No really…. I do live in Mars PA!
I accidentally stumbled across this forum a couple days ago and have really enjoyed all the reading, great advice and different perspectives. I can honestly say that reading this site is addicting! I am 42 and DW (what does the “D” stand for? Not dead I hope!
) is 41. My wife and I both came from family’s that did not manage their finances well and they passed the “gene” on to both of us. Retirement was always an afterthought and a bridge that we would cross when / if we arrived. Living paycheck to paycheck and keeping up with the “Jones’s” was our biggest concern. That is… until 2 years ago when we picked up one of Dave Ramsey’s books and familiarized ourselves with the “debt snowball” concept. Unfortunately, by the time we read it we had incurred a considerable amount of debt (specifically CC debt of ~$50K) and were living beyond our means. Over the last two years with blind determination and scaling back we have completely paid off our CC debt, have created an emergency fund (currently $20K), are maxing out both of our 401k’s, pay extra down on our mortgage (9 years left!) and have even managed to save $8K in a 529 plan for my 4 year old son. Compared to many on this board this may not sound like a ton but to my wife and me it is our first of hopefully many steps in the “right direction”. My wife laughs at me when I tell her that we have “shed our diapers and have put on our big boy/girl pants”.
Upon stumbling on this board, of course, the next thing to pop in my mind is will we ever be able to retire early or did we start too late? Also, I feel like the majority of our dollars are / will be locked in the 401K vehicle and do/will not have enough liquidity to create a nice balance.
Current combined income ~$200K Year
Savings: - $20K cash / stocks
Investments – 401Ks -
Mine $150K contributing $17,500 a year and employer matches first 4% Most funds in a lifestyle 2035 fund
DW $111K in a rollover 401K with Fidelity actively managed account
DW $2K in new 401K (new job) Contributing $17,500 a year no company match
House will be paid off in 9 years and is currently valued @ $340K
No other debt.
I will receive two pensions: one which will pay ~$1200 a month at age 65. The other will pay a lump sum of ~$161,000 and an annuity of $634 a month both at age 60.
Looking at how much we spend I am guessing that we will need around $50K a year to live after retirement. Using the 4% rule and that figure I am estimating that we will need ~$2mm to retire @65. Is this correct, it sounds low?
OK, enough about me…..
I accidentally stumbled across this forum a couple days ago and have really enjoyed all the reading, great advice and different perspectives. I can honestly say that reading this site is addicting! I am 42 and DW (what does the “D” stand for? Not dead I hope!
) is 41. My wife and I both came from family’s that did not manage their finances well and they passed the “gene” on to both of us. Retirement was always an afterthought and a bridge that we would cross when / if we arrived. Living paycheck to paycheck and keeping up with the “Jones’s” was our biggest concern. That is… until 2 years ago when we picked up one of Dave Ramsey’s books and familiarized ourselves with the “debt snowball” concept. Unfortunately, by the time we read it we had incurred a considerable amount of debt (specifically CC debt of ~$50K) and were living beyond our means. Over the last two years with blind determination and scaling back we have completely paid off our CC debt, have created an emergency fund (currently $20K), are maxing out both of our 401k’s, pay extra down on our mortgage (9 years left!) and have even managed to save $8K in a 529 plan for my 4 year old son. Compared to many on this board this may not sound like a ton but to my wife and me it is our first of hopefully many steps in the “right direction”. My wife laughs at me when I tell her that we have “shed our diapers and have put on our big boy/girl pants”. Upon stumbling on this board, of course, the next thing to pop in my mind is will we ever be able to retire early or did we start too late? Also, I feel like the majority of our dollars are / will be locked in the 401K vehicle and do/will not have enough liquidity to create a nice balance.
Current combined income ~$200K Year
Savings: - $20K cash / stocks
Investments – 401Ks -
Mine $150K contributing $17,500 a year and employer matches first 4% Most funds in a lifestyle 2035 fund
DW $111K in a rollover 401K with Fidelity actively managed account
DW $2K in new 401K (new job) Contributing $17,500 a year no company match
House will be paid off in 9 years and is currently valued @ $340K
No other debt.
I will receive two pensions: one which will pay ~$1200 a month at age 65. The other will pay a lump sum of ~$161,000 and an annuity of $634 a month both at age 60.
Looking at how much we spend I am guessing that we will need around $50K a year to live after retirement. Using the 4% rule and that figure I am estimating that we will need ~$2mm to retire @65. Is this correct, it sounds low?
OK, enough about me…..
