SATim
Confused about dryer sheets
Hey everyone,
This is the first time I'm posting on here. I've been binge reading FIRE blogs for the last year and have been making a lot of adjustments in the way I think about spending, saving, retirement, etc. When I first started I was super happy to have been on track to retire at age 57 from the federal government (US). Now, I've ratcheted up my savings and am shooting for 45 instead, and likely sooner if I go part-time. And as of yesterday, I'm sadly very excited to say my net worth is now above zero! I was worth -130K when I was hired out of internship, so this is a big milestone for me.
Background: 31, married, expecting to adopt in the next year or so, living in south Texas. My husband and I both have ultra-stable jobs and jointly make approx. 190K. So how am I worth nothing?
Debt:
Bought house in 2012 right as the market started to come back, (~200K @ 3.7%) planning to pay at 15 yr mark. Don't include this in net worth, but it's increased in value dramatically since we bought.
We would be way, way ahead of schedule except I spent 9 years in school, 4 undergrad + 5 PhD program, and emerged with a lovely $105K in student loans when I graduated in 2012. I am now responsible for only $30K thanks to a loan repayment program and aggressively paying down the others. Plan to be done Dec 2017.
$18k car loan @ 0% that was taken out before I realized how ridiculous it was, but this will also be done within 3 years. Biking not an option for my husband who works far south of town, and the neighborhood near my employer is... well we'd need private school, which negates the savings of biking. Current neighborhood is established, 15 min from my work, great schools, no plans to move ever, until downsizing at retirement.
No credit card debt, learned that lesson.
Savings:
Husband loves his job, no plans to retire before 50, and has an insane pension that will replace 85% of his pay. Full medical at retirement for both of us. No joke. He also funds a Roth IRA each year that will bridge him between retirement age 50 and his pension at age 55. He's on track for his plan.
Me: Federal pension means I will get 1%*yrs employed*top 3 salary. If I go at 45, that will mean I get about 18% replacement starting at age 57. Not terrible.
$50K Roth TSP (gov't version of 401K), but have now increased to max of $18K/year with a matching $4500 to Traditional TSP. Allocated to 40%large cap, 40%small, 20%international. No bonds as I'm far from retirement. Since TSP expense ratios are miniscule, I want to take advantage as much as possible here. Decided against traditional TSP since our income in retirement will still likely be quite high with husband's pension. Plan to begin funding an IRA as well once my loans are completed.
Spending: I only account for my own since we keep finances separate. I've managed to roughly maintain spending I had during school, at ~$20K/year (this doesn't include ~$15K in student loan payments). Will increase somewhat with child, but essentially the money I pay to loans will go to daycare for the first several years.
What I'm curious about:
1) Anyone noticing anything glaring terrible above? I hate that I have a car loan, but I'm treating it as a necessary evil since I seem mostly on track on most calculators. Do not plan to buy a new car until the cost of maintaining is more than a newer used car payment (so pretty much never).
2) Has anyone found a good retirement calculator that can factor in Roth 401K amounts? I have to input artificially inflated numbers to try to approximate, but it would be MUCH easier if there was one that had pre-tax (my employer contributions), post-tax (my Roth contributions), pension, and future social security that allows for retirement before 60. Thoughts? I've tried creating my own spreadsheet, but it gets maddeningly frustrating when I try to calculate the withdrawals.
Thanks for any thoughts/suggestions!
Tim
This is the first time I'm posting on here. I've been binge reading FIRE blogs for the last year and have been making a lot of adjustments in the way I think about spending, saving, retirement, etc. When I first started I was super happy to have been on track to retire at age 57 from the federal government (US). Now, I've ratcheted up my savings and am shooting for 45 instead, and likely sooner if I go part-time. And as of yesterday, I'm sadly very excited to say my net worth is now above zero! I was worth -130K when I was hired out of internship, so this is a big milestone for me.
Background: 31, married, expecting to adopt in the next year or so, living in south Texas. My husband and I both have ultra-stable jobs and jointly make approx. 190K. So how am I worth nothing?
Debt:
Bought house in 2012 right as the market started to come back, (~200K @ 3.7%) planning to pay at 15 yr mark. Don't include this in net worth, but it's increased in value dramatically since we bought.
We would be way, way ahead of schedule except I spent 9 years in school, 4 undergrad + 5 PhD program, and emerged with a lovely $105K in student loans when I graduated in 2012. I am now responsible for only $30K thanks to a loan repayment program and aggressively paying down the others. Plan to be done Dec 2017.
$18k car loan @ 0% that was taken out before I realized how ridiculous it was, but this will also be done within 3 years. Biking not an option for my husband who works far south of town, and the neighborhood near my employer is... well we'd need private school, which negates the savings of biking. Current neighborhood is established, 15 min from my work, great schools, no plans to move ever, until downsizing at retirement.
No credit card debt, learned that lesson.
Savings:
Husband loves his job, no plans to retire before 50, and has an insane pension that will replace 85% of his pay. Full medical at retirement for both of us. No joke. He also funds a Roth IRA each year that will bridge him between retirement age 50 and his pension at age 55. He's on track for his plan.
Me: Federal pension means I will get 1%*yrs employed*top 3 salary. If I go at 45, that will mean I get about 18% replacement starting at age 57. Not terrible.
$50K Roth TSP (gov't version of 401K), but have now increased to max of $18K/year with a matching $4500 to Traditional TSP. Allocated to 40%large cap, 40%small, 20%international. No bonds as I'm far from retirement. Since TSP expense ratios are miniscule, I want to take advantage as much as possible here. Decided against traditional TSP since our income in retirement will still likely be quite high with husband's pension. Plan to begin funding an IRA as well once my loans are completed.
Spending: I only account for my own since we keep finances separate. I've managed to roughly maintain spending I had during school, at ~$20K/year (this doesn't include ~$15K in student loan payments). Will increase somewhat with child, but essentially the money I pay to loans will go to daycare for the first several years.
What I'm curious about:
1) Anyone noticing anything glaring terrible above? I hate that I have a car loan, but I'm treating it as a necessary evil since I seem mostly on track on most calculators. Do not plan to buy a new car until the cost of maintaining is more than a newer used car payment (so pretty much never).
2) Has anyone found a good retirement calculator that can factor in Roth 401K amounts? I have to input artificially inflated numbers to try to approximate, but it would be MUCH easier if there was one that had pre-tax (my employer contributions), post-tax (my Roth contributions), pension, and future social security that allows for retirement before 60. Thoughts? I've tried creating my own spreadsheet, but it gets maddeningly frustrating when I try to calculate the withdrawals.
Thanks for any thoughts/suggestions!
Tim
