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A Penny Saved...
 If all goes according to their program, Steve and Ronda Baugher, ages 39 and 46, will be living their retirement dream in just 16 years, when Steve turns 55.
The Spring Green, Wisconsin, couple started saving for retirement when Steve was 21. His employer, a fire protection company in Seattle, Washington, was starting a 401(k) program and offered a match to those who participated. The Baughers started with 10 percent.
Over the next two decades, the family moved a few times—from Seattle to Cheney, Washington, to Wisconsin—and Steve changed jobs, although always remaining in the fire protection field. Ronda stayed home to raise their two children, now 13 and 26. After Steve left his first job, the Baughers met with their Thrivent Financial representative. Ronda had questions about a life insurance contract she’d had since she was young and Steve’s 401(k) that they were no longer paying into. Steve’s union began automatically taking money from each paycheck for retirement.
They discussed their goals. The first decision they made was life insurance for both of them. Then they decided to convert Steve’s 401(k) into a Roth IRA and begin a second Roth IRA in Ronda’s name, which they began to pay into monthly.
“We learned that if we waited even five or 10 years, we would need to save so much more to have what we want,” Ronda says. “It’s a sacrifice that is so worth it.”
They’ve made many sacrifices through the years: giving up the luxury of a new vehicle for lower car payments, shopping the ads and the sales for clothing, and saving for vacations and other large items they need or want. They have an emergency fund for unexpected expenses. And on the advice of their Thrivent Financial representative, Cathy Bramlett, they max out Ronda’s Roth IRA each year.
The couple is optimistic that when they retire, they will be able to travel and buy some of the “toys” they’ve sacrificed for now. “It’s an awesome goal,” says Steve. “And if I really can retire at 55, it is all worth it.”
—D.M.
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