How is my financial state at 26? Thanks for the input.

Start a Roth IRA & contribute regularly.

Keep slaving away, paying down those debts. Doesn't seem like you have too much excess debt.

See if you can contribute a minimum 15% of your own money to retirement savings accounts (whether all 401k or the 401k/IRA blend).

Relative to other young bucks like us who didn't get daddy's trust fund money, I'd say you are a B+.

I would stop contributing the extra 4% on your 401k and first increase your emergency fund to at least $10,000 then pay your car off. After those are covered, I would contribute the $5500 a year. If you can do that, then I'd go back to the 401k.

I'm no expert, just my opinion.

Thank you for all the advice/input everyone! The more I can learn the better.

Also, to answer one of the questions, my current city is Dallas.

quote:

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I'm 26, single and my salary is 51K. Thank you for all the input. Much appreciated!

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-No credit card debt at all. I pay it off monthly.
Good. Keep this up. I also assume a Rewards Card or some other bonus system.

-$219 a month in student loan payments
Doesn't seem too bad. My wife had about 20k in debt, and was around $125/mo. Depending on interest rate, maybe try to pay these down. The interest is tax deductible, so keep that in mind. If really high interest rates, considering consolidating down.

-$293 car payment
Feel like this is normal. Is it reliable/new-ish? Low interest rate? If so, I wouldn't worry too much about trying to accelerate payoff. Biggest concern is how long you plan to keep it. Financially, the longer the better.

-Typical cell phone, cable, car ins, elec. bills

-The current balance in my 401K is $12,151. I just increased my contribution to 9% and my employer matches 5% and I started my contribution exactly two years ago.

This 401k balances seems a little low. The jump up to 9% should help a lot. Try to keep this up, and maybe creep it up over time. Opening a Roth account also seems like a smart idea for you at this salary range.

-Apartment Rent is $850 (includes water bill)

As mentioned, think carefully about purchasing a home. It may seem like you're throwing money away, but mobility and family concerns could make renting a much better option.

-My savings account balance is currently $5,800.

This isn't bad, depending on what your "operating" account sits at. It doesn't seem like much to cover unexpected expenses and could cause you to dip into retirement accounts or loans. Job security also plays into this a little. A Roth is a good option/alternative, but I'd personally suggest splitting the contributions, or at least keep some flowing into this account.

I'm 27 and would have to think you're doing okay or above average for your age. I'm not sure your profession, but for that salary your numbers seem okay. You have little debt, seem responsible, have upped 401k contribution, and don't seem to live outlandishly (assumption here). All this points that you should be fine if you continue your current ways.

A few rough calculations make it seem like you are living off approximately $1k/month after rent, loan payments, utilities, etc. I assume you are squeezing a couple of hundred dollars a month out of that to put in your savings account. I'm not sure what lifestyle you're accustomed to, but that seems pretty fair for a 26 year old. I was pretty close to that when I was single and around the same salary, but I was fortunate to have no student loan debt and a cheaper car payment so I could save a little bit more than you.

My question would be:
What are the rates on the two loans? If they are higher than 6-7%, I would consider dropping your 401k contribution down to 5% of salary and paying off your loans faster. If they are lower than 6%, then I'd stick with putting it to retirement.

I tend to agree that "cash is king" at this age and you might be better putting that extra 4% of your salary in a different account, whether it be a Roth IRA or a savings account. As someone else said, I would lean towards a Roth IRA because you can always withdraw the contributions if needed, but you can never go back 2 years and contribute your $5500.

Congrats on not having credit card debt and having a 50k+ salary. I would imagine its safe to say that those 2 factors alone put you better off than the majority of your peers.

IMHO you're looking fairly decent for someone 26 and single. The main focus should be to increase your income, it's hard to save properly without extra cash. But it seems you're doing well with what you have so far.

The very fact that you have no revolving debt and are an active saver at 26 puts you way ahead of the curve. I would suggest that you consider opening your ROTH IRA asap. You can invest 5,500 a year which will become a substantial tax free retirement vehicle but the contributions can be withdrawn at any time without penalty (please avoid the temptation). I would also suggest that you at least consider a home purchase. With interest rates at extremely low levels and the inherent tax advantages of home ownership, it's a no-brainer.
Congrats on getting the jump on your peers, you will be miles ahead of them in your 40's and 50's.