Retirement Planning

[cdorfish]

Again, going to try to address everything that's been stated since my last reply. Sorry if I miss anything.

DH and myself have a joint account and separate accounts. It is not MY money and HIS money. We share it in a heartbeat, it’s just easier for us to keep it separately. It is OUR money, kept separately. I understand the main thought here from almost everyone is to combine everything, but this is how we do it and we are perfectly happy. I am not sacrificing anything. I have an amazing life and I am not stressed about money (which to me, is one of the greatest weights my DH handles for me). While my DH is planning a future, he is planning OUR future. It’s not like he’s saving all this money and it’s not going to the greater good of our family. He is doing it for US.

(This is honestly the last time I’m going to respond to comments about us keeping our money separately.)

My dad’s company is geared towards construction and home improvement. We are in a state that thrives on it because many people move here after retirement, as well as the people that live here year-round.

Funny enough, I was approached today about a promotion/pay raise/possibility to make extra with commission.

I think the several people that responded to do a little to both is what I’m going to end up doing, in a Roth IRA. I haven’t had a chance to do as much research as I want to do before opening one, but that is my next step.

Thank you everyone for your input.

[jIM_Ohio]

Again, going to try to address everything that's been stated since my last reply. Sorry if I miss anything.

DH and myself have a joint account and separate accounts. It is not MY money and HIS money. We share it in a heartbeat, it’s just easier for us to keep it separately. It is OUR money, kept separately. I understand the main thought here from almost everyone is to combine everything, but this is how we do it and we are perfectly happy. I am not sacrificing anything. I have an amazing life and I am not stressed about money (which to me, is one of the greatest weights my DH handles for me). While my DH is planning a future, he is planning OUR future. It’s not like he’s saving all this money and it’s not going to the greater good of our family. He is doing it for US.

(This is honestly the last time I’m going to respond to comments about us keeping our money separately.)

My dad’s company is geared towards construction and home improvement. We are in a state that thrives on it because many people move here after retirement, as well as the people that live here year-round.

Funny enough, I was approached today about a promotion/pay raise/possibility to make extra with commission.

I think the several people that responded to do a little to both is what I’m going to end up doing, in a Roth IRA. I haven’t had a chance to do as much research as I want to do before opening one, but that is my next step.

Thank you everyone for your input.

Start by putting $50 or $100/month into an investment/ Roth IRA. Set a goal to increase this (by $25 each year)

As Steve pointed out, you have $35k in income with $60k of loan debt
what is the degree in?
what exactly do you do?- Career field/Degree/ role within construction organization. Be specific.

Next steps
1) get the highest interest loan paid off- try to improve cash flow
(others suggested a second job, others suggested different company). The only way to improve cash flow long term without job changing is get rid of student loans.

2) Focus on career and earning power- look for certifications (such as PMP) which help you become more valuable to current employer

3) Regardless of local economy- construction is a highly cyclical industry, when things get bad (did you do this in 2008??) how bad will they get? FYI, I expect 2019 to be bad 2008 style. You are about to find out.

Set a 5 year goal, set a 10 year goal
5 years- 2 of the 3 loans paid off
5 years $200/mo going to Roth IRA
10 years- all loans paid off
10 years $150k in retirement accounts

work towards those goals

[disneysteve]

Jim! Welcome back. Good to see you.

[annykidsman]

You can break in here with some misunderstanding, because you will help me? That is, you will have $ 10,000 in your retirement account and plus $ 2,965 in return. The higher the income is, the greater the tax refunds. If the income is $ 105,000, then the same $ 10,000 invested in the RRSP will give a tax refund not $ 2,965, but $ 4,341. You can open RRSPs through various financial institutions - banks, credit unions, trust companies, investment companies, insurance companies, brokerage firms, and investment dealers. You can also set up a regular RRSP or a self-directed RRSP. A personally managed RRSP can hold a wide variety of investment vehicles (such as individual stocks) and allows you to directly manage your investment.

[srblanco7]

Presenting your finances without your husband's, creates a bit of a challenge with seeing the big picture. Is your husband contributing to retirement? If so, what's his percentage contribution and does his employer offer a match?

I personally like that you're focused on paying off the debt and would maintain that focus. Based on a simplistic analysis it'll be about 3.5 years to pay it off at your current pace. If you (or your husband) can pick up some extra work (second job, side-hustle) to speed that up, all the better. And, of course, the simple analysis assumes that your incomes don't increase, which would allow you to add funds toward debt repayment if you avoid lifestyle inflation.

You're only 30. If you're complete with debt repayment at 33, and can free up that cash flow to focus on retiremennt investing, you'll be just fine. 30 years of investing $1500/month at 8% rate of return = $2 million (without considering what your husband may be doing).

[amarowsky]

Again, going to try to address everything that's been stated since my last reply. Sorry if I miss anything.

My dads company is geared towards construction and home improvement. We are in a state that thrives on it because many people move here after retirement, as well as the people that live here year-round.

Funny enough, I was approached today about a promotion/pay raise/possibility to make extra with commission.

I think the several people that responded to do a little to both is what Im going to end up doing, in a Roth IRA. I havent had a chance to do as much research as I want to do before opening one, but that is my next step.

Thank you everyone for your input.

I love the idea now! (Especially that you may have the opportunity to succeed your father as owner/operator of this company one day. That is an opportunity, that is VERY rare in most USA, especially for native born citizens).

I think it's also a MASSIVE bonus to spend extra time with you Dad. If you are close to him, this is a cost that may far outweigh *some extra income & shorter drive. People put way to much emphasis on "how much you earn" and not enough on "the opportunity cost lost, in more human terms". I.e. more pay, often (not always) comes with more stress, responsibility, and effort to enable the extra $$.

I don't think you have expressly mentioned you guys are struggling (and struggle is in the eyes of the beholder). So the extra money, may not be as important and helping build a company you will own + spending time with someone you love + seems you are already familiar w/ the industry and value in your region. It sounds like you may have a great opportunity here in the future (not sure how long until you may take over the company.... not sure if you mentioned that or I just missed it).

Keep it up! (Paying off Some school debt + starting some additional retirement savings). And don't get too caught up on "where you want to be" as long as your planning responsibly, spend as MUCH time as you can in the Present, and enjoy every freggin minute with you dad. (lost my mom at 26, i'd give every dime for another week to feel how where I am now at 33..... You can always make another dollar, but can't buy a spent second back w/ all the money in the world. )

[disneysteve]

Folks, please note that this thread is 2-1/2 years old!

It got bumped up by a new user, likely a spammer.

I think OP is still active, but just keep that in mind when posting new replies. The info is old.