As I have seen the world change and my career stability approach zero the last 5 years I have gotten deeper into FI. I enjoy my work if I can keep it so I’m not chasing RE so much as preparing for a forced RE or change.
I work in oil and gas and have survived more layoffs than I can remember (5+) and a merger in the last five years. The company is solid but with the commodity cycles and the hard push to green energy I have growing doubts of long term prospects. If I can get 5-10 more years I’d be ecstatic.
I’m 38, married and no kids. My wife has worked the past 15 years but recently stepped out of the work force for 3-36 months. The plan is for her to eventually go back but if we end up enjoying her full time at home she may not unless forced.
I have zero hope of being able to replace my income if I lose my job, I expect a 50-75%+ reduction in salary/benefits and the possibility of having to go back to school.
I have little concerns of our “real” retirement at 60+, we have saved well in our 401Ks and if the market has any type of growth in the next 25 years we should be fine.
What I am worried about is getting there and that is why I am here to get some feedback on my current plan and actions. My goal is to grow our investments to supplement/replace future reduced earnings until we get to retirement.
Expenses:
$6,000/month. This lets us do/buy basically anything we want within reason but does not include vacation savings or major purchase savings. Bare bones spend would be in the $4,000 range. This does not include health insurance.
Debt:
Mortgage $130,000 @2.5% 14 years left
Assets:
Taxable: $350,000 ~$10,000/yr dividends
Commercial Real Estate: $300,000 -$20,000/yr in cash
Cash: $350,000
Plan:
Taxable is a mix of whole market ETFs and individual stocks. Individual stocks are Dividend Aristocrats and Dow Jones. I’m looking for 3% yields and value entries. I try to DCA into the ETFs and buy individuals as I find them. These are all buy and hold.
Work cash down to 2 year EF ($150k). Will probably do this with real estate as opportunities become available
Try to keep real estate and taxable accounts about 50/50 balance
If extra cash comes in (bonus/tax refund/3rd pay check/etc) 15% goes on the mortgage, 42.5% goes into ETFs and 42.5% gets held as cash for future opportunities. Our AA is 85/15 so I am using the mortgage pre payment as my bonds. A paid off mortgage removes $1,000 from our budget.
Use monthly surplus from salary to DCA into stocks/ETFs
What am I missing or should I look at differently? I’m trying to attack this from two side by reducing expenses by paying down the mortgage and increasing income with investments. I know we are losing some tax efficiency by holding dividend stocks in our taxable.
I work in oil and gas and have survived more layoffs than I can remember (5+) and a merger in the last five years. The company is solid but with the commodity cycles and the hard push to green energy I have growing doubts of long term prospects. If I can get 5-10 more years I’d be ecstatic.
I’m 38, married and no kids. My wife has worked the past 15 years but recently stepped out of the work force for 3-36 months. The plan is for her to eventually go back but if we end up enjoying her full time at home she may not unless forced.
I have zero hope of being able to replace my income if I lose my job, I expect a 50-75%+ reduction in salary/benefits and the possibility of having to go back to school.
I have little concerns of our “real” retirement at 60+, we have saved well in our 401Ks and if the market has any type of growth in the next 25 years we should be fine.
What I am worried about is getting there and that is why I am here to get some feedback on my current plan and actions. My goal is to grow our investments to supplement/replace future reduced earnings until we get to retirement.
Expenses:
$6,000/month. This lets us do/buy basically anything we want within reason but does not include vacation savings or major purchase savings. Bare bones spend would be in the $4,000 range. This does not include health insurance.
Debt:
Mortgage $130,000 @2.5% 14 years left
Assets:
Taxable: $350,000 ~$10,000/yr dividends
Commercial Real Estate: $300,000 -$20,000/yr in cash
Cash: $350,000
Plan:
Taxable is a mix of whole market ETFs and individual stocks. Individual stocks are Dividend Aristocrats and Dow Jones. I’m looking for 3% yields and value entries. I try to DCA into the ETFs and buy individuals as I find them. These are all buy and hold.
Work cash down to 2 year EF ($150k). Will probably do this with real estate as opportunities become available
Try to keep real estate and taxable accounts about 50/50 balance
If extra cash comes in (bonus/tax refund/3rd pay check/etc) 15% goes on the mortgage, 42.5% goes into ETFs and 42.5% gets held as cash for future opportunities. Our AA is 85/15 so I am using the mortgage pre payment as my bonds. A paid off mortgage removes $1,000 from our budget.
Use monthly surplus from salary to DCA into stocks/ETFs
What am I missing or should I look at differently? I’m trying to attack this from two side by reducing expenses by paying down the mortgage and increasing income with investments. I know we are losing some tax efficiency by holding dividend stocks in our taxable.