"Mark" is a real client and these are his real numbers. 

• He's 19 and graduated from East Central College welding school in December. 

• He began working with a recruiter and he's been willing to travel and live temporarily in OH and IN for job assignments.

In our meeting we jointly set the following goals:

• Emergency Fund - Based on a monthly spending of $4,000 we set a goal of $24,000 of emergency savings ($4,000 x 6 months).

• Truck Fund - Mark would like $25,000 to make a substantial payment towards a vehicle that can carry his equipment.

The Strategy:

• Adjust tax withholding: Without adjustments Mark was projected to owe more than $10,000 in tax next April. We will continue doing tax projections and adjust as the year progresses. 

• Reduce Bank Cash: His bank accounts were paying less than 1% interest. We took the following approach:

  • 1 month's expenses kept in checking

  • 1 month in savings for quick access if needed.

  • All new funds are transferred to high yield savings earning 3x more or invested monthly into his Roth IRA.

• Establish High Yield Savings Account: Mark setup 2 accounts named:

  • Emergency Savings

  • Truck Fund

• Automate Contributions: Mark started saving $1,500 per week in January using the Altruist app with scheduled transfers to High Yield Savings. 

• Roth IRA: We also automated a $500 per month contribution towards maxing out his 2025 contribution limit of $7,000.

• Estate and Insurance Basics: Beneficiary designations for his HYSAs and Roth IRAs, Payable on Death for his bank accounts, Transfer on Death for his vehicle, and other basics we set as projects.

Plan Update

• You can see below his individual net worth is already approaching $40,000 in 6 months since graduation with none of this due to stock market appreciation. Mark is off to a very strong start in life now.

• Investing - With a solid emergency fund in place, Mark is now investing:

  • $1,000 a week to an 80% stock/20% bond strategy with an aggressive 30% satellite allocation. You can learn more about this strategy here.

  • Mark is also saving $500 per week in high yield savings for his truck fund.