I have a hard time keeping extra money in the bank (in addition, building on an emergency fund). It's not that I spend it...its that I immediately transfer it either to Fidelity to fund a 401k/roth ira or I transfer it to my daughters MESP (Michigan Education Savings account).
What can I do to stop this habit! Just for reference I am 36 years old, I am married and have 3 kids. I have a 401k with about 200k and contributing around 9%. I also have 3 MESP accounts for my kids that total around 25k, I have a roth IRA with only 5k as I just started this guy. Unfortunatly my emergency fund is only around 5k presently.
Am I putting too much into my 401k? Should I stop contributing to my roth for the time being? Currently I put in around 250 bucks a month into it. I make close to 120k a year before taxes. My only payments are a purchased car payment (around 600 bucks a month) and a house mortgage around 1700 bucks a month.
Note: The company matches half of what I put in up to my contribution of 8%.
What steps can I take to start building my emergency fund?