Confessions of a ESR wannabe

[Ronnieboy]

Plus, if it's a Roth, you can always withdraw your contributions without taxes or penalty if you really need that cash -- but you can't "change your mind" and fund the IRA for 2011 in, say, 2013.

That was my feeling, granted the CC are at 10% or less and this would only delay their pay off by less than a year, but can't go back and fund the IRA.

Nor can I put 'extra' in the IRA when bills are paid off

 

[W2R]

You do what you have to do. Because you are still young, you may not feel as much of a sense of urgency as some do. Or maybe you do. Like Onward, I was pretty motivated and retired I guess about 8.5-9 years after figuring out how to do it. In order to do that, I had to max out my TSP(=401K) plus over-50 catchup while I was paying off my debt.

The TSP contribution was an automatic deduction, like withholding and so on, so I never saw it. I then had to set aside 1/3 of my remaining take-home pay for paying off my debts (and then saving once I was debt free). I had to keep those monthly bills at an absolute minimum, as you can imagine.

I made some big mistakes, too. I didn't get my Roth IRA started until about 5 years before I retired. At the very beginning of my efforts my junk car was in the process of self-destructing, so I bought a new one. Buying a Toyota in cash was a good idea, but getting the money for it from the 401K from my previous job was not a good move.

But you know, if you keep on working hard at it you can overcome a few mistakes. We live in a truly great country with so much opportunity.