Official Personal Finance/Home Economics Thread

[Secure Da Bag]

Automating my finances has been a game changer but I’m trying to sync everything to my bi-weekly pay schedule. I may need to cancel some bills and then wait until my pay day to get them to sync.

I’m also looking to move most if not all of my discretionary spend onto my CC moving forward. Just put a cap on how much I spend on it a month and have my bi-weekly paychecks go into paying off what I spend so it nets out at zero. I don’t even care for the statement to post.

But my auto savings and investments are I don’t even think about it

Autopay is a blessing

But having a budget is pivotal.

Had to learn that the hard way.

 

[BigMan]

Moved and got married this year so lots of expenses. Wedding paid off tho. hoping to get a raise at the end of the year and getting back on my savings grind. finally eligible for my jobs 401(k) also so I'm going to start contributing to that soon.

 

[phcitywarrior]

51 days until my EOY bonus hits and my next tranche of stock options vest.

I’m doing the smart thing in paying off what I owe the IRS, clearing out the very little CC debt I have left (that HTX trip man ) and then throwing the rest into my brokerage and savings account at a 60/40 split.

This time next year I should be in a good place to put an offer on a house in this expensive ass Bay Area.

Between the 2026 EOY bonus, next tranche of stock options vesting and then selling at least a year’s worth of stock from our ESPP, I should be set. Will have to go the multi family unit way to reduce what I owe on the mortgage.

As far as I keep the international travel to off-peak season I’ll be able to keep my living expenses down.

The good Lord has brought me a long way.

 

[phcitywarrior]

Outlook for the rest of the year looks very good. Got back from HTX this past weekend and I have no other big social obligations until Christmas time.

 

[phcitywarrior]

51 days until my EOY bonus hits and my next tranche of stock options vest.

I’m doing the smart thing in paying off what I owe the IRS, clearing out the very little CC debt I have left (that HTX trip man ) and then throwing the rest into my brokerage and savings account at a 60/40 split.

Bonus came in and I did as expected. Cleared some IRS and CC debt, threw the rest into my savings and brokerage accounts.

Stock options vest next week and it’ll be the same thing. Toss most of it into my brokerage account to fund some new stock/ETF positions. Will also try my hand in some crypto as fun money.

Lastly, I’ve recalibrated my bi-weekly payouts after my salary bump. I’ve upped my bi-weekly investing by 2.67x.

Personal finances should be in a good steady state until end of next year. Next financial goal is a house. Using all of next year to improve my credit, optimize my spend and beef up my investments.

We move!

 

[phcitywarrior]

Debt paid. IRS back taxes paid. Made a big lump sum contribution to my brokerage and savings accounts. Re-calibrated my 401K investing and bi-weekly DCAing

 

[phcitywarrior]

Debt free - check
Very good credit score - check
Bills, investing and savings on autopay/autoinvest - check
Healthy savings account - check
Consistent second stream of income - loading......

This is my big focus for 2026. I feel I have the basics/foundation down pat, I need to just diversify my income streams...

 

[phcitywarrior]

Light spending for me this and next month. Letting things settle after my holiday travels

 

[phcitywarrior]

I’ll have to keep this summer pretty local. Travel is really the only big spend in my budget…

 

[R.B.J1]

Debt free - check
Very good credit score - check
Bills, investing and savings on autopay/autoinvest - check
Healthy savings account - check
Consistent second stream of income - loading......

This is my big focus for 2026. I feel I have the basics/foundation down pat, I need to just diversify my income streams...

Have you been able to find a consistent 2nd income stream? That's what I've been trying to do for the last two years.

 

[phcitywarrior]

Have you been able to find a consistent 2nd income stream? That's what I've been trying to do for the last two years.

Nothing consistent of yet. I did some resume reviews in the past but that’s not really scalable since it’s still trading time for money.

Right now the question I’m asking myself: what is a recurring expense that most people have that I can deliver a service for or get a piece of the transaction…

Still throwing darts at the board

 

[Pistolvania Prince]

Nothing consistent of yet. I did some resume reviews in the past but that’s not really scalable since it’s still trading time for money.

Right now the question I’m asking myself: what is a recurring expense that most people have that I can deliver a service for or get a piece of the transaction…

Still throwing darts at the board

Same issue I am dealing with rn. I’ve been also looking at cheap manufacturers or services that I can make more efficient with AI

 

[winb83]

I finally sat down and mapped out all my cost

Rent $680
Gas and Electric $110
Renters insurance $18.09
Car insurance $105.33
Car $153
Car Fuel $45
Total 1,111.42

Netflix $37.98
Google $13.99
Crunchyroll $7.99
HIDIVE $5.84
Amazon Prime $12.28
Audible $14.95
Kindle Unlimited $11.99
Active & Fit Gym membership $28
Disney+ $9
Cell phone $40
Spotify $8.25
Internet $45
Total 235.27

Haircuts $40
Laundry $30
Robinhood Gold $4.17
Costco $5.42
BJs $5
Sam's Club $5.42
Total 90.01
Fixed cost total $1,436.7

Base pay with no OT or bonuses.
$40.72 per hour
$7058 gross base pay per month
$4800 take home base pay per month after taxes 401K and insurance
$600 money allocated for household items, clothing, and groceries
$1000 monthly savings
$1000 monthly investments in stock market

$4,036 total monthly burn of base pay
$764 total left over from base pay to do whatever with

Overtime / bonuses $13,381 per last year's YTD total
$9,099.08 After tax
$2238 Dividend income all qualified
$1902 After tax
$916 in monthly additional funds to either save or invest or blow

So my free cash flow is $1680 a month after all bills and optional expenses are paid.

 

[phcitywarrior]

I'm using Claude to optimize my spending and investments. Interesting stuff so far and honestly, the visibility across all my statements is very helpful