Financial newbie needs help

[oceanbreeze]

Hi I'm a new lady wanna be stache. I've been reading finance books and blogs for the past few months and I'm trying to make some better financial decisions.

Any help the collective experts could officer is much appreciated.

Late 50s both husband and wife living forever in the northeast. Kids are out of house and hefty college costs well behind us. Guess I found this blog too late foe ER--I hope we can just retire at some point.

We have just about 500k in retirement savings
120k in cash/bank accounts
No debt other than mortgage which has 220k remaining 12years on a 15 year mortgage at 4.65%

We live in rent out an apt. In our 2- family and so we are landlords and get 1200 rent
Filled out paperwork today to refinance our mortgage to a 10 year at 2.5

I am trying to cut expenses with cable, phone, eating out/ entertainment. Right now we save about 35k in our retirement accounts each year. I work from home, self-employed as an educational consultant. No commuting costs for me except for occasional meetings. Husband is employed but works from home 1/2 time. 

Should we add more to our retirement? I have a SEP. thinking I should set up a solo instead? Should we pay off the mortgage sooner than 10 years? Should we put our cash somewhere else? Can we retire in 5-6 years and possibly still carry the balance of our mortgage?

Any advice? Thanks so much...I'm learning but wish I learned 10years ago

[FlorenceMcGillicutty]

Using the 4% rule, you have enough saved already to give you almost $25k/yr. Do you expect social security or a pension? How are your living expenses?

[gooki]

And yes invest a large portion of that cash.

[herisff]

You might want to look into consulting a fee-only financial planner - you have a short timeline, as do I (I'm mid-50s). Interview nearby fee-only planners, find one that you are comfortable with, discuss your current financial situation, get recommendations, and together develop a plan. Then move some of that cash into investments.

You've done a great job so far - you are debt-free except for mortgage, you have savings, and you have an income stream! Retirement may be closer than you think. At this point, your goals are to continue to add to your retirement funds along with conserving the principle. Many here are in the accumulation stage only, so their path may not be yours. Continue to read and research your options, then proceed with a plan that you are comfortable with.