Looking for some advice

[nyorker]

hello all,

First I hope everyone is doing well and hope you do keep doing great, better than before :) and the reason of this post is because I would like some advice from you the experts on some plan I have.

I am a young guy under 30 (closer to 30 than to 20) that because of his job was awarded a tax free pension for the rest of his life. I currently have a working wife and 2 children and live in NY...

Recently I been looking and noticed that life in this state just get more and more expensive and thought about moving. Looking into it, I found nice place in the state of GA that so far looks like it could be the place that we could live that would help save some money and live a better quality of life. Currently what me and my wife make, we are able to save about 2,500/month but that is including her working. doing some calculations, I have come to the conclusion that if we move down to GA, we could actually save $2,000 without her working (I would be the sole provider of everything with my income) So, does this sound possible? We are not familiar to investing money or stocks, and recently found about betterment and also would like to know if that is a good thing.

If this helps, I make about 58k and she makes gross about 62K. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Mother Fussbudget]

Hi NYorker - welcome to the forums. 

It's hard to give advice when it's unclear what the question is.  It sounds as if the income questions have been worked through - $2,000 free and clear with only 1 income if living in GA.  But think about quality of life / amenities.  Will you be able to have the same or similar amenities in GA as you can get in your area of NY state?  Schools, libraries, shopping, parks, outdoor living, etc.

Recommendation:  use the spreadsheet attached to the 'How to write a case study' topic...
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/how-to-write-a-'case-study'-topic/
as a guide to tracking savings, expenses, savings, etc - even if you keep the 'results' of the spreadsheet to yourself.  It's a good tool for those considering the mustachian way of life.  Of course, if you share the results here, expect some well intentioned face punches on things like outrageous cell phone bills, etc.  (and advice on how to improve those, of course)

As for not being very experienced with stocks & investing, start by reading JLCollins' Stock Series.  Invest in low-cost/low-fee exchange traded funds (ETF's).  Put as much savings in Tax Advantaged accounts as possible (401K, Roth-IRA/T-IRA, etc) to get the double benefit of saving in a tax advantaged account AND reducing overall Adjusted Gross Income (the amount you're taxed on every April 15th) by the amount saved.

But above all... welcome.  And just keep saving!

[Sibley]

Would you keep the same job? Would you just be adding travel to your schedule?

If you'd get a new job down there, the salary would most likely be consistent with the lower cost of living.

[hoping2retire35]

-second the motion to learn to write a case study. It is difficult for us to understand your situation without some more details. Just throw them out there and well say if we need anything else.
-What part of Ga?
-"tax free pension for life?" how does that happen?
-total income of 58k and two kids might mean you get EITC and child tax credit. you are close, very close. could be a nice little income boost.
-what are your interest? what do you need when you move to Ga? it will be considerably different you should definitely visit before moving.