u/Commercial_Bill_126

Hey everyone,

I’m 22, graduated about 6 months ago, and recently moved to Florida for work. I’m an engineer making ~$85k/year.

Here’s my current situation:

• ~$65k invested (mostly ETFs + a few individual stocks)
• ~$46k in a HYSA (this is currently my emergency fund)
• No debt, car fully paid off
• Rent + utilities ~ $1100/month

I don’t see myself staying in Florida long-term or buying a house here anytime soon, so I’m focused on investing for the long term but keeping some flexibility.

Where I’m stuck is what to do with my cash beyond what I actually need for an emergency fund.

Right now, ~$46k in cash feels high given my expenses. I’m considering:

• Keeping ~15–20k as a true emergency fund
• Investing the remaining ~$25–30k

But I’m unsure how to deploy it:

• Lump sum vs. DCA (like $500/week or something more aggressive)
• The market is near ATH, and with everything going on politically/economically, I’m hesitant to dump it all in at once
• But I also know statistically lump sum tends to outperform

Questions:

1. Is ~$15–20k a reasonable emergency fund given ~$1100/month expenses?
2. Would you lump sum the extra cash or DCA it in this environment?
3. If DCA, how aggressive would you go? ($500/week vs more)
4. How much would you keep in individual stocks vs ETFs at my age?
5. Anything I’m missing given I likely won’t buy a house here in the next few years?

know I’m in a really fortunate position to be debt-free and have this much saved this early, so I definitely don’t take that for granted — just want to make the smartest decisions with it.

Thanks!