Today we break down listener Sylvain’s financial life. What is he doing right, what is he doing wrong, and what could he be doing better?

Our This Financial Life series is back. One of our listeners lays out his financial picture for us and we critique it.

Sylvain immigrated to the US from France in 2009. He does not have student loan debt because education is heavily subsidized in France. He’s now a permanent resident working for a private company. He currently lives in the Berkeley area which is expensive. Sylvain and his wife bring in about $7,000 a month and spend between $4-5,000.

They share a credit card, split the bills, have $10,000 each in an emergency fund and are saving for a home. They expect to spend about $500,000 to buy a place. The money they are saving toward a home is invested currently. They discuss finances once a month.

Sylvain was leery of getting a credit card but wanted to build credit in the US. He only uses it when he has the cash to pay it off immediately which is how we should all use our cards.

He has a 401K which he plans to use to fund his retirement.

Sylvain is doing well. His family has an emergency fund, they pay off their credit cards every month, have their savings invested and have a retirement account. And now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to start packing for France. A few of you probably had the thought too.

Show Notes

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