Hi guys,
First post here. I've been reading the blog and forums for a few weeks, and like a lot of others mentioned about themselves, I noticed that I've been a moustachian for years without knowing it.
I'm 38, happily married, with four kids between the ages of 3-11. It will be a stretch, but with some luck we might have enough to consider ER when our oldest reaches college age. At that point we'll be looking at the next twelve+ years where at least one kid will be in college. If some of the kids want to go to grad school, it will last even longer. Considering that even the most optimistic calculators have expenses at over $20k a year, we're looking at minimizing a $320k problem (before inflation).
So a couple of questions. Going in to ER will naturally reduce our income. Will that help us get grants despite a high net worth? Otherwise, it may be necessary to have more assets in retirement accounts and a larger primary residence.
It looks like the biggest component of college expense is living expenses. So the strategy would involve moving the whole family to a university town (tentatively Eugene, OR), and having the kids stay with us through their college years. After 12 years, the kids will have complete college and be ready for independence, the Mrs and I can move on, or stay if we like it there.
This would hinge on all of the kids wanting to go to the same school (and getting in), but with enough brainwashing..err... helpful parental guidance.. I think we'll be able to pull that off (assuming we start early).
Any thoughts?