I have a basic plan over the next few years to get me really reaching Mustachian status.
Thus, far I have:
-renegotiated every bill I possibly could (FU Comcast) (got two recycle bins instead of one - for free - so now we can do biweekly trash pickups instead of weekly...etc.)
-utilized a few great tips from MMM to lower my expenses (lowered our heat from 68 to 66, new shower head - wow so great!!)
-made it a point to try and work from home more often
-started using a CC for all of our expenses for points
-Used my tax returns to FINALLY pay off my school loans and the remaining $3200 towards starting my safety net fund with Betterment (goal - 11K, which should carry me with no frills for 6 months) I estimate that I should be able to reach my goal by the end of the year.
-stopped buying stupid shit I don't need
-working on getting a PT gig at a local restaurant waiting tables or bartending to speed up this whole process.
MY PLAN:
-Starting next year, I plan to start aggressively paying off my car (11K loan at 3.49% - Honda Accord). I think I can pay it off by June 2018 and will keep it until it dies.
-Then with the extra funds no longer going to my car and school loan, I plan to bump up my 401K contributions to 12% (and expect 3% yearly contributions form work). Any raises I get from now on will go to my 401K.
-Then I either want to keep upping my 401K and/or get into REIT's since I would suck at landlording. I will likely at some point make some extra principal payments to the mortgage to get it down a little bit more but it isn't my main focus.
QUESTION: Does this sound like a logical plan? What else should I be doing? I don't want to pay off my mortgage because I think investing in the market has a better rate of return in the long run. Plus we may sell at some point and just use it to get another equally priced house (we live in a townhouse now with PMI for the life of the loan and HOA fees every month, forever).
DETAILS:
I am 37 years old and married.
We are trying for a baby. Anyone's guess at my age if it will actually happen - but if it does, the above might just blow up in my face.
I have no CC debt.
I have a $219K mortgage at 3.875 (27 years left on a 30 yr loan)
I make 74K yearly with anywhere from 5-10K in bonuses each year
I contribute 6% to my 401K with no equal match but a 3% safe harbor contribution each year (Fidelity), currently I have just over 15K in there now (Terrible I know!!! Blame my stupid 20's and not discovering MMM until a few months ago)
My husband thinks I am obsessed with all of this lately but he mostly goes along and I manage the money. Haven't even touched his side of the finances other than our mutual bills but I know he has a 401K with about 24K in it. He will be debt free by this summer.
I want to retire early but I have very little saved so far and am already getting old :(
HELP!