Ben808
Confused about dryer sheets
Hi,
Posting to introduce myself. I'm a newcomer to this site and have not been nearly as dedicated to FI/RE as others here, although I have been fortunate enough to have received sound financial advice some of which I actually listened to
Stats:
Age: 55 / 56 (DW), both still working
NW (excluding home): 2.1MM (~1MM 401k/IRA, 1.1 after tax).
Home: (have mortgage and don't plan to move) roughly 1.1MM equity. Zillow valuation 1.4MM, remaining mortgage of about $300k
Pension: eligible for tiny pension of ~$500/month @age 65, half that @55 from short stint @large corp first job out of school
Debts: $300k mortgage
Children: 1 DS, 1 DD. Both in college with 2 and 1 year left, respectively. Tuition mostly covered by 529 accounts but will have to pay for last year of DS (~$8k) out of non-retirement accounts
Some of the significant factors that influenced where we are today:
- maxed out 401k from early stage in career
- established monthly automatic withdrawal from checking to savings
- increased monthly savings each time received raises
- invested portion of any windfall (e.g. bonus) into savings
- LBYM carry no CC balances
- scrutinized any increases/additions of recurring monthly expenses.
- practiced delayed gratification. Generally saved for large purchases so that they could be paid for with cash or rare exception short term low interest loan (e.g. auto)
While the NW figure looks good on paper, the reason we are still working is 1) want to wait until children are established (out of school and working), 2) we live in SF bay area which is horribly expensive. We have no plans to move atm (partly depends on where children end up although nothing is guaranteed). So we want to stash away as much as possible in case we are still in area during retirement.
We have not been tracking our FI/RE nearly as diligently as others here. We sort of had our heads down, busy with life, and not thinking too far ahead about this nebulous retirement phase. Now that it's becoming a reality, it's both gratifying but scary at the same time. Scary in the sense that we won't have regular work income. One thought is that if we remain in the area, I could continue to work part time doing short-term contracts which I've done in the past.
Posting to introduce myself. I'm a newcomer to this site and have not been nearly as dedicated to FI/RE as others here, although I have been fortunate enough to have received sound financial advice some of which I actually listened to
Stats:
Age: 55 / 56 (DW), both still working
NW (excluding home): 2.1MM (~1MM 401k/IRA, 1.1 after tax).
Home: (have mortgage and don't plan to move) roughly 1.1MM equity. Zillow valuation 1.4MM, remaining mortgage of about $300k
Pension: eligible for tiny pension of ~$500/month @age 65, half that @55 from short stint @large corp first job out of school
Debts: $300k mortgage
Children: 1 DS, 1 DD. Both in college with 2 and 1 year left, respectively. Tuition mostly covered by 529 accounts but will have to pay for last year of DS (~$8k) out of non-retirement accounts
Some of the significant factors that influenced where we are today:
- maxed out 401k from early stage in career
- established monthly automatic withdrawal from checking to savings
- increased monthly savings each time received raises
- invested portion of any windfall (e.g. bonus) into savings
- LBYM carry no CC balances
- scrutinized any increases/additions of recurring monthly expenses.
- practiced delayed gratification. Generally saved for large purchases so that they could be paid for with cash or rare exception short term low interest loan (e.g. auto)
While the NW figure looks good on paper, the reason we are still working is 1) want to wait until children are established (out of school and working), 2) we live in SF bay area which is horribly expensive. We have no plans to move atm (partly depends on where children end up although nothing is guaranteed). So we want to stash away as much as possible in case we are still in area during retirement.
We have not been tracking our FI/RE nearly as diligently as others here. We sort of had our heads down, busy with life, and not thinking too far ahead about this nebulous retirement phase. Now that it's becoming a reality, it's both gratifying but scary at the same time. Scary in the sense that we won't have regular work income. One thought is that if we remain in the area, I could continue to work part time doing short-term contracts which I've done in the past.