Aeowyn
Recycles dryer sheets
I've been a hard charger most of my life. I decided I wanted to be an engineer when I was a sophomore in high school. I got my degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Note Dame and I paid for it by going through the Air Force ROTC program and working in the Physic Lab. I got married while I was in college and had my daughter in the middle of the last semester - missed one week of school, graduated on schedule and was commissioned into the Air Force May 1987.
While waiting 9 months for my active duty orders, I continued to work for the Physics Lab for a few months then I taught a couple classes at a community college and waited tables. I then spent 10 years active duty military. I got my Master's degree at my first station where I spent 6 years working at the Weapons Lab (now known as the Air Force Research Lab) and the Nuclear Safety Agency. I then worked 4 years as a program manager where I was traveling more than half the year (literally over 180 days/year). During that time my husband did a good job of holding down the fort and we home schooled our daughter for a couple of those years (really bad school system). Some how I managed to free lance some database application development during this time too.
Got tired and disillusioned with the military life - separated from active duty and moved back to our home town. I started working a new job as a database programmer before my terminal leave was through. As soon as my separation from active duty was complete, I resigned my regular commission and was sworn in with a reserve commission into the Air Force Reserves. I did my reserve work at a local unit at first and then attached back to the Air Force Research Lab where I kept up my engineering skills. After working in IT (mostly database related) for 6 years as a civilian, I found an engineering position at a large company in the area where I still work. I recently retried from the Air Force Reserves (Feb 2010).
My husband is self employed and I occasionally do some work for him. He works from home mostly over the internet. He has clients and networked associates all over the country. It is easy to pick up and move this business anywhere.
In the mean time, my daughter graduated from high school, went through some rough periods and is now out of the nest and married to a hard working Army man. My father passed away suddenly and then later my mother had health issues and I managing her health and financial affairs for a couple years. When she passed away I took care of closing her estate.
We are currently empty nesters living on 3 acres with 2 horses, 2 dogs, a cat and an iguana. I enjoy horse back riding when ever I get a chance and I do pretty good with the vegetable garden (although I never seem to have enough time during harvest season).
So... I hate living in northern Indiana (too cold, too much snow, not enough sun). There is nothing tying us to this location any more except my job and our house. We have some family here, but our daughter has moved out of the area, my parents have passed away, and my husband's father lives in Florida for more than half the year. We've decided that we want to live in Tennessee and recently purchased 94 acres of rolling green hills (got a good deal - now is an excellent time to buy). Of course now that we own the land - I'm anxious to move there.
If you would have asked me 3 years ago, I would have told you that I loved my job. I can't say that anymore. I've survived two layoffs, a couple reorganizations, a lot of increased bean counting from conflicting directions making it difficult to do the job right, pay reduction for part of a year, a furlough, reduction in 401K matching with no indication if/when it will come back. I wish they would have just laid me off instead of dinking around with me for the past few years. I have zero loyalty to this company. And now, after all these years of being an engineer - I don't even want to be one anymore.
We want to move to our land in TN. We plan to build a lake, a house, a few barns, and some fence. I want to raise some beef, goats, hogs, and eventually elk. We'd also plan to stock the lake with fish and do some pheasant and quail repopulation projects.
We own the land in TN outright. Our only debt is on the house we currently own in IN (we have non-retirement investments that could pay off the mortgage but choose not to). We're planning to put the house on the market in the spring - when it sells,I quite and we move. We realize the market is a bit slow right now, so we're willing to stick it out here for another 2 years before we become motivated sellers.
Then it's a question if we need to find jobs after we move or if we can make enough from our investments, husband's business (made negative income in 2010 but picking up), and farm income. If we didn't want to build so much on the land, I'm confident we could live off our current investments in TN. We'll have to see how much of the building we can cash flow before we move. We plan to do all the interior work in the house ourselves (paint, floors, cabinets, trim). We're also willing to live in a travel trailer for up to a year while we're building.
Our current investments are split ~37% Roth, 19% Tax Deferred, and 44% unsheltered. I'll have a military reserve retirement pension kick in when I turn 60. If we don't touch the money in our Roth accounts until 60, I'm confident that we'll be able to live off the income from military pension + Roth income (after it has a chance to grow for 15 more years). Any SSN would be a bonus. So it's a matter of making the rest of the funds last 15 years.
Looking forward the next phase of our lives.
While waiting 9 months for my active duty orders, I continued to work for the Physics Lab for a few months then I taught a couple classes at a community college and waited tables. I then spent 10 years active duty military. I got my Master's degree at my first station where I spent 6 years working at the Weapons Lab (now known as the Air Force Research Lab) and the Nuclear Safety Agency. I then worked 4 years as a program manager where I was traveling more than half the year (literally over 180 days/year). During that time my husband did a good job of holding down the fort and we home schooled our daughter for a couple of those years (really bad school system). Some how I managed to free lance some database application development during this time too.
Got tired and disillusioned with the military life - separated from active duty and moved back to our home town. I started working a new job as a database programmer before my terminal leave was through. As soon as my separation from active duty was complete, I resigned my regular commission and was sworn in with a reserve commission into the Air Force Reserves. I did my reserve work at a local unit at first and then attached back to the Air Force Research Lab where I kept up my engineering skills. After working in IT (mostly database related) for 6 years as a civilian, I found an engineering position at a large company in the area where I still work. I recently retried from the Air Force Reserves (Feb 2010).
My husband is self employed and I occasionally do some work for him. He works from home mostly over the internet. He has clients and networked associates all over the country. It is easy to pick up and move this business anywhere.
In the mean time, my daughter graduated from high school, went through some rough periods and is now out of the nest and married to a hard working Army man. My father passed away suddenly and then later my mother had health issues and I managing her health and financial affairs for a couple years. When she passed away I took care of closing her estate.
We are currently empty nesters living on 3 acres with 2 horses, 2 dogs, a cat and an iguana. I enjoy horse back riding when ever I get a chance and I do pretty good with the vegetable garden (although I never seem to have enough time during harvest season).
So... I hate living in northern Indiana (too cold, too much snow, not enough sun). There is nothing tying us to this location any more except my job and our house. We have some family here, but our daughter has moved out of the area, my parents have passed away, and my husband's father lives in Florida for more than half the year. We've decided that we want to live in Tennessee and recently purchased 94 acres of rolling green hills (got a good deal - now is an excellent time to buy). Of course now that we own the land - I'm anxious to move there.
If you would have asked me 3 years ago, I would have told you that I loved my job. I can't say that anymore. I've survived two layoffs, a couple reorganizations, a lot of increased bean counting from conflicting directions making it difficult to do the job right, pay reduction for part of a year, a furlough, reduction in 401K matching with no indication if/when it will come back. I wish they would have just laid me off instead of dinking around with me for the past few years. I have zero loyalty to this company. And now, after all these years of being an engineer - I don't even want to be one anymore.
We want to move to our land in TN. We plan to build a lake, a house, a few barns, and some fence. I want to raise some beef, goats, hogs, and eventually elk. We'd also plan to stock the lake with fish and do some pheasant and quail repopulation projects.
We own the land in TN outright. Our only debt is on the house we currently own in IN (we have non-retirement investments that could pay off the mortgage but choose not to). We're planning to put the house on the market in the spring - when it sells,I quite and we move. We realize the market is a bit slow right now, so we're willing to stick it out here for another 2 years before we become motivated sellers.
Then it's a question if we need to find jobs after we move or if we can make enough from our investments, husband's business (made negative income in 2010 but picking up), and farm income. If we didn't want to build so much on the land, I'm confident we could live off our current investments in TN. We'll have to see how much of the building we can cash flow before we move. We plan to do all the interior work in the house ourselves (paint, floors, cabinets, trim). We're also willing to live in a travel trailer for up to a year while we're building.
Our current investments are split ~37% Roth, 19% Tax Deferred, and 44% unsheltered. I'll have a military reserve retirement pension kick in when I turn 60. If we don't touch the money in our Roth accounts until 60, I'm confident that we'll be able to live off the income from military pension + Roth income (after it has a chance to grow for 15 more years). Any SSN would be a bonus. So it's a matter of making the rest of the funds last 15 years.
Looking forward the next phase of our lives.
