I am about to begin receiving a benefit to the tune of an extra $2k per month that I don’t have a need for. I’m fortunate enough that all my needs are met financially and this is truly bonus income. If it didn’t exist, my life wouldn’t change significantly, and it’s not enough to quit my job. Trying to get others thoughts on what would be good uses of this money that would benefit me and my family.
Thoughts:
- ALL_IN_VTSAX - hit FIRE goal earlier than planned
- kiddo’s college fund - hit funding goal earlier than planned
- do fun things - vacation fund, memories with family
- fund hobbies - buy things I don’t need but “lower-guilt” use of spare funds
Probably a combination of all of the above, but interested to hear the thoughts of others.
I’m also reminded of:
When you have more than you need, build a bigger table.
Curious of ways to help influence things in a bubble larger than my family too.
Since it sounds like you have younger kids, I’d take a decent sized portion of it (maybe 2-8k) and use that to make lasting family memories. Seeing everything of interest in a short range (zoos, aquariums, caves, gardens, museums, national parks, whatever), more frequent small vacations (driving distance or short flights to the beach/mountains/whatever), occasional major vacations (other countries, theme parks, cruises, whatever your family finds interesting). Or investing in lifelong hobbies that you can do together, like skiing, art, tennis, restoring cars, etc.
After that, the rest I would add to my FIRE plan. It would not necessarily mean retiring sooner (though it might), but it would be about adding flexibility to my life. If my savings were larger, I could always just to dip into that to pay for college or I be better prepared to deal with an unexpected layoff or emergency.