Left Government for Private Sector

Summary

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Jill on Money with Jill Schlesinger

Episode: Left Government for Private Sector
Date: September 19, 2025
Host: Jill Schlesinger
Featured guest: Anna (Caller), with co-host Mark Telercio

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on financial transitions, specifically the journey from public to private sector work, and the resulting changes in income, retirement planning, and life goals. Anna, a listener from Washington D.C., calls in to unpack her family's new financial landscape after both she and her husband left federal government roles for private sector jobs. The conversation covers strategies for managing increased income, home and retirement planning, and balancing meaningful work with family needs and financial security.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Navigating Career & Income Transitions

• Anna and her husband were “lifelong professional students” and recent federal government employees.
• Both now work in the private sector, almost doubling their income.
• Main concern: How to maximize financial growth during their private sector tenure, knowing Anna may want to return to public service for more meaningful work.

Memorable quote:

“My new job is good. It pays really well. However, it does not fill my professional cup like public service did.”
— Anna (03:38)

2. Current Financial Snapshot

• Both are 36 years old with a toddler and another child due soon.
• Combined income: $330k, projected to increase to $350k in 2-3 years (Anna as primary breadwinner, spouse at $60k).
• Home: Purchased at $795k, now valued at $825k. $756k remaining on a 4.5% fixed-rate mortgage.
• Savings: Maxing out retirement contributions where possible. Saving $3,000/month, currently at $18k; plan to reach ~$25k before the baby arrives.
• Retirement accounts:
  • Anna: $45k in TSP (Roth), new Roth 401k ($17k) with 6% employer match, contributing 8% per paycheck.
  • Husband: $25k in TSP (Roth) and $25k in 401k (not currently contributing due to baby on the way, but no match offered).

Memorable exchange:

Jill: “Is there a match, though? I want to make sure. We're not foregoing a match for him, are we?” (08:45)
Anna: “No, unfortunately, his employer does not match.” (08:49)

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3. Housing Decisions: Stay, Upgrade, or Rent Out?

• Current house: Desire to keep through retirement; it's “snug”—two bedrooms, one bath.
• Considering moving to a larger house ($850-$900k) due to family size, leveraging a physician’s loan with little/no down payment.
• Investigated adding on to current home, but renovation quotes ($200-300k) deemed too high.
• Possibility to rent out current home: Very rentable, at least break-even or slight positive cash flow.
• Jill and Mark caution Anna about taking on too much at once (new baby, new home, keeping/renting first property).

Jill’s gentle warning:

“I almost feel like really, you're about to have a baby, you're going to have some maternity leave, and then you're going to throw this new house on top. There's like a lot of stuff.” (12:03)

Mark’s perspective:

“A newborn doesn't take up any space in the beginning... You have time. You could even push this out another year.” (13:08)

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4. Planning for Public Service Return & Student Loan Forgiveness

• Anna left government for opportunity, not necessity ("sun is setting for us"), but wants to return if the right role appears.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) was a consideration, but the new private sector job’s salary helps manage loans outright.

Anna’s personal insight:

“My heart's really very much in public service... I was set on PSLF. A blessing with this new job is it sort of takes care of it.” (15:01)

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5. Risk Management and Future Planning

• Both have wills, estate planning, and life insurance addressed (thanks to early inspiration from listening to Jill’s show).
• Jill emphasizes continuing Roth contributions, especially at their age and the stage of their careers.
• Recommendation: Leave the thrift savings plans as they are; keep building up Roth assets.

Jill’s advice:

“Just leave the Thrift Savings plan where it is. Keep using Roth... The more you can do that now, the better.” (17:46)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Moving for Money vs. Meaning:

  “My new job is good. It pays really well. However, it does not fill my professional cup like public service did.”
  — Anna (03:38)

• On the realities of timing a move:

  “A newborn doesn’t take up any space in the beginning... You could even push this out another year. And by that point, mortgage rates may come down and it's really going to be a buyer's market.”
  — Mark Telercio (13:08)

• On managing multiple life changes:

  “I almost feel like really, you're about to have a baby, you're going to have some maternity leave, and then you're going to throw this new house on top. There's like a lot of stuff.”
  — Jill Schlesinger (12:03)

• On financial catch-up and physician career paths:

  “Often we talk to people who are doctors and... just not really starting. Like, if you look at your friend from college and you're like, my friend's been contributing to a 401k since she was 21. And like, yeah, but you were training.”
  — Jill Schlesinger (17:46)

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Actionable Takeaways

• Don’t rush big financial decisions when already facing large life events. Weigh the stress and bandwidth, even if the math works.
• Leverage Roth accounts when possible, especially at younger ages and during higher-earning years.
• Leave old government Thrift Savings Plans untouched; consolidate or roll over only after careful thought.
• If rental property is considered, ensure realistic expectations about property management and cash flow.
• Stay flexible: Be open to waiting for market conditions to improve, and don’t feel pressured to make every planned move immediately.
• Have full insurance and estate docs in order, especially with young children.

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Structure & Tone

The conversation is warm, supportive, and honest, blending practical financial advice with empathy for the challenges of balancing career, family, and values. Jill and Mark engage as both experts and peers, drawing from personal experience to offer perspective without judgment.

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Key Segments & Timestamps

• 01:42 – 03:38: Anna introduces her situation and goals
• 03:38 – 06:12: Anna and husband’s transition to the private sector, income, child on the way
• 06:12 – 10:00: Financial specifics—retirement savings, cash flow, home funding
• 10:00 – 12:03: House expansion vs. moving, rental possibilities
• 12:03 – 14:23: Jill and Mark's caution on timing and stress management
• 14:23 – 15:01: Anna discusses desire to return to public service and PSLF
• 16:21 –17:46: Final advice, insurance, estate planning, Roth strategy
• 17:46 – 18:45: Encouragement, wrap-up, “You’re in good shape”

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For listeners in similar transitions—between sectors, or navigating suddenly increased income and responsibilities—this episode offers both reassurance and a clear set of priorities to help build long-term financial security without losing sight of personal fulfillment.

Transcript

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[Jill Schlesinger]

Welcome to the Jill on Money Show. It's Friday, September 19th and we are here answering your financial questions. Okay, so Mark, get on the microphone for a second. You know it is the 19th, which means I am as you start to listen to this everyone out there, I am beginning the day one of my ride. And so Mark, do you want me to tell you that I have arrived at the end of every day being okay? Are you just going to assume that I'm fine?

[Mark Telercio]

I know you'll be fine. So as I hop on my peloton today for either a meager 20 minutes or 30 minutes, I'll give you a thought.

[Jill Schlesinger]

I can't even think. Like 20 minutes and 30 minutes sounds like nothing.

[Mark Telercio]

Right?

[Jill Schlesinger]

Right now. Like my, my sort of general like not a big deal ride is now an hour and a half. So anyway, wish me luck everyone. Thank, thank you, thank you, thank you to every single one of you who supported me, who continue to support me. We're going to keep the little donate to cycle to the cause up at the top of the website. If you want to support my big charity ride, you can do so. But you will not be able to give me a song to add to my playlist because playlist is kind of set right now, and I don't think I'll listen as much when I'm riding. I have these really cool headsets marked that kind of go up to your temple. They don't go in your ear, they go around and sort of near. So I don't know how much I. Last time I didn't do it quite as much. I didn't really listen to music. It was more for my training that I needed it. But anyway, thank you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I appreciate it. While you're on the website, you can also sign up for the free weekly newsletter comes out every Friday, which is today. And it also entitles you to get your blog posts that I write. You just automatically comes in. Okay. Today we are going to talk to Anna, who joins us from Washington, D.C. hello, Anna. How are you?

[Anna (Caller)]

I'm well. Thanks so much for having me. How are you guys?

[Jill Schlesinger]

We're doing great. What can we do for you?

[Anna (Caller)]

Yeah, so thanks so much. My husband and I live here in D.C. and we've been lifelong professional students and recently left the federal government. And so which essentially means we've only had a short amount of time to really build up our retirement. We've built up our savings, and we have a toddler with another little one on the way. We really just want to make sure, since we both are now in the private sector, that we are on the right track. We know we don't have a lot right now, but we would like to make sure. Okay. We're setting our sights on a good plan forward. My new job is good. It pays really well. However, it does not fill my professional cup like public service did. So I guess that's also a caveat and a factor that I would like to take into consideration of how long can I maximize the time that I'm here and do it financially and then still be able to pivot at some point in the near future?

[Jill Schlesinger]

You know, Anna, you remind me of my friend who I went to high school with this woman. And we're very close friends in high school, also in college, and she was a prosecutor for many years in New York. And, you know, she had kids, and then the kids are getting older, and she's like, calls me up one day and she goes, I'm going to the dark side. I said, what do you mean she's going to private practice? I said, you love being a prosecutor. She goes, I would love for my children to be able to be educated. And so she has been working in the dark side. But you know what she did recently say to me is that she would go back. She feels like everyone's launched, everyone's good, and now she's happy to be able to like actually throw her name into like, hey, maybe I would go back. So maybe it's not all over for you yet, Anna. So let's talk a little bit about some of the facts. So first of all, how old are you?

[Anna (Caller)]

35. 36. Sorry. 36.

[Jill Schlesinger]

36. That's okay. No one knows. It's okay. How about your husband?

[Anna (Caller)]

36.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Okay. And you said a toddler and one on the way, so that's awesome. How much are you guys earning now in the private sector?

[Anna (Caller)]

Yeah. So combined we make 3:30 with me being the primary breadwinner and I'm on track for a promotion in about two to three years. That would put me at around 350.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Wow. And then how much does he make?

[Anna (Caller)]

60.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Okay, so that's really good. How is your cash flow based on that? I presume because you were working in the government, it wasn't that good. So things have improved?

[Anna (Caller)]

Yes, yes, very much so. We, we own a house here in D.C. yeah, we're able to stash away. So we're both maxing out our retirement right now. And so we've been in these roles obviously pretty fresh, but we do have the opportunity right now that we've been stashing away about 3k every every month into a savings account.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Wow, that's great. Okay, so let's just run down some of the numbers. You mentioned a house. How much is the house worth?

[Anna (Caller)]

Yep. So the house right now is valued at 825. We bought it at 795 and we owe about 756 left on it. But we would like to keep this, I would really like to keep this. Through retirement. It is.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Okay, well let's, let's see if we can do that. What's the interest rate on the 756?

[Anna (Caller)]

4.5%.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Oh, that's not bad. Is it fixed? Is it a fixed rate mortgage?

[Anna (Caller)]

It is, yes. We started with an ARM because I leveraged our physician's loan and then we were able, able to secure it into a conventional 30 year loan.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Oh, that's great. Okay, so that's awesome. So let's, we're going to push the house aside. That's a keeper. Your retirement account. So if you left the federal government, is money still in the thrift savings plan?

[Anna (Caller)]

It is. I have about 45 left in there. And then he has 25,000 in his thrift savings. Yes. Yep.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Okay, gotcha. And those. Are those traditional or Roth?

[Anna (Caller)]

Both. Roth.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Oh, great. Fantastic. Okay, next. Keep going. I'm listening.

[Anna (Caller)]

Yeah. So, and then pivoting over to my new role, I have A Fidelity Roth 401K. Right now it's at about 17,000 because I just started, but I do have a 6% employer match with it, which is really nice. And I'm trying to max that out as much as possible. I have 8% going in each paycheck.

[Jill Schlesinger]

And what about your husband? How much is he contributing into his retirement?

[Anna (Caller)]

Yeah, so he put his on pause right now just so we can make sure we save as much money for the little one coming. And we sort of justified it of saying we can afford him. Pausing right now because he makes less. Yeah. And I have a great employer match. And we said we'll hustle more on my side and again, justify that. If we keep this house until retirement, we consider that sort of his contribution to retirement.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Is there a match, though? I want to make sure. We're not foregoing a match for him, are we?

[Anna (Caller)]

No, unfortunately, his employer does not match.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Okay, not a problem. So, and is there any money in his 401k yet or not?

[Anna (Caller)]

Yes, he has about 25,000.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Okay, that's great. And you said you're putting $3,000 a month into savings. What's in the savings account right now?

[Anna (Caller)]

So right now we have about 18,000 that we have in our savings. And then we're. By the time little one comes in February, we should have about 25 at least in our savings. And then just plan to sort of reduce it by, you know, putting away 2,000 every month. And then we also cover your ears. We thought about, well, is this an opportunity for us to go into a larger space in our home? You know, in our neighborhood, there's lots of homes for sale at a little bit of a more moderate price for DC So we were contemplating, is this an opportunity for us to be able to get a little bit of a bigger place with the little one on the way? Because we're in a very cozy abode right now where we're at.

[Jill Schlesinger]

But you said you wanted to keep this house through retirement. I'm throwing your words right back into you.

[Anna (Caller)]

I know it's snug. So we were actually looking to add on to this home. It's a. It's a really cute two bedroom, one bath. And unfortunately, some of the quotes that we were getting were 200 to $300,000. And at that point we'd rather just write rent it out. We won't have any issues renting. It's a great rental market here where we're at, and just utilize this opportunity to say, you know, can we look maybe next spring or this winter and capitalize sort of the housing market where we're at right now?

[Jill Schlesinger]

What would you have to spend to get out of your snug as a bug in a rug house into your more spacious house? What would that mean for you guys?

[Anna (Caller)]

We want to go under a million, so we're looking at 850, 900,000.

[Jill Schlesinger]

But where would the down payment come from if you were to do that?

[Anna (Caller)]

Yeah, so we would leverage the physician's loan that I have. We don't. It doesn't require a down payment. And then we would negotiate, which is what we did with our first place, that the closing cost is covered by the seller.

[Jill Schlesinger]

The reason why you would want to maintain your house you're in right now would be simply because you love this house and you think this is the right house for you to be retired into. Is that right?

[Anna (Caller)]

Yes, that's definitely one of the points on the table. The other is that it's very rentable.

[Jill Schlesinger]

What do you think you could rent it for?

[Anna (Caller)]

We can at least break even, if not at least a few hundred more. Right now we were looking at, we had put out soft feelers because we thought we would move last summer or this past spring, and we listed it at 5 and we had quite a few applicants already.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Wow. So, okay, listen, I'm not, I, I. Okay.

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[Jill Schlesinger]

Can I be the fly in the ointment here is like, you got a lot going on, girl.

[Anna (Caller)]

I know.

[Jill Schlesinger]

You know, I mean, this is the only downside to this is that, like, I almost feel like really, you're like, about to have a baby, you're going to have some maternity leave, and then you're going to throw this new house on top. There's like a lot of stuff. So I'm not financially opposed to it. I'm just worried for you that that's a lot going on in a not too distant future. So I only put that out to you just as, like, the warning. Now, Mark, you did something sort of similar, although not with one on the way, but you did, you did have, you know, you had the desire to move. You watched the market. You were very careful the way you did it. And you did buy a house before you sold your other one, right?

[Mark Telercio]

Yeah, we Never did sell the other one. Very similar. We kept our old one and in a way, are renting it out.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Yeah. And so how do you feel like now, knowing what it's like to have a child and going through that? Can you give some advice to Anna, perhaps give her some words of wisdom?

[Mark Telercio]

No. I mean, like you said, it's a lot going on. I mean, I'm anxious and it's not even me. I mean, I would probably, you know, with a newborn, Anna knows this. You have time. Like, a newborn doesn't take up any space in the beginning. The newborn is going to be in the bedroom with them. So there's time. You could even push this out another year. And by that point, mortgage rates may come down and it's really going to be a buyer's market.

[Jill Schlesinger]

So how do you feel about that? Just putting it a little bit. Not on the way back burner, but like, you know, keeping an eye on it, not putting. I mean, listen, if something came up that was great, then I get it. Then you're like, I don't care, I'll blow it up. But, like, if you had a friend who's like, oh, my gosh, house next door, quiet listing, they're not even going yet. Like, get in there, bid 8:50, and you're in. Like, that's fine. But, like, I wouldn't. I would be careful. That's all I would say, just to be careful. But I think you're in a great place right now because, you know, you are making a lot more money. You are really young in the look ahead. Do you think there is any way that you would maybe. Would you be able to go back to the government? Did you leave the federal government because you got axed or because you were like, oh, we don't want to deal with this?

[Anna (Caller)]

The latter. It was sort of a season of, okay, what can I do next? And I was looking to move up into what we call the senior executive service in the federal government. And that program was frozen. And so it was really an opportunity. My boss and I said, you know, the. The sun is setting for us. How do we pivot? And it was right before the crazy hit, and it was just such a blessing. So, yeah, I would love to go back. My heart's really very much in public service, especially in the work that I was at, and I would love to go back at some point, but it's really hard. You know, I was set on pslf, Right. The Public service loan forgiveness.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Yep.

[Anna (Caller)]

And a blessing with this new job, is it sort of that takes care of it. So that's also a factor that we want to, you know, keep in mind and leverage with the new position that I'm in and don't want to, you know, forego that too quickly. So, yes, you know that we are not afraid of waiting until next summer or later. Right. Like Mark mentioned, ironically, everything was quiet until probably the last few days. We had our. Of course, that. And, you know, of course, for the record, I reached out before that, let it be shown that our friends actually sent us a house that is, you know, around that price point and said, you know, this would be really perfect. It does need some improvements. And we're like, gosh, we really didn't want to invest too much money on improvements. But as you guys probably know, when it was the buyer's market, when we bought the first house that we're in, it was, man, it was crazy. Like, the bidding wars was just enough to say for us, like, maybe we should just make a move now when it's quiet. So we're very. I think we're trying to approach this very reasonably of, like, we can wait. And if it just so happens that the right house is there, would it be smart to do it?

[Jill Schlesinger]

So, listen, I mean, I think it's possible you're in this unique situation where having the ability to take advantage of this physician's loan puts you in this different category. I don't have a problem with it. And Mark, I presume you don't really have a problem with it. They're young. They know what the risks are. I guess worst case scenario is if you don't want to rent it, you can sell it, you'll raise some money. But, like, I'm not scared. I'm only scared of, like, oh, my gosh, this is a lot. So if you guys can wrap your arms around that and you promise me that the one child that's on the way is going to be a good baby, then I think that would make me feel better. Can you promise me that? No, you can't promise me that. Let me ask you, do you have your insurance, your life insurance and your estate docs? Everything is all done?

[Anna (Caller)]

Yes. Yes. I think. Not to toot your horn too much, but after the first few episodes that I started listening and we had the first little one on the way, my husband and I said, we need to get this sorted out asap. So, yeah, we have that all taken care of. And once the little one's here, we. We'll add that one to all of our Paperwork.

[Jill Schlesinger]

That's great. Mark, any other words of wisdom for Anna before we let her go so that she can have her child and make sure that she's taking her vitamins and eating well.

[Mark Telercio]

Prenatals?

[Jill Schlesinger]

No.

[Mark Telercio]

Then they're doing what they need to be doing. Keep maxing out. You for sure keep maxing out. It sounds like you're gonna be making more money as the years go on by. So if you feel them behind, you're gonna have an opportunity to catch up.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Yeah, you're in good shape. Listen, often we talk to people who are doctors and, you know, just because of the length of time the training goes on, it's like you're just not really starting. Like, if you look at your friend from college and you're like, my friend's been contributing to a 401 case and she was 21. And like, yeah, but you were training like it's a long haul. And so I completely appreciate that. I think you're in really good shape. And I actually, I can't believe it. When you first said another house, I was like, oh, no, I said that to myself. But you know what, as you explain it, it's okay. So keep doing what you're doing. If you run into any other issues, get back in touch with us. Just leave the Thrift Savings plan where it is. Keep using Roth. I know you're in a high tax bracket. I think, like, Mark does that, like you're going to keep getting going into a higher and higher bracket. So the more you can do that now, the better. Get back in touch with us if you need anything else. So it is Anna from DC about to buy her second house, have a baby. What else can she do to like, really blows things up? Anything else, Mark, we should put on her plate?

[Mark Telercio]

Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure there's plenty of things.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Yeah, exactly. Don't do any of those. All right? If you are contemplating a move or maybe you've left the private sector and you're in the non for profit sector, maybe you've left government, you're back into the private sector for a while. If something has happened, you're in a transitional period in your financial life. Get in touch with us. We'd love to talk to you. Just go to Jill on money dot com, click the contact us button, write us a note. And if you'd like to join us on the air live, check the box. Mark will do everything else. Don't forget that you can find all of our content right [e-mail] you can subscribe to us on the Odyssey app or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Our music is composed by Joel Goodman. Mark Telercio is the best executive producer in the entire world. He's also the king of our website. Jill on money.com we are distributed by Odyssey. Please try to do something nice for someone else today. Change your work, change your wealth, change your life. Thanks for listening and we'll talk to you on Monday.

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[Anna (Caller)]

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