Good day and thank you for taking the time to read,
I'm an E7 in the military, 35 with a wife and 3 kids, and I can't stand my job. I work in a demanding field of long days and long periods away from family. My next duty station, though not away from family, would be a lot of time at work. I'm within 10 months of getting out and will have 13 years in if I do decide to separate. My career fulfillment and happiness are at an all time low. I have my bachelor's degree can easily take on a new job in a similar field or something slightly different starting around $80-110k.
Finances: I can reenlist for about $80,000 for another 4 years, which would pretty much seal the deal as far as a full career goes. For that money, I would intend on maximizing my Roth TSP and IRA contributions. I have about $40,000 in savings, $4,000 in checking. Now here's where I'm retarded and I'm kicking myself: I only have about $8,000 in a Roth TSP 'C' Fund. I should have kept putting money in there, but when the first 2 kids were born I cut out and only recently started putting back in. I also have about $2,500 in a brokerage account in Vanguard.
Debt: I have about $10,000 in credit card debt, which I have been making large payments on to get it down lower. The interest rate is 5%.
The question: Is it worth it to stay in the military for the next 8 years in order to retire and then work elsewhere or should I give up now and start my new career early? Thanks again for your help.
Submitted January 28, 2018 at 06:46AM by throwawayshakespeare http://ift.tt/2GolUY8
