Hello from San Diego!

[jnojr]

I just discovered this forum, and it looks very interesting and promising!

I'm 36, single, and want to punch out as soon as possible. Life is just too short to keep worrying about what The Man wants. Screw The Man... I wanna be drinking booze on a beach somewhere!

I have a condo I bought before things got really crazy around here... at present, it would probably list for around $320K I owe a little over $200K and the mortgage payments are affordable and could be covered by renting the place out.

I've been contributing to a Roth IRA for about ten years, but it wasn't until fairly recently that I got serious about it. I'd deposit $50 or $100 a month and had about $5K in 2005 That's when I decided to get serious, moved it to USAA, and started maxing my contributions. Today, it's worth about $18K split between USSPX, USCRX, and USCGX I also just became eligible for the 401(k) at my current employer Unfortunately, the match isn't very good... if I contribute $3300 a year, they'll match $330, and that's it. Since my Roth is already maxed, I may contribute more to the 401(k) after everything has settled down (we also just started an FSA and are switching to a new health care provider, so my takehome pay has been nicked noticeably)

Basically, I'm hoping to contribute as much as possible to my retirement accounts as well as build up cash in a taxable account. I'm thinking that the real estate market may bottom out in a year or two, and would like to be able to get a standalone house and rent out my condo.

I'm always looking for more ideas and information, and am hoping I can find some good stuff here!

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Welcome to the board. There is a lot of material to read here, and I suggest browsing through the threads that interest you to get a feel for the board.

At your age, the main observation I can offer is to be patient. You may feel like it's futile to save as much as you'll probably need to retire, but hang in there. At some point the power of compounding really tilts your way if you can stay the course.

 

[jnojr]

At your age, the main observation I can offer is to be patient. You may feel like it's futile to save as much as you'll probably need to retire, but hang in there. At some point the power of compounding really tilts your way if you can stay the course.

Yes, I know Believe me, I'm far more scared of not saving enough than I'm worried about saving "too much". I fully expect to be told that not only will there be no Socialist inSecurity or anything else for me (either due to those Ponzi schemes being dead or "means tested" so that they don't have to return any of the money stolen from me), but I also expect much higher rates of taxation in the future.

 

[SteveR]

Yes, I know Believe me, I'm far more scared of not saving enough than I'm worried about saving "too much". I fully expect to be told that not only will there be no Socialist inSecurity or anything else for me (either due to those Ponzi schemes being dead or "means tested" so that they don't have to return any of the money stolen from me), but I also expect much higher rates of taxation in the future.

Welcome to the board. As Rich said there is a lot of information on this board if you take the time to dive in to the various threads. Use the Search tools to narrow down your areas of interest; chances are it has been fully discussed but if you still have questions by all means post them.

As for saving too little; it all depends on your individual situation. Each of us have different needs and finances so there is no single approach to getting to FIRE. Those of us that have made it have taken different paths to get here but we all share the same set of tools for getting here; live below your means, save as much as you feel you can without feeling deprived and invest wisely. Planning is easy...doing it is the hard part.

 

[TexasGal]

Howdy from Texas! I just posted my first time a couple of days ago so I am new here although I have been reading a lot for about a month.

Kudos to you. I wish to heck I had started getting serious about my retirement at at 20 or 25, but of course I didn't. Needed too much money for immediate FUN and "stuff"! That's important, too, but I didn't get serious until after I was 40 so you are ahead of where I was. The sooner, the better. Max it out every year and you'll be amazed at how it grows!

This board is great, you will love it. Lots of experience here, good advice, and many good people to get to know.

Cheers!
Tex