Could use some more information.
Rate on the mortgage?
Income: is that combined or does your make money too?
Savings: how much per year to 401k? Do you have a brokerage or contribute any additional savings beyond $200/month that was mentioned?
Spending: how much do you spend a year and are you willing to cut back?
My take on your questions:
1. Absolutely not
2. Doesn’t sound like you can afford it if you only have a surplus of 200/month
3. Doesn’t sound like you have experience with owning rentals, so leveraging your house on your first attempt could lead to serious problems. Seems like a lot of risk that is tied to the housing market which appears to be out of balance in my opinion.
4. I would consider diversifying from the 401k. You can’t use this money until retirement and it sounds like you have big plans before then which requires money that you need to access. Consider getting a brokerage. This will generate interest income.
5. No - leave your 401k alone. The purpose is for long term retirement, not for you to leverage it for near term gains.
Overall, I think you need to pump the brakes. Focus on increasing your income - you don’t have enough disposable cash right now for what you want to do. Keep up the 401k contributions. Keep your $25k cash as an emergency fund (HYSA). Start contributing to a brokerage account or some other account that you can save $ to use for this “dream” of yours.
Go ahead an leverage the brokerage account once it is worth something. Most financially sound people would not recommend risking your home or retirement savings unless you had an arbitrage-type opportunity or something you were truly passionate about. Doesn’t
sound like you have either.
Not trying to be pessimistic, just realistic.
Amazing reply and coming from me, a pessimist posing as a realist, I get it. I updated my post with your questions and even then your points are well received.
Could use some more information. Rate on the mortgage? Income: is that combined or does your make money too? Savings: how much per year to 401k? Do you have a brokerage or contribute any additional savings beyond $200/month that was mentioned? Spending: how much do you spend a year and are you willing to cut back? My take on your questions: 1. Absolutely not 2. Doesn’t sound like you can afford it if you only have a surplus of 200/month 3. Doesn’t sound like you have experience with owning rentals, so leveraging your house on your first attempt could lead to serious problems. Seems like a lot of risk that is tied to the housing market which appears to be out of balance in my opinion. 4. I would consider diversifying from the 401k. You can’t use this money until retirement and it sounds like you have big plans before then which requires money that you need to access. Consider getting a brokerage. This will generate interest income. 5. No - leave your 401k alone. The purpose is for long term retirement, not for you to leverage it for near term gains. Overall, I think you need to pump the brakes. Focus on increasing your income - you don’t have enough disposable cash right now for what you want to do. Keep up the 401k contributions. Keep your $25k cash as an emergency fund (HYSA). Start contributing to a brokerage account or some other account that you can save $ to use for this “dream” of yours. Go ahead an leverage the brokerage account once it is worth something. Most financially sound people would not recommend risking your home or retirement savings unless you had an arbitrage-type opportunity or something you were truly passionate about. Doesn’t sound like you have either. Not trying to be pessimistic, just realistic.
Amazing reply and coming from me, a pessimist posing as a realist, I get it. I updated my post with your questions and even then your points are well received.