threeonesix
Recycles dryer sheets
Hi, I am Brian. I am sorry for the following data dump, I am terrible at being abrupt! Have spent too many years in Technical Writing.
I would like to know where I stand in my goal for ER but it's so difficult with so much information out there. I have been reading through the forums here and other websites as much as I possibly can, for the last year. Would love to hear your opinions. If you would like to share advice I am more than happy to listen, that just isn't the goal here, I don't want anyone to think I'm asking for free advice.
I am 50 years old, single, never married, no children. I live in a very inexpensive town where I grew up, in the Wichita, KS area. I owe just under $50k on my mortgage on a 4BR, 3BA, 3600 sq ft house, that will be paid off in the next few years. It's way too much space for me but I love the house, it's on a lake and I am able to store my GeoPro 19FBS in my driveway with no problems. Not looking to move unless I decide to go full time RVLife, which is entirely possible after retirement.
I graduated from college in 2001 and have around $13k left on my student loan. After college I worked for a friend's company doing IT management. Unfortunately we did not have a 401(k) available. I made just enough money to save a little in a Vanguard IRA during the 10 years I worked there, that balance currently stands at roughly $40k. In 2012 the company closed and I accepted a position in IT at a new employer that does offer a 401(k). I immediately began contributing as much as possible. My employer matches 100% at 4%. Over the last few years I have been able to contribute the maximum amount allowed every year. My 401(k) account now sits with a $220k balance. My salary and bonuses total around $130k/year. Which is not a lot for many US locales but here that is very good income, top 10% for sure.
I did not inherit any money from my parents, they never made enough to save much and passed away with a ton of debt. I did not inherit the debt, thankfully. They were great people and wonderful parents, just not educated and never even made $100k combined in any year. They had a healthy 401(k) but lost about half of it during the dot-com bust in the early 00's and were never able to recover that.
I have also been able to start a Vanguard investment account, but have stuck to Russell index funds only, no individual stocks. That account contains right around $100k currently. In July 2021 my employer was acquired by a public company. The new employer allows us to invest up to 12% of our salary in company stock which we are able to purchase at a 12% discount through E*Trade. So I am also taking advantage of that benefit at the full 12%.
My hope is that I will be able to retire in 2030. By then I will have no debt. Health insurance is a major concern as I battled incurable Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma between 2012 - 2015. Following chemotherapy we discovered that my pancreas was damaged so I am also now Type 2 diabetic. I manage that well so far, I have not had any issues other than slightly high glucose (between 120 - 140 highs, 80 - 100 lows). So in retirement I will have to continue with both fast-acting and slow-acting daily insulin shots.
I have a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali that pulls my travel trailer. The truck currently has 120k miles. I am confident it will last me another 10 years, I am very good with keeping up maintenance and it still runs as good as it did the day I bought it. I know that eventually I will have to upgrade to a newer truck but I never buy new, only slightly used, to try to keep that cost down. I hate car payments.
If all goes well between now and 2030 I expect to have around $800k in retirement funds, not including the value of my house. I will consider a reverse mortgage as I have nobody to leave wealth for. The only family I have left are very distant cousins, many of whom I have never met.
I am worried that there are holes in my plan, and probably for very good reasons unknown to me at present. I'm sure everybody goes through these worries, and I do realize that things can change very quickly. I have lived on a budget since 1994 and I stick to that budget religously. I believe it to be possible that my expenses will be lower in retirement; at least I certainly hope so. Really depends on health issues.
So my question is ... does my plan hold water or will I have to work until my full retirement age? No men in my family have ever lived to 80 so I would love to have a good 15-20 years in retirement, and am willing to do whatever necessary to make that happen. I have already started cutting expenses considerably, for things like travel, eating out and entertainment.
I would like to know where I stand in my goal for ER but it's so difficult with so much information out there. I have been reading through the forums here and other websites as much as I possibly can, for the last year. Would love to hear your opinions. If you would like to share advice I am more than happy to listen, that just isn't the goal here, I don't want anyone to think I'm asking for free advice.
I am 50 years old, single, never married, no children. I live in a very inexpensive town where I grew up, in the Wichita, KS area. I owe just under $50k on my mortgage on a 4BR, 3BA, 3600 sq ft house, that will be paid off in the next few years. It's way too much space for me but I love the house, it's on a lake and I am able to store my GeoPro 19FBS in my driveway with no problems. Not looking to move unless I decide to go full time RVLife, which is entirely possible after retirement.
I graduated from college in 2001 and have around $13k left on my student loan. After college I worked for a friend's company doing IT management. Unfortunately we did not have a 401(k) available. I made just enough money to save a little in a Vanguard IRA during the 10 years I worked there, that balance currently stands at roughly $40k. In 2012 the company closed and I accepted a position in IT at a new employer that does offer a 401(k). I immediately began contributing as much as possible. My employer matches 100% at 4%. Over the last few years I have been able to contribute the maximum amount allowed every year. My 401(k) account now sits with a $220k balance. My salary and bonuses total around $130k/year. Which is not a lot for many US locales but here that is very good income, top 10% for sure.
I did not inherit any money from my parents, they never made enough to save much and passed away with a ton of debt. I did not inherit the debt, thankfully. They were great people and wonderful parents, just not educated and never even made $100k combined in any year. They had a healthy 401(k) but lost about half of it during the dot-com bust in the early 00's and were never able to recover that.
I have also been able to start a Vanguard investment account, but have stuck to Russell index funds only, no individual stocks. That account contains right around $100k currently. In July 2021 my employer was acquired by a public company. The new employer allows us to invest up to 12% of our salary in company stock which we are able to purchase at a 12% discount through E*Trade. So I am also taking advantage of that benefit at the full 12%.
My hope is that I will be able to retire in 2030. By then I will have no debt. Health insurance is a major concern as I battled incurable Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma between 2012 - 2015. Following chemotherapy we discovered that my pancreas was damaged so I am also now Type 2 diabetic. I manage that well so far, I have not had any issues other than slightly high glucose (between 120 - 140 highs, 80 - 100 lows). So in retirement I will have to continue with both fast-acting and slow-acting daily insulin shots.
I have a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali that pulls my travel trailer. The truck currently has 120k miles. I am confident it will last me another 10 years, I am very good with keeping up maintenance and it still runs as good as it did the day I bought it. I know that eventually I will have to upgrade to a newer truck but I never buy new, only slightly used, to try to keep that cost down. I hate car payments.
If all goes well between now and 2030 I expect to have around $800k in retirement funds, not including the value of my house. I will consider a reverse mortgage as I have nobody to leave wealth for. The only family I have left are very distant cousins, many of whom I have never met.
I am worried that there are holes in my plan, and probably for very good reasons unknown to me at present. I'm sure everybody goes through these worries, and I do realize that things can change very quickly. I have lived on a budget since 1994 and I stick to that budget religously. I believe it to be possible that my expenses will be lower in retirement; at least I certainly hope so. Really depends on health issues.
So my question is ... does my plan hold water or will I have to work until my full retirement age? No men in my family have ever lived to 80 so I would love to have a good 15-20 years in retirement, and am willing to do whatever necessary to make that happen. I have already started cutting expenses considerably, for things like travel, eating out and entertainment.
