Money Milestones I Want to Accomplish Before 40

[00:02] pretty scary phrase to say. Now, I have a couple years left until the big 40 and milestones that I personally want to Now, in the past I've made videos here about different money milestones that

[00:14] you should hit in your 20s and 30s, but in this video I want to share with you money. This is a little bit of a different type of video as it's just going to be me talking to you without much of a script. I have some of the

[00:26] for the most part I just want to share with you guys what I'm personally working on and hopefully this can inspire you and maybe you can also learn also be explaining how different financial concepts work. So, let's get

[00:39] into the first money milestone I want to accomplish before I hit the age of 40, which is that I want to continue maxing out my Roth IRA. 5 years ago my Roth IRA was worth about $29,800. I made a video on my channel and in that

[00:52] video I had four ETFs within the Roth IRA. Looking back though, I realized that that might be too conservative for my age and risk tolerance and I have within my Roth IRA. I'm going to share with you guys that in a second, but

[01:06] let's actually look at what my Roth IRA used to look like in 2020 and 2021 and you can see that it just had four ETFs in it. I held BNDW, which was a Vanguard Total World Bond ETF. I held VEU, which is an international fund by Vanguard.

[01:21] And then I held two US stock ETFs, VOO and VTI. If you guys know anything about ETFs, VOO stands for the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF and VTI is the total stock market ETF, so that actually includes all the same stocks that VOO does. Now,

[01:36] replicate a three-fund portfolio, but funny enough I had four funds in there. The idea of a three-fund portfolio is that you have a US stock market fund, which was represented by my two VOO and VTI. Then you have an international

[01:50] of bonds for diversification. Theoretically, I did replicate the a portfolio with my two US stock ETFs. However, the reason since I've switched away from ETFs and into more individual stocks, at least within the Roth IRA, is

[02:04] that I fully understand now the benefits of the Roth IRA is that all your gains holding period for the Roth IRA is going and 1/2, I want to buy some stocks that

[02:16] could also appreciate a little bit, maybe at a higher percentage than a lot words, I just really want to take on a little bit more risk in my Roth IRA, especially given the tax advantages that it had. These days my Roth IRA, I have

[02:30] since 2020 and is now worth just about $100,000. Currently, as I'm recording, it fluctuates a lot between 98K and 102K, and I only hold five individual stocks within it, which are Tesla, Microsoft, Robinhood, Nvidia, and Meta

[02:45] stock. So, my money milestone here is pretty simple and straightforward. It's just to continue maxing out the Roth IRA. Now, admittedly, the income I now make is over the Roth IRA income limit. So, what I've been doing instead is the

[02:57] backdoor Roth IRA method. In 2026, if you're making over $168,000 as an individual in a single year, or if you're a couple making over $252,000, you are not eligible for the Roth IRA contribution. However, you can still

[03:12] instead, and that's where you contribute to a traditional IRA, convert it to a Roth, and then you can do so that way. So, I will leave an article down below, which details how to do that in case you

[03:24] milestone I want to hit before I'm 40 is to continue to avoid lifestyle money milestones that I think applies to all points in your life, and for me, personally am really proud of the fact that my lifestyle has been pretty much

[03:39] online. So, I've been keeping track of my expenses since 2014, and I can see it in my own data. I am spending a little bit more money here and there only because things are costing more compared to in 2014, but it's not like I'm going

[03:53] out and buying lavish clothing, designer goods, the brand newest watch, etc. One Millionaire Next Door has stuck with me, which is that the best accumulators of wealth, they keep their lifestyles cheap and modest while their income increases.

[04:06] So, for me personally, I've been just trying to increase the delta between how that's what I've been focused on for the past 6 or 7 years while making content. quite a lot of money, they make between 500k to a million dollars per year, and

[04:21] estate, but they like to spend it all. I'm just trying to not be like them and spend all my money, but in some ways I feel like by not spending that much money, that is a little bit kind of hurting my own life because maybe I'm

[04:34] However, right now I'm just really enjoying the fact that I'm investing into the S&P 500 and into the stock market, and I'm potentially thinking probably talk a little bit about that later on in this video. Money milestone

[04:46] number three is getting my emergency fund up to 12 months of expenses saved up. I personally used to enjoy keeping around 6 months of expenses saved up in to increase it to 12. The point of having 12 months saved up for me is that

[05:00] it gives me way more mental freedom and flexibility, so I feel like with 12 business tomorrow, and even then I would just have still at least a year of just focusing on something else to make some money. And personally, I know that life

[05:13] especially if I ever own a house or if I ever have a family one day or any other to have a little bit more cash on hand. I keep my emergency fund in a high-yield for one, I will link to a tool down below that has accounts paying anywhere

[05:28] from 3 to 3.5% as of my recording this. I still think officially though, it's fund, there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, 3 to 6 months is already very safe, so just because I'm trying to get to 12 months doesn't mean that you have

[05:42] solid emergency fund built out, I would try to set some smaller goals and then it's really hard to save for an emergency fund, especially if your target is say $15,000 or $20,000, but setting smaller goals is easier. I would

[05:56] go first for your first $1,000, then $2,000, and then maybe $5,000 if that's you are saving some money for your future and your emergencies, I think money milestone I want to accomplish is simply having an estate plan. So, I

[06:11] but last year in the month of May, my father passed away. I did mention it briefly in a YouTube video, but mostly I kept it to myself. Now, my father had perfect though, and when I was talking to the trust attorney about late last

[06:25] year and earlier this year, he said that his estate could have been done much my dad had not been specific about enough in his documentation, for example, which types of property would go to who. For example, there was a

[06:38] just kind of forgot about, but you would attach it to a truck to haul away debris and various items, and I didn't know this, but a trailer actually has a title basically clearing the estate, I just

[06:51] kind of like a minor detail of an estate plan, but I'm just trying to illustrate the fact that I think if we had a fully buttoned-up estate plan with full instructions on what the executor, aka me, was going to do, then my personal

[07:03] life would have been easier. So, I know I'm pretty young to have, let's say, an that rely on you and you have assets that you want distributed, I think that estate plan or at least start thinking about one even if you are under the age

[07:16] of 40. The major components of an estate plan are documents like the living will and the health care power of attorney. These are the documents that just state something were to happen to you. Now, I would probably go to a trust attorney to

[07:29] this process and I want the estate plan to be fully buttoned-up and bulletproof. That way, whoever is taking care of my future estate has an easier job to do it. The fifth money milestone I want to do before I'm 40 is to add at least one

[07:43] more income source. Currently, I have my YouTube / my creator business, as well being in the financial space for a while, I know how important it is to have a diversified mix of income. Close to 95% of my income comes from my

[07:56] creator business, so that's on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and maybe a little that if any one of those platforms goes away, I don't really have a backup plan. The dividends I have in my portfolio, they are nice, but they can't sustain my

[08:09] life in definitely, and so I'm not really at financial independence retire sell any courses, and I don't have any digital products, like big ones at least. I have like maybe one paid template that you can buy, that's $15,

[08:22] revenue. I was thinking I could either start investing in rental properties, tenant live in it, or perhaps start a side business. Either way, I'm trying to find an income source that works for me, even if it's just an extra 500 or $1,000

[08:36] could be invested or cover some expenses. The sixth money milestone I want to do in the next couple years is to take care of my family. This one's a you come from an immigrant background, but being of Chinese descent and Chinese

[08:50] are expected to take care of their parents as they get older. This is known as filial piety. I know that sounds like a weird word, but it's just a Confucian their elders. So, I actually had to look up on Google exactly what are some of

[09:05] the common examples of this practice, so here they are. Living with or near elderly parents to provide support, providing financial support to parents, rituals, or choosing careers or locations based on proximity to family.

[09:20] those things already. I have deliberately chosen to live in the Bay Area because it was close to my family. In the past, I had been drawn to places like Los Angeles, Austin, New York, but ultimately, I stay here because my

[09:34] also really great, and they're a big part of my life and I went to high friends are still from high school. So, as I inch closer to my 40s, I'm also going to be making sure that I take care of my mom who is now in her late 70s.

[09:47] That could mean perhaps I invest in a condo for her to live in or perhaps I just give her some money on a monthly basis. You know, your parents take care of you for a really long time as you go from the ages of 0 to 18 or whatever age

[10:00] case, I lived at home with my parents for quite a long time before I moved out. So, I do feel like I owe it to them to help them as much as I can. All right, let's get into my seventh money milestone today and that is to perhaps

[10:12] buy a house. I say perhaps because I've been kind of going back and forth on whether or not buy a property, especially in the Bay Area where renting But ultimately, I do think that I would like to own a house in the future and

[10:25] the reason that I like to own some property is not financial related. If we only, the math actually works out to the point where you can make more money by your down payment and the savings difference between your mortgage

[10:38] payments and your rent. This is of course assuming a 6.5% mortgage rate in have, but if mortgage rates were closer to 2.5 or 3% then the financial terms of reasons that I would want to own a house, it's mostly psychological.

[10:52] to put my mom in while she's getting older because this goes back to the currently rents her own apartment right now. If you want the full backstory, basically my dad owned a house, but then my my dad and my mom were divorced, so

[11:06] renting instead. The other thing that is nice about owning a house is that you can completely customize it the way you want it to be and you can expect that your monthly payments stay fixed because it's probably on a mortgage payment. And

[11:19] a lot of use out of the home being that my mom would live there and then I would I have my own family. Still though, I'm not like 100% sure I want to buy a I'm currently leaning towards. If you guys have any opinions, please let me

[11:34] hear from you. All right, the next money milestone that I'd like to accomplish before I am 40 is to continue to invest in my health. This is not directly a having good health is going to let me live longer. It's going to mean I could

[11:47] probably make more money, which indirectly makes it a money milestone. I keeping tabs on my health. I haven't been to a doctor for my annual physical think that as I'm getting older, I

[12:00] noticed that my metabolism is slowing down and my body just hurts way more in Like sometimes I'll just wake up and my really reinforcing the fact that I should have a balanced diet. I should be

[12:14] keeping up with regular exercise and make sure I also go to my doctor and might be pretty busy throughout your life, too. So, sometimes you just need about your health than to be reactive. If you're watching this and you have

[12:27] doctor or going to the dentist or getting something checked out, maybe should probably do that. And the last age of 40 is to have a vision for what my 40s are going to look like. I don't

[12:40] really want to wake up at the age of 40 with a solid net worth, but then zero clarity on what to do with it. So, I'm thinking that I should be able to answer want to live in the Bay Area? How do I want to spend my time? Do I like the

[12:53] thought I had was today's Thursday, so does my current Thursday in 7 years from now still look really similar to today or does it look completely different? My plan doesn't really have to be perfect, nor does it have to be this like grand

[13:06] I think having some sort of North Star for the next 10 to 15 years of my life could be really eye-opening because it will guide me on how I use money towards make money towards that North Star as well. Personally, I still really enjoy

[13:20] or 7 years that I've been making videos here on YouTube. So, if you've been it. And if you're new to the channel, I appreciate it, too. Let me know which one of my money milestones you resonated with in the comments. And also, I'll

[13:33] version of this video for the masses, so that you can have some financial age of 40, because I definitely recognize that some of these milestones I talked about in today's video only apply to me and not to everybody. All

[13:46] video. Thank you again. video. Thank you again. Peace.