Hello - 44 and trying to stay on track

[CorporateSoldier]

Hello:

I have been lurking on this forum for a few months and have really found some great information. So far, I find the site good to help me stay focused on my dream of a great retirement at an age when I can enjoy it. At any rate, here's me:

44, married with three kids and two dogs, living in a fairly affordable city in the Midwest. One kid already out on his own, two teenagers at home still in high school. I am the sole breadwinner - my wife has stayed home ever since middle child was born 17 years ago. I struggled to make much money right out of college and we had kids while I was still in school so we got kind of a late start in retirement savings. The good news is we always have lived within our means even when we made very little so debt never has been an issue.

We have about $300k saved right now between a 401k, two IRAs and some stocks I have purchased specifically for retirement. My income has really grown over the last few years and I am now making around $200k a year in a really good job with a large company I have been with for 15 years. So, I am pouring money into retirement as much as possible - I think I should be able to put a minimum of 50k towards retirement every year going forward. The only thing that might slow us down is if we have two kids in college at the same time. We owe about $150k on our house - just did a refi into a 15 year mortgage at 3.8% (yay!). No credit card debt at all - only debt outside the mortgage is one car payment.

I am hoping to retire by age 60 with at least $2M. No pensions waiting for us - we will only have what we save ourselves. We are thinking of maybe keeping the house here in retirement and maybe doing the snowbird thing but we are about 15 years out and a lot can change so , we will see. The on-line retirement calculators I have been using indicate we are in decent shape if we continue to save at this rate.

Thanks again for all the info everyone on the board contributes. Any and all feedback appreciated.

[Coach]

CorporateSoldier, I'm glad you've decided to join in! It sounds to me like you're well on the way to your retirement. The combination of a terrific income and a modest lifestyle really helps the retirement nest egg grow.

I'll look forward to your future posts.

Coach

[flyfishnevada]

Sounds like you're on the right track. Good savings rate, modest spending. consider downsizing in retirement and don't forget all the saving from not working, commuting, raising kids, etc. Maybe you can bump that date up a few years. Good luck!!

[CorporateSoldier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyfishnevada Sounds like you're on the right track. Good savings rate, modest spending. consider downsizing in retirement and don't forget all the saving from not working, commuting, raising kids, etc. Maybe you can bump that date up a few years. Good luck!!

Right. That has been a big takeaway for me from following this forum. I didn't really consider how much I will be able to save once my kids are on their own and how much less expensive life can be in retirement. Simple concepts like not having to save for retirement, not putting lots of miles on cars for work and not paying enormous income taxes while retired I really had not considered.

[freebird5825]

Welcome to the board

[Midpack]

Welcome aboard, you're ahead of the curve in assets and approach, congrats! Nothing wrong with your goals, we all try to pick an age/year to retire, but in the end you can't - it all comes down to

"The question isn't at what age I want to retire, it's at what income." ~George Foreman

Hopefully you will have the option to retire ahead of schedule...

[CorporateSoldier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack Welcome aboard, you're ahead of the curve in assets and approach, congrats! Nothing wrong with your goals, we all try to pick an age/year to retire, but in the end you can't - it all comes down to "The question isn't at what age I want to retire, it's at what income." ~George Foreman Hopefully you will have the option to retire ahead of schedule...

Agreed! The other change in thought process from following this board is more of a focus on financial independence versus retirement. I find it really hard to figure out a retirement lifestyle but financial independence? That's what it is really all about. I am guessing once you are truly financially independent, decisions get much easier regarding how to spend your time.