I celebrated my 42nd birthday this month and hit a Milestone!

[Aiming_4_55]

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Originally Posted by Texas Proud I do have to say that having the kids are a blessing that I will gladly work a few extra years so we can have a good lifestyle... and to send to college... lucky for me I do not hate my work....

Totally agree on the kids. I know and respect others on the forum for not having/desiring/pursuing kids, but for us it was a desire that we wanted/believed in.

Our kids were not cheap (wasn't a series of dates/drinks/love making) for us. It was a series of medical specialists, out of pocket $$ (think moderate sedan cars paid in cash), lost time from work, etc. for our first child. Then a few years later it was an international adoption which we completed last year. It probably added 5 years to the ER plan, but I should hit the target prior to 55. LBYM helped with our decision.

I don't hate my profession/work, it's just the cast of characters that I sometimes have to deal with.

[Andre1969]

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Originally Posted by Aiming_4_55 Thanks Andre... hmmm u turned 41, but what is 1969 in your nick as I was born in 1969 and 42? Congrats to u on your milestone, it's a great feeling.

1969...year I was conceived.

[Aiming_4_55]

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Originally Posted by Andre1969 1969...year I was conceived.

Nice, are you asian? In some asian culture, conceived/conception date is very important. I'm asian, but not an expert of the culture, but I blame it on my LBYMs most of the time.

[Andre1969]

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Originally Posted by Aiming_4_55 Nice, are you asian? In some asian culture, conceived/conception date is very important. I'm asian, but not an expert of the culture, but I blame it on my LBYMs most of the time.

No, not Asian, I just happen to think the '60's were cooler than the '70's!

[arebelspy]

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Originally Posted by Aiming_4_55 As a milestone, I crossed the 1M mark with invested market assets. This does not include real estate investments or primary residence values, just taxable $$, 401k, Roth, and 529, not including emergency fund.

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Originally Posted by Aiming_4_55 $1.5M net worth might be reached at the end of the year when I include real estate investments without primary residence.

With those two in mind, have you actually seriously asked yourself this question:

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Originally Posted by Aiming_4_55 ...then asked myself.... How many more of these do I have to have while maintaining a JOB!!!

That is, how much do you need before you retire? You're 42, screen name says you have another 13 years? Do you need to wait that long, or do you just not want to retire before that?

Just curious.

[Aiming_4_55]

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Originally Posted by arebelspy With those two in mind, have you actually seriously asked yourself this question: That is, how much do you need before you retire? You're 42, screen name says you have another 13 years? Do you need to wait that long, or do you just not want to retire before that? Just curious.

Arebelspy - I created the screen name before much thought (number crunching) and addiction to this forum. I've always thought I/we were/are doing well and age 55 would be a huge win, heck 60 was a dream too, once upon a time.

After further research within the forum, retirement calculators, etc, I feel pretty good, assuming no major job loss (DW is a SAHM) or rental property issue (liability/lawsuit), we will be FI in 6 to 8 years assuming a conservative return of 5-6% on investments along with our current contributions.

My wild cards - two young kids (think preschool age) and no retiree health benefits.

So, my current thinking is to hang up megacrap by age 50 then explore part time/flexible semi-retirement activities for health benefits or just be a bum/slum landlord. Not sure just yet... I'll decide in a few years.

[arebelspy]

Gotcha. Makes sense.

[obgyn65]

Congratulations !