Estimate Monthly Payments for 2023 Reflection 315rlts TT

[Jerryr]

Thank you for your thoughtful post. I have some more follow-up questions about retirement.
When should all bills be paid off before retirement, including Cars, RV, and house?

What is a good target balance for the 401k? Some people say $1 million. I know it depends on your spending habits but assume a debt-free situation.

Not enough information to make a recommendation. Target 401k depends on cost to live, other sources of income like pension plans, Social Security etc.

We went to Vanguard and Charles Schwab for their free financial retirement evaluation. With a potential to invest with them they were willing to do a full evaluation. They look at everything in your financial life and chart out how much you will need and when you should be able to retire comfortably.

We were concerned that we would be able to comfortably retire. They both said “you have enough money and income” Even with that, we elected to work 2 more years and put 80% of our money away as additional buffer.

Vanguard did it all on the phone after filling out their questionnaire.

Charles Schwab did it at their location. Both provided a very professional presentations.

I felt that Vanguard was less concerned with maximizing their profits and more concerned with protecting our money. They recommended we keep my wife’s money in her Federal TSP intact since TSP had options that were not available in the open market. My wife is a retired federal employee.

[FreeAtLast]

Thank you for your thoughtful post. I have some more follow-up questions about retirement.
When should all bills be paid off before retirement, including Cars, RV, and house?

What is a good target balance for the 401k? Some people say $1 million. I know it depends on your spending habits but assume a debt-free situation.

Ok, you drew me into the fray, only because it looks like you are thinking about retirement later.
I’m with @Jerryr , not enough info.
If ur wanting to retire early (55), here are some thoughts:
1. It takes a combination of good income and disciplined saving. You probably can’t “save” yourself into early retirement with a low income, and likewise you probably can’t “income” your way there either without some spending discipline.
2. Taking on personal debt for “wants” is not the way to get there. Notice I didn’t say business debt. If you have a business and can earn more than you are paying, and your ratios are strong, that’s a valid use.
3. Some of your most important financial decisions are made in your 20’s. If those are sound, and you start a financial snowball, you can shave some off in your 40’s without wrecking anything.
4. Get Dave Ramsey’s book and read it. You don’t have to follow everything he says, but his concepts will get you to early retirement.
5. Now the rub here is that nobody knows how long they will live. You may save your butt off, die early, and your kids have a massive party with the assets. In that case, you should have bought the RV!!

Good luck.
I chose the “sacrifice approach”. I’m 56 and retired 6 months ago. So far it was the right approach. If I’m still around in 10 years, I’ll be ready to call it a raging success.

[ruffeo324]

Ok, you drew me into the fray, only because it looks like you are thinking about retirement later.
I’m with @Jerryr , not enough info.
If ur wanting to retire early (55), here are some thoughts:
1. It takes a combination of good income and disciplined saving. You probably can’t “save” yourself into early retirement with a low income, and likewise you probably can’t “income” your way there either without some spending discipline.
2. Taking on personal debt for “wants” is not the way to get there. Notice I didn’t say business debt. If you have a business and can earn more than you are paying, and your ratios are strong, that’s a valid use.
3. Some of your most important financial decisions are made in your 20’s. If those are sound, and you start a financial snowball, you can shave some off in your 40’s without wrecking anything.
4. Get Dave Ramsey’s book and read it. You don’t have to follow everything he says, but his concepts will get you to early retirement.
5. Now the rub here is that nobody knows how long they will live. You may save your butt off, die early, and your kids have a massive party with the assets. In that case, you should have bought the RV!!

Good luck.
I chose the “sacrifice approach”. I’m 56 and retired 6 months ago. So far it was the right approach. If I’m still around in 10 years, I’ll be ready to call it a raging success.

Thanks. We want to spend these years while I can work remotely to travel comfortably. My wife may be able to work in a few states that approve her license for dental hygiene. There are so many non-financial benefits to living this way. But, I will take your advice. The goal is to pay off everything in 14 years and be debt-free while continuing to build the 401k. If Social Security is solvent in 20 years I will be even better.

[huntindog]

Yea, kinda like a 30-year mortgage. Ideally, I would have cash, but since I don't have 60k I will have to finance it. Unfortunately, I had to upgrade the truck which was a major financial headache (because of the used car market). I think if I can initially afford the payments and pay extra later is a better option (also refi when rates come down).

it is NOT the same a 30 year mortgage. house prices generally increase. RVs do not.
because of this it is easy to refi a house. if you are upside down on an RV. a refi probably wont be possible.

[ruffeo324]

it is NOT the same a 30 year mortgage. house prices generally increase. RVs do not.
because of this it is easy to refi a house. if you are upside down on an RV. a refi probably wont be possible.

Got it. Thanks. Did you pay 100% cash too?

[huntindog]

not for the house, all of the rvs and autos were cash

basically since a house appreciates it is not a bad move to finance it. the alternative is rent. which makes no sense

[huntindog]

Thanks. We want to spend these years while I can work remotely to travel comfortably. My wife may be able to work in a few states that approve her license for dental hygiene. There are so many non-financial benefits to living this way. But, I will take your advice. The goal is to pay off everything in 14 years and be debt-free while continuing to build the 401k. If Social Security is solvent in 20 years I will be even better.

you need to be careful it is real easy to spend more full timing,than you are probably thinking.

i can live in my present rv pretty cheap as we always boondock for free on public land with my solar and tank capacity we can stay out over a month easy

[NB Canada]

Crazy financial world we live in.... makes one wonder when the financial bubble will burst again... another good reason to be in the debt free crowd IMO!

It is coming and imo it won’t be recoverable
When world trading drops the US dollar and uses another currency unfortunately will spell the end
The US dollar is exaggerated in its worth due to being the world currency

[RubiconMike]

Here's a perspective from another old guy:

I wanted an RV for my wife and I to travel around in and decided on a Class C. I didn't want to finance one, so I looked at a LOT of used models to educate myself on what was available and what the pricing was. Finally found a nice Georgie Boy model with a slide out (almost impossible to find at a reasonable price) in good condition with 98,000 miles for $9,500. (It was back around 2013). Had a lot of fun in it, took it to lots of campgrounds and even lived in it full-time for a month and a half due to a fire evacuation. After having it for 8 years, we decided to get something bigger and put it up for sale. As luck would have it, RV sales were going through the roof and we sold it for $15,000. We kicked in another $15,000 and bought a nice used Class A. Drove that for a year then decided to go with a truck/trailer instead of a motorhome. We sold it for $28,000. Kicked in another $20,000 and bought a new 2670MK.

I was lucky to sell the Class C at a high price, but I bought a Class A at the same time to replace it which was also at a high price, so that kind of evened out. Lost a few thousand because I sold it so soon, but not every transaction is a winner.

For me, I would rather have a smaller, older, less expensive rig that I can buy outright and sell/trade up over time as I save more money. I got to use an RV the whole time so there was no waiting until I had saved all the money. I learned what I liked and didn't like, and when the time came I had saved enough to buy a nice new one without ever going into debt or paying the substantial interest that a long-term loan requires. I only mention this because I've seen people buy things beyond what they can afford thinking they will somehow "catch up" or "get ahead" on the payments, only to lose everything to a repossession. While it may have taken me 10 years to get to the point where I could pay cash for a new RV, I was still able to have fun with my older, used models in the meantime.

Disclaimer: Opinions are free and worth what you pay for them. YMMV

[RobW-NC]

I want to be prepared for the talk with the sales department. Is it possible to have a payment of around $480 after tax and title, fees, and warranty? The load should be 240 months at around 8%. I appreciate anyone sharing whatever they feel comfortable with.

Thanks for your input.

The MSRP is a number they put on campers to make you feel like you are getting a good deal while getting your eyes screwed out. Never ever go into any kind of deal telling them what you want to pay monthly. You may tell them you can afford $480. They will sell it to you for the price to make it that, when you could have gotten lower. I always tell them give me your best price out the door. If I don't like it I walk.