<prompt> Human: Hi everyone, Ive been reading person finance for a long time on here and finally decided to make an account so I could post! My husband and I have been married for one month now, but have had combined finances for about a year. I have a set budget for us but I feel like were overspending. We are looking to build a house out in the country within the next few years. I would like to build something I want to live in for the rest of my life. Right now with the cost to build the house plus buy the land were looking at 550,000-600,000.Heres the current breakdown:My income: 44,000 per year w 5 match on 401K.Husband: 55,000 per year. Self employed.Take Home After 401k and health ins: 6,000Mo.Monthly Expenses:Mortgage: 1,020 Pay 1,300 3.60 Property Taxes: 335Groceries: 325Electricity: 190 Average-includes watersewerHome Insurance: 145 CableInternet: 135Cell Phones 2: 130ToiletriesMakeup: 100Gas: 80Natural Gas: 80 AverageJeep Insurance: 75 Pay 450 every 6 MonthsPickup Insurance: 70 420 every 6 MonthsPickup Insurance: 30 180 every 6 MonthsATV Insurance: 30 Paid AnnuallyGarbage: 25Netflix: 13Hulu: 12Overage: 25Total: 3,100My Roth: 450Husbands Roth: 450Brokerage: 250Emergency Fund: 100Charity: 50Total: 1,300Spending Money: 350 MeSpending Money: 350 HusbandDiningEntertainment: 150Total: 850Money Market: 750Assets:House Equity: 135,000 330,000 - 195,000 LoanMy Roth IRA: 48,000Husbands Roth IRA: 36,000My Brokerage Account: 61,000 InheritanceHusbands Brokerage Account: 21,000 InheritanceJoint Brokerage: 5,600401K: 12,0002014 Jeep: 16,0002007 Pickup: 16,0002001 Pickup: 5,000ATV: 8,000GoldSilver: 3,900Joint Emergency Fund: 9,000 Joint Money Market: 34,000 our combined savingsJoint Checking Account: 2,300So thats kinda our basic breakdown. I believe I got everything added in. Im just looking for some advice on how we can plan a little bit better for the future. We would both like to retire around age 55-60 so that we can travelwork part time jobs for fun, etc. Also we dont have any debts besides our mortgage.We would also like to build our dream home, as I mentioned before within the next 3-4 years. We want to have a bit more saved up before that. I would also like to buy a newer vehicle in the next 4-5 years as well and would like to pay for that in cash if possible. My husband also wants to buy a new pickup within the next couple years as well. I just feel like we dont have the money for it.My husband expects pay growth of 8-10 per year for the next few years, but who knows what will actually happen. I can expect 4-5 raises annually at my job for now.Any advice is greatly appreciated!  <response>: Youre numbers a very nicely organized! Nice work!First thing, your emergency fund should ideally be 3-6 months worth of expenses. Youre a bit short. For now, focus on getting everything lined up for the house purchase, and vehicle updates. Keep all your funds in high interest savings accounts, or GICs. Stocks are not ideal for short term investing. The standard for financial independence is to have 25x your expected retirement annual living expenses, less pensions, and social security invested. Its called the 4 rule If you go to that link, that website is the best retirement readiness resource that Ive come across. They have calculators and planning tools. Very good. The 4 rule says that if you have 25x your living expenses invested, you should be able to draw 4 every year, and not run out of money. Heres the scary math:If you start focusing heavily on saving for retirement in 5 years, after you are in the new house, you will have 25 years to save for retirement. You will have to save 40 of your living expenses and see 7 returns on your investment in order to reach 25x. If you add 10 years to your investing time by working longer, or starting earlier, you can cut your retirement savings rate to 20 of your living expenses. Time is a huge factor, but you guys have some big short term goals. I hope that helps, if you need clarification, dont hesitate. You guys have a really good start! 