One-Zero
Dryer sheet aficionado
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2007
- Messages
- 44
Hello all - great site with plenty of useful info!
I recently 'retired' from the military after 24 years service (Sep 1st 2007). I REALLY wish I'd been in on this ER concept much sooner and am trying to make up for lost time and bad habits. Quite a few folks in my profession have ER'd, primarily in Thailand, Panama, Costa Rica, and Colombia...but for the most part -99%- they were single.
My ER plan is weighted heavily to paying the mortgage off the home in FL...yes I've read the pro's/cons already, but with my milpay I'll take that hit of not investing the additional $$. I still plan to save aggressively in spite of paying down the home...would be much easier if I were already living there. I've got a lot to learn and numbers to crunch before I'm anywhere close to many of your situations...We've currently identified "unlearning" some bad behaviors to be the primary obstacle to tackle at this point. Ordered the ERguide and downloaded it...still sifting through everything.
One thing cool we did right was get a house in Guatemala, paid off nice home/location...We know that we could live off just my milpay there if all our best laid plans go to crap.
Salud,
"1-0"
De Oppresso Liber
Thanks to other posters - I'll plagiarize format here...
Age, Location:
• 41 / wife 35 – Currently in NoVA just outside DC (an expensive place for ER prep!).
Income:
• Salary: $135,000+ / wife $85,000 plus my Military ‘Pension’: ~$24,000yr (just got my first check OCT 1st.)
Consumer debt:
• $0 – None on credit cards. Use a visa rewards card to pay monthly bills for points, and then pay it off.
Other debt:
• First Mortgage: $228,000 at 5.5% with 30 year fixed. Monthly payment is $2100 including escrow (covering home Ins & taxes). This is the house I plan to “retire” to…waterfront in FL. My parents are living in it while they have construction on their place done.
• Second Mortgage (Condo in Alexandria): 232,000 (80/20) at $186k 6% with 30 year fixed and ~45k 8.5% . Monthly payment is ~$1700 with a $206 condo fee (This is where I live – transitioned here out of MIL). Will unload this place when it makes sense – but wish I had just rented at this point to take advantage of LBYM and immediate freedom to cut away when the time comes.
• Equity Loan: $89k at 6%. Monthly $667. Though it's my loan – I took this loan out for my parents to do their construction, they pay the bill automatically and I get the interest write-off.
Savings: Since we’re feeling our way through this due to my transition – the plan is to increase numbers below significantly…primarily by refining LBYM.
• My 401k: $0!! I begin contributing 10% (~1200) of paycheck this month. Will do the math to max this out.
• Wife’s401k: ~20k. currently contribs 6%
• TSP: I have from military. $31kSitting in the L2040 fund – cannot make additional contrib. now that I’m out
• Traditional (nondeductible at this point) IRA: ~$4000+recent gains Fidelity 2030. I just got it started this year. Also put 4k in same type tradIRA but different fund, 2035, for wife. My Tax acct said income limits to open a ROTH are out next year and we’ll open those as well as convert these two I just established…the conversion hit will be small.
• Taxable TRowe 2030fund: $2600...just started it to have something outside an IRA beside my MMSA
• MMSA: $26K – start of the emergency fund
Insurance:
• TRICARE Prime for us both and my wife has free BC/BS thru her employer. Our employers pay premiums.
• Currently have 20 yr term life that expires at age 61.
I recently 'retired' from the military after 24 years service (Sep 1st 2007). I REALLY wish I'd been in on this ER concept much sooner and am trying to make up for lost time and bad habits. Quite a few folks in my profession have ER'd, primarily in Thailand, Panama, Costa Rica, and Colombia...but for the most part -99%- they were single.
My ER plan is weighted heavily to paying the mortgage off the home in FL...yes I've read the pro's/cons already, but with my milpay I'll take that hit of not investing the additional $$. I still plan to save aggressively in spite of paying down the home...would be much easier if I were already living there. I've got a lot to learn and numbers to crunch before I'm anywhere close to many of your situations...We've currently identified "unlearning" some bad behaviors to be the primary obstacle to tackle at this point. Ordered the ERguide and downloaded it...still sifting through everything.
One thing cool we did right was get a house in Guatemala, paid off nice home/location...We know that we could live off just my milpay there if all our best laid plans go to crap.
Salud,
"1-0"
De Oppresso Liber
Thanks to other posters - I'll plagiarize format here...
Age, Location:
• 41 / wife 35 – Currently in NoVA just outside DC (an expensive place for ER prep!).
Income:
• Salary: $135,000+ / wife $85,000 plus my Military ‘Pension’: ~$24,000yr (just got my first check OCT 1st.)
Consumer debt:
• $0 – None on credit cards. Use a visa rewards card to pay monthly bills for points, and then pay it off.
Other debt:
• First Mortgage: $228,000 at 5.5% with 30 year fixed. Monthly payment is $2100 including escrow (covering home Ins & taxes). This is the house I plan to “retire” to…waterfront in FL. My parents are living in it while they have construction on their place done.
• Second Mortgage (Condo in Alexandria): 232,000 (80/20) at $186k 6% with 30 year fixed and ~45k 8.5% . Monthly payment is ~$1700 with a $206 condo fee (This is where I live – transitioned here out of MIL). Will unload this place when it makes sense – but wish I had just rented at this point to take advantage of LBYM and immediate freedom to cut away when the time comes.
• Equity Loan: $89k at 6%. Monthly $667. Though it's my loan – I took this loan out for my parents to do their construction, they pay the bill automatically and I get the interest write-off.
Savings: Since we’re feeling our way through this due to my transition – the plan is to increase numbers below significantly…primarily by refining LBYM.
• My 401k: $0!! I begin contributing 10% (~1200) of paycheck this month. Will do the math to max this out.
• Wife’s401k: ~20k. currently contribs 6%
• TSP: I have from military. $31kSitting in the L2040 fund – cannot make additional contrib. now that I’m out
• Traditional (nondeductible at this point) IRA: ~$4000+recent gains Fidelity 2030. I just got it started this year. Also put 4k in same type tradIRA but different fund, 2035, for wife. My Tax acct said income limits to open a ROTH are out next year and we’ll open those as well as convert these two I just established…the conversion hit will be small.
• Taxable TRowe 2030fund: $2600...just started it to have something outside an IRA beside my MMSA
• MMSA: $26K – start of the emergency fund
Insurance:
• TRICARE Prime for us both and my wife has free BC/BS thru her employer. Our employers pay premiums.
• Currently have 20 yr term life that expires at age 61.