I am about to begin receiving a benefit to the tune of an extra $2k per month that I don’t have a need for. I’m fortunate enough that all my needs are met financially and this is truly bonus income. If it didn’t exist, my life wouldn’t change significantly, and it’s not enough to quit my job. Trying to get others thoughts on what would be good uses of this money that would benefit me and my family.
Thoughts:
- ALL_IN_VTSAX - hit FIRE goal earlier than planned
- kiddo’s college fund - hit funding goal earlier than planned
- do fun things - vacation fund, memories with family
- fund hobbies - buy things I don’t need but “lower-guilt” use of spare funds
Probably a combination of all of the above, but interested to hear the thoughts of others.
I’m also reminded of:
When you have more than you need, build a bigger table.
Curious of ways to help influence things in a bubble larger than my family too.
“Some people need a budget to save; others need a budget to spend.”
My suggestion would be pick a % of your income to allocate as “fun money.” 5%, 10%, whatever; the most important part is you budget it. Stick it in its own savings account, then invest the rest. Then, whenever you have the opportunity to do fun things, spend extra on hobbies, help family, donate, etc, you know exactly how much you can spend.
This is good advice. You want to save this for a better retirement, but not to the point where you can’t have fun in your life.
My father used to spend his bonuses on family trips. Back when we were kids, we had so many great memories with our parents. Father always made sure to take as many photos as possible.
Looking at those photos, makes me I want to do the same for my kids as I loved it to bits, but a bit difficult nowadays with everything being way too expensive.
However, I learned that trips, adventures, hikes, or any family activity builds trust, memories, relationship, and an opportunity to capture a lot of great photos for the future.
Budget 1500 of it to investments and savings. 300 of it to charities of your choice ideally locally focused ones like food banks, shelters, housing programs, etc. Use the last 200 as hobby or fun money to take your family out to a couple extra events or eating out.
hard to argue with that. honestly i may just follow that advice myself
Yeah. 75/15/5 is a rule I use for my own budget for all the money left over after my standard bills are paid. As long as the majority goes to accounts that earn good interest (CD’s or index fund investments) it’ll be fine.
Work towards your retirement.
You NEVER know what tomorrow will bring. Imagine that your retirement goal is age 50 but at age 45 you get injured and can’t work anymore. How screwed are you?
If you can retire even a year earlier, then that means if you WANT to continue working beyond that date you can. But if your boss is an ass then you can walk out.
Nothing says you have to continue working or that you can’t continue working. It becomes a choice.
Imagine you retire at 50 but at 51 you are injured and bed ridden. Would have been nice to see more of the world before that happens.
Take care of you.
Since it sounds like you have younger kids, I’d take a decent sized portion of it (maybe 2-8k) and use that to make lasting family memories. Seeing everything of interest in a short range (zoos, aquariums, caves, gardens, museums, national parks, whatever), more frequent small vacations (driving distance or short flights to the beach/mountains/whatever), occasional major vacations (other countries, theme parks, cruises, whatever your family finds interesting). Or investing in lifelong hobbies that you can do together, like skiing, art, tennis, restoring cars, etc.
After that, the rest I would add to my FIRE plan. It would not necessarily mean retiring sooner (though it might), but it would be about adding flexibility to my life. If my savings were larger, I could always just to dip into that to pay for college or I be better prepared to deal with an unexpected layoff or emergency.
I’d seriously consider donating some of it.
Save it, for something. Eventually, you’ll know what it’s for.
My 2 cents: Invest it in something pretty stable (to counter inflation) and if you or your family doesn’t need it later (wait until your kid is financially stable) donate the money to a good cause.
How old is the kiddo? Old enough to have a creative hobby? Fund that hobby.
- Maybe they like drawing. Take them on a $300 shopping spree at the art store.
- Maybe they like competitive dancing/performing. Spend the money on a trip taking them to a competition in another city/state/country.
- Maybe they like woodworking. Let them buy the tool(s) they need to take their craft to the next level.
- Maybe they like coding and computing. Send them to a kid-centric coding camp.
- Maybe they like making music. Buy them that new instrument or private instruction on how to get better with the one they have.
Whatever it is (that is a creative hobby, not just Fortnite skins), letting them move forward with it can help them grown and succeed in ways you can’t imagine decades from now.
Too young to have any real interests yet. I was considering starting swim lessons, that’s a lifelong skill.
Swimming lessons is really good. Should be mandatory imho. You can start at age 5-ish and you’ll be done in a year or so with the essentials.
I fund hobbies, but before I do that, I make sure me, my friends, my dog, and things in the home can be taken care of.
If you have extra money, you can invest that to become more money. That’s probably the most mature thing to do. Otherwise just hookers and cocaine…
Donate. If you don’t need the money and all your and your family members needs are met, I think donating would be the right ethical thing to do.
Invest.
I got a great cryptocurrency to present to you!
/s
Similar boat recently, talked to an FA and am now investing. Also got a life insurance policy and LTD policy just in case…
VT and chill
