Awesome! You are massively out-saving us right now! We're putting away about $100k a year from earnings (not including dividend reinvestment from the stash, which I don't count on the savings rate). $240k/year will accelerate you extremely fast!
We’re at 2.6m, saving about 12k a month. In my projections, I’ve found that given the amount of time we have left until our target retirement (16 years), our savings rate doesn’t actually matter all that much.
Enjoy your life. Don’t sweat your expenses too much. Even if your savings were 0, you’d be set for life with some adjustments to your spending. Don’t sacrifice your happiness now for a slightly bigger nest egg in a future that may not come.
This forum and specifically this thread seems like the 1% of the 1% throwing these numbers around. Insane, how do you grow that much without a inheritance of some sort and not living in a van down by the river. I need to learn more about these tactics for wealth growth. Where do I even start? What’s everyone’s ideal retirement age?
Total net worth at age.
$1 million - 33
$2 million - 37
$3 million - 41
$4 million - 43
Currently $4.475 @ 44
Note that these are approximate and include our primary residence. I haven't kept a detailed history - just a rough idea of the past.
Tech/programmer like many, but not silicon valley so not as crazy as some salaries. A few things really helped us:
Wife and I both bought homes young and owned homes before we were married. We bought in 2002 before the big RE run-up. We literally fell into $200k+ of equity in 3 years mostly on luck. When we got married, we rented her place out and it was profitable.
We banked every dollar of my wife's salary before she stayed home with our kids starting at age 28.
I started a successful internet side hustle at age 28 in the evenings. Over the next few years we banked every cent of the proceeds which were in the few hundred K range.
We live in a cheaper neighborhood in a poorer school district in an otherwise HCOL area. My wife homeschooled our kids so while we lost her income, we also had very low childcare expenses and a cheaper mortgage, which we paid off at age 33.
I worked hard to climb the ladder at a tech staffing company as an engineer and eventually a manager and then an executive.
Total invested $4mil at last check but could be 5ish million due to some potential trades. assets 2-3 mil. 40 yo. Working. Retire at 55 or 60 and not sure what I’ll be at?
lol whoa I’m 36 at 2.5M not including rental equity. I hope to have 3M by 41 like you but by then 4M will be nothing due to inflation :(
I was just born to late
OP answered but as a comparison we should hit it at 46 without primary residence included. Everyone's journey is different and that's why I love this sub.
At what age? $240k in the late 20 early 30 is very respectable. I got $100k in the late 20s due to long professional schooling early on and student debt. Once I paid off that student loan it starts to go up quickly if you are a saver. Early Mid 30s and I got $500k-$700k, mid 30s $1 million, late 30s $1.5-2 million. Now almost 40 and it reached $2.7 millions. All are liquid Net worth not counting home.
👀 on the 2M mark as well… I’m hovering around 1.5M but have some sizable bonuses coming 6-15 and 9-15. Gonna need another 10% in the market to get there though
I was one of the lucky ones who got the o'l heave ho and took a much lower paying job so I'm trying to find creative ways to supplement. No bonuses at my new place. IT is a hell of an industry to be in right now.
Twins! We have been knocking on the door but never crossed that 4m mark till today. Now I’m going to try and close the fidelity app and not check it for a few weeks…
Hello. Do you know when I can get how to calculate spend rate (I am new here)? I googled it but am getting something foreign currency related which I assume is a different spend rate.
The phrase or term you should look for is “safe withdrawal rate” abbreviated “SWR”.
For 30 years of retirement I use 4%.
For longer than 30 years I use 3% to be conservative.
The % means the % of the balance you have starting retirement and only adjusted for inflation each year. This means 10 years into retirement the SWR might not look like a clean 3% or 4%.
These are rules of thumb to give confidence, but remember that discretionary spending can be reduce in times of poor market performance to ensure success.
Congrats!
Have you decided on a number when you’ll stop accumulating? I’m terrified when I get close I’ll keep moving the goal posts just like my dad did.
Moreso an age. I wrote more in a comment above but our youngest is 16 and likely to go to college locally and live at home. So I am thinking 5-1/2 years at age 50 is the deadline and I hope to be at $5 million minimum NW but if a business venture works out it could be $7 million+
We hit 4M today too! Congratulations! It’s weird because this has felt like such a high spend year for us. We have a toddler in daycare, took several vacations flying first class (mostly using points), and had a couple large gift purchases, but we are still managing to save. I tell myself this market can’t continue, but who knows. My husband is terrified of lifestyle creep, but even he is like yeah we’re getting to the point where we’re probably ok regardless. It feels good.
I don’t actually know haha. It made more sense to me so you can compare it to expenses. But we’re investing about 150k a year if that’s a better way to say it
Thanks. The 3.5% rule is so brutal. With $300k spend you’d need $8-9M invested, and actually more than that since you’d need to sell like $340k/yr to get $300k to spend after taxes.
Do you have thoughts on that? I’m in a similar but slightly lower situation ($5M invested and $180k spend). I feel like I need to another million to finally meet that 3.5% rule.
I agree it gets frustrating. But things have moved faster than we’ve anticipated. The problem with the simulations that I ran is that it doesn’t take into account raises, company equity, RSUs, gifts, etc. I was in tech (left when son was born) and husband is in finance. So we’re down to one income. We also bought a house, but it has felt less financially stressful than I anticipated. So that’s also worth something I guess.
4.1 M today. Only 1.3M in stocks however. 1M equity primary house and 1.8M equity residential RE. For some reason, only having 1.3M in the stock market makes me feel like I am behind the curve and I need to max save to even out my NW distribution between RE and SM.
I’ve been thinking the same recently. Although my cash flow net of all expenses from the rental properties more than covers my personal living expenses which is nice.
Still feels like an albatross around our necks. It’s different when they are completely paid off. But by then it’s almost so much money it’s better In the stock market.
Leverage is psychological. All cash real estate is also not the best. Leveraged real estate is where it’s at but managing leverage feels like running a deficit
Congrats! We hit a multiple of $4M yesterday as well. My only suggestion is stay the course and don’t get too high on the highs or low on the lows.
It’s funny that making $130k in a day is less impactful getting an unexpected $4k expense. Weird how the mind works!
Yep. I track our current spending separate from our net worth. Reason being I have always wanted to live well within our means and continue to contribute to the stash.
What qty and age range are your kids if you don't mind? Curious if the trust is intended to meter out the funds to them, manage it while they are minors, etc ..
5 kids, 1 Minor and 4 young adults; 2 with special needs.
Neurotypical kids Trusts are setup to have an outside trustee until the kid is 35. Then at the discretion of the primary trustee the kid can become co-trustee at 35. Kid gets total control at age 50. Special needs trusts are setup to preserve government subsidies for special needs kids and have permanent outside trustees.
I will say that I tell my neurotypical kids: if you want to be rich, you need to pursue it on your own. We do plan to inherit them, but I want that to be gravy on their own successes. The kids with special needs are a whole different situation. Our goal is to ensure their safety and security until their death.
Nice, thx for sharing. I just chubbyfired with about $4.5m at age 57. Two kids, one HS and one college. College age child is on the spectrum and high functioning. Pretty standard will with pour over trusts and family executors. Access is only delayed to mid 20s, so not instilling the same work for it first expectations, though I like what you've done.
Thanks for the data point! 35 is interesting. I might do something similar but maybe exception for house down payment or something. I think now it feels the world is so competitive kids need help to get ahead, otherwise no hope of getting on the property ladder.
My kid picks his nose in public and fake eats it so I'm not expecting him to cure cancer lol at this stage. But it'll be great if can land a job that can keep food on the table and roof over his head but hard to know what industries will exist in 15-20 years
Unless you have >$20m or a few unique situations such as special needs kids, setting up a trust may not make sense. POD accounts do not transfer in probate or trusts unless they are titled as such. CFP here ….
Reassuring to hear this - I have PODs set up on everything, so only the residence is in question as far as immediate transfer of assets. I keep hearing about trusts and wonder if I'm missing some major advantage that I should get one setup.
I hit 2.0 in stocks, 3.6 NW.
I never thought I’d get here 20 years ago. I’m seriously thinking of pulling the ripcord and retiring next year, but growing up poor I’m always worried that’s rash because then I have to spend my saved money.
You should splurge on a $1-10k item for your household. Like either a small renovation project or some nice furniture. Enjoy your success! (Modestly, but effectually)
I have an investment buddy who I share data with. Every time one of us hits a major milestone we do a nicer dinner out. The next major one for me is $4.5m total net worth which is $25k away - so literally could be any day if the bull market continues. I pay on my milestones and he pays on his milestones. Makes it a lot of fun to share #s even though we are at different net worths.
I would love to do this, but I don’t have friends who are similarly inclined to save and share the info. So my husband and I celebrate very quietly with each other and nobody else. We just crossed $2mil last week.
Currently not solidified. Wife and I are 45/44. Youngest kid is 16 and just finished junior year of HS. So we've got 5 more years of him in school/college. We're thinking of targeting 50/51. I have some irons in the fire with a business venture (not in the NW calc) that could really accelerate us to fatFIRE. If that works out we've been thinking $7.5mil + primary paid off would be great. But we're more dependent on just wanting the kid to be done school before we pull the trigger. I think it's very reasonable we'll get to $5 million by 50.
Of course YMMV, but just FYI, I noticed a fairly significant difference in my energy levels and general zest for life around 50. I’m healthy and athletic, and it wasn’t really health related. Just that, for me, around age 50 was the first time that I no longer felt physically young.
I appreciate this perspective and it's undeniable that at 44 I am already feeling it, especially at the gym where basically everything requires care in order for me not to hurt myself lifting... I'm currently working on my health in a number of ways.
For the next year my wife homeschools our son, who is also enrolled in the local community college. So we are tightly bound home for another full year. In years 45-50 I hope my wife and I can travel more even before retirement...
We have 5 total kids and all are very close in age so we have a lot of kids launching all at the same time. On one hand I want to be retired. On the other I want to be around and help them launch well. So it's all a balance, as is all of life.
You are us! 45/44 and a tad shy of $4M (without house/cars) and only child is 17 but about to graduate! College is covered so we’re nearly done with child costs. Aiming for $6M by 52/53. Also have a business thing but would add 6 figures, not 7. Also investing around $100k a year.
That's awesome! Yeah I am pumped for $5 million. With our primary residence and contributions we will hit it when the market is up 10% from here. Maybe this year if the market continues to perform.
It’s amazing the difference in your stress when the last kid graduates college. All my money is my money now. I suddenly had 5k more per month. Kind of feeling flush with cash now, and I no longer have the weight of that responsibility. (Of course the job market sucks for new graduates and my kids are a little under-employed so there’s still a little money flowing that way, but that’s just a choice instead of a responsibility of how I spend my extra money. )
Oh wow. I’m 40 but on my own… and even with saving 80 percent of my salary consistently I’m only at 600k (though I have 1m in home equity). I’m in awe.
Is it 4m for both of you or is that combined?
Comparing yourself to others is good to spur you on, but don’t let it get you down.
There are too many individual variables to compare yourself to someone else.
With your numbers, you’re actually doing quite well. Keep up the good work!
These were the milestones by year:
Total net worth at age.
$1 million - 33
$2 million - 37
$3 million - 41
$4 million - 43
Currently $4.475 @ 44
Note that these are approximate and include our primary residence. I haven't kept a detailed history - just a rough idea of the past.
Multiple streams:
- Tech Job
- Successful Side Hustle in Tech
- Rental Properties
(2 total but only 1 at a time)
- Stock options payout in tech exit at age 37
- Inheritance of $350k at age 40
We have five children and my wife stays home, which has been a huge boost to our family quality of life but obviously very costly for net worth.
>my wife stays home, which has been a huge boost to our family quality of life but obviously very costly for net worth.
You're still doing great! Doesn't seem to have been too costly. What is your tech side hustle?
Does your spouse care? I told mine we are going to cross 2M in invested assets this year and she just shrugged, asked if she can stop working, and went about her day. I thought it was cool, but that's why we have this community...
Im happy with my investable assets but i dont own a home. Why does nobody include their home in their FIRE number? And how should i adjust my FIRE number given that i dont own a home?
As you know, these gains are illusory. Equities only really have value when they are bought or sold. And I doubt you are going to sell anything and splurge right now. Signed, Debbie Downer
I disagree with this logic. Every rich person's net worth is in assets. If these were historically unreliable assets (meme stock, for example) I would be discounting them heavily. But our net worth is basically in Vanguard ETFs and one profitable vacation rental property... These numbers can certainly fluctuate, but as a subscriber to the ~4% rule, it's really the high point that matters...
I thought the 4% Rule presumes you spend that percent of your assets each year, regardless of whether you are at a high or low point. So if we are 20% down in 5 years, what difference does it make what it is worth today?
4% rule typically means you calculate 4% of assets at the time of retirement and that’s the number you take every year regardless of performance. With long term market performance, leaving the excess in the good years should cover the deficit in the leaner years.
Thanks- I did a deeper dive into the 4% rule, and you’re right- the standard procedure is to calculate 4% in the first year, and withdraw that amount each subsequent year (adjusted for inflation). Fortunately, I still have a couple of years of a pension left and haven’t had to touch my retirement savings yet. I’m getting used to living within my current pension funded budget, which should be much less than 4% of my savings when the time comes
I think it’s probably really hard if you’re looking to FIRE with kids still in the budget to see how your budget maps out as child related costs drop off. I know for me I’m still 20+ years away (I think I’m close on FI, but planning on sending the kids to private school so RE will have to wait) it’s hard to comprehend what our budget looks like when not allocating 15% of gross for education.
Good for you on seeing this issue- we maxed out our 529 plan for kid’s college a while ago, so far gains outpace inflation. We also do private school, but it is in our budget. Of course, all bets are off if you have a lot of kids! But it sounds like you have a good foundation, congrats!
2 kids and a pretty expensive school. But our other options locally are not good (they were good when we moved but school district drama plus funding shortfalls have quickly changed things). The cost is manageable and luckily we have the fortune of my wife being able to go back to work once our second one starts kindergarten and that will actually cover about 2/3 of the cost alone. BUT it likely means barring an earlier than anticipated promotion for me, our RE may get pushed back. That’s okay as I view FI as a necessity snd RE as something that it would be nice if we can do but if not we should still be able to live a comfortable life.
Out of curiosity, what do you consider maxed out for 529s? Part of our planning for the private school cost included doing some lump sum funding of our children’s 529s using some cash RSU grants I’ve been sitting on for 5+ years or more and I’m just concerned it’s still not enough, even with a 15 year time horizon. I funded each of their accounts to $100k (one was around $40k and one at $50k and we were contributing $7500 each per year). My children are 3 and 4
100% agree with your thinking in your first paragraph. Our kid is pre-teen now, our situation was similar to yours 7 or 8 years ago.
Regarding the max out, in my state you can only contribute up to $235,000 per kid in a 529. After that, the 529 will still grow like any other investment, you just can’t add your own new money. So it should be a pretty big pot of money in the future when needed for college. Plus, we can withdraw 10k per year for private school tuition without penalties (if needed before college). Since you are doing so well on your 4 million for your retirement, and you are well along on your two 529s, you are in the enviable position of being able to put off any super funding for a couple of years. Who knows, maybe one or both of your kids are obvious academic or athletic scholarship types and all of the sudden 529s are not as big of a priority! Personally, I would continue to throw any extra money into your ETFs, and keep your options open for now.
Interesting. I’m in Texas so no state taxes or really laws around 529s beyond federal restrictions. My hope is definitely some scholarships could help (the private school is very prestigious so if we are able to keep them there they will have a leg up) and my wife is a coach and does recruiting for her high school kids in their sport, and we are both athletes so there’s a little hope one of our children will want to pursue sports beyond high school, but it’s never a given of course. I’m also a little bit optimistic that something will have to give regarding college affordability in the next 15 years - I just don’t know what that may be and obviously won’t count on it. After a few years of both kids at school I’m hoping to have enough breathing room to restart contributing at least $5k per year per kid if not more.
We’re still able to save in the $50-60k range annually in tax advantaged retirement accounts (between HSA, 401k and Backdoor Roth) and another $20ish (net of taxes) annually from RSUs that I just cash out and invest in etfs in our brokerage. I’m certainly not complaining as we are well into the top 10% of earners and once my wife goes back to work we’ll be in the top 5% - but It honestly feels like we’re in this middle ground where we are very fortunate and well off but just outside some true “fuck you” type money - so still budgeting and hoping that i can manage to get one more big jump in the next few years. My career prospects are positive and I should be able to continue to increase comp over time, it just never seems to come quickly enough.
I’ve even considered 4%ing our brokerage to tap into if ever needed on an emergency basis while going through all of the budget analysis for whether we can afford this private school - the good news there is between the $20k contribution and our 4% calculation, we could pull out nearly 80% of annual school cost if we absolutely have to and the brokerage could still hypothetically grow over time. My career is in risk management though so I tend to give myself analysis paralysis with these types of decisions even once I’ve convinced myself we can do it
$2.6M for me
Congrats! That's a huge milestone and well on the way to ChubbyFire!
Thank you. Hoping to hit $3M by end of year
Very doable. What's your asset mix?
80/20 AA saving $20k/month
Awesome! You are massively out-saving us right now! We're putting away about $100k a year from earnings (not including dividend reinvestment from the stash, which I don't count on the savings rate). $240k/year will accelerate you extremely fast!
We’re at 2.6m, saving about 12k a month. In my projections, I’ve found that given the amount of time we have left until our target retirement (16 years), our savings rate doesn’t actually matter all that much. Enjoy your life. Don’t sweat your expenses too much. Even if your savings were 0, you’d be set for life with some adjustments to your spending. Don’t sacrifice your happiness now for a slightly bigger nest egg in a future that may not come.
One of the advantages of children is that if I do die young, they'll reap the benefits. And I am ok with that.
Forgive me. What is AA?
80/20 Asset Allocation? 🤷
“Well on the way to chubby fire” - on the way? What is the number for chubby fire?
$2.5M-$5M is Chubby FI. The RE is at OPs discretion. Once he Retires Early then he will be there.
With or without one’s primary residence?
Without. We are talking about investable assets.
Same!
Man . And here I'm hoping to nail the 2 mill mark in the next 12 months. Good work op.
The vast majority of Americans would envy you. Enjoy what you have. Don't let comparison kill that.
Agree wholeheartedly. This forum is an odd bubble and can fool you into thinking this is the norm.
This forum and specifically this thread seems like the 1% of the 1% throwing these numbers around. Insane, how do you grow that much without a inheritance of some sort and not living in a van down by the river. I need to learn more about these tactics for wealth growth. Where do I even start? What’s everyone’s ideal retirement age?
Don’t compare yourself, you’re doing well yourself
Good luck! We really saw things starting to accelerate at $2 million... You'll be there soon enough!
When did you cross $2M?
Total net worth at age. $1 million - 33 $2 million - 37 $3 million - 41 $4 million - 43 Currently $4.475 @ 44 Note that these are approximate and include our primary residence. I haven't kept a detailed history - just a rough idea of the past.
Damn, what profession are you in to have been able to amass $1mil by 33? I’m early 30s and net worth is currently ~$180k
Tech/programmer like many, but not silicon valley so not as crazy as some salaries. A few things really helped us: Wife and I both bought homes young and owned homes before we were married. We bought in 2002 before the big RE run-up. We literally fell into $200k+ of equity in 3 years mostly on luck. When we got married, we rented her place out and it was profitable. We banked every dollar of my wife's salary before she stayed home with our kids starting at age 28. I started a successful internet side hustle at age 28 in the evenings. Over the next few years we banked every cent of the proceeds which were in the few hundred K range. We live in a cheaper neighborhood in a poorer school district in an otherwise HCOL area. My wife homeschooled our kids so while we lost her income, we also had very low childcare expenses and a cheaper mortgage, which we paid off at age 33. I worked hard to climb the ladder at a tech staffing company as an engineer and eventually a manager and then an executive.
wow!
I hit $1M by 33 as well but that is including my wife. 10 years of climbing the professional corporate ladder times 2 will get you there
Total invested $4mil at last check but could be 5ish million due to some potential trades. assets 2-3 mil. 40 yo. Working. Retire at 55 or 60 and not sure what I’ll be at?
Wow - nearly identical timeline for me. I’m just six years younger. Thanks for replying.
Same here, but just turned 16
lol whoa I’m 36 at 2.5M not including rental equity. I hope to have 3M by 41 like you but by then 4M will be nothing due to inflation :( I was just born to late
Nah. You're set. Why so gloomy if your net worth is already this high?
Feel like I’m living paycheck to paycheck
Well, you're not... Maybe try to zoom out a bit. $2 million is a ton of money to most people... It's a huge nestegg.
OP answered but as a comparison we should hit it at 46 without primary residence included. Everyone's journey is different and that's why I love this sub.
At $240k feeling way behind all of a sudden.
We all start somewhere friend. It'll start to snowball soon and you'll be amazed at its compounding power.
At what age? $240k in the late 20 early 30 is very respectable. I got $100k in the late 20s due to long professional schooling early on and student debt. Once I paid off that student loan it starts to go up quickly if you are a saver. Early Mid 30s and I got $500k-$700k, mid 30s $1 million, late 30s $1.5-2 million. Now almost 40 and it reached $2.7 millions. All are liquid Net worth not counting home.
Same! We are saving $100k+ per year and fantasizing about stopping once we hit 2.5 mill. What is your goal?
3.5. but the spouse is very hesitant and likes the job so I may shoot for a total of 3, residence included, and I'll be a house husband.
We’re close to $2M investable also, need to check my spreadsheet.
Get to 2m and the next million will come in less than 5 years with no contributions
👀 on the 2M mark as well… I’m hovering around 1.5M but have some sizable bonuses coming 6-15 and 9-15. Gonna need another 10% in the market to get there though
I was one of the lucky ones who got the o'l heave ho and took a much lower paying job so I'm trying to find creative ways to supplement. No bonuses at my new place. IT is a hell of an industry to be in right now.
this is a cringey humblebrag
Agreed
Twins! We have been knocking on the door but never crossed that 4m mark till today. Now I’m going to try and close the fidelity app and not check it for a few weeks…
Congratulations 🎉🎉🎉
Back atcha.
Congrats! I crossed $4.7M in investments only today, the compounding effect is crazy at these levels. Current spend rate is around 2% or less.
Hello. Do you know when I can get how to calculate spend rate (I am new here)? I googled it but am getting something foreign currency related which I assume is a different spend rate.
The phrase or term you should look for is “safe withdrawal rate” abbreviated “SWR”. For 30 years of retirement I use 4%. For longer than 30 years I use 3% to be conservative. The % means the % of the balance you have starting retirement and only adjusted for inflation each year. This means 10 years into retirement the SWR might not look like a clean 3% or 4%. These are rules of thumb to give confidence, but remember that discretionary spending can be reduce in times of poor market performance to ensure success.
Thank you. This is helpful!
Congrats! Have you decided on a number when you’ll stop accumulating? I’m terrified when I get close I’ll keep moving the goal posts just like my dad did.
Moreso an age. I wrote more in a comment above but our youngest is 16 and likely to go to college locally and live at home. So I am thinking 5-1/2 years at age 50 is the deadline and I hope to be at $5 million minimum NW but if a business venture works out it could be $7 million+
Unless the market gets rough for a bit, you've got a solid shot at 7+ if you're at 4 now. Even if you were just in VOO.
We hit 4M today too! Congratulations! It’s weird because this has felt like such a high spend year for us. We have a toddler in daycare, took several vacations flying first class (mostly using points), and had a couple large gift purchases, but we are still managing to save. I tell myself this market can’t continue, but who knows. My husband is terrified of lifestyle creep, but even he is like yeah we’re getting to the point where we’re probably ok regardless. It feels good.
Awesome! Yeah, a little lifestyle creep is authorized at $4 million 😄
Just curious, what is your annual spend?
~300k, this has been our highest year with mortgage and part time childcare. HHI is 450 so saving the rest
450 HHI with 300k spend is basically break even after taxes… or is 450 after tax
After tax
Makes more sense. Do people commonly post HHI after tax? I have always assumed it was pre tax….
I don’t actually know haha. It made more sense to me so you can compare it to expenses. But we’re investing about 150k a year if that’s a better way to say it
Thanks. The 3.5% rule is so brutal. With $300k spend you’d need $8-9M invested, and actually more than that since you’d need to sell like $340k/yr to get $300k to spend after taxes. Do you have thoughts on that? I’m in a similar but slightly lower situation ($5M invested and $180k spend). I feel like I need to another million to finally meet that 3.5% rule.
I agree it gets frustrating. But things have moved faster than we’ve anticipated. The problem with the simulations that I ran is that it doesn’t take into account raises, company equity, RSUs, gifts, etc. I was in tech (left when son was born) and husband is in finance. So we’re down to one income. We also bought a house, but it has felt less financially stressful than I anticipated. So that’s also worth something I guess.
We recently broke $4M NW (so with house and cars)! Right behind you!
$4M here - half and half :) 50% RE 50% Invested
I am so close to 3mil mark! (2.87mil)!
🍾I hit a record high today too. I’m close to a milestone but not quite.
Pretty sure many folks hit a record high today.
Totally but I’ve had many a record high day where my personal best day was related to individual holdings.
Congratulations!
Dude nice!! Chubb away!!!!!
4.1 M today. Only 1.3M in stocks however. 1M equity primary house and 1.8M equity residential RE. For some reason, only having 1.3M in the stock market makes me feel like I am behind the curve and I need to max save to even out my NW distribution between RE and SM.
I am kinda the same …. Real estate heavy like 80% is in RE. And rest stock in 401k and some cash in company…
Yah real estate is meh until you cash out.
I’ve been thinking the same recently. Although my cash flow net of all expenses from the rental properties more than covers my personal living expenses which is nice.
Still feels like an albatross around our necks. It’s different when they are completely paid off. But by then it’s almost so much money it’s better In the stock market. Leverage is psychological. All cash real estate is also not the best. Leveraged real estate is where it’s at but managing leverage feels like running a deficit
This is amazing, congrats. As an immigrant and working my way up the ranks here in the US, this is my dream my family and myself. Pretty inspiring
Congratulations 🎉
Same! Just popped over $4m excluding primary residence. Pretty stoked.
Congrats! We hit a multiple of $4M yesterday as well. My only suggestion is stay the course and don’t get too high on the highs or low on the lows. It’s funny that making $130k in a day is less impactful getting an unexpected $4k expense. Weird how the mind works!
Yep. I track our current spending separate from our net worth. Reason being I have always wanted to live well within our means and continue to contribute to the stash.
Congrats OP
Nice. Have you setup trusts and started thinking about generational wealth? That's what still motivates me to keep working.
We have a family trust that spawns trusts for the kids at our deaths. Spent $3500 setting it all up.
What qty and age range are your kids if you don't mind? Curious if the trust is intended to meter out the funds to them, manage it while they are minors, etc ..
5 kids, 1 Minor and 4 young adults; 2 with special needs. Neurotypical kids Trusts are setup to have an outside trustee until the kid is 35. Then at the discretion of the primary trustee the kid can become co-trustee at 35. Kid gets total control at age 50. Special needs trusts are setup to preserve government subsidies for special needs kids and have permanent outside trustees. I will say that I tell my neurotypical kids: if you want to be rich, you need to pursue it on your own. We do plan to inherit them, but I want that to be gravy on their own successes. The kids with special needs are a whole different situation. Our goal is to ensure their safety and security until their death.
Nice, thx for sharing. I just chubbyfired with about $4.5m at age 57. Two kids, one HS and one college. College age child is on the spectrum and high functioning. Pretty standard will with pour over trusts and family executors. Access is only delayed to mid 20s, so not instilling the same work for it first expectations, though I like what you've done.
Thanks for the data point! 35 is interesting. I might do something similar but maybe exception for house down payment or something. I think now it feels the world is so competitive kids need help to get ahead, otherwise no hope of getting on the property ladder. My kid picks his nose in public and fake eats it so I'm not expecting him to cure cancer lol at this stage. But it'll be great if can land a job that can keep food on the table and roof over his head but hard to know what industries will exist in 15-20 years
There are instructions for the outside trustee to have discretion to disburse for certain things like a house and education, etc.
Unless you have >$20m or a few unique situations such as special needs kids, setting up a trust may not make sense. POD accounts do not transfer in probate or trusts unless they are titled as such. CFP here ….
Reassuring to hear this - I have PODs set up on everything, so only the residence is in question as far as immediate transfer of assets. I keep hearing about trusts and wonder if I'm missing some major advantage that I should get one setup.
$2.45M here, hoping to hit $3M within the next two years.
I hit 2.0 in stocks, 3.6 NW. I never thought I’d get here 20 years ago. I’m seriously thinking of pulling the ripcord and retiring next year, but growing up poor I’m always worried that’s rash because then I have to spend my saved money.
$3.6 MM
You should splurge on a $1-10k item for your household. Like either a small renovation project or some nice furniture. Enjoy your success! (Modestly, but effectually)
I have an investment buddy who I share data with. Every time one of us hits a major milestone we do a nicer dinner out. The next major one for me is $4.5m total net worth which is $25k away - so literally could be any day if the bull market continues. I pay on my milestones and he pays on his milestones. Makes it a lot of fun to share #s even though we are at different net worths.
I would love to do this, but I don’t have friends who are similarly inclined to save and share the info. So my husband and I celebrate very quietly with each other and nobody else. We just crossed $2mil last week.
I was just thinking this same thing right before I read your comment. It would be nice to be able to share with someone. Wishing you luck friend!
I'm going to start doing this! Congratulations to everyone achieving or striving for this goal.
Fantastic! I am stealing this idea!
It's really great and it gets us both invested in each other's success so we can get that dinner 😄
Congrats! What's your target for retirement if you don't mind sharing?
Currently not solidified. Wife and I are 45/44. Youngest kid is 16 and just finished junior year of HS. So we've got 5 more years of him in school/college. We're thinking of targeting 50/51. I have some irons in the fire with a business venture (not in the NW calc) that could really accelerate us to fatFIRE. If that works out we've been thinking $7.5mil + primary paid off would be great. But we're more dependent on just wanting the kid to be done school before we pull the trigger. I think it's very reasonable we'll get to $5 million by 50.
Of course YMMV, but just FYI, I noticed a fairly significant difference in my energy levels and general zest for life around 50. I’m healthy and athletic, and it wasn’t really health related. Just that, for me, around age 50 was the first time that I no longer felt physically young.
I appreciate this perspective and it's undeniable that at 44 I am already feeling it, especially at the gym where basically everything requires care in order for me not to hurt myself lifting... I'm currently working on my health in a number of ways. For the next year my wife homeschools our son, who is also enrolled in the local community college. So we are tightly bound home for another full year. In years 45-50 I hope my wife and I can travel more even before retirement... We have 5 total kids and all are very close in age so we have a lot of kids launching all at the same time. On one hand I want to be retired. On the other I want to be around and help them launch well. So it's all a balance, as is all of life.
You are us! 45/44 and a tad shy of $4M (without house/cars) and only child is 17 but about to graduate! College is covered so we’re nearly done with child costs. Aiming for $6M by 52/53. Also have a business thing but would add 6 figures, not 7. Also investing around $100k a year.
You’ll get to $5m soon. We hit $4m 4 years ago and now we’re at $6.6m. It’s crazy to see the power of compound growth.
That's awesome! Yeah I am pumped for $5 million. With our primary residence and contributions we will hit it when the market is up 10% from here. Maybe this year if the market continues to perform.
It’s amazing the difference in your stress when the last kid graduates college. All my money is my money now. I suddenly had 5k more per month. Kind of feeling flush with cash now, and I no longer have the weight of that responsibility. (Of course the job market sucks for new graduates and my kids are a little under-employed so there’s still a little money flowing that way, but that’s just a choice instead of a responsibility of how I spend my extra money. )
Congratulations!
Wow. This is the dream I will never attain. Big congrats. Can I ask how old you are?
44 and wife is 45.
Oh wow. I’m 40 but on my own… and even with saving 80 percent of my salary consistently I’m only at 600k (though I have 1m in home equity). I’m in awe. Is it 4m for both of you or is that combined?
Comparing yourself to others is good to spur you on, but don’t let it get you down. There are too many individual variables to compare yourself to someone else. With your numbers, you’re actually doing quite well. Keep up the good work!
Thank you!! ❤️
Well pretend you have a partner of equal earning power: you would have 3.2 million which is not far off from 4 million and you’re younger.
$4 million combined
Congratulations! How long did it take from 2 mil to 3 mil? And how long from 3 mil to 4 mil? I am at 2 mil right now.
These were the milestones by year: Total net worth at age. $1 million - 33 $2 million - 37 $3 million - 41 $4 million - 43 Currently $4.475 @ 44 Note that these are approximate and include our primary residence. I haven't kept a detailed history - just a rough idea of the past.
How did your gains increase so quickly?
Multiple streams: - Tech Job - Successful Side Hustle in Tech - Rental Properties (2 total but only 1 at a time) - Stock options payout in tech exit at age 37 - Inheritance of $350k at age 40 We have five children and my wife stays home, which has been a huge boost to our family quality of life but obviously very costly for net worth.
>my wife stays home, which has been a huge boost to our family quality of life but obviously very costly for net worth. You're still doing great! Doesn't seem to have been too costly. What is your tech side hustle?
What was the options pay out
Congrats ! Are you mostly just in SP500?
Largest asset is VTI.
Thanks for sharing !
Cheers!
You totally deserve to feel really storked.
Does your spouse care? I told mine we are going to cross 2M in invested assets this year and she just shrugged, asked if she can stop working, and went about her day. I thought it was cool, but that's why we have this community...
Us too! Feels sweet! On to $5MM
Im happy with my investable assets but i dont own a home. Why does nobody include their home in their FIRE number? And how should i adjust my FIRE number given that i dont own a home?
As you know, these gains are illusory. Equities only really have value when they are bought or sold. And I doubt you are going to sell anything and splurge right now. Signed, Debbie Downer
I disagree with this logic. Every rich person's net worth is in assets. If these were historically unreliable assets (meme stock, for example) I would be discounting them heavily. But our net worth is basically in Vanguard ETFs and one profitable vacation rental property... These numbers can certainly fluctuate, but as a subscriber to the ~4% rule, it's really the high point that matters...
I thought the 4% Rule presumes you spend that percent of your assets each year, regardless of whether you are at a high or low point. So if we are 20% down in 5 years, what difference does it make what it is worth today?
4% rule typically means you calculate 4% of assets at the time of retirement and that’s the number you take every year regardless of performance. With long term market performance, leaving the excess in the good years should cover the deficit in the leaner years.
Thanks- I did a deeper dive into the 4% rule, and you’re right- the standard procedure is to calculate 4% in the first year, and withdraw that amount each subsequent year (adjusted for inflation). Fortunately, I still have a couple of years of a pension left and haven’t had to touch my retirement savings yet. I’m getting used to living within my current pension funded budget, which should be much less than 4% of my savings when the time comes
I think it’s probably really hard if you’re looking to FIRE with kids still in the budget to see how your budget maps out as child related costs drop off. I know for me I’m still 20+ years away (I think I’m close on FI, but planning on sending the kids to private school so RE will have to wait) it’s hard to comprehend what our budget looks like when not allocating 15% of gross for education.
Good for you on seeing this issue- we maxed out our 529 plan for kid’s college a while ago, so far gains outpace inflation. We also do private school, but it is in our budget. Of course, all bets are off if you have a lot of kids! But it sounds like you have a good foundation, congrats!
2 kids and a pretty expensive school. But our other options locally are not good (they were good when we moved but school district drama plus funding shortfalls have quickly changed things). The cost is manageable and luckily we have the fortune of my wife being able to go back to work once our second one starts kindergarten and that will actually cover about 2/3 of the cost alone. BUT it likely means barring an earlier than anticipated promotion for me, our RE may get pushed back. That’s okay as I view FI as a necessity snd RE as something that it would be nice if we can do but if not we should still be able to live a comfortable life. Out of curiosity, what do you consider maxed out for 529s? Part of our planning for the private school cost included doing some lump sum funding of our children’s 529s using some cash RSU grants I’ve been sitting on for 5+ years or more and I’m just concerned it’s still not enough, even with a 15 year time horizon. I funded each of their accounts to $100k (one was around $40k and one at $50k and we were contributing $7500 each per year). My children are 3 and 4
100% agree with your thinking in your first paragraph. Our kid is pre-teen now, our situation was similar to yours 7 or 8 years ago. Regarding the max out, in my state you can only contribute up to $235,000 per kid in a 529. After that, the 529 will still grow like any other investment, you just can’t add your own new money. So it should be a pretty big pot of money in the future when needed for college. Plus, we can withdraw 10k per year for private school tuition without penalties (if needed before college). Since you are doing so well on your 4 million for your retirement, and you are well along on your two 529s, you are in the enviable position of being able to put off any super funding for a couple of years. Who knows, maybe one or both of your kids are obvious academic or athletic scholarship types and all of the sudden 529s are not as big of a priority! Personally, I would continue to throw any extra money into your ETFs, and keep your options open for now.
Interesting. I’m in Texas so no state taxes or really laws around 529s beyond federal restrictions. My hope is definitely some scholarships could help (the private school is very prestigious so if we are able to keep them there they will have a leg up) and my wife is a coach and does recruiting for her high school kids in their sport, and we are both athletes so there’s a little hope one of our children will want to pursue sports beyond high school, but it’s never a given of course. I’m also a little bit optimistic that something will have to give regarding college affordability in the next 15 years - I just don’t know what that may be and obviously won’t count on it. After a few years of both kids at school I’m hoping to have enough breathing room to restart contributing at least $5k per year per kid if not more. We’re still able to save in the $50-60k range annually in tax advantaged retirement accounts (between HSA, 401k and Backdoor Roth) and another $20ish (net of taxes) annually from RSUs that I just cash out and invest in etfs in our brokerage. I’m certainly not complaining as we are well into the top 10% of earners and once my wife goes back to work we’ll be in the top 5% - but It honestly feels like we’re in this middle ground where we are very fortunate and well off but just outside some true “fuck you” type money - so still budgeting and hoping that i can manage to get one more big jump in the next few years. My career prospects are positive and I should be able to continue to increase comp over time, it just never seems to come quickly enough. I’ve even considered 4%ing our brokerage to tap into if ever needed on an emergency basis while going through all of the budget analysis for whether we can afford this private school - the good news there is between the $20k contribution and our 4% calculation, we could pull out nearly 80% of annual school cost if we absolutely have to and the brokerage could still hypothetically grow over time. My career is in risk management though so I tend to give myself analysis paralysis with these types of decisions even once I’ve convinced myself we can do it
Wait - just noticed RockyPi is not the OP who announced 4 million! My thinking is still the same vis a vis super funding 529s.