It's been 6 months since my first post and we've had a lot of time to review our finances and to further refine our ER plan.
Also, we're now hopeful with Obamacare that our healthcare needs can be met with minimal expense.
As to our yearly income needs, we've updated our plan and calculate that we need $36,000/yr, which includes a 10% safety cushion for unforeseen expenses. The estimated health insurance savings makes a huge difference in our yearly projections..HUGE
After reading "Work Less, Live More" by Bob Clyatt, I've also realized that I was too fixated on a full ER. We've re-calculated our ER on an early exit strategy with me working part-time for a few additional years. I've calculated a conservative $15-$18K/yr. PT income based upon a 2 day workweek.
It is odd how things work out, just a few years ago I saw the writing on the wall that my current industrial sales director's position was coming to an end because of the recession. Being proactive, I picked up another degree and worked for a year and a half and as a Hearing Instrument Specialist. I left that position when I was recruited (out of the blue!) back into my former occupation, which is far more lucrative. However, I maintained my state license and board certification as a hearing specialist as a backup. Now, with our projected lower income needs, thanks to Obamacare,I'm more then ready to return to this occupation on a part-time basis. Fortunately it is a field with a current and growing shortage of qualified workers, so even in this economy it is easy to find employment. (which is why I trained in it to begin with!)
Our updated financial status is:
Own Home (value $425K)
Debt $0
DW inherited 50% of a family farm trust with a current land value of $600K; however, this has been on the market for 6 years, so we've never counted it as part of our net worth. Now we've decided to include as a she can clear a min. of $200K based upon recent lowball offers.
Our savings:
$595 in 401K/Traditional IRA's
$80K in Roth IRA's
$318K in CD's/Savings
Also, as mentioned during my first post, I have a fixed pension of $7000/yr. that I can draw at 65. This is 100% inheritable by my spouse. I also have term life insurance ($500K) till 60, so my DW has additional protection for a few more years if I checkout early!
Another modification we've made over the last 6 months is when we plan on taking SS. We're now planning on 67 for each of us. This changes my SS estimate to $27K/yr. and my DW to $12.5K/yr. based upon my earnings.
That's it in a nutshell! Based upon Firecalc, Vanguard and ORP, it actually looks like we could fully retire next year, pay our Cobra till 2014 and then take advantage of Obamacare. With the added safety of a PT income, we're hoping to execute our plan the 2nd quarter of 2013.
Now I'm hoping for comments from this group as a reality check!
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