<prompt> Human: I am just looking for some advice, as my wife and I work so much and it honestly feels completely hopeless at times, as I dont feel like we will ever retire. We are both 34 years old, and have one child that is 4 years old. With a supposed target retirement date age of 67 at the latest 2048. Combined Yearly Income: 73,942.00 Occupation Hers: K-5 Teacher at State Public School Occupation Mine: IT Help Desk at State Public Institution Roth IRA Mine: 46,674 Vanguard TRF 2045 Roth IRA Hers: 46,674 Vanguard TRF 2045 FL Retirement Investment Account Mine: 26,614 FRS TRF 2045 FL Retirement Investment Account Hers: 35,649 FRS TRF 2045 TOTAL RETIREMENT FUNDS 155,611 Home Purchase Price: 245,000 Current Estimated Value: 250,000 Remaining Mortgage: 191,000 Approximate Pay Off Year: June 2043 Interest Rate: 3.375 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Credit Certificate: up to 2,000 Per Year Tax Credit Valued at 48,000 TOTAL HOME EQUITY 59,000 Cash On Hand: 18,460 Credit Card Debt: 0.00 Car Loan Debt: 0.00 Student Loan Debt: 0.00 Life Insurance Value Hers: Double her income One Time Payout Life Insurance Value Mine: Double my income One Time Payout We both fund our Roth IRA accounts every year, I am actually about to transfer 11k of the 18,460 cash to our Vanguard TRF2045 for the 2015 tax year. We plan on doing this every year, regardless of what sacrifices must be made. Unfortunately, after expenses, utilities, Roth IRA, health insurance, dental, eye, groceries, etc we tend to only have maybe have around 5k left in cash each year as an Emergency Fund. I utilize PRE-TAX Dollars to pay for my wifes health insurance. I also use Dependent Care benefits to pay my childs daycare with pre-tax dollars as well. Our Life Insurance is FREE and provided by the state, and is not much, as it only pays out twice the value of our yearly income upon death, but it does not cost us anything. But I wonder, should we get additional life insurance? On our mortgage we were able to qualify for a Mortgage Credit Certificate MCC which gives us a yearly tax credit of approximately 2k for our housemortgage. When we crunched the numbers, if we do not pay the loan down early which we are currently not it will save us approximately 48k over 30 years. It is up to half your mortgage interest, maxed out at 2k, so the value drops in the last years of the loan. If we ever move or sell the house though the MCC is lost. We would like to save for our childs college, but dont know which is the best way, especially with the way things might be changing in the education system MOOC, Free AA Degrees, etc. Would just hate for us to put money into an account and it is locked up and stuck in there since it would be in a tax advantaged one. Should I just put it in a taxed investment account? Or would one specifically designed for education be better? Overall, I am just wondering if well ever be able to retire and help our child go to college. I am pretty stressed out about this, as I have some health issues that makes it tough for me to work Disabled, back issues so I honestly dont know if I can work until my 60s or 70s Unless some medical advancements can fix me up hopefully, so I really want to ensure my family is taken care of, as my wife may end up being the sole income in 20 years. When I run the numbers on those retirement calculators it doesnt look so promising. : Should we change our Vanguard TRF to 2050 or keep it at 2045? We were hoping to have another child, but financially it doesnt look like that will be possible. Also, with the way technology is changing, I wonder if there is even any job stability, truly is wondrous and stressful time to be alive. So, when can we retire? ; Any and all advice would be appreciated. Assistant: The goal is to pay off the mortgage and when you have that paid off, and youre still working, you dump 80-90 of your income into your retirement. I dont mean to sound blunt, but dont you think its time to apply your IT skills to something higher paying? Helpdesk is huge, but maybe shoot for something in software or something more focused. If you can do helpdesk, you have the pace and abilities to do many IT jobs. You have a better savings ethic many people out there. You still manage to save etc. The way I see it, is youre in decent shape but applying to other jobs and making more, would be 10 time more beneficial. There is no job security, so get out there and make more. Inquire about the compensation package and shoot for one with a pension or better 401k matching. Human: Well I am tenured in a state job, I have an A, Network, Security, and MCP. I also have a Bachelors in Management and Contracting and an AAS in Retail Industrial Management. The biggest perk of working at the state is the low amount of work stress. I also have a lot of leave about 19 weeks at the moment that just keeps accumulating at a rate of 18 hours per month. Been at my current job for about 9 years. I guess my problem may be that due to my back issues i am afraid to leave a job that is safe and accomdating of my issues, and nearly guaranteed unless the education system collapses which it might with technology changes. Plus the amount of paid time off is security. I will also get paid a percentage of any time in my leave bank when I retire, but not sure I will be here for another 30 years.  <response>: Use your leave to spend time with your family; dont save it all up to cash out later. Ultimately Im pretty sure what you care about most is living a good life and spending time with the people you care about. 19 weeks of leave is amazing - thats 95 days. You could basically work 4 day weeks and take 3 day weekends for 2 years, or take a handful of nice long vacations. Stop and smell the roses : 