FI with Retirement and Disability

Hey there, we are Carolina folks too.

This really depends on what your goals are. I hope to be FI with my pension alone in about 5 years. No talk about VA Disability, it's all in His hands;) My wife is a teacher and when we hit FI, we are going to look for recreational employment (FIRE*). So, what is your goal? Sounds like generational wealth? You have champagne and caviar taste? I have followed Mr. Money Mustache and we have defined our goals and the little things that bring the most joy. A lot of those things for us are not very expensive. Our biggest goal is to pay off our home and have FU money (Freedom unlimited). #breakthechains #outoftherace #offthehamsterwheel

So, tell us your goals? It doesn't sound like FIRE is what you are after. You love to work and want to keep working. Are you just having a hard time with all your extra cash? Are you tithing? Are you being outrageously generous? Is your home paid off? Gotta start with the end in mind.

Congrats on your FIRE journey success! Agree with comments to increase TSP and spouse IRA investments. You may want to consider ROTH conversions even at the 22% level now. It sounds like once SS kicks in and your DoD pension that you will have a lot of taxable income. While it might end up being a wash if you both live long lives, it would save a lot of tax if one of you passes away and your tax brackets and standard deduction are for a single person (my wife's or my taxes would go way up to pull out the same amount of money than it would if we were filing joint). I can relate to your situation -- my wife and I were in the same situation -- her career took off when I retired from AD. A few years after that when we were both separately fully FI, we quit our dream jobs (mine was in DoD too) because it were keeping us from doing what we valued more--extensive travel, increased quality time with family and friends, focus on my health, writing, and following our curiosities. We chose to decline the SBP and self-insure instead from investing the premiums we would have paid -- totally worth it. All the best in your FI (and life) journey! Cheers, Justin

It sounds like you're on the right track maxing Roth IRA as a priority followed by your TSP. If you have high-interest debt you'll also want to tackle that. Bogleheads have a good guide on the order-of-operations when deciding where to direct your savings. Prioritizing Investments

Max out whatever your employer allows access to (typically a 401k). Next, max out your Roth IRA and/or HSA if you are eligible. Whatever remains can go into a regular brokerage account.

Being able to live off one spouse's income stream(s) is awesome and a super power! The Federal TSP is well-designed with low-cost options. You can contribute more to the traditional TSP and consider adding the Roth TSP after doing a tax analysis. Your husband would also be eligible for a spousal Trad or Roth IRA. You can then invest the balance in a taxable brokerage account or consider a 529 for your kid(s), depending on your goals for helping them with college and/or providing them with seed money for their own Roth IRAs in the future. Lots of great options!