So here’s how it all went down in the end. Come to find out, after I stated the job, the company puts in 10% of earnings for free. So we didn’t need to pay for the full $14k in order to max out our savings. We ended up saving around 30% of our earnings in the end just with the 403(b) we decided to go with TIACREF (10 funds) over Vanguard (around 60 funds) in the end based on sound advise from our friend who is a financial planner. After that was said and done we still have enough to put another 10% of our earnings in a IROTH maxed out to $4000 a year each.

And the real kicker for the whole thing is we were able to set aside enough to keep sweetness happy with flights to MN to see her family (very important to her), charity contributions and money for gifts. And I’m happy since we were able to save so much. Overall we are in a good situation for both of us.

Now that we’ve got some initial retirement BS over and done with what’s next? I would like to take a look at real estate . The question then becomes Condo or Multi-Unit residential in a four-plex or less units (something small enough to still fall within Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac loans) which means the loans will be more affordable and easier to get. I’ll have to run some numbers and do some serious hunting before anything can really happen but the pot is now on to boil.

Till we decide to move on property I’d like to also weigh the pros and cons of real estate in CA at this time. With the bubble thing on the horizon it might make more sense to wait a couple of years and just save that whole time and wait till one of the 50% of home owners defaults on their loans and is forced to sell at a reasonable price. The only problem with that thinking is, the bubble may never pop. The market my cool a little but who knows. Telling the future has never been my strong suit.