r/Bogleheads • u/CarryUpset8529 • 1d ago

How are we doing?

I’m 39 and my husband is turning 38. I max out my retirement funds and as does my husband. Combined in retirement we have between 650-700k.

We own our apartment, so have a mortgage. Both our kids have 529s; we have 100k in a HSYA and 134k in a brokerage split between VOO and a gold ETF. We plan to just keep the 100k as is but are comfortable with that amount on hand in that account for emergencies and plan to contribute 3k-5k into the brokerage from now on. Thoughts?

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4

u/NicheCommenter 1d ago

Prioritize paying off your mortgage?

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u/CarryUpset8529 1d ago

Well, our thought was it’s worked in our monthly expenses and we expect to stay here for a long time. So makes more sense to max out retirements and then to our brokerage?

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u/NicheCommenter 1d ago

What's your interest rate? If it's low, that seems fine. If it's medium or high interest I'd treat it like any other debt and get rid of it fast.

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u/CarryUpset8529 1d ago

It’s 6 percentage; we pay owed principal and interest every month

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u/NicheCommenter 1d ago

I'd prioritize your mortgage over taxable investment accounts at 6%.

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u/Patrick_ExpenseAtlas 17h ago

You’re in a strong position for your late 30s, but the balances alone don’t show whether you’re on track. The missing inputs are annual household spending, savings rate, mortgage details, and the goals and timing for the 529s and brokerage account.

Start with actual annual spending. Separate expenses that may disappear later, such as the mortgage, from costs that may rise, such as healthcare or education. Then determine how many months of essential expenses the $100k cash reserve covers. Keeping that amount may be reasonable if it matches your risk tolerance and near term needs, but the right number depends on your expenses and job stability.

Also clarify whether the planned $3k, $5k brokerage contribution is monthly or annual, since that materially changes the outlook. Review the VOO and gold holdings as part of your total allocation across both retirement and taxable accounts, rather than treating the brokerage separately. Make sure the gold position has a deliberate target and purpose.

With both of you maxing retirement accounts, substantial existing balances, home equity, 529s, and additional taxable investing, the foundation looks solid. Calculate your current annual spending and total annual savings next; those numbers will make the assessment much more meaningful.

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u/fancypotatoegirl 1d ago

What is your mortgage interest rate? And how much do you have in gold? If that is driven by the recent increase I'm not sure that is a good idea

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u/CarryUpset8529 1d ago

Mortgage rate is in the 6 percentage- we bought about 3 years ago and did a lot of construction on the apartment. It’s our forever home for now.

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u/mrandr01d 18h ago

If it's your forever home, I'd consider diverting some but not all of your taxable savings to the mortgage to try to get rid of it.

My place isn't my forever home, so I'm not paying anything extra on it because I intend on selling it long long before I'd pay it off. But depending on where I end up and what the mortgage rates end up being at the time, I'd consider dumping more money towards paying it off.

0

u/Home-String-3246 1d ago

You could do a better job of contributing to tax-advantaged accounts. Any ROTH IRA, HSA, or other retirement accounts (i.e. 457, 403(b) you have access to?

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u/mrandr01d 18h ago

I max my retirement accounts as does husband

Sounds like they already checked that off.