[Boogaloo]

jIM-Ohio

You have really laid out a complete plan, thoughtfully presented your advice in a really easy to understand way. I really like it.

Disney Steve, I respect your advice as well and can clearly see where you would do things slightly differently, I really like that too.

Thank you both so far for all of this.

Upon looking at what the best CD's are doing right now, progress is PAINFULLY slow going with 6 month cd's @ $4k/cd using the ladder method.

Each cd would yield roughly $25.00, so with 12 of them per year, I gross $300/yr, then get taxed on that.

Seems like a lot of waiting for $300/yr, and without knowing how to do all of the complicated math required to figure out what I would net after 20 years of staying with that plan (assuming the current (best) cd rate of 1.18%), it seems like I would make about $6k ????

I am sure there is something I am not seeing here.

My wife and I both agree with the general consensus here that paying off the cars now make a lot of sense, particularly if we pay our savings monthly as I mentioned above.

It seems that the cost of the car notes would allow us to max out my roth contributions each year and pay for half of hers (should that be the plan of attack after more careful consideration).

I do really need to create a retirement "portrait", that is some absolutely sound advice that I shall certainly heed immediately. Get an image of what I want retirement to look like and then do whatever it takes to allow us that kind of lifestyle when the time comes.
Without that image ingrained upon my mind, I am driving blind.

So, there is a lot to digest here, but is sounds like the immediate plan of attack is:

(1) tell my tax guy what I am up to.
(2) pay the cars off,
(3) commit to a $4k (6mo) cd by Sept. 8th (and one every month thereafter for 5 add'l mos.)
(4) put $10k into PRFDX (from the chart it looks like last year was the time to jump into this one, it has doubled in a year).
(5) Learn as much as I can about investing, and do not be afraid to ask questions here.
(6) pray that I make it to 68 and still have 20 + years of good living left.