All this Talk of Retirement...

All this talk of retirement got me thinking. What would I need to do to retire from my day job in 10 years? Let's say, by December 31, 2017. What exactly would I need to do?

The thought of retiring in 10 years really gets me excited! I know I've mentioned many times before that I would like to become a personal trainer and nutritionist and start my own business. Just think, I could have a nutrition blog. I could blog about healthy eating habits and moving more. I could have clients come to my studio. I could help people stay healthy and active. Wouldn't it be great if I could accomplish this and have my business in Hawaii?

When I first got this new job, my first thought was that I would stay with this company for 16-20 years. But after reading the retirement posts at the Carnival of Financial Goals and reading about JD at Get Rich Slowly retiring this year and then My Wealth Builder retiring a couple of months ago, I thought, "I don't have to stay at my day job for 16-20 more years."

So here is basically what I need to do to retire in 10 years.

First, I need to get out of debt. My debt consists of my credit card. I plan to be debt free by June 30, 2009.

Second, I need to help my husband get out of debt. He has two credit cards and a car loan. If we work together, I estimate those could be paid down by end of 2011 or the first half of 2012.

Third, I need to turbo build the emergency fund to at least six months worth of expenses. As I continue working on budgeting (I'm embarassed to say it's a new experience for me) I'll figure out what that will have to be.

Finally, when all of the debt is gone (except the mortgage) turbo, turbo, turbo build the retirement fund by investing the maximum amounts into our 401ks and Roth IRAs.

It's an aggressive plan. But I've got to at least work towards this. One thing I always know for sure is that if I don't work towards this it won't happen at all. If I work towards this goal, I just might achieve it.