Hi everyone, my name is Peter. I am 22 years old, married, and on active duty in the Navy. Home for me is upstate NY, but I am currently stationed in San Diego, CA. My goal is to retire in my 40's. I have 2 years in the Navy before I get out and join the reserves. My wife is 2 years away from earning her masters in school pychology. We have paid for her schooling with no loans so that when she graduates we won't have any college debt. I have about $10,000 invested in roth TSP (military 401k) and a few thousand saved. My plan for after get off active duty is to join the navy reserves in order to secure a retirement after 20 years of service, and recieve affordable health care. I am planning on finishing my college degree on the navy's dime after I leave active duty. Once we are both working full time I plan to invest in rental properties until I can generate enough income from rental properties to bridge us until we are old enough to recieve SS/pensions as well as maxing out our 401k's and continuing to invest in my roth tsp. I am glad to have found this forum and hope it will help me reach my goals even faster!
22yo planning for early retirement
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Greencheese
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Hi Peter! Glad to see another young person here, I'm 26 myself. Sounds like you're off to a great start with everything and have plenty of time to get your ER goal achieved. It took me about 3 years of heavy saving but now my investments are starting to do serious work compared to what I put into them, so if you can stay motivated the first couple of years, the money starts to reward itself quickly!
Welcome to the forum and you are way ahead of most people, including myself at age 22. Your plan sounds excellent.
foxfirev5
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Welcome, good goals. Meanwhile don't forget to enjoy your life and find something you really like to do.
pb4uski
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Welcome Pete! You're off to a good start. Some words of advice. Slow and steady wins the race. Pay yourself first. Balance saving for tomorrow with living for today.
Some would say that managing a portfolio of rentals is work, not retirement but I say being your own boss and managing your own time is priceless.... so stay the course.
Some would say that managing a portfolio of rentals is work, not retirement but I say being your own boss and managing your own time is priceless.... so stay the course.
Thanks for the advice. I want my first rental property to be a duplex or triplex and live in one unit with the hope of being able to live there for free or close to it until me and the wife are ready to move up to a bigger house and start a family.
Thanks for the kind words and motivation everyone. I am very glad to have found this forum. If I made it sound like all I think about is finances that isn't the case at all. I love to hunt, fish, workout, and do as much traveling as I can with my wife.
Sounds like a good plan. Keep saving in the TSP and for your transition fund, but if you're drilling in the Reserves while you're finishing your degree then you'll be in good financial shape.
Take a look at The-Military-Guide.com and let me know whether you have any questions!
Welcome! I am at 12 years active duty AF. You've probably heard about the military retirement overhaul. I am not sure how that applies to the reserves, but make sure you do your research, especially if switching is an option. Also, remember that you are entitled to a retirement pension after 20 years of qualifying service, but you can't collect until you hit 60 years old.
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Welcome Pete. Sounds like you have a great plan in place.
One thing to consider if you go the landlord route - it can be challenging to be a long distance landlord and the military tends to move families around. That said - I have several current and former military friends who've had great luck being a landlord - buying a home at every duty station. Another advantage (I'm guessing)... I think bases will connect military landlords and newly incoming families. I live near Miramar - and I see military families rotating every few years on a couple of houses in my neighborhood.
One thing to consider if you go the landlord route - it can be challenging to be a long distance landlord and the military tends to move families around. That said - I have several current and former military friends who've had great luck being a landlord - buying a home at every duty station. Another advantage (I'm guessing)... I think bases will connect military landlords and newly incoming families. I live near Miramar - and I see military families rotating every few years on a couple of houses in my neighborhood.
brewer12345
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Not to take a dump in the punchbowl, but(t)...
As someone who start chasing ER in their 20s and now in their 40s, I would encourage you not to set out with ER as a goal. Know that it is a possibility, know that it would be nice, but don't make it a goal. Save your pennies, work hard, do the things that increase your wealth and financial flexibility. But spend your time living life, not marching toward a (very) far off goal that may or may not be possible when you get to the limit of how far you can march. Live life first.
As someone who start chasing ER in their 20s and now in their 40s, I would encourage you not to set out with ER as a goal. Know that it is a possibility, know that it would be nice, but don't make it a goal. Save your pennies, work hard, do the things that increase your wealth and financial flexibility. But spend your time living life, not marching toward a (very) far off goal that may or may not be possible when you get to the limit of how far you can march. Live life first.
