like many of the previous posters here, i'm planning/hoping/praying to ER @ 45. i'm eligible to retire from my fed govt position the year i turn 46. because my birthday is in late december, i will be eligible a week after i turn 45
with 20 years to go, and saving ~45k/yr (TSP, 2 ROTHs, and taxable) into retirement accounts + what we have currently saved up = we would wind up with ~2.5M in 20 years. this is a VERY conservative calculation and estimate as i have left the savings rate the same throught the 20 years (highly unlikely) and kept the interest rate at 6% (however, inflation has not been factored in). if i add my expected pension (~45k x 30 years = ~1.35M) it would look even better = 3.85M total 8)
DW has recently been talking about becoming a nurse. mainly because of the maternity care she received at the hospital when our daughter was born last year. the nurses helped her out tremendously and took great care of her and our daughter the three days they were there. she since has a lot of respect for their profession and feels like it would be a rewarding career for her. plus, there are many hospitals around our area, so finding a job, even part-time, would be pretty easy.
obviously i haven't talked her out of pursuing this 'adventure' of hers
saluki9 said:
If I had my choice I would probably say 40, but that was before we started house shopping
This last two weeks of looking for a home have made me realize that my ER plans are going to be delayed. Even with the market getting a little softer here, the prices of homes is still out of hand. At least we got an unsolicited offer on our condo, but seeing a $400K mortgage on the horizon is making me a little sick
I'd say 50 is a good bet for me now
i can definitely relate with your feelings regarding the big mortgage saluki9. we recently closed on our first home and our mortgage is going to be just over 400k. this is AFTER we put down 20%!! in a way i fell excited about the purchase of our first home, but i also have this sickening felling in my stomach. however, the house is only a few years old (built in 2002) and hopefully won't cause me any headaches with maintenance issues.
because of this extra debt, i may have to push back my ER by 5 years, which would be 50 for me as well. if it wasn't for the high mortage debt, i could've been able to shelter an extra 15k-20k in the taxable and make that original ER date more feasible
oh well, hopefully DW will start her 'career' within the next 5-7 years. i would ER @ 45 and she would ER 5 years later when i turn 50. just wishful thinking i guess..........
regards,
eddie