upupandaway
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2019
- Messages
- 133
Hi everyone I'm one of the many lurkers here that finally registered an account. I've really appreciated the advice and good nature that I've witnessed while reading these forums. One of my best friends was forced into retirement at 67 with almost no notice and while financially prepared he had not done any mental preparation. I decided after seeing him struggle with depression that first year (It got worse in the short days of the winter) that I would do everything in my power to be as prepared as possible when the time comes. He is a few years on now and things are much better but he still says he has to be intentional in the winter months to resist the urge to stay home for long periods of time.
DW and I carry no debt outside the mortgage. Currently I max out my 401k and both mine and DWs ROTH IRAs. We had the conversation about paying the house vs investing (we are at 3.99% int) which is always a great chestnut to bring out. We decided to put an amount = to an extra principle + int payment into VTSAX monthly as a compromise that way I get my growth and liquidity and when it gets large enough she can have peace of mind that we could pay it off if we wanted. I save my bonus every year and any other gifts/money we have received. I'm currently working on building up the 529s as we have 2 young ones that may have college needs to attend to. I would like to RE at 55-58 which Firecalc seems to think is a possibility but of course that is a long way away and a lot can happen. I'm not fool-hearty enough to think the planning I'm doing now will not inevitably change in the next 18 years.
DW has been a stay at home Mom to this point but the kids are getting older and this is probably our biggest money disagreement. I'm strongly on the side of "Put that college degree to work" LOL Other then that we are very aligned on our goals and how we are going about achieving them.
Sorry this was long winded but that's us in a nut shell. I read the forum everyday so hopefully you will see me chime in every now and again.
DW and I carry no debt outside the mortgage. Currently I max out my 401k and both mine and DWs ROTH IRAs. We had the conversation about paying the house vs investing (we are at 3.99% int) which is always a great chestnut to bring out. We decided to put an amount = to an extra principle + int payment into VTSAX monthly as a compromise that way I get my growth and liquidity and when it gets large enough she can have peace of mind that we could pay it off if we wanted. I save my bonus every year and any other gifts/money we have received. I'm currently working on building up the 529s as we have 2 young ones that may have college needs to attend to. I would like to RE at 55-58 which Firecalc seems to think is a possibility but of course that is a long way away and a lot can happen. I'm not fool-hearty enough to think the planning I'm doing now will not inevitably change in the next 18 years.
DW has been a stay at home Mom to this point but the kids are getting older and this is probably our biggest money disagreement. I'm strongly on the side of "Put that college degree to work" LOL Other then that we are very aligned on our goals and how we are going about achieving them.
Sorry this was long winded but that's us in a nut shell. I read the forum everyday so hopefully you will see me chime in every now and again.