Sean Pyles

Meanwhile, as you think about your jobs and how you could maybe have a more flexible working schedule in your semi-retirement, is there a way where you can begin to position yourself to be almost a consultant so you can have part-time work, but on your schedule?

What is your part-time gig, Claire?

My dog is napping right next to me in this chair.

Yeah, you don't have to look for a dog sitter of your own because yeah, you can just travel when you want to.

That's great.

That is a great term that I haven't heard before.

Sunny day fund.

I love the optimism of that.

One thing I'm thinking about there is you might have to sacrifice either your retirement savings or your mortgage payment to hit either of those goals.

So which one would maybe be a greater priority to you?

This is where calculators can be really handy to help you see how much further your money would go if you're stuffing as much as you can

into different types of investment and retirement accounts versus putting extra toward your mortgage.

I understand and really see the appeal of not wanting to have a mortgage payment in your retirement, but there's a chance that you might be better served by putting all that money into your investments now so it can grow and you might get a better return based on what you're paying for your mortgage and your interest right there.

Yeah.

That's right.

It's not just about the numbers too.

It's also what helps you feel better about your money.

And sometimes that's paying down your mortgage.

I actually am in a kind of similar situation with my husband where we live in his house in Portland.

I have a house in Washington that I rent out and I pay him rent and I pay him a flat amount that is, it's like a thousand dollars.