Respected Early Retirement community,
I have been reading these boards for quite some time and have been impressed to say the least. I finally decided to register and introduce myself. More or less I will ask the same million dollar question that everyone does. Am I on track for early retirement or am I looking at my numbers dilusionally chasing a dream skewed by my own enthusiasm?
First a bit about me. At 14 began recieving Social Security and Supplemental Security for a disability diagnosed in my youth. I married at age 18. My wife had a son who was 8 at the time. Three years into our marriage it was necessary to provide for and raise 3 nieces/nephew age 13-16. Long story short by age 28 I took a deep breath having taken 4 teens to graduation then promptly declared bankruptcy. I wont make excuses. We lived beyond our means even though some of those situations were forced upon us. Though we used credit cards sparingly we paid minimum payments for those 10 years of child raising. In the end we declared bankruptcy on $18,000 of consumer debt.
Once the kids were out of the house I had time to actually think. The bankruptcy scared my pride more then wanted to admit. We had absolutely refused to even own a credit card. My Social Security/Supplemental Security Income hovered around $400 per mo. This was due to complexities regarding my lack of working and recieving at such a young age. My disability was not lost of limb, sight or hearing so I didnt qualify for full blown benefits. Around the time of my 29th birthday I decided a life of working with physical pain was better then a life of financial limitations. Social Security in its disability form was restricting any assets we could ever attain. I started working part time that year with special needs students at the local Middle School. The real skills I had were as a computer tech. After one year working in life skills I decided I could not do that another year. The following year I started volunteering for the schools technology department. I never missed a day and made sure I preformed better then the paid employees. After 10 months of working full time as a volunteer I was finally hired. This gave me a $11 per hour pay increase over the life skills position. Six months later I applied for a State of Oregon job working in technology and landed the job.
My goals along this trip have been to: (a) Get the highest wage my current skill set can earn. (b) Find an employer that has excellent retirement benefits. (c) Retire as early as possible with a portfolio that provides a stable income and hopefully grows over time.
Having a disability from a young age has made me extremely stubborn and quite the survivor. I don't buy into the theroy that a person must be happy with the work they are doing. For me any job is a sacrifice thus I expect my sacrifice to get the "best bang for the buck".
That is my story. Thanks for listening...now for the numbers.
Desired retirement year: 2022
Desired retirement age: 46/62
My age: 33
Spouse age: 50
Home
3bdr/2bath stick built home $50k owing. Paying extra, payoff date 2020.
Assets
457b - $35,593 (Donating the maximum $1375 per/mo until retirement date) 457b is in plan called Oregon Savings and Growth in the "LifePath 2050" fund. Fees for this fund are .022%. I chose the 2050 (perhaps wrongly) because it has a much higher agressive stock ratio being about 75% thinking I would need those gains to insure enough funds by my date.
Roth IRA - (Donating $6000 per year starting this year until retirement)
Pension
My pension: $17,000 per yr at age 60
Spouse pension: $12,000 per yr at age 60
I am hoping to have about $36,000 per year of investment income at retirement age.
Feel free to share your thoughts. Open to criticism. =) I know this is early in the game and many variables could change the outcome. One note, I am a bit more risk tollerent given the age difference with my wife. She WILL retire at age 62. I on the other hand could work an additional few years if necessary.
Thank you for your time.
I have been reading these boards for quite some time and have been impressed to say the least. I finally decided to register and introduce myself. More or less I will ask the same million dollar question that everyone does. Am I on track for early retirement or am I looking at my numbers dilusionally chasing a dream skewed by my own enthusiasm?
First a bit about me. At 14 began recieving Social Security and Supplemental Security for a disability diagnosed in my youth. I married at age 18. My wife had a son who was 8 at the time. Three years into our marriage it was necessary to provide for and raise 3 nieces/nephew age 13-16. Long story short by age 28 I took a deep breath having taken 4 teens to graduation then promptly declared bankruptcy. I wont make excuses. We lived beyond our means even though some of those situations were forced upon us. Though we used credit cards sparingly we paid minimum payments for those 10 years of child raising. In the end we declared bankruptcy on $18,000 of consumer debt.
Once the kids were out of the house I had time to actually think. The bankruptcy scared my pride more then wanted to admit. We had absolutely refused to even own a credit card. My Social Security/Supplemental Security Income hovered around $400 per mo. This was due to complexities regarding my lack of working and recieving at such a young age. My disability was not lost of limb, sight or hearing so I didnt qualify for full blown benefits. Around the time of my 29th birthday I decided a life of working with physical pain was better then a life of financial limitations. Social Security in its disability form was restricting any assets we could ever attain. I started working part time that year with special needs students at the local Middle School. The real skills I had were as a computer tech. After one year working in life skills I decided I could not do that another year. The following year I started volunteering for the schools technology department. I never missed a day and made sure I preformed better then the paid employees. After 10 months of working full time as a volunteer I was finally hired. This gave me a $11 per hour pay increase over the life skills position. Six months later I applied for a State of Oregon job working in technology and landed the job.
My goals along this trip have been to: (a) Get the highest wage my current skill set can earn. (b) Find an employer that has excellent retirement benefits. (c) Retire as early as possible with a portfolio that provides a stable income and hopefully grows over time.
Having a disability from a young age has made me extremely stubborn and quite the survivor. I don't buy into the theroy that a person must be happy with the work they are doing. For me any job is a sacrifice thus I expect my sacrifice to get the "best bang for the buck".
That is my story. Thanks for listening...now for the numbers.
Desired retirement year: 2022
Desired retirement age: 46/62
My age: 33
Spouse age: 50
Home
3bdr/2bath stick built home $50k owing. Paying extra, payoff date 2020.
Assets
457b - $35,593 (Donating the maximum $1375 per/mo until retirement date) 457b is in plan called Oregon Savings and Growth in the "LifePath 2050" fund. Fees for this fund are .022%. I chose the 2050 (perhaps wrongly) because it has a much higher agressive stock ratio being about 75% thinking I would need those gains to insure enough funds by my date.
Roth IRA - (Donating $6000 per year starting this year until retirement)
Pension
My pension: $17,000 per yr at age 60
Spouse pension: $12,000 per yr at age 60
I am hoping to have about $36,000 per year of investment income at retirement age.
Feel free to share your thoughts. Open to criticism. =) I know this is early in the game and many variables could change the outcome. One note, I am a bit more risk tollerent given the age difference with my wife. She WILL retire at age 62. I on the other hand could work an additional few years if necessary.
Thank you for your time.
