Van-Guard23
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- May 10, 2013
- Messages
- 124
[FONT="]Hello from Hawaii! I am a soon to be retired Army officer married to another Army officer (still serving and plans to retire in a couple of years). I am retiring from the Army after 20+ years of faithful service to our nation and looking forward to ER here in Hawaii. I have been perusing the Bogleheads forum and came across this community thru one of the postings and as suggested by an acquaintance. I ran FireCalc and, in addition to a financial advisor’s cursory review of my finances (he suggested an in depth follow up review for a cost of $900, which I balked at), it appears that we are on our way to FI and ER (if not already there)…by the way, does FIRE mean Financial Independence and Early Retirement…guess it’s better than FIER? [/FONT]
[FONT="]My vitals summary:[/FONT]
[FONT="]44, married; wife is 49; kids are all grown with the youngest an Army First Lieutenant [/FONT]
[FONT="]- Portfolio (less the value of the home) is in the low 7 figures[/FONT]
[FONT="]- Tax-sheltered accounts (Mostly TSP L2030 ~ $422K and Roth IRAs ~ $180K)[/FONT]
[FONT="]- Taxable accounts (~$600K)[/FONT]
[FONT="]- No debts except for the house (refinancing to 15-year at 2.5%; current market value is $680K with mortgage at $465K)[/FONT]
[FONT="]- My monthly pension income is expected to be about $4K to $5K per month starting in August 2013 (my wife’s would be similar in amount when she retires)[/FONT]
[FONT="]- Current monthly expenses just below $6,000 (includes mortgage and additional P&I payments)
I am currently in the process of deciding whether to retire early or seek another employment (looking at federal)…something I wouldn’t mind doing…ongoing sequestration and terminal leave allows me some time to try out the early retirement living before I have to “decide”. I have been doing some volunteering (especially to help out veterans and elderly) and anticipate would increase the amount of volunteer hours later on. We have been blessed and intend to pay it forward (“Much is required from those to whom much is given…”)[/FONT]
[FONT="]I am interested in finding out more about everyone else’s experiences and lessons learned in ER.[/FONT]
[FONT="]FIRE…I think we are there (?)[/FONT]
[FONT="]Thanks,[/FONT]
[FONT="]Mel[/FONT]
[FONT="]My vitals summary:[/FONT]
[FONT="]44, married; wife is 49; kids are all grown with the youngest an Army First Lieutenant [/FONT]
[FONT="]- Portfolio (less the value of the home) is in the low 7 figures[/FONT]
[FONT="]- Tax-sheltered accounts (Mostly TSP L2030 ~ $422K and Roth IRAs ~ $180K)[/FONT]
[FONT="]- Taxable accounts (~$600K)[/FONT]
[FONT="]- No debts except for the house (refinancing to 15-year at 2.5%; current market value is $680K with mortgage at $465K)[/FONT]
[FONT="]- My monthly pension income is expected to be about $4K to $5K per month starting in August 2013 (my wife’s would be similar in amount when she retires)[/FONT]
[FONT="]- Current monthly expenses just below $6,000 (includes mortgage and additional P&I payments)
I am currently in the process of deciding whether to retire early or seek another employment (looking at federal)…something I wouldn’t mind doing…ongoing sequestration and terminal leave allows me some time to try out the early retirement living before I have to “decide”. I have been doing some volunteering (especially to help out veterans and elderly) and anticipate would increase the amount of volunteer hours later on. We have been blessed and intend to pay it forward (“Much is required from those to whom much is given…”)[/FONT]
[FONT="]I am interested in finding out more about everyone else’s experiences and lessons learned in ER.[/FONT]
[FONT="]FIRE…I think we are there (?)[/FONT]
[FONT="]Thanks,[/FONT]
[FONT="]Mel[/FONT]