Folks,
I was force separated this month, will have a severance for most of a year. I am telling myself I don't have to work again, I hated it and spouse has been telling me to quit for quite some time. I may want to work again, but right now I feel relief and frustration and fear and pissed off...I know this was a good thing for us. But I also know it wasn't, I needed OMY and maybe OMY after and after. My first time I posted here I think my goal was $2.1 or $2.4M. Blew threw that some time ago.
All the calcs I have done for retirement look good (Firecalc and NewRetirement), but this is really hard to feel good about. Especially with 3 kids going to school.
Our goal has been to get them through school with no debt (I lived at home and went to a Small but very good engineering school graduated with no debt, great start to a career) but we won't pay for an expensive school. If they want that they will need scholarships and/or loans.
Situation: 51 years old / spouse 44
Spouse is working fulltime at a relatively low pay job, gets summers off, but it will have full healthcare for the family when my severance runs out.
3 children, one in trade school, two in high school.
The oldest in trade school we have it covered with a 529.
The two in high school we have saved about 40k each in a 529 as well. The middle child should get a lot of scholarships, hoping will be a full ride at a good school. This may free up that 529 to use on the youngest.
The youngest is really smart too and plans to go to college, but no idea of where yet we have several years to go.
We have always saved, and the idea of spending is killing me, wondering if our investments will be enough and also leading to a very conservative allocation.
We have about $4M in cash + investments. Our house and cars are all paid for.
House: $600k no mortgage
Cars: 3 + we bought one for oldest, so have 4 cars on insurance.
Investments:
$1.76M in tax advantaged accounts
$1.45M across 401ks
$220k Roth IRAs
$80k HSA
$2.25M in after tax brokerage & Savings accounts.
I have ~$1.1M allocated to cash (~5% interest rate)
$900k bonds ( I have some bond funds, also some Savings Bonds, and TIPS)
$1.8M in stocks, 99% US.
I have been buying more TIPS recently as the rates have increased, really some attractive 2.2-2.3% real rates on TIPS this week. Gained another 5 basis points today pretty much across the curve.
We have been spending about $120k per year, but I have put together a budget at about $95k that I think is doable. Its crazy to think $95k is a cut down budget, but about $30k is house taxes + vehicle ins + house ins + utilities. Also $10k of income taxes is included.
After the youngest graduates high school we want to move to a lower cost area and a smaller house.
As I mentioned, I get a 100% on firecalc and a 99% on New Retirement. This is a 2.375% withdrawal rate. But I am really struggling with this from an emotional standpoint, I have read on here lots of others posting on this, but now its real. It got real when I turned off my automatic transfers to brokerage for each paycheck. I don't have to work again? And I have to spend my savings? It just seems wrong. What if we have more inflation... what if we have another great depression... just lots of risk that doesn't seem captured. I wonder if our comparison periods are just a great period of returns and low risk...and it could get a lot worse.
Before this event, I was aiming for $5M in savings and $125-130k budget. That seemed safer.
My engineer brain says I have it right and don't need to work if I don't want to. My other side says wtf are you doing?
I was force separated this month, will have a severance for most of a year. I am telling myself I don't have to work again, I hated it and spouse has been telling me to quit for quite some time. I may want to work again, but right now I feel relief and frustration and fear and pissed off...I know this was a good thing for us. But I also know it wasn't, I needed OMY and maybe OMY after and after. My first time I posted here I think my goal was $2.1 or $2.4M. Blew threw that some time ago.
All the calcs I have done for retirement look good (Firecalc and NewRetirement), but this is really hard to feel good about. Especially with 3 kids going to school.
Our goal has been to get them through school with no debt (I lived at home and went to a Small but very good engineering school graduated with no debt, great start to a career) but we won't pay for an expensive school. If they want that they will need scholarships and/or loans.
Situation: 51 years old / spouse 44
Spouse is working fulltime at a relatively low pay job, gets summers off, but it will have full healthcare for the family when my severance runs out.
3 children, one in trade school, two in high school.
The oldest in trade school we have it covered with a 529.
The two in high school we have saved about 40k each in a 529 as well. The middle child should get a lot of scholarships, hoping will be a full ride at a good school. This may free up that 529 to use on the youngest.
The youngest is really smart too and plans to go to college, but no idea of where yet we have several years to go.
We have always saved, and the idea of spending is killing me, wondering if our investments will be enough and also leading to a very conservative allocation.
We have about $4M in cash + investments. Our house and cars are all paid for.
House: $600k no mortgage
Cars: 3 + we bought one for oldest, so have 4 cars on insurance.
Investments:
$1.76M in tax advantaged accounts
$1.45M across 401ks
$220k Roth IRAs
$80k HSA
$2.25M in after tax brokerage & Savings accounts.
I have ~$1.1M allocated to cash (~5% interest rate)
$900k bonds ( I have some bond funds, also some Savings Bonds, and TIPS)
$1.8M in stocks, 99% US.
I have been buying more TIPS recently as the rates have increased, really some attractive 2.2-2.3% real rates on TIPS this week. Gained another 5 basis points today pretty much across the curve.
We have been spending about $120k per year, but I have put together a budget at about $95k that I think is doable. Its crazy to think $95k is a cut down budget, but about $30k is house taxes + vehicle ins + house ins + utilities. Also $10k of income taxes is included.
After the youngest graduates high school we want to move to a lower cost area and a smaller house.
As I mentioned, I get a 100% on firecalc and a 99% on New Retirement. This is a 2.375% withdrawal rate. But I am really struggling with this from an emotional standpoint, I have read on here lots of others posting on this, but now its real. It got real when I turned off my automatic transfers to brokerage for each paycheck. I don't have to work again? And I have to spend my savings? It just seems wrong. What if we have more inflation... what if we have another great depression... just lots of risk that doesn't seem captured. I wonder if our comparison periods are just a great period of returns and low risk...and it could get a lot worse.
Before this event, I was aiming for $5M in savings and $125-130k budget. That seemed safer.
My engineer brain says I have it right and don't need to work if I don't want to. My other side says wtf are you doing?