Feel guilty not saving for brokerage monthly

Should I feel guilty about not really having savings for my brokerage every month? I max out my monthly 401k and HSA pre-tax contributions, but find it tough to have money left with normal spending and $5k rent (gf pays $3k) for additions to my normal taxable account. It seems like a lot in rent but that’s what a decent 2 br costs downtown NYC.

31yo, A2A since undergrad now a VP3. Have net worth of ~$1.1mm. Prob $1.4mm gf and I combined.

I save all of my bonus every year. Don’t have any major expenses besides will need to buy a ring soon.

Should I lay off myself or do I need a tough lesson and probably downsize rent? My base will go up $25k next year, but wouldn’t be surprised if rent raises slightly.

Thoughts?

5 Comments
 

If you want to nitpick, you're missing out on some of the advantages of dollar cost averaging by having your only brokerage contribution be one lump sum payment every year. But you're still saving enough in the aggregate, and theoretically have a long enough time horizon that it shouldn't matter. 

Also let's be real, $8k in rent is a ton of money and is probably a super nice place, it's not like it's the baseline to be out of the slums. Plenty of decent 2 BRs for $4-5k

 

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