Retirement: I See the Light

So I have about 3 years until I leave this job, and I know I'll have to work 2-3 more years beyond that in order to "create" the nest egg that is necessary in order to buy my dream home.  You see, I work in IT, and while that normally pays a lot of money in the private sector, I work for state government.  There's no money in IT working for Kentucky (maybe another subject for a different blog post), but there is a small pension that guarantees I won't starve to death.  Also, I "bought" 4 years and intend to buy another one.  With a 401(k), that phrase probably makes no sense, but with a pension, the goal is simply to complete your years of service.  For my state, it is 27 years of service.  Once you get your years in, you get a yearly paycheck for life.  It is not very big, but it is guaranteed whether you live to 60 or 110.  So you can buy up to five years.  The cost varies, but for a comparatively reasonably paid IT guy, that cost will be somewhere around $110,000-$120,000.  Now that is a ton of money, but what is it worth to you to get away from an employer that you hate, and a state you hate even more?  Yet another possibility for a blog post, I think.

Also, I'm thinking about a podcast.  And writing a podcast application in Flutter.  I need to learn Spanish.  I need to get in shape for my travels.

Maybe I have too many ideas.  But some of these are non-negotiable.  I have to do them.