10 Years Until Retirement, Can I Do It?

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Jill on Money

Episode: 10 Years Until Retirement, Can I Do It?
Host: Jill Schlesinger
Date: March 31, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Jill Schlesinger speaks with listener Kay from Florida, who is ten years out from retirement and seeking a progress check on her financial readiness. The conversation centers on realistic retirement planning for late starters, resilience in the face of life setbacks (such as divorce), and practical strategies for financial security without having "millions" saved. Jill and her producer Mark offer encouragement, expert analysis, and relatable advice for listeners navigating similar circumstances.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Kay’s Financial Snapshot

• Age: 55, aiming for retirement at 65

• Work: Full-time, annual income of $103,000

• Retirement Savings:

  • 4% workplace retirement plan with a $61,000 balance; employer matches contribution
  • Traditional IRA rollover: $220,000 (Vanguard)
  • Roth IRA: $115,000, contributing $550/month
  • Brokerage account: $5,000 (money market fund, contributing $50/month)

• Additional Savings:

  • High-yield savings: $30,000
  • I Bonds: $5,000
  • Robinhood/Acorns accounts: ~$5,000

• Children:

  • Son (24, financially independent)
  • Daughter (20, in college); college fully funded via prepaid plan and 529

• Housing Situation:

  • Owns home purchased in 2020 ($240,000 purchase, $315,000 current value)
  • Mortgage: $148,000 balance, 2.62% interest (30-year fixed)
  • Not making extra principal payments, per Jill’s advice—redirects surplus to retirement

2. Current Expenses and Lifestyle

• Monthly Expenses: Approximately $5,000 (excludes retirement contributions)
• Lives frugally: cooks at home, does own yard/housework
• Side hustle: thrifting and reselling on eBay to fund travel (e.g., recent 2-week trip to Japan)

3. Future Projections and Planning

• Social Security: Expects $3,000/month

• Retirement Contributions: Continuing for next 10 years (~$7,200/year to Roth + workplace savings)

• Long-term Outlook: On track for $800,000+ in retirement savings if contributions continue

• Family Considerations:

  • Aging mother (92, Tennessee): Some financial support, but mother has resources (long-term care insurance, paid-off home, Social Security)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Late Starts and Progress

• Kay [03:08]:
  "I'm hoping you'll give hope to those that are kind of starting late in life and getting their finances together... I want to see how I'm doing."

• Jill [03:41]:
  "You don't have to have millions always. You know, it's a lot of different ways to get where you want to go."

On the Mortgage Sweet Spot

• Kay [07:20]:
  "It is a 30 and Lord, I want to pay extra, but I—"

• Jill (interrupting with laughter) [07:24]:
  "No, no, I don't. I listen to you guys. You tell me and I just put the extra in my retirement plan."

  • Jill [07:30]:
    "Perfect. That's great."

On Family and Longevity

• Kay [08:34]:
  "I do have an aging mom. She's 92, she lives on her own, still drives."
• Mark [08:41]:
  "Oh my God."

Jill’s Encouragement and Assessment

• Mark [10:36]:
  "She needs to give herself some credit from where she was to where she is... that's going to be over $800,000 in 10 years. Doesn't spend a lot of money."

• Jill [10:49]:
  "I think that you are an amazing example of, you know, the rug kind of gets pulled out from under. You certainly didn't think, you know, probably 30 years ago, you didn't think, oh, I'm going to be getting divorced when I'm 45. But here you are. But you're doing a great job."

• Jill [12:59]:
  "Well, I think you're doing an amazing job and we salute you. And Kay, you're in great shape and we really appreciate you checking in with us and we wish you all the best, truly."

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• [02:05] – Jill introduces listener Kay and frames the theme (starting late, realistic retirement goals)
• [03:08-07:46] – Kay details her financial picture, savings, kids' college, and homeownership
• [07:47-10:36] – Social Security expectations, continued saving, and handling family support
• [10:49-12:59] – Jill and Mark offer encouragement; exploring part-time work, side hustles, and quality of life
• [12:27] – Kay shares about thrifting, eBay resales, and funding travel with side gigs

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Tone & Takeaways

• Tone: Supportive, practical, down-to-earth, and encouraging
• Main Takeaways:
  • It's possible to rebound from late starts or setbacks and create a secure path to retirement.
  • Consistent saving, realistic spending, and making use of low interest rates can set you up for success—even without a huge nest egg.
  • Creative side hustles and resourcefulness (like travel-funding resale) can enhance both now and the future.
  • Listeners are reminded that they don’t have to be “millionaires” to receive support and financial advice on the show.

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Final Words

If you’re working towards retirement and feel behind, Kay’s story exemplifies what focus and discipline can accomplish within a decade. Jill and Mark underscore that personalized strategies and small, steady actions are key. The episode closes with an invitation for listeners in any situation to reach out for their own financial check-in.

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For more listener questions or to join the conversation, visit: jillonmoney.com

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Transcript

[Mark]

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[Jill]

Welcome to the Jill on Money show. It's Tuesday, March 31st and we are here answering your financial questions. If you have a question, if there's some big decision that you're weighing, maybe it's about college. We have acceptance time is right around now. Maybe it's about taxes that just raised a question in your life. Maybe you're buying or selling real estate. Whatever it is, get in touch with us. Go to jillonmoney.com click the contact us button, Write us a note if you'd like to join us live. Check the box. Mark will do everything else. Hey, while you're on the website, you can check out all the stuff that's there. We've got another podcast that's a weekend podcast called Money Watch. We've got a blog, we've got a radio tab, videos, resources, all there for you. So check it out. Maybe just bookmark jillonmoney.com today we are talking to listener Kay, who joins us from Florida, where she told us it's sunshiny. Hello, Kay. How are you?

[Kay]

Great. Good morning, Jill and Mark.

[Jill]

We are so happy that you are here with us. So tell us how we can help you out.

[Kay]

Well, I'm hoping you'll give hope to those that are kind of starting late in life and getting their finances together. Okay. I'm 55 and almost 10 years post divorce, which didn't leave me in a great financial position, but I feel like I've done pretty good for 10 years now and hoping to retire at 65. So it's a midway point. I need a check in, and I don't have millions, and I hope other listeners can relate to that. So I want to see how I'm doing.

[Jill]

All right, that sounds great. You don't have to have millions always. You know, it's a lot of different ways to get where you want to go. So, Kay, you said you're 55 and you're working full time? I am.

[Mark]

How much do you earn?

[Kay]

About 103,000.

[Jill]

A highly. About 103. Are you making retirement plan contributions?

[Kay]

I am.

[Jill]

What are you doing?

[Kay]

I am doing the 4% match at work. So currently I have 61,000 in that I'm doing about. In total, they're matching mine, about 560amonth.

[Jill]

Okay, got it. Any other retirement that you've done beyond that, that 4%?

[Kay]

Yes, I do have an IRA rollover account with Vanguard. It's got $220,000 in it.

[Jill]

And that's traditional, right?

[Kay]

Traditional.

[Jill]

Okay, keep going.

[Kay]

And then I have a Roth IRA. It's got $115,000 in it.

[Jill]

Great. And are you making a contribution to the Roth in addition to the 4% contribution to retirement plan at work?

[Kay]

Yes, I'm doing $550 into that Roth every month, and I'm not doing anything with that traditional ira.

[Jill]

Okay, great. That's awesome.

[Kay]

Okay.

[Jill]

And do you have kids?

[Kay]

I do. I have two. My son is 24. He has launched. He's up in Connecticut up that way, which I was surprised to see him move from Florida, but he has launched on his own. I have a daughter that's 20. She's in college currently about to get her AA and then go into the dental field. And I'm lucky. I did a 529. I also did a prepaid college fund. So she is set to be paid for.

[Jill]

Amazing.

[Kay]

Yes, Incredible.

[Jill]

That's so great. Okay. And does your job or any previous job or through your ex, is there any pension benefit coming to you?

[Kay]

No, I know. That's okay. I know, I know.

[Jill]

It's all right.

[Kay]

No, no.

[Jill]

Okay. And right now, you know, with the kids kind of almost there, not 100% because we got the kid in college, but what do you think about your expense level? Do you think it's a, you know, kind of solid? You have a handle on it. Do you think it's going up, down? Anything coming up that we need to know about?

[Kay]

No, I think we're good. I'm thinking on average, expense wise, it's about 5,000amonth if I consider not my contributions.

[Jill]

Sure.

[Kay]

I do have a brokerage account that I'm putting about 50 bucks a month in. It's got about 5,000 in that. It's in a money market.

[Jill]

Okay, what about a savings, like high yield savings or just checking account, bank stuff?

[Kay]

Yeah, In a high yield savings account, I got about a $30,000 cash position.

[Jill]

Okay.

[Kay]

I got 5,5000 in I bonds. I got a couple of Robinhood acorn accounts, maybe 5,000 somewhere in there.

[Jill]

Okay. So I bonds, 5,000 and other stuff. 5,000.

[Kay]

Yes.

[Jill]

Okay, got it. Do you own your home or are you renting?

[Kay]

I do. I purchased it in that beautiful time of 2020 for 240, it's worth 315. I owe one, I owe 148. And it's a 2.6, 62% interest rate. I love that you're like, I love that.

[Jill]

You know, sometimes you do things and you're not really like the architect of this. You just, you did it and now you're like, I love it so much. So you've got a lot of equity. Is it a 30 year mortgage or a 15?

[Kay]

It is a 30 and Lord, I want to pay extra, but I.

[Jill]

No, no, I don't.

[Kay]

I don't. I listen to you guys. You tell me and I just put the extra in my retirement plan.

[Jill]

Perfect. That's great. Okay, so, Kay, if you were to look ahead, let's say 12 years. Now, I'm not saying you have to work for 12 years, but Social Security. Do you know what your benefit will be?

[Kay]

Yes. Three thousand a month.

[Jill]

Three. Okay, three. Three thousand a month. Good. But you say you're going to work in 10 for 10 more years. Right. You're going to work, you're going to wait till you get to your Medicare age.

[Kay]

Yep.

[Jill]

And that's so you got 10 years. And for the next 10 years you'll be putting money into your retirement account, the 4%. You'll keep putting money away into your Roth and your, and your bank account, so to the tune of about 600, so 7,200 plus your 4,000. So you're putting away like yourself, plus work, a good chunk of money and you're going to keep doing that for the next 10 years. Do you think that there's anything else that we need to know about in terms of like why you would have to tap some of this money sooner rather than later?

[Kay]

I do have an aging mom. She's 92, she lives on her own, still drives.

[Mark]

Oh my God.

[Kay]

I'm serious.

[Jill]

Okay. All right. My mother's 86 and I'm worried about that, but okay, well.

[Kay]

And she's in another state in Tennessee, so she's not right here with me. I do have family there, but I am managing her money. I do help her with some incidentals every month. Not a bunch. I will say she's done a couple of good things. She does have long term health care.

[Jill]

Okay.

[Kay]

And she has some money for in case something significant happens, but maybe not two times. But she does have a paid for house. So I feel like she's got resources. Right.

[Jill]

If something, if she needed care, if she had to go into a facility, you could sell the house. She has the long term care insurance and there's a little bit of cash flow from Social Security and she's all right. It's amazing though. So she's pretty, is she pretty much okay, 92 years old, driving.

[Kay]

Yeah. Her bubble is really small how far she travels, but I will tell you she's very social. She eats well, she has a great community, she goes to church. She just retired a year ago from working a couple of days a week.

[Jill]

Oh my God, that's amazing. That's fantastic. That is so great. So as, as you look ahead 10 years, I feel very good about this plan and here's why. That low mortgage interest rate is just stellar. You're going to keep putting money away. You will have Social Security and your money will just keep growing. Mark, do you think that K can be an example of what's possible when you get a late start, but you obviously put your head down and really did it. So how do you feel like K is doing and do you think she's going to be able to pull the trigger in 10 or 12 years for retirement.

[Mark]

I was going to say she needs to give herself some credit from where she was to where she is. Yeah, she's got, you know, $400,000 saved. She's. She's going to continue to save for another 10 years. That's going to be over $800,000 in 10 years. Doesn't spend a lot of money.

[Jill]

I think that you will. I think that you are an amazing example of, you know, the rug kind of gets pulled out from under. You certainly didn't think, you know, probably 30 years ago, you didn't think, oh, I'm going to be getting divorced when I'm 45. But here you are. But you're doing a great job. I think that it's very important when people have these setbacks to know, to hear, like you said, to hear a story like yours, that you can do it. Hey, gang, if you're listening, you know what really saves K? She doesn't spend tons and tons of money. Five grand a month. That's a good number. She'll have Social Security will pay for probably half her expenses. She'll have retirement assets. She'll have her. So, you know, it's going to be. It's going to be fine. And if you decided, like your mother, that you want to work longer or maybe when you're 65, you're like, you know what? I got my Medicare. I don't need to make a hundred grand a year. Maybe I want to pull back, but maybe I'd like to do something else for some group of years. I do think that that's another way that you could feel like, hey, I could stay social, I could stay engaged, and I can bring a little bit of money. And maybe that's something you'd want to consider. I don't know. I'm just saying that when you said that about your mom and longevity, I was like, maybe she would like that.

[Kay]

I will say that I want to keep doing. I'm actually doing some content on my own. I work in marketing and in tourism, so I understand the value of social media. But I also, I tell you, my favorite thing is I thrift. I resell things on ebay for my money. Oh, yes.

[Jill]

Oh, my God.

[Kay]

Oh, yes.

[Jill]

I love it.

[Kay]

And then I will tell you it helps fund. I do big trips. I just came back from Japan for two weeks now. It didn't fund all of it, but it got me a long way. And, you know, I cook every meal I do my own yard, I clean my own house, I go out. I enjoy life. It doesn't feel limited to me. I still enjoy things. I still do big things. But I know where to save and hopefully where to put it because I want to save for my future.

[Jill]

Well, I think you're doing an amazing job and we salute you. And Kay, you're in great shape and we really appreciate you checking in with us and we wish you all the best, truly.

[Kay]

Oh, great. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

[Jill]

You betcha. And if you are like Kay, you say, I don't have millions. I'm not like one of those people on the show. It's okay. Don't worry. We are really focused on you and what you need. And if you need just a little check in with us about wherever you are in your life, we'll meet you there. Don't worry. Go to jillonmoney.com, click the contact us button, write us a note. If you'd like to join us live, check the box. Mark will do everything else and we really would love to talk to you. We love these live conversations. You can subscribe to us on the Odyssey app or wherever you find your favorite podcast. Please do leave us a rating or review wherever you listen and we always ask that you lift someone up. Change your work, change your, your wealth, change your life. Thank you for listening and we'll talk to you tomorrow. Hey gang.

[Mark]

I just made a first time ever

[Jill]

purchase on behalf of the pod.

[Mark]

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[Jill]

and maybe the listeners would want to

[Mark]

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