Greetings All. I just joined after following for quite a while. New and totally on board with this (I watch Office Space every Sunday just to keep my sanity)
- now I just have to get the spouse on board - laughs. I'm always amazed by the looks of others whenever I mention retirement or retirement planning - when did it become such a dirty phrase? I'm 46, married with 2 kids (1 is wonderful, the other - not so much )
Hit the proverbial individual contributor ceiling in IT about 15 years ago - make low six figures but honestly, in northern NJ, that's no great shakes. Benefits are very good, however.
Have the following information to share:
Kids colleges costs are well funded with 529's:
- 1st (currently entering Jr. year) will enter Sr. Year with no Debt - Sr. Year will be pay as we go
- 2nd has 70K+ and is definitely scholarship worthy based on grades thus far
Made Decision to Pay Off Mortgage (24K Balance) September 2017 (Approximately 400K in Equity but house will require some work)
Current living expenses will be ~60K (after mortgage paid off) but we're definitely ready to move in 3.5 years when my younger one graduates high school and I become pension eligibility (age 50).
Assuming we can maintain living expenses at around 60K annually (aside from medical), is there a ballpark number we should be looking at in order to FIRE at 50? We just literally passed 7 figures i(excluding home equity) n total with 90% of that in 401Ks or Traditional IRA. So, now our focus is on hammering the brokerage accounts after the mortgage is paid off/for the next 3 to 4 years (100-130K/annually).
Also, what do most folks do for medical insurance? That is my real concern but I also will not work just to pay for medical insurance - that's completely backward to me. Is the catasrophic medical popular even for those couples with 1 between 18-24?
Thank You for the feedback.
- now I just have to get the spouse on board - laughs. I'm always amazed by the looks of others whenever I mention retirement or retirement planning - when did it become such a dirty phrase? I'm 46, married with 2 kids (1 is wonderful, the other - not so much )
Hit the proverbial individual contributor ceiling in IT about 15 years ago - make low six figures but honestly, in northern NJ, that's no great shakes. Benefits are very good, however.
Have the following information to share:
Kids colleges costs are well funded with 529's:
- 1st (currently entering Jr. year) will enter Sr. Year with no Debt - Sr. Year will be pay as we go
- 2nd has 70K+ and is definitely scholarship worthy based on grades thus far
Made Decision to Pay Off Mortgage (24K Balance) September 2017 (Approximately 400K in Equity but house will require some work)
Current living expenses will be ~60K (after mortgage paid off) but we're definitely ready to move in 3.5 years when my younger one graduates high school and I become pension eligibility (age 50).
Assuming we can maintain living expenses at around 60K annually (aside from medical), is there a ballpark number we should be looking at in order to FIRE at 50? We just literally passed 7 figures i(excluding home equity) n total with 90% of that in 401Ks or Traditional IRA. So, now our focus is on hammering the brokerage accounts after the mortgage is paid off/for the next 3 to 4 years (100-130K/annually).
Also, what do most folks do for medical insurance? That is my real concern but I also will not work just to pay for medical insurance - that's completely backward to me. Is the catasrophic medical popular even for those couples with 1 between 18-24?
Thank You for the feedback.