u/Feisty_Reputation973

Hi everyone! I'm looking to get more intentional with my finances (I haven't yet) and would love some advice from those who have been through it. Here is my current snapshot:

The basics:

• Age: 26F, not married
• Salary: starting a new job in a VHCOL at around ~85k, used to make about 30k more but took a cut for better benefits and fertility coverage
• Monthly spending: ~$5250 (I am trying to get this down especially with the salary cut)

Current finances - Net worth ~130k

• Cash & bank accounts: ~$50k (mostly in a regular savings account at Bank of America)
• Retirement accounts: ~$90k (I have different accounts including 401k and Roth IRA across various previous employers but most of the accounts aren't invested; the money is just sitting there)
• Equity: ~$2k (old company but don't see this going anywhere)
• Credit card debt: ~$14k (this has been there for a couple years)

My ideal (but flexible) goals:

• Retire early: Work-optional by age 55
• I'd also like to have 10-20k a month in spending power in retirement, which I think means I need ~$8M invested, accounting for inflation?

Action items (the plan so far):

• Pay my credit card off immediately with savings
• Move my remaining savings to a HYSA (any recommendations?)
• Invest the money from my retirement accounts instead of letting it sit there (idk what to invest in)
• Get my own credit card (the one i used previously was my parents with me as an authorized user, and I used my debit card for the majority of my spending)

My questions for you:

1. Any thoughts on my priority action items? Am I doing the right things? What am I missing? Would you pay off the credit card debt aggressively using savings?
2. How much cash did you keep on hand vs investing it all?
3. How should I think about retirement planning? How the hell do people actually retire with money?; It doesn't feel possible for people to invest so much money monthly. I can't increase my income very much immediately since I just committed to this new role.
4. Any "I wish I knew this at 26" tips or other advice?

I know I am in a relatively lucky position with my net worth but I have not been intentional about any of it and I want to change that. I'm just not exactly sure how to start. Thank you guys so much!!! I am so appreciative.