Hello all,
I'm a writer and my income varies greatly. For a long time, I made next to nothing. Then I sold a book for a decent amount of money and found new outlets to make money.
Because of that, I now have $96k invested in retirement (Roth and traditional,) $30k in brokerage, and $70k in SPAXX as my liquid fund, plus about $4k for ready access in checking. 0 CC debt.
I know the $70k is a lot to have for basically uninvested money, but I have a scarcity mindset because there may be years where I make very little money.
I live in a HCOL place, but my expenses are overall low all things considered. (I spend, with everything, rent included, about $3200 a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, but rarely super beyond.)
I also have $33k in student loans, half of which is at 3.4% and the other half is closer to 6%. I'm in post-SAVE forbearance and haven't touched them, though I am planning to get back at that soon.
I'm behind where I'd like to be on retirement because I, in essence, always took jobs with lower salaries so I could pursue my dream career, which I now have. A lot has changed in the last couple of years. In 2023 I had about $3000 liquid, and times were very stressful.
I wouldn't trade anything I've done because I love my life, modest as it is, but I'm wondering if there are things I should be doing differently with my money?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
edit to add some stuff:
I'm 34 and don't have kids or dependents. I most likely will not have kids or dependents. My goals are to pretty much maintain a life as I can without having to get a real job and be able to weather the storms of publishing.