turning 60 and having panic attacks ...

[albireo13]

Well, I am turning 60 and would love to retire in the next 3 years.  We have not focussed on retirement savings over the years.  Other stuff has gotten in the way.
Now I realize I just have a handful of years left to do anything.  I don't want to work until I am decrepit.
 My first priority is to pay off all non-mortgage debt (about $20K right now).
After this, I am torn between throwing max at my 401K or to attack the mortgage.
We owe $299K at 3.7%, 27 years left on the mortgage.   We hope to sell the house next year for  > $400K.

My plan is the following:

1. pay off debt
2. sell house next year and rent for  year or two.  During this time, max out 401K and save as much as possible.


  We have > $1M in retirement accounts.

  Our biggest problem is our cash flow now is terrible.  We need to throttle way back in order to get accustomed to a lower COL before
we retire.     3 years doesn't seem like enough time.

[Zamboni]

You have a big stash in retirement accounts already. Congrats on amassing so much while you weren't really even trying!

Like you said, focus on getting out from under the debt and sell the house (sooner rather than later if you can.) Honestly at that point I think you are in pretty good shape unless some key information is missing. If you want more feedback, you'd have to look at the guidelines for posting a full case study.

Keep coming back to MMM for inspiration of living a full, fantastic life without a bunch of consumer sucker BS and you'll be golden.

[Apocalyptica602]

Sell the house and downshifting into an apartment if you are willing would be a huge boon.

You're getting older, you won't have to worry about yardwork or maintenance etc.

Run the rent versus buy numbers (there are calculators for this online, NYT springs to mind). See if it makes sense... also keep in mind that you're 60, I presume if you have kids they're out of the house by this point, and you're not taking care of your parents in your home. (All big assumptions, correct me if I'm wrong).

Point I'm trying to make is, you probably don't NEED that much space, so renting a ~2bd apartment would be perfect and would instantly solve your cash flow problems in most locations.

You'd be debt free, with over 1M in retirement accounts (able to instantly be tapped due to your age) plus the equity in your home, and Social Security / Medicare starting soon.

Unless your spending is WAY out of proportion, which you didn't comment on, you won the game, you've worked hard, relax and enjoy yourself.

[frugal_c]

It all sounded pretty rough until you got to the $1m+ in savings!   Hey, you are going to do just fine.  Downsize the house as soon as possible.  Unless you have some crazy expenses, I don't see why you can't retire tomorrow.

[2ndTimer]

We are of similar age, 58, and live in a Sr. Citizen trailer park.  We love it.  Not right for everybody but something to think about when you sell your house.

[FrugalFan]

You savings sound great, and so does your plan to move. I would max out retirement accounts rather than pay more into the mortgage if you are planning to move. Move as quickly as you can to cut down on the cash flow problem. If you want to post your budget/expenses, I bet the fine people here could find many many ways to slash it without affecting your quality of life much at all.