I am new here and have been reading up a storm, but still have so many questions. After taking early retirement, I went back to work mainly because of my divorce and a need to keep busy. Here are my stats:
I am 56 years old
Pension - 37,000/year
Salary - 80,000/year
Extra jobs - 8,000/year (as a former teacher, I have a slew of side-gigs, $8,000 is my average over the past 5 years)
Mortgage balance - 165,000
Assorted debt - 8,000
Monthly expenses (including mortgage payment) - $2300 per month
Due to my divorce, I no longer have any real assets other than my house which is worth 205,000
Here are my questions:
1. My new job is quite a distance from my current home. Is it a good idea to buy a condo close to work to cut back on my travel expenses? Prices are really good right now and I would be able to cover my mortgage payment on my existing home by renting it out to a tenant. Actually, I'd probably come out about $200 ahead by doing this.
2. Should I stay in my current home and pay off all of my debts and then save like crazy to buy a house with cash down the road?
3. How much should I put aside to have when I really, really retire? I plan to work full-time until I am at least 65 years old. People in my family live a long time, mid-90s on average. My pension is for life, but COLA is not a sure thing with teacher pensions.
Thanks so much for any recommendations you can give me. If anyone can recommend a book that would help me, I will read that thing cover to cover.