u/Colonel_F0rbin

I have a 10 year old son and 8 year old daughter. We plan to fully fund their college education at a top tier private school. If they don't use the funds (scholarship, no college, state school, etc.), we plan to let it compound to pay for our grandkids' college. Worst case scenario (unlikely) is we withdraw the money due to hardship and pay a relatively small penalty. If their income post-college allows for the IRA contributions, or course we'll do that too.

We contribute ~$1,000 / month / kid, and have done so since they were born. Most of it is automated through our biweekly paychecks, but I've also added larger amounts during bigger market downturns.

I don't know why this milestone brought me joy in hitting, but for my son, we just crossed the line where his balance is now primarily driven by investment returns.

TOTAL ACCOUNT BALANCE: $243,677.37
PRINCIPAL: $121,750.01
EARNINGS: $121,927.36

My daughter's account is close but not quite there yet

TOTAL ACCOUNT BALANCE: $118,450.77
PRINCIPAL: $68,750.00
EARNINGS: $49,700.77

This will be totally different for everyone, which is why I’m interested to hear your answers.

Some probably bought their dream car, others a fancy handbag.

For me, there were a few things that specifically stuck in my mind:
- Bombas socks
- A second refrigerator for our garage
- A fancy coffee bean grinder

There have been far more expensive purchases I've made before and after, but those purchases felt a little frivolous and I wouldn't have made them before feeling financially secure

This is based on my personal experience, so YMMV. Of course every town and social circle is different.

At 20 years old - some people were in college, some were working, some were dating, others were single. There was a difference in lifestyle, but everyone seemed to be in a similar position

At 30 years old - most were young professionals, some even went to law or medical school but were every early in their career, others worked at local shops. Some people were dating, some married, even a few with kids, but still nobody seemed to be in such a difference place in life. There was always time for your career to pick up, to meet a partner, etc.

At 40 years old- holy shit are people in different stages of life. Some are bankers or partners at law firms and making 7 figures, while others still work hourly jobs. Some people have kids close to college age, while others are still single. Some own mansions and orhers still rent. You see an old acquaintance and you literally have no idea if they've been divorced twice and live at home, or if they're a heart surgeon.

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

40M, married homeowner in VHCOL suburb w 2 kids. Graduated from HENRY to HER in my mid 30s.

For my entire life, I’ve never had an emergency fund. I had a good career, rising income, and I invested everything beyond what I needed for monthly cash flow. Quarterly/Annual bonuses and RSU vesting have always been predictable, and oftentimes I'd budget big expenses around those events

If something unpredictable came up, I just sold stock. I understood the risks of potentially selling during a bad market, but I was comfortable with that tradeoff over the long run.

Only time I moved out of 100% equities was 2 years before needing a house downpayment.

Last year I parked about $100k (4-6 months expenses), in SGOV after a bonus. However, it's now occurred to me that I don’t actually know when I’d use it.

Job loss is the obvious answer (that happened twice in my career and it wasn't an issue without an EF). Beyond that, I’m not sure. If I had some large unexpected expense, my instinct would probably still be to sell stock, use an SBLOC, or pull from another source of liquidity.

So for those of you who keep an emergency fund:
What events actually trigger you to use it?
- Is it strictly for loss of income, or do you use it for unexpected expenses too?
- If you have a large taxable brokerage account, how do you decide between using the emergency fund and selling investments?

This feels like a basic question, but despite being very financially literate and successful, I never developed a framework an emergency fund before.

EDIT: It seems like there are two very distinct schools of thought from the comments:

1. People who have/use their EF ONLY in the event of job loss or major life catastrophe
2. People who use the EF to for liquidity purposes to cover larger unexpected expenses (car repair, appliance replacement, etc.) and then replenish the fund over time

No right or wrong answer, just different preferences

If I can take a class that was taught in front of a live studio audience, I almost always prefer that option compared to a pre-taped class.

I find that the class flow is almost always better (imo) when they have to make sure that people in the room can do the ride/run/strength moves with them. I also like a little people watching to distract me from time to time ;)

I just wish they would allow a simple filter to let me more easily find them!