Finally Registered....

[K9Dan]

Greetings, I have been lurking in the shadows for the last few months, reading and learning from many of the other posters in this forum.

I am 28 and my wife is 32. We have two children (2.5 yr old Girl and 1 yr old Boy). My normal day job is law enforcement, however I am on Active Duty Orders as an Army Reservist on the East Coast. My wife used to work as a civilian employee at a police department prior to my deployment and now taking care of our children with my unpredictable schedule. Luckily they are presently living on the east coast with me, so I am fortunate not to be separated from them on a long term basis. I have another 12 months on Active Duty and will probably return to my previous L.E. job unless something better opens up to me.l

Our goal is to retire by the time I am 50 years old and we currently have saved:

Wife's 457(b) acct : 77,000
My 457(b) acct: 105,000 - I contribute 16,500/yr presently
Brokerage acct (long ago gift from grandma): 12000
Savings: 15000
Wife's ROTH IRA: 3000
My ROTH IRA: 5500

My wife is vested in CALPERS and stands to collect about 1500/mth when she turns 55 and I am vested with 9 years and counting of service in my retirement plan (combination of Calpers and 1937 County Retirement) and can max my pension at 87% if I stay until 50 years of age, 90% if I stayed until 51. I also plan on having a reserve military pension that will help with related medical insurance when I retire to combine with my civilian insurance which is not so great.

We have a house with a 377,000 mortgage and total payments including tax and insurance are about 2800/monthly. We don't have any other huge expenses and save as we go along, although we are being much more disciplined as we have gotten older! I am planning on maxing out the ROTH IRAs beginning this year and continuing on doing for the foreseeable future and also raising our Cash savings to about 45,000 (12 month's mortgage and household expenses, etc)

Fortunately, with my civilian job paying me salary differential and my military pay, I am making almost 10k/month (including my tax free entitlements BAH, and Per Diem), so I really have no excuses in regards to long term planning and major savings.

I hope to continue my learning and continue with appropriate planning to meet our retirement goals and to have a comfortable life for my children (I promise you not spoiled though )

[Bestwifeever]

Sounds like a plan--wish I'd been a little smarter at 28, like you are!

Welcome to the boards.

[bbbamI]

I assume your username means you're a canine cop.

Welcome to the forum.

[K9Dan]

Yes I was, prior to my recall to Active Duty. It was a lot of fun.

[bbbamI]

My nephew has been a K9 cop for about seven years now and loves it. He's one year older than you are.....wow...now I'm feelin' old. ....

[walkinwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Sounds like a plan--wish I'd been a little smarter at 28, like you are! Welcome to the boards.

ditto! Welcome.

[dessert]

Welcome to the board. When I was your age the word "retirement" was no where in my vocabulary or my thoughts. I predict that you will meet your goals and RE in fine shape. You're doing great from my perspective.
You should be proud of that.

[Nords]

Welcome to the board, Dan.

It's my impression that the Reserves gives you the best of the military without the pain of coping with the assignment officer's good ideas. Compared to the prospect of being shot at during your civilian job, the military even looks like a better deal. Especially with Reserve Tricare, the GI Bill, and the ever-tempting prospect of the Reserve's before-60 early retirement.

Are you maxing the TSP as part of your savings? Do any of your other tax-deferred plans offer such low expenses and such a wide array of asset classes?

Have you forecast a budget and run your numbers through FIRECalc?

[HsiaoChu]

May you be retired for twice as long as you worked!

Z