Hi all! First time poster, first time lurker of forum (though I've been reading MMM for several months now). I have a dilemma. I want to reach FI. I have a long way to go on that, but that's what I want. However, I'm having a hard time picturing it because everything seems so up in the air.
Married, no kids. Student loan debt total of just under $43,000 (most at 6.55%), credit card debt total of just over $6,000 (0% -- for emergency trip overseas and balance transfer to get out from under a car to sell it), current medical debt of $2,000 (0%, paying $300-$500 a month). Income approx. $90,000/year gross. Investments (mostly retirement) just under $8,000. Currently contributing up to the match on 401(k)s. Non-debt and non-medical expenses approx. $2,500/month (they were higher, but I recently put a budget on our food spending which was a bit redonk the last few months).
So that's a general idea of our finances. Here's the issue: I read case studies and regular MMM pieces and notice that everything seems to be so stable and figured out -- "your income is this and your expenses are this and they always will be so do this". What about when things are up in the air? How does one plan for FI when they aren't sure what the next year (or even six months) will bring? Here's where I'm at:
1) I love my job, but just over a year ago I was in a completely different profession (the one I went to school for) and never in a million years did I think I'd be here now. DH is headed back to school next year to finish his degree (while cutting work back to PT) as his hours and pay are completely erratic (car salesman) and while he's on the fast track to management, the hours are even worse there. I know true work-life balance is a bit of a fallacy, but his schedule is ridiculous and he often stays late just to talk to customers who are never going to buy anyways. Sorry for the whining. *punches self in face*
2) I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease a few months ago. While it isn't necessarily life threatening, it requires a decent chunk of money each month for check-ups, immunizations, meds, supplements (doctor recommended after doing blood tests), and more expensive food (I have intolerances to dairy, legumes and gluten, so I've been eating Paleo). I have no idea if these expenses will go up or down, as it's a completely new situation to me.
3) My family is across the country (we moved), his family is across the globe. We've had two emergency trips (one across the country, one overseas) for sudden deaths since moving a year ago.
4) DH is from a cheap COL country. We could go back there for him to finish schooling affordably, as I work remotely. Of course, that presents its own issues (language barrier for me, first world to third world living -- not a princess, but it is an adjustment), but it's always an option. Seriously, credit hours are like $6 each. Not exaggerating. Besides schooling being affordable, we ran the numbers and could live like kings while putting $3,500 towards debt each month on my salary plus a part time salary for him there. But a degree in the U.S. is more universally respected. So that's something to think about as well.
5) We may want kids and a house at some point (currently 25 & 28) and we've talked about adoption for the former (which is really fucking expensive btw). Of course, that's not set in stone either because that would make things too easy ;)
So the point of this rambly mess is this: when you don't know what your life will look like in a year, how can you plan for FI in 10? And are MMM readers really this stable, or is anyone else dealing with future financial uncertainty? Bonus: did anyone start running the numbers while in debt, or did y'all pay it off before putting your FI dreams on paper?