January 31, 2033

 I started my current job journey as a support engineer on January 31, 2022.   I already documented the journey it took me to get from analyst to picker to now an engineer.   Having the word 'Engineer' in my job title was one I never thought I would have.   There were many majors back in my college days (oh how I miss the 90's..well some of it...LOL) related to engineering like Electrical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineers.   I didn't phantom back then that offering technical support would be another form of engineering.

So the job is definitely stressful at times.   But I remain grateful that I was given the opportunity to prove myself.   It has afforded me the opportunity to get my financial life back on track and resume work towards my goal of financial independence.

I'll be celebrating 3 years at my present job today.   Hard to believe how fast time is flying by.  I'm nearer to the retirement finish line now as well.   I find myself thinking a lot more about retirement these days.   It doesn't help that Dom is targeting his retirement from being a teacher to be in August 2026.   He's been very vocal about it with the way kids act today.   On the daily he shares horror stories from his classroom.   Also school shootings continue to be a thing in this country.  He is ready like yesterday to get away from the madness.

I also have a lot of acquaintances that have recently retired and seem to be enjoying life.   It adds to my wanting to have that life as well.

With that said I have a date in mind for when I would like to retire.   That date is January 31, 2033.   I'll be 60 years old at the time.   That date assumes that I'm still alive (LOL big one there),  my mortgage will be paid off (still on target for June/July 2026 for that to happen), no major expenses left (though life throws a lot at you), I still have a job without interruption (i.e. layoffs), and that I have a nice healthy amount of cash saved.

I did have a stretch goal of retiring at 55 (January 31, 2028) but I feel that's not realistic.  I anticipate needing to get another car in the next year or so.   The way prices are on cars these days is a mess.   I watched one Youtube video that normalized a good car deal at $58K.    Granted it was a Ford-150 or something along those lines but paying over $30K for a car is insane to me.   That's like a mini-mortgage to me.

In addition to the car, there's a few things that need to be fixed/replaced in our old house.   We need windows replaced throughout the house for example.   We have an old radiator that thankfully is hanging on but at some point it'll need to be replaced.   Plus the radiators in a couple rooms are not working properly and would need to be fixed.  Insulation is needed in a couple of rooms that tend to stay cold.    We have old wiring that needs to be changed as well.   I'd love to change our flooring in the main rooms to be hardwood flooring and there's of course plenty of painting and refacing that needs to be done.   All of that will cost money.

In terms of home upkeep, I pretty much am the one financially responsible for 99.94% of it.  So I would have to hope I'm able to take care of a lot of it and have it paid off before my retirement date.

Of course I could work till the standard 67 years old (January 31, 2040) or heaven forbid 70 years old (January 31, 2043).   It's scary thinking that future is really not far away at all.   

Also who knows what our health situations will be like.   That factor can quickly ruin any plans that are made.   But at some point the trigger has to be pulled whether by your choice or forced (layoffs anyone).   So for now I'm manifesting into the universe that I will be officially retiring on January 31, 2033.   Mission accepted!