overbuilding, especially condo's, here. I knew we were getting in while the market was high, but vacancy rates were also so low at the time that it would have cost a lot more to rent than it cost to buy, so we did what made the most financial sense at the time.

I'm not so concerned about societal pressure as I am that I'm just kind of spinning my wheels here, and it's just this idea that I need to feel like all this hard work is for something. I just kind of want to have a yard and a piece of land to call my own. I'm not trying to get into some kind of giant house that's going to leave me house poor. It's just my fiance and I and our cats, and we'd like to add a new doggo to the mix too if we could get a place with a yard. You're probably right though. It makes more sense to put some money into fixing up our condo and making it a place we want to stay, then selling it because we want a better place. I need those Love it Or List it people to just come hit me up already.

 

[Stuggernaut]

Pay off my house (hoping for about 4-5 years) by the time I am 55
Pay off my wife's student loans in the next 3 years following that

Goal is to retire when I am 58-60 depending on other debts.

Honestly, I can't wait to have my house paid off, gonna accelerate so many other things.

 

[Xando]

Goal is to increase my wealth to either retire earlier or have a better life later on through higher income and having some fun on the stock market

 

[powersurge]

Survive.

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I know this feeling :( Trying to keep our roof from falling in on our heads atm due to Hurricane Sally. Had been wanting to build a new pc and upgrade my phone but that's all on hold till all this damage is sorted and paid for.

-Remove tree from roof ($4-6k)
-Repair roof and structural damage ($10-12k)
-Pay off credit card debit ($5k)
-Put something in savings incase of emergency...again... (Savings is at 0)

Yeah... we weren't doing great before Hurricane Sally (though we thought we had a plan in motion to improve it) and now we are in it deep. (Everyone in my immediate family is over 30, poor, and in bad medical shape some without medical insurance)

Currently arguing for more cash from homeowner's insurance. Their initial payout only provided $1k to remove the tree and they reduced the payout to do roofing repairs by almost 70% (in some parts) due to the age of the roof (16 years old replaced after Hurricane Ivan...). Waiting to see if they will increase the pay out after we sent them more estimates.

FEMA told us to go jump since we have insurance and won't help. There was a local organization that was taking requests for help removing fallen trees that put us on their to do list but that was 3 weeks ago.

Had a family member toss a tarp up over the damage in the roof but rain and wind from the edge of Hurricane Delta blew it up so its not covering it all now (had a little drip of water around a vent that is concerning). Probably going to have to go next week for a bank loan to pay to get a tree service out to remove the tree before the roof can even be tarped correctly and patched much less repaired. The only saving grace in all this is we had a busted water pipe in the front yard from the tree falling and my cousin that's not a plumber watched a youtube video and patched it himself like a boss.

 

[Night Hunter]

Paying off the loan on my apartment in less than 10 years.

EDIT: Beyond that, buy a bigger apartment.

 

[Failburger]

Retire while there's a world worth retiring in.

 

[jjreamPop]

I want to pay off my car and about $4K in cc debt. Then I'll just have student loans and mortgage, which I'm just gonna take my time with. If I keep saving how I'm saving I should be able to retire by 60?

 

[Deleted member 2210]

Get these loan slinging demons of my back for my student loans. After that make enough money to disappear forever.

 

[Pikachu]

I have no goals

I get my check, depending on the check I pay the rent or the credit card (which is for regular monthly expenses, no debt) and then throw the rest in savings. That's all I do.

If I go to grad school I'm sure II'll be wiping out everything I've saved though, so

 

[bombermouse]

I guess just saving money, literally got nothing to look forward, just following the motions.

 

[ZackieChan]

Retire "comfortably" by 55.

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My goal as well. Buying a house has diverted my savings to that for a bit, but I'll be back on track right after that's done next month. Just waiting to hear back from the bank - might have enough loan to cover the cost of the house, which would be great (can put the house savings back into my index funds). Hope the election drops the stock market first so I can buy in cheap.
With a home paid off (costs are cheap living here in Thailand but with a business in America), that will drop my expected monthly retirement draw, plus I may start a nonprofit legal aid fund or something like that to bring in money while working less/choosing to work in retirement. I just don't want to HAVE to work.

Just finally signed up and got approved for this myself. I feel guilty having to ask for it but god dammit I've explored all my other options. Getting $150/month for food will be a huge help. Rent still isn't getting paid in full the next 2 months, UI for me isn't even $100/week.

As to the topic on hand, before all my finances got eaten up over the last 6 months, I was just trying to increase my 401K contributions. Yeah that never panned out.

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Man, that's why you pay taxes. Don't be ashamed. I took advantage of California's free health care for those in poverty when I was between law school and passing the bar/starting my law practice. It's there for when you need it, so take advantage of it.

 

[Eugene's Axe]

I don't care about money and that will be my downfall.

 

[Jakenbakin]

Been waiting on a life insurance payout for over a year now, effectively, so getting that would be a good start. I'd like to use that to put down for a house in the future, but given I'm not working that itself will be some time off too, I guess...

 

[xii_7]

Eat tomorrow

 

[Frester]

Short term is moving into a new apartment, my wife and I are still living in the same one as we were before the wedding at the beginning of the year and still have a roommate. It's still a great living arrangement but we're ready for our own space. Probably would have moved in August it too much going on with work, COVID, etc. so we extended the lease through March.

After that, probably a house.

 

[Darren Lamb]

• Student loans: Paying them down within the next 2.5 years. Have a little over 30k left, hope Joey B gets 10k forgiven for me
• House: trying to decide if we want to get a small cabin in Vermont for disconnecting on weekends and keep renting near Boston for the next few years, or if we want to go all in on a home around here.
• Car: I have a lease for the next 2.5 years, but eventually need to buy a new one. Maybe an ID.4 in 2023
• Wedding: I think we will have a small ceremony and take over a restaurant for a reception, probably around this time next year. My hope to elope abroad will probs not happen...

 

[Yamajian]

1. Keep paying into kids 529 accounts so they can afford at least a few semesters of college when they grow up
2. Keep putting money into 401K so we can retire around 55
3. Open a new index fund investment account that will be used as a "pay off the house fund". Thinking is instead of doing a 15 year refi, put money into this account and when we have enough just pay the house off. Index fund should do much better than the interest on the mortgage.

 

[shaneo632]

Saving up for 20% mortgage deposit. Pretty much there tbh, by this time next year me and my partner should be in a really good position to buy :)

 

[Deleted member 4367]

1. Keep paying into kids 529 accounts so they can afford at least a few semesters of college when they grow up
2. Keep putting money into 401K so we can retire around 55
3. Open a new index fund investment account that will be used as a "pay off the house fund". Thinking is instead of doing a 15 year refi, put money into this account and when we have enough just pay the house off. Index fund should do much better than the interest on the mortgage.

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3 doesn't necessarily make sense. It won't be any more right to pay it off when you have the bulk sum. That money will STILL make you more money in the market than it will going towards your mortgage. So you should still be making payments.

 

[MortosDer]

32, no college or similar higher education. Working 2 jobs, only way to have a somewhat decent life where I live. (Probably the most expensive country in all of South America). Don't see myself pursuing a career at this point in life. Don't want to work 2 jobs all my life either. So I'm gonna save money and leave. Start again somwhere where being a regular employee isnt a fucking death sentence.

 

[turbobrick]

I want to save up for a house down payment, though I'm unemployed so its going to be a while. I'll still be able to live at home once I get a job, so if I save all my paycheck I should have enough after a year.

There's nothing else I really need a lot of money for.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

Not be homeless.

 

[sugar bear]

Retire in my late 50s, pay off the house in my early 60s.

 

[Gpsych]

Own every book for AD&D 2nd Edition, 4th edition and 5th edition. Some of those 2nd Ed books are crazy expensive.

 

[Deleted member 39374]

Enough to eat food...

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Dig through dumpsters behind grocery stores, they will throw away perfectly edible food at the end of each day and sometimes it's even sealed.

 

[Yamajian]

3 doesn't necessarily make sense. It won't be any more right to pay it off when you have the bulk sum. That money will STILL make you more money in the market than it will going towards your mortgage. So you should still be making payments.

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You are right about that! If we get to that point, we will see if we would like to pay it off just to have more monthly income, or keep the fund around for some other use (RV!)

 

[Labyrinthe]

I will never retire i think 100% since i'm in IT and adore it and i'm still in my prime.

In February of next year, i will buy my new condo cash and won't use any mortgage. I already prepaid 20%.

 

[I Don't Like]

Purchase a house I guess but I live in a rental that is so nice and so relatively cheap and it's 3 blocks from work, in a lively downtown area, next to the metro, bars, great restaurants and all the rest of it and given that houses in the DC area are absurdly expensive and I would have to almost certainly start commuting again, I just can't be bothered. My rent and parking in the condo building I'm in -are so god damned cheap it's laughable and my landlord doesn't seem like he has any plans to raise the former, so I'm just chilling.

 

[Clear]

Keep 401k at 15% and max out Roth IRA while my kids are in daycare ($430 a week)

Once daycare ends, I'm going to get a home improvement loan and build a nice stone patio in my backyard with a built in pizza oven.

 

[Deleted member 76797]

Getting ready to buy a house next year, and the plan is to rent out the condo I currently own. I'm trying to balance putting money into the condo to raise it's rental value and saving money for the house.

 

[Euphoria]

Pay off my house.

 

[Tsukihime]

Afford food and medicine

 

[nilbog]

Scrounge up enough money to buy a ps5

 

[Castor Archer]

Same situation. My fault went for decent grades. No internships/networking. I feel like I'm fucked

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I feel you. College for almost 5 years, great grades, even worked at the college my last two semesters, and then just kicked to the curb. Not even looking for jobs related to my field of study anymore and still can't find anything. Shit sucks, man...

 

[Vagabond]

If I could pay off this personal loan I stupidly got to pay off debt (or pay the subsequent additional debt I got myself into after) I would be absolutely over the moon. I've been working on it hard but its been -tough-.

I've been considering getting a personal loan that rolls up all my other debt with a lower APR but at this point I'm thinking I'll just soldier on a few years with it.

 

[ty_hot]

Get a job, rent a place, use any leftover money to buy house stuff. No idea when I will start saving money -.-

 

[Biggersmaller]

We brought our savings down recently from $8000 to $2800. We bought new furniture, made minor home improvements, and purchased a new TV. My goal is to build that back up to $8K by April.

 

[Metalgus]

I need to save for some home improvements. But not the fun kind. More like new French drain, new HVAC, new driveway, new landscaping, some plumbing work. Nothing too urgent though so I can spread it out.

 

[Turbowaffles]

To be able to eat tomorrow. Sucks not being a rich boi

 

[Lobster Roll]

Get a loan for a house in the next year.
Pay it off in 20 years.
Retire in 30 years.

 

[Mariachi507]

Next for me is to improve at accumulating cash. I crunched my numbers, and with a lifestyle change I can basically put back one paycheck a month. Right now I'm mostly week to week.

Buy the car I want when the pandemic ends and have my credit be in great shape by that point. To do so I need to work to pay off my credit cards.

Learn more about investing for my future. I'm stuck living in a world where that is the game, so I need to get better at it.

 

[Ain't Nobody]

I have to get my house repainted and get some rotten pieces of wood replaced. It'll cost about ten grand; I'm comfortable putting half that much on a credit card. But that's a small goal towards by real goal: sell this house and buy a new one. I don't know how that works though; I don't have down payment money saved up, but selling the house will get me what I need. So how do you time that?

 

[AMAGON]

Hadn't got a raise for about two years, my company (MSP/copiers) is providing VoIP services now and I'm the person handling all these phone projects while still learning the nuance on what I'm supposed to be doing....

I'm hoping to complete 3-4 installs by years end and finally confront my manager to give me my review and at least a $20k salary raise (at least get me to above $70k/year) as I had been underpaid throughout the past years doing so much shit for my company.

After that, knocking out my debt which will take a year if I don't spend anything else besides rent/food/bills. Hoping to start saving money after to get a house as about to be age 35 and living in a small studio is not ideal anymore. :/

 

[j7vikes]

I'm 36 and wife is 30. We have our student loans paid off and my car should be paid off by Christmas. We are going to look to possibly by a home sometime soon (had one and sold when we moved and are now renting). Hoping to get more money invested (pretty much just have a 401 K and pension from earlier work) with a Roth IRA.

 

[Cordy]

Paying off my debt.

If all works out I should have every piece of debt possible paid off before the year's over and that's without a stimulus check. Once that happens my credit score will dramatically increase and I'll then I'll be free. With that said I'm looking into getting a new car and a house sometime next year but right now yeah, getting my debt and credit cards paid off. It can be done, I'll do it.

And if all works out then I hopefully will be working in my career full time next year. Basically I'm doing a lot in this pandemic. It's forced me to speed things up.