Think Quality of Life Today
 

Life can be much shorter than we have budgeted. Live each day to the fullest.

If you wait to have ENOUGH money, you will never retire. It's one of the hardest decisions to make, but once you make it, it's amazing how you find that you have enough money. If you were told this was your last day of life, would you have enough money? Once you make the decision stick with it and don't look back and say what if? Enjoy the free things in life and each other while you can. Best of luck to you and hubby. :wave:

That's straight to the point! As a cancer survivor I sense my hospital bed is waiting for me and it is just a matter of time before I have to get back in it. I'm all for retiring ASAP and living on whatever we have for money. You can always earn more money. You can't earn more time.

:agree:
Dirigo, and fellow Mainer, I couldn't agree more. I, too, am a cancer survivor and this darned disease sure causes us to wake up and smell the roses...NOW. I don't regret for one minute the decision to stop working and retire early. All one has to do is read the obituaries every day to realize that many of us will not make it out of our seventies. There are not enough words to express how grateful I am to have had these 13 years here in The Villages. Our first several years here were tough, financially, but we found plenty of things to do that fit within our means. I would much rather have had a retirement on a budget during those years than to have not had that time here at all.

Go to your SS office. They have data to help you make a choice.
Realize when you retire, you and your spouse will be on a fixed income, other than investments, pension, if you still have one, to supplement your income.
A good financial planner is a must. Go to a fee-based planner, since they charge per hour vs a percentage of your assets.

Health is a major issue as always. You have to have adequate health insurance since anything major can drain resources quickly.

Debt? Pay off what you can and seriously look at your long term debt, because when you retire, all things stay the same, utilities, taxes, food entertainment, etc. and your income is fixed.

Lastly, when my wife and I went to our 50th class reunions, different years, we held a moment of silence as the names of our classmates who had passed away were read. Friends who we went to school with, many from elementary to senior high school no longer with us. Sobering for the both of us, unspoken at the time, but a serious consideration as time goes by.

Do your homework, make your decisions and don't look back. Lots of life ahead......

If it hasn't already been said, consider the stability of both jobs. Can you foresee any layoffs at your current company? Remember, if you switch companies it is the last person in who is the first person out if money gets tight or there is a reorganization.