Our only debts are mortgages:
$26,500 at 5.5% on an investment property (worth about $75,000, positive cash flow)
$120,600 at 4.375% on an investment property (worth about $165,000, positive cash flow)
$218,000 at 4.25% on our personal residence (worth about $350,000...will be sold prior to retiring)
We have been making extra payments on these, especially the one at 5.5%, but I am thinking we should stop doing that and build up some money. It just seems like it won't be working very hard, though, if we put it in bank savings accounts and CDs that earn practically nothing.
We have $28,XXX in the TSP, which I believe can't be accessed until he's 59.5, which is 3.5 years after he starts receiving his pension, so it won't help him retire early. We also have ~ $20,000 in the bank, which is a lot for an emergency fund, but he works contract positions that are always threatening to end, so we need to have a cushion. He is also 90% disabled according to the VA and receives a large monthly compensation payment (~ $1,800) that will always contribute to our cash flow. Once the pension kicks in, our expenses will be completely covered by the VA compensation, rental income, and the pension. When Social Security starts later, that should just be extra. So what we are saving for now is enough for him to stop working before he reaches 56 and starts collecting the pension (he is almost 49 now). Even if we can only save enough for him to retire one year early...hey, that's a year!