Is it pending or posted?

HSAs are taxed at the state level in CA and NJ

Money grows tax free in a Roth, but you don’t pay taxes to begin with on a traditional IRA or 401k. One isn’t definitely better, and traditional is better for most people as long as you take the money you save on taxes and invest that too.

The government will get taxes on one end or the other. You just pick whether it’s at the beginning or the end.

Curious, why not something like VT?

If there’s no prenup, it’s most likely entitled to half of everything.

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At your income level things become discretionary, to a certain point. I wouldn't say there is a target, you just need to figure out if your cash flows cover it. (And if there is a downturn in your careers, are you able to continue to commit to this path?) Our income levels were similar, in a what I would consider a MCOL area. (It can be VHCOL, but that's not our lifestyle.) We made it work.

We spent a lot on our children's education, why? Because it is something that my wife and I firmly believe is among the most important investments. It didn't slow down our savings rate, didn't require debt; at most it cost us by deciding to not upgrade a house, buy a vacation home, etc.

I will say this, prep your child for some extreme differences in wealth especially if you are looking at old money schools. Your kiddo will be poverty line and potentially "cultural/social poverty line" if you don't have a family connection or some type of legacy (2nd, 3rd, 5th generation), they will likely experience some type of bully at some point. (Some insecure, obnoxious kid trying to fix his/her own ego.) Some kids thrive, some don't.

My son's best friend (for more than 15 years now) had a Bentley and a driver at home, and flew home on an owned private jet for holidays. Absolutely awesome kid & family, but we've met his parents twice. (8th grade and 12th grade graduations.) He spends a couple of weeks over the summer with them and they had a person who texted/set up logistics vs the normal mom to mom communication when he was younger.

How much do you gross a month? I doubt you’d be approved for an apartment in the $2,200 - $2,400 range, and that’s way too much to spend considering your income.

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> You can’t lie and say you never attended elsewhere.

What? Sure you can. They only need transcripts if you are trying to transfer credits. If you're starting over there's no reason for a transcript.

Yep...that is,why they really do this...tricking you into spending more.

Maybe he did enjoy having all that money in the bank and it did bring him happiness. Did he say otherwise?

I'd also consider Lawrence Academy. Great school there.

Personally I think the tuition is well within your budget for these schools. There is no hard fast rule about %.

Do you have access to resources designed to help you cope with your mental health challenges? If not doing so could make your life a lot easier. Speaking of resources is it possible for you to get access to some sort of low-income housing due to your diagnosis? If yes this could reduce your monthly overhead and potentially provide you with increased stability. In terms of Chime, it sounds like nonsense and I would avoid it. If possible I would sell your car and ideally use the money you would spend on car payments to pay off your credit card debt and then once that is paid off pay off your student loans. Going forward I would stick to debit cards. I like the idea of reducing the amount of bank accounts you have but I would go with a more stable option instead.

I don't think it's a great idea to spend more than 50% of your net income on rent. What are you estimating for each of your other expenses?

I’d recommend the book “Die With Zero”!

>I will definitely go the trad IRA/backdoor route in the future.. I do have losses for all $6000, so removing all seems like an easy solution?

Yes. If you have loss, remove all (note that less than $6000 will be moved out, but this is ok), recontribute $6000.

What does your budget look like? Are you saving for a car, home improvements, lots of legit uses for savings including a European vacation.

You should call the 401k provider and explain the situation. They will tell you whether you have enough in the account to be able to leave it there. If so, you can just chill until you come back and decide what to do with it. I have left money in prior company's 401ks for over a year before. It may not be a long-term solution, in my case after a year I got hit with fees and that prodded me to move it.

Moving it is actually quite simple: you open up a new Rollover IRA account (perhaps even with your current bank), and that bank gives you directions on how to tell your 401k provider how to send them the money directly. If it's sent directly, you won't have any tax implications for the transfer other than filing an additional form with this year's taxes.

Can you borrow money for your career change? Can you borrow money for your retirement?

There’s your answer.

This post hit close to home. I am just like you! I make enough to cover all savings goals plus some more, since I live in a relatively cheap area. I am having hard time justifying spending for fun...my default is to save.

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Open an IRA if you don't have one, call your 401k administrator once you've quit and tell them you want to roll it into the IRA. Once it's in there, make sure you invest it, otherwise it's just sitting as cash and getting no interest. Look at the prime directive as to how you may want to invest but typically index funds are safest.

Allot yourself fun money each month, it can be $50, $100, $250, etc. Buy or do something you like with it. I do not know how old you are but often 20’s and 30’s are the time people tend to be more conservative. Trying to get to a happy middle ground of saving, investing and spending is a process.