Written in federal, translated on the page: the TSP is your 401(k), the C Fund is the S&P 500, and the match is the match. Every number here is in the book — with the statements behind it.
The whole playbook in one page: take the full match, start at the rate you can hold, give every raise a split, keep the investments boring, and run your number at four honest rates.
What happens to a 31.5% contribution rate when the catch-up bucket opens at 50 — the spill priced to the dollar, and the full catch-up road not taken.
Go-go 57 to 69, slow-go 70 to 79, no-go 80 on. Why the first speed starts at 57 — and why five go-go years are worth more than the money working to 62 would add.
Saving through latte deprivation is not the answer. Limiting housing overhead is. The cheapest square foot is vertical.