I am absolutely working under the assumption that I will need or want more than I will have by the end of my first (last?) career. Perhaps I won't rush into something new, and see how it feels.
Right now all I can think about is 1. I want to travel with my new spouse quite a bit, and that costs $$, and 2. I will be helping pay for 4 college degrees instead of 2 (because of my new step-children).
Maybe my assumptions are incorrect.
I see those concerns all the time. It’s part of the Fog Of Work.
Once you reach assets of 25x your net annual spending (whatever you project that spending to be) then you’re financially independent on the 4% SWR. With a COLA-adjusted pension (and eventually Social Security) there are no failures of the 4% SWR.
It’s difficult to predict terminal ranks and VA disability ratings while you’re still on active duty, but most military families project their current rank and current spending. Or if you’re planning to work past military retirement anyway then those numbers will be clear.
You’re absolutely right that you don’t need to rush to a cubicle. Depending on your career field and the federal ethics laws, some prospective employers won’t even reach out to you until 180 days
after you’ve retired. The rest of your contact network will keep in touch with you and will totally understand wanting to spend more time with family before you start a new career. Join the Veteran Mentor Network group on Linkedin, read the 2-Hour Job Search book, and start asking questions of the vets who want to share their experience… while getting to know you.
Right now you’re traveling like a two-week millionaire because that’s how we all travel around leave & vacation time. Once you stop working you’ll be able to travel during shoulder seasons (especially if the kids can flex their school schedule & assignments) and travel-hack the logistics. Instead of racing around to do all the things in a week or two, you can rent an AirBnB for a discount month and explore a neighborhood/city at your new relaxed pace. Your family doesn’t need to see three countries in 12 days if they can live local and explore the parks, playgrounds, & museums along with the rest of the sights.
Your very first travel hack happens on terminal leave. You can sign out on leave and fly military Space A in CAT III (active duty) instead of CAT VI (retiree). Space A is more of an adventure than a known schedule (or even a known destination), but we’ve been using that military benefit for over 40 years. I’m always happy to stretch out on the deck of a C-17 with my sleeping mat & pillow instead of a cramped lie-flat first-class seat on United Airlines. Let me know if you have more questions about that, or read Stephanie Montague’s Poppin’ Smoke site.
Funding college is a very personal decision, and you’ll pay for what’s right for your choices. I’m going to speculate that your family would like more of your time rather than four fully-funded rides to Harvard followed by medical schools. The kids who have to work a few hours during college (whatever that looks like) tend to do a better job with picking their majors, getting good grades, and scoring internships to explore their career opportunities.
Aside from possibly transferring your GI Bill to your kids (I’m assuming you’re past that opportunity), you can start browsing SavingForCollege and other blogs now to learn more about dual-credit high-school courses, community colleges before transferring to the state school, the university’s financial & alumni scholarships, and work-study. You’re not going to pay full retail. Depending on your retirement location (like Texas or California) you may get YellowRibbon or free state tuition/expenses. (Although I wouldn’t live in TX or CA just for the free college.) And you have to keep a close eye on that one kid who wants to join the Space Force… or Marine infantry.
Love boomers! One of my favorite bosses of all time was an O-7 submariner. He turned me into a Navy geek, for sure.
Based on you being in your 30s-40s, if you tell us his name we can tell you whether he served with Gumby or me when we were all younger.
