Howdy,
I stumbled upon the site recently. I can't remember exactly what I was searching for at the time, but I found the "Share your Milestones" thread, read all 72 pages, and I was hooked.
Finally I have an outlet to discuss retirement savings with like-minded folks and seek/offer advice.
My background:
Retired O-5 (Navy) w/23 years active service, 2.5 years into my second career. I am 47, DW 46, DD1 17, DD2 15.
We have saved ~$625K (cash, Roth IRA, taxable mutual fund accounts, TSP, and 401K).
By my projections, we are on track to hit $1M in 2021 (YOA), with the mortgage paid off in 2029 (59 YOA). I'm hoping to hit both of these milestones a bit sooner as my goal from here on out is to put all future pay raises towards savings and once my DD's finish private HS that will free up a bit more. For projections, I used the lifetime rate of growth minus 1% (to be conservative?). I don't project any growth in my cash holdings.
Although I am well behind many here, I think my saving grace is my military retirement which is ~$60K (gross/year) + COLA. Factoring that, I think I am OK'ish.
This forum has already helped me in one big way. We had been putting more towards the mortgage principal IOT pay it off sooner, but at a 3.125% interest rate, we've decided our money is better "spent" on increasing contributions towards my wife's 401K. Reading various threads on this forum has helped me overcome my psychological desire to pay off the mortgage at the expense of better options.
Looking forward to learning much more!
-AginMS
I stumbled upon the site recently. I can't remember exactly what I was searching for at the time, but I found the "Share your Milestones" thread, read all 72 pages, and I was hooked.
Finally I have an outlet to discuss retirement savings with like-minded folks and seek/offer advice.
My background:
Retired O-5 (Navy) w/23 years active service, 2.5 years into my second career. I am 47, DW 46, DD1 17, DD2 15.
We have saved ~$625K (cash, Roth IRA, taxable mutual fund accounts, TSP, and 401K).
By my projections, we are on track to hit $1M in 2021 (YOA), with the mortgage paid off in 2029 (59 YOA). I'm hoping to hit both of these milestones a bit sooner as my goal from here on out is to put all future pay raises towards savings and once my DD's finish private HS that will free up a bit more. For projections, I used the lifetime rate of growth minus 1% (to be conservative?). I don't project any growth in my cash holdings.
Although I am well behind many here, I think my saving grace is my military retirement which is ~$60K (gross/year) + COLA. Factoring that, I think I am OK'ish.
This forum has already helped me in one big way. We had been putting more towards the mortgage principal IOT pay it off sooner, but at a 3.125% interest rate, we've decided our money is better "spent" on increasing contributions towards my wife's 401K. Reading various threads on this forum has helped me overcome my psychological desire to pay off the mortgage at the expense of better options.
Looking forward to learning much more!
-AginMS