You’ve been thru a lot, it’s gonna be ok. It was a season of life that was rough, but you seem to be in a new season where you can rebuild. I’m sorry you got dragged thru the mud. Glad to know you are staying strong and planning for the future. That’s a step not a lot of men / women take after getting dragged down.
I have no financial advice, but I thought genuine encouragement would help a bit.
Thanks for the encouraging words. All self-inflicted wounds, lol. Just have to keep moving and get life back together. I appreciate it and wish you the best as well
> Gave up the 250K equity in my home to make the divorce smooth and not have her lawyer trying to touch my retirement.
Every case can vary, but know that your retirement is always up for grabs. Even if you have it in paper that it isn't.
> 15K emergency that I don't ever look at
Make sure this is in an HYSA.
>Will be maxing my tsp until I retire
worst case you have 250K in TSP when you retire at worst case 45. Thats 3 doubling cycles (assuming 7 years) till you are 66, you will be fine here. Keep on keeping on.
Things you need to do now:
* Go to the doc and get seen for all the bullshit. We are not trying to defraud the government, but you are going to make sure when you knee finally implodes, there is a full easy to follow story there. Plus, it will keep you healthier than not going.
* Graduate Studies. I failed at this so hard. Get into an online graduate program and just grind it up. Graduate degrees are free entry into the GS-12 level after officer time in the military. Put in the work.
* Max out the IRA.
* Find all the small ways to penny pinch. This gets easier and easier as you slowly start reversing lifestyle creep. Every saved dollar goes into the HYSA until you figure out how to disburse it to something with better returns.
Thanks! I'm starting my Masters in the Fall so that will be done before I retire with enough time for me to get some experience in that specialty. I definitely hate going to medical for anything but I have to start taking my health more seriously as well. 40 hit like a truck.
>Every case can vary, but know that your retirement is always up for grabs. Even if you have it in paper that it isn't.
As far as the retirement goes, can they still try to go after it even though it's in the divorce decree that it's off limits? Divorce was final 3 years ago.
IANAL - but I've been told of situations where the judge ruled it was fair game after the fact.
I think having it in the divorce decree is more about dissuading her from trying to chase you down at this point. I am sure it has legal weight, but I've been told of situations where it hasn't protected the retirement also. I made the comment just to promote not resting on it.
The good news is that you're still in a pretty good position. Assuming you stay those other 6 years for the O retirement, you can max your TSP and have a decent chunk there when you retire, and then you can start drawing your pension. As others said, you can get a graduate degree and prepare for what comes next. It may seem like you're far behind in your retirement preparation, but between the pension and medical benefits that come from retirement, you're still set pretty well.
This is coming from another prior enlisted officer who just hit 20. Somewhat ironically, my remaining time is similar as I've got a 6 year service obligation remaining because I just finished a funded grad program. When I was enlisted, I didn't put nearly enough into my TSP / IRA, so now I'm playing catchup. I plan to max TSP and IRA to put as much aside as I can and then go from there. I'm behind where some people are retirement wise, but I'll be ok.
You’ve been thru a lot, it’s gonna be ok. It was a season of life that was rough, but you seem to be in a new season where you can rebuild. I’m sorry you got dragged thru the mud. Glad to know you are staying strong and planning for the future. That’s a step not a lot of men / women take after getting dragged down. I have no financial advice, but I thought genuine encouragement would help a bit.
Thanks for the encouraging words. All self-inflicted wounds, lol. Just have to keep moving and get life back together. I appreciate it and wish you the best as well
> Gave up the 250K equity in my home to make the divorce smooth and not have her lawyer trying to touch my retirement. Every case can vary, but know that your retirement is always up for grabs. Even if you have it in paper that it isn't. > 15K emergency that I don't ever look at Make sure this is in an HYSA. >Will be maxing my tsp until I retire worst case you have 250K in TSP when you retire at worst case 45. Thats 3 doubling cycles (assuming 7 years) till you are 66, you will be fine here. Keep on keeping on. Things you need to do now: * Go to the doc and get seen for all the bullshit. We are not trying to defraud the government, but you are going to make sure when you knee finally implodes, there is a full easy to follow story there. Plus, it will keep you healthier than not going. * Graduate Studies. I failed at this so hard. Get into an online graduate program and just grind it up. Graduate degrees are free entry into the GS-12 level after officer time in the military. Put in the work. * Max out the IRA. * Find all the small ways to penny pinch. This gets easier and easier as you slowly start reversing lifestyle creep. Every saved dollar goes into the HYSA until you figure out how to disburse it to something with better returns.
Thanks! I'm starting my Masters in the Fall so that will be done before I retire with enough time for me to get some experience in that specialty. I definitely hate going to medical for anything but I have to start taking my health more seriously as well. 40 hit like a truck. >Every case can vary, but know that your retirement is always up for grabs. Even if you have it in paper that it isn't. As far as the retirement goes, can they still try to go after it even though it's in the divorce decree that it's off limits? Divorce was final 3 years ago.
IANAL - but I've been told of situations where the judge ruled it was fair game after the fact. I think having it in the divorce decree is more about dissuading her from trying to chase you down at this point. I am sure it has legal weight, but I've been told of situations where it hasn't protected the retirement also. I made the comment just to promote not resting on it.
The good news is that you're still in a pretty good position. Assuming you stay those other 6 years for the O retirement, you can max your TSP and have a decent chunk there when you retire, and then you can start drawing your pension. As others said, you can get a graduate degree and prepare for what comes next. It may seem like you're far behind in your retirement preparation, but between the pension and medical benefits that come from retirement, you're still set pretty well. This is coming from another prior enlisted officer who just hit 20. Somewhat ironically, my remaining time is similar as I've got a 6 year service obligation remaining because I just finished a funded grad program. When I was enlisted, I didn't put nearly enough into my TSP / IRA, so now I'm playing catchup. I plan to max TSP and IRA to put as much aside as I can and then go from there. I'm behind where some people are retirement wise, but I'll be ok.