One of the top financial goals on my to-do list has been to start maxing the contribution on my IRA for retirement. We haven’t actively contributed to it in a few years, since I started working less than full time, and I assumed, given the constant “Save for retirement” drumbeat, that this was very bad.

But my husband has had his 401(k) maxed forever, and even though it has taken a 15 percent hit this year, the balance is still healthy. The other day I ran a quick and dirty calculation through a retirement calculator. I plugged in our:

1. current salaries
2. ages
3. current dollar value of retirement accounts, and
4. our estimated future annual contributions.

Result: If I continued to earn peanuts, which is what I made last year because of maternity leave and the demands of a new infant, and contributed not one dime to my IRA, we’re golden, according to this calculator.

I’m not necessarily going to take that as the last word on retirement savings. But for now, at least, this effectively shunts that goal to the back burner.

This is huge points for my husband, who can, but most likely won’t, say, “I told you so.”

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