Did I make it?
I dont ever post on Reddit but need a sanity check.
My wife and I (34 y/o) are fairly disciplined when it comes to our finances. My wife over the last 5 years has had a great income, reaching around 200k in moderate COL area, and I make around 100k as a fireman. I recently have been having more and more issues with my back, stemming from my time in the military. Now finding out, I may end up getting disability for this (potentially 4200/mo tax free for life?) Still deciding how I feel about that - part shame i suppose, part who cares, it'll be good for my family. My wife also has citizenship in a low cost of living country that we have always dreamed of living in retirement.
We sat down and did a little audit of our finances as we typically do, and looking at the numbers from a different perspective has me thinking we may have access to way more freedom than I imagined. Our house will be paid off by the end of the year. Between both of our retirement accounts, we have approximately 500k invested. That 500k at an 8% return would be worth ~3-3.5mm when we hit 55.
After the house is paid off we will have ~40-50k in cash. If i end up receiving the disability pay from the VA, I am wondering what the point would be to continue to risk my back at the fire dept, other than my own pride and joy of the job.
Am I crazy to think about hanging it up and pursuing entrepreneurial passion projects and living abroad for part of the year with my family?
Other things to note: my wife is quitting her job when the house is paid off to be home with the kids. And i am approximately 5 years away from reaching the age where I can collect my pension from the FD, giving me approx 3k per month. Or I wait until 60 to receive it.
Also: we have also received gifts from family for wedding, birth of our child, etc, and used them wisely (downpayments on home or lump sum principle payments). Don't want to put anyone down for not necessarily being where we are at. We are very blessed.