24 y/o 100% Travel Job: Building Savings
Hi all,
I am ~2y into my first full time job out of college. My role is 100% travel and as such I do not have living expenses. I make $95k base and ~$17k in tax-free per diem to cover meal expenses and such.
Since I started full time work I have been maxing out 401k and HSA, just getting started on a Roth IRA. My current balances are as follows, respectively: $43,000, $9,500, $2,000. Most of my net pay (after retirement contribution, expenses) has been going back towards debt. I am proud to have paid off my debt, and now I want to prioritize building up a solid emergency fund and saving up for a down payment on a house (~3 year timeline). In retrospect, I should have been doing this all along and am fortunate to have not needed an emergency fund (yet).
I am wondering whether it is advisable cut back on 401k contributions to build up an emergency fund more rapidly. My YTD contributions are nearly enough to meet full employer match already for this year. I would likely cut contributions from 25% to 10% or so, saving whatever is left of the 15% difference after taxes.
I am in an awesome spot to start stashing away money due to the nature of my job. I would appreciate any tips you all can offer. Happy to provide any more information as necessary.
My goals:
$10,000 emergency fund (savings account / HYSA, ASAP)
$80,000 down payment fund (HYSA, or conservative taxable brokerage)