[talon8635]

This was my take too.

GP built an emergency fund, which is important, but then drained it twice for non emergencies.

A nest egg is a much larger tax advantaged holding that you don’t want to withdrawal from because you’ll have a massive tax hit. It’s also far more than a down payment, hopefully. GP had some low interest “savings” account at his bank. Poor wife, no pun intended :(

[nunez]

Thanks for your opinion and for your concern for my wife. She is quite happy, actually!

I have a 401(k) that I contribute to. I intend on contributing the yearly max starting next year.

Should I have contributed the annual max when I started working? Yes. I chose instead to pay off our student loans instead and enjoy life. I'm not a frugal person.