Should we sell home and invest in the stock market?

[SJP415]

My husband and I are wondering if it would be smart to sell our home and take the equity and invest it in the stock market. My husband is 50 and I am 44 years old and we have no kids. We own a home in Southern California that is currently valued around $550K - we have +/- $250K of equity that we could make from the home if we were to sell this spring. My husband has only $60K in a 401K retirement account and I do not have any real retirement savings as of now. We're not attached the home (although we would miss it) and we are open to moving/relocating to another state (my husband can transfer with his job and I can restart elsewhere also). My husband has a salary job where he makes about $60K a year and I am self-employed and my income can vary - it's usually around $50k to $60k a year but I managed to make $100k in 2013. We're trying to start thinking of retirement and getting a little scared and wondering what the best option for us would be...thanks so much for any help/tips/advice and Happy New Year!

[autoxer]

If you can move somewhere that will lower your cost of living, but still maintain your income, them it will certainly be easier to save for retirement. Do you know how much you are spending each year?

You should also look into a SEP IRA. If you have another good year, you could shove over $50k into it.

[SJP415]

No not really...

To be honest neither of us are great with money in terms of knowing how much we actually spend on what...I would say we have both had a recent awakening on the subject (maybe it was my husband turning 50). Time to stop living in the moment and think hard about the future...

[autoxer]

I think you should focus on changing your money habits. When you know where your money is going, it is easy to identify things you are spending on that aren't really adding value to your life. Eliminating those first isn't really a sacrifice, it's just trimming the fat.

Dumping your home equity into the stock market may help towards retirement, but if you don't address your spending habits that wouldn't get you too far.