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I was 27 and going through a particularly challenging time at work. I started maxing out all my retirement accounts and haven't looked back in the 4 years since. DW and I are saving about 40% of our income while she is in graduate school and plan to increase that dramatically when she finds...

Welcome to the forum. 31yr old here in a somewhat similar situation to you. It sounds like your most valuable asset is your earning potential. If you can bring in $150k/yr on your own and keep lifestyle creep out then I think you will be fine having your DW stay home with the kids. If she isn't...

I really enjoy posts like this that update progress made by forum members in pursuing their ER goals. Sounds like getting out of the house was the right move for you, if only for the emotional aspect of it and taking a profit on it doesn't hurt, either!

I'm a few years older than you and I'd say focus on your incomes and increasing your savings rate. Those two things will have the biggest impact on your future. Always be looking around in your field, network like crazy and don't burn any bridges, ever. Don't hesitate to leave a good job for a...

I don't remember if the phone number was a requirement. I believe they started communicating over email. Yes, they can see the assets you enter into PC and/or whatever you tell them over the phone.

I have been using PC for a few months now and took the call from one of their financial advisers. He gave me some great information about my accounts and has not tried to hard sell me at all. In fact, he agreed that it may not be the best move for me to use their service right now. I found...

Any article where the author makes recommendations based on their own personal experience, rather than data, is harmful to readers. The author did not havea proper emergency fund if she had to take money out of retirement accounts to pay for car repairs. Terrible advice all around. I...

I agree with you about the safety argument. I have never missed a payment on anything and never will so that is not playing into our decision at all. To me, one sign of a good portfolio is diversification. By the logic you used above one should always invest all of their portfolio in...

It's reassuring to hear that others have been in a similar spot and ended up about where we want to be. I call this our 4 year plan as that is about as far out as we can see right now. We are on a bit more aggressive savings plan than you called for in terms of % of income so that is also...

I bought a new vehicle about a year and a half ago and ended up financing ~40% of the purchase because the loan was offered at 0.9%. I think they pulled my credit and asked me how much I made per year. I do not recall being asked for pay stubs or any sort of documentation. No regrets going...

I have thought extensively about what Grayhare said and believe inflation's effects on the decision to pay off your mortgage early are negligible. After all, inflation will happen to all investment options. The real issue is the guaranteed 4.25% vs. the unknown market return. The only way I...

I, too, have a similar conundrum and have been told on this forum that your mortgage is not a guaranteed 4% return because of inflation. Your future dollars will be worth a lot less and your mortgage will stay the same. Food for thought.

I have used taxcaster and found it to be helpful. I mostly just use my turbotax and plug in assumptions then never hit submit, I've found it to be easier. I use excel all day every day at work so I am pretty comfortable building models, which I have done but have yet to have a "Eureka!" moment...

I will look into a SE401k and yes we are trying to do as much as we can while her income is still small. Thanks for your post.

Thanks so much for your response, you have given me a ton of things to look into! I have an excel sheet built and have been playing with different inputs but haven't come to any conclusions, yet. 1) This is probably my top priority right now. 2) Will look into this - great idea 3) This is...

Definitely something I had not considered. Now I am even more confused as to what to do with extra income.

Thanks for the IRA clarification. Mortgage tax deduction doesn't apply as we are under the standard deduction. Do you have a good link that explains the relationship between mortgages and inflation? I don't see how they are related as I cannot find anywhere with a guaranteed 4% return.

I’ve been lurking these forums for a few months now and have learned a LOT. Thanks for all of your time spent researching and posting solid information. I’m looking for some advice on what the next priorities should be over the next 4 years in order to achieve our goal of semi-retiring by...

First time poster as well. This thread seems to bring out the lurkers! 30 years old working diligently towards ER with DW. Targeting 2028 for retirement around age 45 but we will see what life brings. I got a bit of a late start in my career but have had very good luck in the job market over...