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It's not too late at all. But as others have said, the less you spend now and the more you save and invest, the easier or earlier you'll reach financial independence and be able to retire. There's no silver bullet or shortcut that I know of.
Google will give you all the retirement calculators you could ever want, try a few out. The rule of thumb for retiring at age 65 is you'll need a nest egg 25 times your projected annual spending less any pensions and/or Soc Sec. For example, if you think you'll spend $40K/yr in your first year in retirement and you expect to receive $20K/yr from Soc Sec, you might want to shoot for a nest egg of $500K ($20K/yr x 25) - saving about $700/mo for 25 years at 6% interest.
If you expect $30K/yr from Soc Sec, you'll need half as much of a news egg and half the monthly savings.
I would say fro youyr income that the only problem is your husband finding a better jo that poays more. Then its just a matter of settig goal and a plan to get to that gaol. For example.that new car can easliy last tne eyars;but it btakes maintenance and that is easily gotten by lokig at maintenance i the owners manual ot by the notices given by vehilce computer system. Also its easy to gain income and spend it if you have no budget to see what your spendig moeny on and what can be saved. Buy a house means saving for a down payment.Goals and plannig to meet them is always the key.
Stay the heck out of Florida. I'm from Mass. and moved down there in my mid-30s. Very high unemployment, lack of decent jobs - it's a retirement, vacation mecca - and costs are surprisingly high. I finally got the heck out of there and moved to Knoxville. I based the move on 8 months of research. That was 7 years ago and I am 50, newly divorced and ecstatic. The cost of living is great, unemployment isn't bad - it's about 5.8 percent in Knox County, pay isn't bad either, people are nice, weather is fantastic and schools are very good. People were incredibly rude in most of Florida as well, but that's neither here nor there. I've had the most amount of money in my pocket since I moved here and it was immediate.
actually I make 53k, but husband makes only about 15k with part time work. We're saving as much as we can but it's just that I have school debt, car loan, and small cc debt I'm getting rid of. I'm going to get a second job to help more while i can
Your husband can get a full time job. He works part time because you are allowing him to do so. It's ultimatum time. Give him sixty days. People have an extraordinary ability to find jobs when the money faucet is turned off.
Try to pay down your debt and begin to save. Learn how to invest. If you don't have either far more than 500k or an extraordinary pension you're not going to retire so find a job or business you like.
You said you and your husband make $68K/yr now. Saving $700/mo would be about 12% of your income. For someone starting at age 35 & 45, that's not unreasonable. And it sounds like your husband hopes to find a better job that pays more, so you could save less now or better yet, have more to retire with.
I'm not sure what kind of answer you we're hoping for. What I posted is consistent with what many others have recommended (including Ariadne22) except I attempted to put it in some perspective with $ where the others did not. They just said set goals, make a plan - which is what I attempted to quantify. Having no plan is very unlikely to work...
I've received a lot of good advice. Thank you everyone! Good to know that I still have time to get on track. We will definitely put all the great ideas to use. We are already trying to live way below or means.
He does hope to find a better job. He only works part time because he is going to school as well to get a bachelor's in either social work or psychology, but that will also take time.
Blue Chip is a slang term for large, stable company's stock. Like Ford, GM, GE, etc. Also can be used to describe for the large Mutual Funds like Fidelity Investments. Yes the stock/mutual funds can move (and not always up), but the Blue Chip things will have a track record and they usually grow over time.
Part of what I was saying is stay away from stock tips on company's with no past. Like as soon as your "hair dresser" says I heard So and So (or suggests a company you have never heard of) is a good buy, it is to late......LOL
Also the advice to buy IRA's instead of Roths is solid. Always avoid paying taxes as long as possible. Deal with the taxing implications later in life.
The main drag on your income is the hubby. Hope his education proves worth it but if not, well another of life's decisions for you to make and you are young enough to change that if you have to.
Many have soured on home ownership as an investment and while I would not bet the farm on it, I believe the right home in the right place will increase in value over time. One has to live even if renting so look at the costs of owning versus renting real close.
Another touched on low taxes, low home cost, etc. areas usually means lower income. Overall, I have found this to be true so employment opportunity/wages verus costs must certainly be considered.
Hope this is all helping.
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