[FONT="]Well, my DH told me the other day that he wants to retire at 55. That’s only a couple of years away. Yikes. I’ve always been in charge of investing/finances, so I’m trying to see if maybe it’s possible.
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[FONT="]I ran firecalc and we have a 92% chance of success based on current (modest) spending. However, about a third of the assets we have are my retirement accounts which I can’t access for another 17 years or so, unless we withdraw the money using 72t. I think I’d rather wait though and let those grow since I am younger than DH. We do have enough in taxable assets to bridge the gap until DH turns 59½ though.
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[FONT="]When I ran firecalc I did not include or our SS income or a small pension that DH will receive, so that makes the numbers look better.
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[FONT="]I think it’s possible, but I’m concerned about the unknown. We have a young child. I’m concerned about expenses. We have about 30K put away for college in a 529 plan. Is that going to be enough in 13 years? What if she gets wants to get involved in some kind of traveling sports team when she is older? Do we tell her no? Something like that is definitely not in the retirement budget. What if she needs braces? It seems really easy to succumb to one (two, three…) more year syndrome. Of course, I’m not the one working (I currently stay home to take care of said child).
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[FONT="]That said, another possibility is for me to go back to work. I have no real in-demand marketable skills, but maybe I could make 25-30K a year? Is that too optimistic? Would anyone want to hire someone in her mid-40’s with stale skills that has been out of the workforce for years? I honestly wouldn’t mind it, but I’m not sure that’s a good financial plan. I’d appreciate any stories of older people who were hired after years of being out of the workforce. I’d prefer not to go back to school. I just don’t think the ROI is there, given my age.
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[FONT="]I’m sorry if this seems a little disorganized. To be honest, I feel a little disorganized. I like things in black and white, and retirement planning seems very gray. I would still have to sit down and try to figure out withdrawal strategies, tax implications, health insurance, SS/pension income, survivor benefits, setting aside money for a couple of home maintenance projects (roof, furnace, etc.), etc., etc.
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[FONT="]For those of you retired, how close did your actual budget match what you projected? How many of you retired with young children? How expensive are they really? So far, she has been pretty cheap. We pay about $100/mo. for activities, but will we need more as she gets older? [/FONT]
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[FONT="]I ran firecalc and we have a 92% chance of success based on current (modest) spending. However, about a third of the assets we have are my retirement accounts which I can’t access for another 17 years or so, unless we withdraw the money using 72t. I think I’d rather wait though and let those grow since I am younger than DH. We do have enough in taxable assets to bridge the gap until DH turns 59½ though.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]When I ran firecalc I did not include or our SS income or a small pension that DH will receive, so that makes the numbers look better.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]I think it’s possible, but I’m concerned about the unknown. We have a young child. I’m concerned about expenses. We have about 30K put away for college in a 529 plan. Is that going to be enough in 13 years? What if she gets wants to get involved in some kind of traveling sports team when she is older? Do we tell her no? Something like that is definitely not in the retirement budget. What if she needs braces? It seems really easy to succumb to one (two, three…) more year syndrome. Of course, I’m not the one working (I currently stay home to take care of said child).
[/FONT]
[FONT="]That said, another possibility is for me to go back to work. I have no real in-demand marketable skills, but maybe I could make 25-30K a year? Is that too optimistic? Would anyone want to hire someone in her mid-40’s with stale skills that has been out of the workforce for years? I honestly wouldn’t mind it, but I’m not sure that’s a good financial plan. I’d appreciate any stories of older people who were hired after years of being out of the workforce. I’d prefer not to go back to school. I just don’t think the ROI is there, given my age.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]I’m sorry if this seems a little disorganized. To be honest, I feel a little disorganized. I like things in black and white, and retirement planning seems very gray. I would still have to sit down and try to figure out withdrawal strategies, tax implications, health insurance, SS/pension income, survivor benefits, setting aside money for a couple of home maintenance projects (roof, furnace, etc.), etc., etc.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]For those of you retired, how close did your actual budget match what you projected? How many of you retired with young children? How expensive are they really? So far, she has been pretty cheap. We pay about $100/mo. for activities, but will we need more as she gets older? [/FONT]