My Budget

Saving/Debt Repayment
42.8%= If you want to retire young, you have to make sacrifices, I have sacrificed buying a new car, a larger house, driving in to work, and going out to lunch among other things.

Spending
25.5%= There are areas here I could definitely cut back on, but I don't want my wife to feel like she is living under siege, so for our happiness I spend more than I need to. Roughly 59% of my spending comes from mortgages and home ownership fees.

Taxes
31.6%- Despite the fact that my wife and I pretty much max out our 401K, the Government takes nearly 1/3 of my income (not including sales, gas, or other taxes). I wonder what the percentages would be if they didn't use my money on pointless wars, farm subsidies, bridges to nowhere, and a social security program I won't get to take advantage of. By my calculations, if I didn't have to pay taxes, I could retire in 5 years.

Should You Be Making Non-Deductible Contributions to an IRA?

Crazy talk, you say? Maybe Not....

If you are above a certain income ($103K for joint income) you are not allowed to claim any tax deduction for contributions made to an IRA. Similarly, if you are above $166K for joint income, you can not make contributions into a Roth IRA.....

But, tax loophole time! Starting in 2010, you can convert your IRA into a Roth IRA, no matter what your income is! You would normally have to pay taxes on the amount of money in your IRA which you claimed a tax deduction for....

But not if you didn't receive a tax deduction for that money!

This means that if you are above the limits for a Roth IRA eligibility, you can sneak in, by making a bunch of crazy non-deductible IRA contributions from 2007-2010, and then converting your IRA balance into a Roth at no charge.

Risks: Congress could always change the laws. Disclaimer: Verify this w/ tax professional to make sure I am right.