I’ve been going on and on about how I don’t know where to put my savings. I’ve been trying to save and invest, but right now I have a feeling my portfolio breakdown is not advisable. I still need to open an HSA and money needs to start going into that ASAP, but other than that I’m not sure where to invest.
Right now, my savings breakdown is:
$2167 — liquid checking to pay off debts, rent, bills, etc (checking, liquid savings & paypal)
$19,599.34 — pre tax non-retirement, non liquid savings (CD #1 & #2, Sharebuilder, Vanguard, Prosper)
$7067.75 — Roth IRA (down from $7300 of initial investment. Have $1700 more to invest in 2008)
DEBT
-$1037.88 — debt (to be paid from checking as soon as the deposit fully clears in my checking account)
-$450 — to go to taxes
TOTAL NET WORTH: $27,346.21
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So that means right now 71.6% of my total portfolio is taxed once, then is put into a pre-tax account to be taxed again when it take it out one day down the road.
Savings wise, here are my priorities to save for…
1. My Health (As I have a high deductible health insurance, I need to make sure my HSA savings at least covers that deductible. Hopefully I’ll never have to use it. Right now I don’t have an HSA account set up. I need to do that pronto.) This also covers general dental care, yearly cleanings, etc, and vision expenses (I’m not sure if an HSA can go to vision costs or not, I’ll have to find out. But I need new contacts!)
2. A House (I’m 24 now, I’d like to purchase a home by the time I’m 30)
3. Grad School (I’m pretty sure I want to go back to grad school one day, either for directing — a huge expense –, an MBA, or a degree in computer interaction design. I want to do this by the time I’m 27.)
4. Cosmetic Dentistry (my teeth make me so sad. I’d love to be able to get them fixed at some point!)
5. Travel / Gifts / Fun / Gadgets (I’d like to save for enjoyment expenditures and gadgets, so I can buy things like a DSLR camera without feeling guilty.)
6. Laser Hair Removal (due to having polycystic ovary syndrome, I have excess hair that grows on my face and it drives me nuts. I also spend a small fortune buying tweezers and razors every other day. If laser hair removal really is permanent then this expense might be worth it. I’ll probably have to save about $5000 to get it done, or maybe just $2000 or something for my face alone.
7. Marriage & Kids (I want to get married when I’m 33 or so and have three kids. Well, one to start with and I’ll go from there. The cost of getting pregnant, thanks to having PCOS, will be huge. I’ll have to get drugged up and do in vitro, probably, over and over again. This is going to be majorly expensive. If I don’t start saving now, I might never be able to have children. Even adopting is expensive, so either way I’ll need the money before I can have a family.)
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I have a good friend with PCOS and it is expensive. I would actually move it up higher in your priorities list. Having kids in your 30s can be difficult especially if you want more than one. Also, I hope you don't mind this advice from someone (me) much older than you. I know many many women who quit work after having kids so their degree is essentially wasted. They're still paying off loans after they quit the workforce. You may go back 'someday' but the degree may not help much. Of course this is a moot point if you plan to continue working with kids.
I don't know where you're located but I've had laser hair removal and it wasn't anywhere near that expensive. I saw a definite improvement after the first session and now, one year later, I haven't seen any regrowth. It's not cheap but I think it's worth it and am considering saving up to get more done next year.
We all get confused at some point. If it helps, just write it down on a blank paper what your goal is one year from now, 5 years from now, 10, 20 so on… and what you want to have done by then.Next to each goal, figure out how much money it would take, for example if the laser hair removal cost 4K, and you can wait 5 years, then you only need to put away what $750 a year? plus you earn interest/dividends.I often find it helps me. Especially with a big ticket item.
You can use HSA funds to pay for contact lenses and solution.
I, too, wanted to make a comment about PCOS. I have facial hair that drives me *insane* and I have tried both laser hair removal and electrolysis. I was warned in advance that due to my colouring / the colour of the hair, I might not have the best results, but I went for 4 sessions of both and – though I saw an improvement at the time – several years later it has all regrown. I've spoken to my endocrinologist about it, and she said that a) I might just be out of luck because the hair growth is hormonal (i.e.: even if some is removed and stays that way, that doesn't stop new hair from growing in) and b) I might consider a birth control that has hair-growth-lessening as one of its features and twinning that with any future laser/electrolysis. Whew! A wordy way to say: it might be worth investigating / talking to your Drs. etc yourself before you start the process because I feel as though what I spent several years ago was (much!) money down the drain.
First thing — I wanted to comment because I am very impressed by your net worth. I'm 24, and right now, I'm still in the red from my undergraduate loans. You're doing great.Second, I also have PCOS. This is the first time I've read your blog, so I'm not sure of your history, but I can relate to the hair thing, at least. Mine's not too bad, but I do get little RMH (a term my friend coined: "Random Mutant Hairs") now and then along my jaw line, which is super embarrassing. Regarding the bit about pregnancy, that's also on my list of concerns. I was just diagnosed last year when I started having irregular periods after I suddenly gained about 20 lbs. I didn't actually have cysts at the time, but I did have elevated androgen levels. I'm in the process of losing weight to see if I start ovulating on my own, but you never know whether it's too late. Anyway, good luck with everything, and I'll be sure to keep reading. :)Oh, and P.S., I've heard that electrolysis is actually only semi-permanent. My cousin had it a few years ago (she has PCOS too), and she has some regrowth.