This year my goal is
to slug as much money as I possibly can into savings. Savings for my future, savings for
emergencies, savings for travel, savings for early retirement. Recently
I've become even more incentivized to meet my early retirement goal. I am less than two years away from being
completely vested in our companies ESOP plan and two and a half years after that
my youngest will graduate high school.
Literally less than five years from now my entire world will change and
I want to be ready.
I am so excited
about this too. I do plan to work some
after I take early retirement, but I plan to take jobs only when I want to and
work doing only what I enjoy. I don't
love corporate America and I will be very happy to leave it behind once and for
all. Having plenty of money saved up
will give me the ability and peace of mind to do exactly that.
As you all know
Laverne is officially "paid off".
I have put back all the money into my savings account that I took out to
purchase her. I have also paid myself
back for all the money I've spent on her so far since I made that
purchase. I still have a lot of work I
want to do on her to get her ready for our great adventure and I'm super
excited about it. Fortunately I also
have plenty of time to get it all done so this will allow me to pay cash as I
go and not have to borrow.
In order to
accomplish my savings goals I'll be constantly looking for ways to spend less
money. Spending less means I keep more
in my pocket and that is a really good thing when you are trying to keep more
of your money like I am. I'll be pushing
that money directly into my savings and retirement accounts.
As I take on
projects and look for ways to spend less on the items we need and want I'll
share with you how I am doing this. I
know we all have certain goals we are trying to meet for various reasons and if
anything I do is able to help you along then that is great! If anything you are doing would help me
along, then by all means, feel free to share if you would like to. We can all work together and learn from each
other which is what really makes this blogging community so great.
What will you do for the health care part in retirement for you and your daughters? My husband has prolonged working for a while because of my cancer diagnosis last year. (We have excellent health care through his job.) My expenses have been enormous. One surgery was $140,000! We know that on Medicare, we would be paying much more. Do you plan to buy healthcare on the open market? Much more expensive than through an employer.
ReplyDeleteNo worries, I have a plan. :)
DeleteI'm so with you on this. I keep hearing of another recession coming soon and wondering if I should pull out some of our retirement account money that's invested in stocks to put it into something less volatile.
ReplyDeleteThat would be fantastic to meet your early retirement goal. I can't imagine the peace of mind that comes with having your finances completely covered. I can't wait to hear how you do it, it's exciting!
D.
I get excited every time I think about it! I've got my stuff invested in a bunch of different things, funds, bonds, CDs, etc. No direct stocks.
DeleteI have followed your blog for about a year now. I also have 2 daughters as a single mom who are now 10&14. You have done very well for yourself. I have had some rough years over the last 5 years with my nursing career. I am to the point where I want to leave nursing all together. It s very hard to find stability in my career field. Not having peace about your salary or what is going to happen day to day has really impacted my quality of life. At this time Iam looking for a new job that I can hopefully do for a long time. I have had to always be frugal as I have never made a lot,but we get by. Iam 20 years away from retirement and do have a nice lump sum put away. My house will paid off in 8 years and I will have my youngest to help through college. Living paycheck to paycheck is hard at times,but I have a savings account and emergency fund so I am grateful for that. Thanks for always posting and being so upbeat about your life. Laurie
ReplyDeleteHi Laurie! I'm sorry to hear you are having a rough time careerwise. I know someone who was in a similar situation to yours and she found her niche in home health care as a visiting nurse. She loves it! Most days are M-F 8 to 5 with occasional OT for critical patients. If that would interest you it might be something to take a look at. And I understand they pay fairly well. I worked home health years ago as a CNA. Loved it, but the pay for CNAs isn't much. Should be better, its a hard job.
DeleteThank you so much for your kind reply. I am thinking about home infusion therapy. That would be challenging for me,but have lots of experience. I think the pay would be much better. This weekend I plan to take some time and start applying for various things. In the end it will work out. Laurie
DeleteThat sounds great! You know, anytime we don't like the path we are on we can always change direction and take another one. I wish you much success. Let me know how it goes. :)
DeleteSO let me understand this-you can retire in 5 years? If so, I say go for it. I too do not like working in the 'corporate world' 7:30-5:30. I want to do what I want when I want. Kudos for what you are doing and keep up the good work! I bet your coworkers will be amazed when you can say see ya'll later.
ReplyDeleteIt will depend on a lot of factors, anything can happen between now and then, but that is the plan for now. :)
DeleteI love hearing about your retirement plans and excited for you and Laverne to have great adventures together. I had planned to retire at 62 but life got in the way. I will be 67 this year and I'm finally going to retire. April 15th will be my last day. My husband and I redid a vintage camper and although we won't be living out of it, we plan to have some adventures together before I'm too old or we have health problems. I'm wishing you the best in your plans for retirement. Paula in Kansas
ReplyDeleteThank you Paula. I'm shooting for 5 years, but if life does get in the way or I'm not quite ready I can always make adjustments. Congratulations on your retirement. Get out there with your trailer and have a ball!
DeleteRetirement seems a long way off for me (I'm 43) but I do know we have to prepare as best we can. That is especially true of those of us with modest income bases. In truth I worry about paying for things as the girls get older, start driving, college,etc but the truth is it always works out. I work hard and try to make the best decisions I can and that will lead to success. I am saving as much as I can each month and trying to pay a bit extra on my house. Getting that paid for will be a MAJOR victory in my book!
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest - I see two income families struggle who make a lot more money than I do but a lot of it is the choices they make on how they spend their money. I pack lunches, cook from scratch, shop sales, say "no" a lot to things and it does pay off.
Candace you are doing great! And you are so right about things just seeming to work out when you need it to. I also agree with you with regard to two income families, I see them struggle as well. At the end of the day it really doesn't matter how much money you make if you make poor choices. Keep up the great work!! :)
DeleteI too would like to retire early...for me the medical coverage is a big issue...so this year I am working on getting myself healthy as possible and keeping it that way...
ReplyDeletealso my house was neglected as my parents aged and their care became priority #1...I've owned it for a few years now and it's time for the big work to be done,new roof, siding, trees cut down for a start...so I have to be frugal to the extreme to keep debt to a minimum...
all while adding to the retirement fund...paying extra on the mortgage too...my entertainment this year will be outdoor chores!
I'll be doing some things around here to get the house ready to sell and to enjoy in the meantime too. I got the trees all pruned last fall and that was a big job. We need to paint again. I don't love painting. Good luck Kelley with your home improvements.
ReplyDelete