39M / 36F with 3 kids — hoping to retire around 55. Are we actually on track?
I’m 39, my wife is 36, and we have three kids (9, 7 and 5). I’ve gotten pretty serious recently about figuring out whether retiring around 55 is actually realistic for us.
Ideally, I’d retire at 55. My wife would be 52 at that point, so we’re still figuring out whether she would retire at the same time or work a few more years.
Would love a sanity check from this group and thoughts on what you’d prioritize differently.
Income
Me: $185k base + usually $75–100k annual bonus
Wife: $120k
Household gross: roughly $380–405k depending on bonus
Retirement
My 401(k): ~$891k
~$864k is traditional
~$17k Roth
~$11k after-tax
Wife’s traditional 401(k): ~$350k
My employer match is 6%
Wife’s employer match is 4%
The thought is to start building a much larger tax-free bucket instead of continuing to pile everything into traditional.
Taxable/liquid assets
My brokerage: ~$100k
Wife’s brokerage: ~$14.6k
Deferred comp: ~$45k
Cash/savings: ~$55k
No credit card, auto or other consumer debt
House
Worth roughly $1.3M
Mortgage: ~$688k
Rate: 4.5%
Normal payment: ~$5,050/month including escrow
Currently paying half the payment every two weeks, so effectively 13 payments/year
Goal is to have the house completely paid off by 55
Kids/college
Three kids, currently 9, 7 and 5.
Our 529s only have about $18–20k
Son brokerage: ~$31k
Son CD: $50k that will eventually be his for college/house
Daughter brokerage: ~$29k
Other daughter brokerage: ~$22k
I’d love to retire at 55. My wife would be 52, so she could potentially continue working for a few years, although ideally we’d both eventually be able to stop working relatively young.
current plan is to Max both Roth 401(k)s annually.
Continue getting the full employer matches.
Aggressively build our taxable brokerage accounts to create a bridge for early retirement.
Have the mortgage completely gone by 55.
Ideally leave the 401(k)s untouched for several years after I retire and allow them to continue compounding.
I’m less concerned about maximizing every last dollar and more interested in reaching the point where work becomes optional.
For those who have retired early or are further along:
Does a 55 look realistic from where we are today?
And if you were in our shoes, what would you prioritize over the next 15–16 years: Roth, taxable brokerage, mortgage payoff, college funding, or something else?
Posted Aug 13, 2026, 4:12 PM UTC