Hi there,
I will turn 52 at the end of the year. Married, she is 48. We live in Socal and have a 14 year old son and a Yellowlab. We are debt-free except for a mortgage ($285K on a $620K house). 401K is maxed out - incl. catchup contribution.
Just went through a major overhaul of our investment strategy and to get that reality check that we are behind in where we should be from a financial perspective. But on the upside - I think with a little financial discipline, some extra effort to optimize our income and investments, and ideally our careers continue (perfect world, right ;-) ) we should be Ok to call it good by the end of 2028.
Come 2029 we will see. If all worked out we can quit the rat race or we should not be too far off from that target.
Made the following changes:
1) Switched investments to follow the Boglehead 3/4 fund investment strategy
2) Should be able to increase monthly savings rate from $800 to at least $2,000/month (after tax). Current plan is to save $1,400 into a Fidelity investment account and to put $600 on top of the regular mortgage payment.
3) Mortgage balance and share value of company stock should match up with each other and then we want to pay off the mortgage.
4) Will move emergency fund into a short-term treasury ladder with Fidelity's Auto Roll service. Money is currently at Amex personal savings at 2.04%
5) Started a side-hustle to build a website and Youtube channel with the goal to build up some side-income that will help to a) increase savings rate and b) provide income in 2029 until we can draw social security.
6) We will re-construct parts of the house over time so that we can rent out a portion when we retire for additional income. We are even considering to by a small RV and travel for a few years and rent out the entire house during that time. Should be able to get ~$3K in gross rental income during that time.
Lots of moving pieces. I spent the last 2 months concentrating on personal finance and investment optimization and now having more clarity definitely helps.
Looking forward to learn a lot from everyone here. Thank you.
I will turn 52 at the end of the year. Married, she is 48. We live in Socal and have a 14 year old son and a Yellowlab. We are debt-free except for a mortgage ($285K on a $620K house). 401K is maxed out - incl. catchup contribution.
Just went through a major overhaul of our investment strategy and to get that reality check that we are behind in where we should be from a financial perspective. But on the upside - I think with a little financial discipline, some extra effort to optimize our income and investments, and ideally our careers continue (perfect world, right ;-) ) we should be Ok to call it good by the end of 2028.
Come 2029 we will see. If all worked out we can quit the rat race or we should not be too far off from that target.
Made the following changes:
1) Switched investments to follow the Boglehead 3/4 fund investment strategy
2) Should be able to increase monthly savings rate from $800 to at least $2,000/month (after tax). Current plan is to save $1,400 into a Fidelity investment account and to put $600 on top of the regular mortgage payment.
3) Mortgage balance and share value of company stock should match up with each other and then we want to pay off the mortgage.
4) Will move emergency fund into a short-term treasury ladder with Fidelity's Auto Roll service. Money is currently at Amex personal savings at 2.04%
5) Started a side-hustle to build a website and Youtube channel with the goal to build up some side-income that will help to a) increase savings rate and b) provide income in 2029 until we can draw social security.
6) We will re-construct parts of the house over time so that we can rent out a portion when we retire for additional income. We are even considering to by a small RV and travel for a few years and rent out the entire house during that time. Should be able to get ~$3K in gross rental income during that time.
Lots of moving pieces. I spent the last 2 months concentrating on personal finance and investment optimization and now having more clarity definitely helps.
Looking forward to learn a lot from everyone here. Thank you.
