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900 a month in the tristate area won't even cover taxes on a home .
you can't even rent a studio for 900 a month unless it is in a horrible area . housing costs around the country vary so much .
in fact we are looking at a 2 bedroom co-op in queens ny in a hi rise . it is at the lower end of prices too .
it is 310k plus 1300 a month maintenance charges .
maintainence includes utilities , real estate taxes and the rest of the equity in your apartment that the building holds in it's mortgage .
we were thinking of doing a reverse mortgage to purchase to buy a much more expensive place that was way out of budget .
i always wanted to live in a building in our area called the bay club . but prices can hit 7 figures for an apartment .
with the reverse mortgage to purchase you put down half and never make another payment again except maintenance .
i looked in to it but the program is really designed for lower income seniors so everything from the fees to the interest rate is based on a higher risk group .
it would have eaten up equity way to fast so we decided against it .
Look seriously at your housing expense, that is pretty crazy high. (I have never exceeded $900 / month in a mortgage)
Do you plan to stay in that area? if so, can you downsize?
What is your current Mortgage RATE?
Get serious about knowing and controlling your expenses, as you have very decent income.
Line up the stars (cash flow) and retire comfortably.
Not sure where you live but I am pretty sure you are in the bottom 10% for mortgage expenses. My mortgage is 2800$ for a 475k home. I have a 2.6 APR I believe. I could downsize but don't want too. The area where I live is safe and has a lot of kids around my sons age. It also is an area where my son and remain a "kid" a few years longer before social media and stuff corrupts him lol. I live in a surrounding area outside of Seattle. My mother in law lives in a government assisted 1 bedroom apartment for 55+ community and still pays $700 a month.
OP, I am curious, how did you get a law enforcement job if you are 70% disabled (according to the VA)? My nephew has a large-percentage VA disability as well from a couple of overseas tours (>50% but not sure how much) and I don't think he would qualify for a law enforcement or similar position. (He's only a couple of years younger than you but is, alas, struggling.)
Anyway, I think it sounds like you are doing everything right in terms of retirement (and as for "selling your soul"??? what a bizarre comment from another poster!). I love my job and will likely stay until I'm late 60s -- I can't imagine retiring at 45. Best of luck to you!
I don't get how the OP has "sold his soul". Selling your soul would be like doing something immoral to make a living. I don't see anything close to that in the case of the OP.
The OP is lucky to be alive. He agreed to spend his young years serving his country and would have done so for about 25,000 per year in retirement if his initial plan had worked out.
But (financially speaking) he lucked out. By surviving a life threatening wound he has earned another paycheck.
Now he has found another job that pays well enough, but it does not appear that he has set his sights on learning all he can about his new vocation and being the best cop he could ever possibly be. It appears that he took the job because it provided more security.
To his credit, his curiosity and interest have been piqued. Now he is wondering just how well in life he can do.
That's a wonderful thing, IMO. He looks at the world and is starting to see all sort of possibilities and that is far, far different from the young man who agreed to constantly go in harms way for a 25K retirement check.
He will not die disappointed. We all hope he will be as successful and as wealthy as he chooses to be. On his last day he will either be wealthy or above average. But he will NOT say, "I never tried". And that's important.
There are millions of people out there working mind numbing jobs in cubicles and trapped in jobs they hate simply because they have mentally bought into the company's retirement plan - they have sold their soul.
The worst thought an aging American who has become too old to find a job and create wealth can have is, "I never even tried".
I do recognize that my views are in the minority. For me, opportunity has always been the motivator; security was a distant second. If I had stayed in the military longer than I did (9 years), or I had stayed with the company that paid me rather poorly but promised me an solid retirement (10 years), I would have been very disappointed in myself.
I still work at building wealth. But I have to say that my proudest accomplishment is our seamless retirement, where we retired on our own assets without taking a reduction in income.
OP, I am curious, how did you get a law enforcement job if you are 70% disabled (according to the VA)? My nephew has a large-percentage VA disability as well from a couple of overseas tours (>50% but not sure how much) and I don't think he would qualify for a law enforcement or similar position. (He's only a couple of years younger than you but is, alas, struggling.)
Anyway, I think it sounds like you are doing everything right in terms of retirement (and as for "selling your soul"??? what a bizarre comment from another poster!). I love my job and will likely stay until I'm late 60s -- I can't imagine retiring at 45. Best of luck to you!
VA disability is drastically different from State disability. VA factors everything you have done to your body over the course of your military career. I was hit by an IED in Afghanistan that didn't do a lot of damage in comparison but I had a lot of scaring and it ruptured the tube that connects to my kidney. It was all repaired and I made a full recovery (mostly) but they factor all of that into compensation. I also tore my MCL which is not 90% good but the surgery was the same thing.
In the workforce when you are injured they take care of it medically then give you one lump sum (atleast in this state). In the military they pay you monthly based off a percentage. Im fine to work law enforcement, just not a runway model anymore:P There is also a ton of other factors...hearing loss, ect.
The OP is lucky to be alive. He agreed to spend his young years serving his country and would have done so for about 25,000 per year in retirement if his initial plan had worked out.
But (financially speaking) he lucked out. By surviving a life threatening wound he has earned another paycheck.
Now he has found another job that pays well enough, but it does not appear that he has set his sights on learning all he can about his new vocation and being the best cop he could ever possibly be. It appears that he took the job because it provided more security.
To his credit, his curiosity and interest have been piqued. Now he is wondering just how well in life he can do.
That's a wonderful thing, IMO. He looks at the world and is starting to see all sort of possibilities and that is far, far different from the young man who agreed to constantly go in harms way for a 25K retirement check.
He will not die disappointed. We all hope he will be as successful and as wealthy as he chooses to be. On his last day he will either be wealthy or above average. But he will NOT say, "I never tried". And that's important.
There are millions of people out there working mind numbing jobs in cubicles and trapped in jobs they hate simply because they have mentally bought into the company's retirement plan - they have sold their soul.
The worst thought an aging American who has become too old to find a job and create wealth can have is, "I never even tried".
I do recognize that my views are in the minority. For me, opportunity has always been the motivator; security was a distant second. If I had stayed in the military longer than I did (9 years), or I had stayed with the company that paid me rather poorly but promised me an solid retirement (10 years), I would have been very disappointed in myself.
I still work at building wealth. But I have to say that my proudest accomplishment is our seamless retirement, where we retired on our own assets without taking a reduction in income.
Listener, So far all you have done is link me to a book and get all philosophical about how I have grown as a person during the years. I take back what I stated in my original post, I don't want to be excessive in my wealth. I am extremely happy where I am at now. I would just like to continue that in the future. I never was some unintelligent young pup clueless to the world. I planned my future from the first time I put my boots on. Could I have planned better? Sure but I have a Master degree (fully paid by the military) and health care for the rest of my life for me and my wife. If I had to choose between that and my small pension, the health care will win out 10 fold. I see people at my job right now working till they are 65+ because they can't give up the health care.
As for being lucky I am alive? While I did get injured, the training I received from the Marines will last with me for life. If I didn't join the Marines I would of been some timid person who probably would of wasted 10 years trying to achieve what I wanted because I didn't surround myself with Alpha Males who took action instead of let others do it for them.
Anyhow that's enough out of me. If you would like to read my original post and add something to it that would help me in MY plan, not your vision I am all ears.
BLUF: Check your milestones, and have backup health coverage available.
You have been very industrious and frugal. Congratulations.
Gunny, you are GTG...BTW, .you may be able to roll over your deferred comp into the TSP. I was able to do this with my 401Ks from contracting work, so check it out, since the TSP fees are lower.
However, go over your plan again and look for any age related milestones. Here are some that come to mind:
45 You wish to retire
59.5 Earliest you can withdraw TSP funds without a penalty
62 Earliest that Social security can be awarded. I would also see if you should work at some little job after you retire to boost your Social security numbers. Sign up at their web site to see what your pension numbers will be like.
65 Medicare kicks in for TRICARE beneficiaries (Tricare for Life). This will be an added cost to you, and it is a great unknown now what they plan for Medicare.
70.5 You must start withdrawing your IRAs and TSP by then.
I would also sign up for VA health care, or at least check into it (low cost or free). You can be dual enrolled with TRICARE. Then, you have a fallback health care plan if you run into TRICARE or MEDICARE issues due to changes in these plans.
You may want to consider being vested in the police health care plan to have another health care system to fall back on if TRICARE is messed with.
Another option is to consider going back to work for the FEDS at 45, and to retire at 55 or so under the Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) plus 10 option (but suspend the pension until 60) and then you will have access to the Civil Service health system, and another pension. This health care can be carried over into retirement and then suspended if TRICARE is still OK. If not, you and your wife will have decent coverage from another source. You will have a better sense for this when you are closer to retirement.
I currently have Tricare for Life with Medicare, I can use VA if I want, and could access Indian Health Service if I lived on a reservation. I suspended my Civil Service health insurance, but can activate it if things go to heck in a handbasket with TRICARE. So, I have backup health plans....I strongly suggest you do the same.
A couple books I'd recommend are Early Retirement Extreme (a little esoteric) and How to Retire Early.
With you, the problem is not so much income, is lifestyle costs. 1/2 of the early retirement equation is cultivating a sustainable low COL for yourself. Many have retired very young on <40,000 a year. They arent living lavishly, but they live well by cutting costs where it counts.
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