• aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com
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    4 hours ago
    1. pay off high interest debt

    2. top off your emergency fund so you don’t run into expensive short-on-money situations

    3. take care of deferred maintenance on your car or house that might turn into an expensive repair

    4. If you have an employer sponsored 401k, increase the contribution amount to get 10k more tax free into it before the end of the year and use the $10k cash in hand for expenses.

    5. Open a roth IRA and contribute the maximum amount you can (which may vary based on your income)

    VT, VTI, and SPY are good broad-market funds with good historical growth.

    • PineRune@lemmy.world
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      2 hours ago

      I like these points. Preventing a future expense by paying less now is always worth it, if you can afford it.

    • CrimeDad@lemmy.crimedad.work
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      2 hours ago

      I used to not have any doubts about a Roth, but I’ve been considering that maybe it’s a little too much like giving the government a free loan. Do you know if there’s a thorough comparison anywhere between a traditional and Roth IRA that takes into consideration the opportunity cost of paying tax on the contributions?