u/InternationalSea1234

To preface, I want to say I understand some peoples’ situations are different than mine and I’m very grateful for what I have now.

- Context: I’m a 23 year industrial mechanic who works in a commercial bakery. I make good money and have the ability to work quite a bit of overtime if wanted. Without overtime I make about 80k per year. Last year with overtime I made 120k.

-My current finances: I have been maxing out my 401k the last two years and have contributed about 5k so far this year. This currently sits at 78k.

•I have a roth ira that is sitting at 52k that I’ve been maxing out since I was 18. I haven’t contributed yet this year.

•I have 30k in a hysa. I also have about 2-3k in my checking account at all times.

•I have 28k on a car loan that I just refinanced from 8% to 5.5$ that currently costs me about 500 per month.

• Major monthly expenses are about 1.5k a month as I live at home and get charged very little for rent.

My question: Would it be foolish of me to stop maxing out 401k and spend money on a project car I have been letting sit for a while now? I work a lot to be able to max out both accounts and feel like i’m missing out on enjoying my youth. I feel as though I have saved enough to start and can roll back the amount I save for retirement.

My second question: I have worry over the future and want to continue to invest and max out both accounts, however I’m concerned about future events (climate change, among others) and if it would even be worth it if life as I know it now is even going to be the same.

I would like some different perspectives on my current situation. I’m torn between continuing to save as I have been as I know I will be very happy I did if things continue the way they are going now. I’m just not sure they will and what the future holds. I want to enjoy something that I have been letting sit and want to be able to use.

-I should’ve mentioned this project car is separate from my daily driver that I have a loan on. This project car is already bought and paid for.

I am not one to post things on reddit as I usually just enjoy reading others posts, however I just wanted to get some different perspective on my current situation. I just recently turned 23 years old. I have been good with money since I started working. I have had my fair share of overspending, however overall I feel I am in a very good spot and I’m am very grateful to be in a position that allows me to do this. I work overnights in a commercial bakery as an industrial mechanic. I have plenty of opportunity for overtime and I made 120k last year. I have been able to max out my 401k the last two years that i’ve been able to contribute. This currently sits at 78k. I have another 52k in a roth ira that I have maxed out since 18 that I have yet to contribute to this year. I also have 30k in a hysa and about 7-8k worth of physical gold and silver. The only debt I have is a car loan that currently has 28k remaining on it. I still live at home and my parents charge very little for rent. If you have read this much and wondering why I haven’t asked a question yet, thanks for wondering so here it is: I worked a lot last year to be able to max out my retirement accounts. Most of my weekends and going in early. I have a project I want to work on which is a classic car that needs a lot of work. I would be spending lots of money on it. Would this be worth it? I have a lot of anxiety about not maxing out both my retirement accounts and I want to take advantage of them while i’m young. However, I also have fears that I am wasting time while i’m young and want to enjoy things now as well. I feel as though I have a good base and it wouldn’t hurt for me to save a little less to do something I want. This also leads me into if it’s even going to be worth it in the future to save for retirement now because of things like climate change and other horrible things that seem to be happening. I would love some perspective on my current situation. Sorry for the long drawn out post. If you took the time to read all this, I appreciate you! I don’t think I left anything else out.