When the twins hit first grade and our childcare costs went away, then we started pulling ahead. About 7 years ago, we paid off our house, but I continued having the house payment amt taken out of my check and deposited in a credit union acct. We call this The Fund. The Fund has paid for a new driveway, and when the twins reached driving age, the vehicles to fill up the driveway. I would have preferred the kids pay for their own cars (like I did), but wife vetoed. The parents should buy the first cars (like she had done for her). Now, when the twins finish college in a couple yrs, we should be sitting pretty. Then retirement will be upon us!
badger, if you and NP are saving for little badger's college education, you shouldn't be in anything except a 529 college savings plan. It's like the 401(k) of college savings.
Right now we are saving for paying off the house. Next will be the kids college... And we will be doing everything we can to get her to pay her own way, but... It's not like it used to be. School is so damn expensive because student loans are driving costs up.
I was fortunate to have a job that paid well with insurance. Having been to every OU home football game for the last 41 years plus the usual yearly away game not to mention 26 of the last 30 Big 8/12 basketball tournaments I told my wife last year when I retired if I had all the money that I spent on OU sporting events I could have retired 5 years earlier. She said she wished I had gone to more events.