Hello and welcome!
waves Welcome! 
Hello and welcome @maeFK!
housing
On the more sustainable housing front, think outside the normal boxes of “single household” housing if you can. I lived with an older landlady in my first year in the workforce. She was a widow who had rented 1 or 2 bedrooms in her college town house out to students for the past decade. We occasionally moved a heavy thing for her (like once a month) and otherwise she was a great storyteller and substitute aunt/grandma. I thought I was “too old” for roommates when I moved to SF around age 30 but found a 4-person house of wonderful people and made some lifelong friends. Both helped save lots of money that eventually went into a down payment.
I also have a few friends who have bought houses and had roommates for several years, which helped pay down mortgages quickly. Then there’s also the duplex route. A bad housemate situation can be terrible, but a good one can make for amazing friendships. Just some food for thought for the future.
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Welcome!
Welcome, Mae!
Was this a traditional or Roth 401k? If it was traditional, you’ll owe income taxes on rolling to a Roth IRA. Consider whether a traditional IRA is a better vehicle for your rollover. (And if your 401k was already Roth, you’re good as is, of course.)
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Despite the tax hit, I think the Roth IRA is still the smarter move long term for me. Curious if there are other advantages to going traditional? Did a lot of research on this but none was very helpful!
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No, if you are in a lower tax bracket now, and can afford the tax, you might as well get it over with. I just wanted to make sure you knew the consequences - that would be a nasty surprise next tax-time otherwise. I’m currently moving mine a little bit per year so I don’t have to pay all at once.
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I actually have an episode coming out about this, but it’s hit the point where with the tax changes, Roth makes more sense for most folks now.
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I’ve been all traditional because of my income contingent student loan payments, but if forgiveness goes through this summer, I’ll have to revisit for this year.
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Hello!! I watched Lillian’s livestream on Patreon earlier today (which was amazing!!) and was so pumped up I had to join the forum.
You can call me Jams. I’m 30, married with three furbabies (2 dogs, 1 chinchilla), and do graphic design for a living. I’ve been under so much financial stress since 2018, mostly due to moving out of our crappy (but dirt cheap) starter home in an undesirable part of the city and also spending approx $9430 on dog surgeries in the past 2 years (on just one dog lmao he is lucky he’s the love of my life).
I’m finally - FINALLY - about to pay off my credit card debt so I can start building up my savings again (including a savings account for Dog Surgeries). I’m also trying to go freelance so I can quit my day job, and I have Big Anxiety about it and basically just overwhelm myself with questions about like taxes and bank accounts even though I’m barely even making any money yet. So anyway, hoping to learn a lot and make some friends here!
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Welcome Jams - what are chinchillas like as pets? I can’t even tell you how much I have spent on surgery / treatments for our various dogs over time. I feel your pain.
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Excited to have you here! Expensive furbabies are one of our collective OMD specialities. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you settle in.
Ohhh I know this Big Anxiety well. I love doing this. Get 12 steps ahead in the process and stress about it instead of do step 1.
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I’m not sure my chinchilla is the prime example to use. He was a rescue from a hoarding situation when I adopted him (in 2008!) so since he wasn’t socialized young, he kind of hates people. In his old age he has finally started letting me pet him for more than 30 seconds which is pretty exciting! I think they make really nice, fairly low maintenance pets if you get them young and properly socialize them, but I’m a rescue advocate through and through.
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I had no idea they could live that long!
Other than our first dog, the rest have been rescues - so there is some baggage that came along. Still love them though.
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You will fit right in! 
(Everyone, please just take this as good natured self deprecating humor and I’m not meaning to be snarky! …I’m having anxiety about posting an anxiety joke, which while ironic, necessitates a disclaimer…)
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I looked up chinchillas and they look so fluffy. Welcome Jams!
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Welcome! I had a science teacher who kept a chinchilla as a classroom pet. I was endlessly fascinated with the chinchilla but he did not like attention, let alone pets or cuddles.
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Welcome, Jams!
(Also there is a Share Your Pets thread here, just so you know 
)
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They are SO soft! Like little clouds! When he “allows” me to pet him, it is heavenly.
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^^ this is for you, but mostly for us
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