Financial Milestone Reached

[bjl584]

I added up the value of my 401K, my Roth, my Taxable Brokerage Account, and my various bank accounts this morning. Here is the current value:

$200,436.83

As a point of reference I am 34 years old, single with no kids, and earn around $55K a year. I'm quite pleased with my progress thus far of a financial journey that started about 10 years ago when I finally got my first "real" job.

Would anyone else like to share their finances?

[kork13]

I'm about to hit a different milestone -- I'm in the process of buying my first home, and closing next week!

As for dollar figures, I can only consider myself extremely blessed... I'm 26 y/o, single, make $78k/yr, and my accounts currently total up to $177,903 (though this will drop significantly after next week -- I'm putting down about $50k on the house, ~28%).

A realization I had when I hit $100,000 in Jan'11 (that was the milestone that was really exciting for me): The hardest part about saving money and building wealth is making the decision and starting. Once you get going along the path, as long as you stick to your plan, things can happen fast and without you realizing it. Putting a focus on saving changes your outlook, and it becomes alot easier to be smart with the money you have, whether you make $100k/yr or just $7k/yr (like I did when I first started really saving in college 6 years ago).

[MonkeyMama]

Congrats!!

I agree with Kork's sentiments. I was going to ask if you knew how long it took to get from $100k to $200k? The power of compounding, once passing the $100k mark, is mind blowing. (Saving that first $100k took "forever," in comparison).

Age 35, married with kids, $170,000 in investments today. Average salary is $70k-ish last 13 years.

Our next big milestone is to have more liquid (non-house) investments than mortgage. Probably in the next year or two. This is an extra special milestone to me considering the cost of living where we live.

[97guns]

my accounts currently total up to $177,903 (though this will drop significantly after next week -- I'm putting down about $50k on the house, ~28%).
.

that 50K is not falling off your books, its still there in the form of equity, your net worth of 177K will not change

[Petunia 100]

that 50K is not falling off your books, its still there in the form of equity, your net worth of 177K will not change

I used to think that, too. Fast forward 5 years, my home value is half of what it was. That down payment money certainly can just fall off your books.

[97guns]

I used to think that, too. Fast forward 5 years, my home value is half of what it was. That down payment money certainly can just fall off your books.

well if you want to look at it like this then your loss has not incured yet, its on paper like a stock holding that your in the red on. it only "comes off the books" when you close out the position.

[bjl584]

I was going to ask if you knew how long it took to get from $100k to $200k? The power of compounding, once passing the $100k mark, is mind blowing. (Saving that first $100k took "forever," in comparison).

Well, let's see.....

The first $100K probably took about 7 to 8 years. The next $100K only took about 2 1/2 years or so. So yes, I'm starting to see the effects already. I figure moving forward that things should start moving even faster. Hopefully anyway.

[Petunia 100]

well if you want to look at it like this then your loss has not incured yet, its on paper like a stock holding that your in the red on. it only "comes off the books" when you close out the position.

Do you use historical cost to track your net worth? How do you tell if you are making any progress or not?

[frugalfarmwife]

Congrats on the milestone, I know they feel good to hit.

Now my cash/retirement investments aren't big but we just hit a milestone too, one I've been working hard on. Our investments have finally hit 50% of our mortgage which is going down fast. We're older and have worked hard, but our real investment is our land (I don't count it in our "investments" because I work harder that way).

We are lucky in that we were able to buy land at a low rate due to a "freak" happening, bought a total of 82 acres next to a motocross (at the time we didn't mind, well run, organized and brought good money into our local economy). But, the "citiots" across the street sued and got the moto cross closed, so we now own prime real estate less than a mile from town, including 36 acres fully plotted and approved for 18 high end homes We've had offers, VERY good offers, but prefer to putter on the land for at least the next 10 years.

I may be cash poor But I love walking out on the land and knowing that I'll be able to retire and have fun.

BTW, mortage is well under 100,000 and will be paid off in less than 10 years.

ff

[Petunia 100]

Congrats on the milestone, I know they feel good to hit.

Now my cash/retirement investments aren't big but we just hit a milestone too, one I've been working hard on. Our investments have finally hit 50% of our mortgage which is going down fast. We're older and have worked hard, but our real investment is our land (I don't count it in our "investments" because I work harder that way).

We are lucky in that we were able to buy land at a low rate due to a "freak" happening, bought a total of 82 acres next to a motocross (at the time we didn't mind, well run, organized and brought good money into our local economy). But, the "citiots" across the street sued and got the moto cross closed, so we now own prime real estate less than a mile from town, including 36 acres fully plotted and approved for 18 high end homes We've had offers, VERY good offers, but prefer to putter on the land for at least the next 10 years.

I may be cash poor But I love walking out on the land and knowing that I'll be able to retire and have fun.

BTW, mortage is well under 100,000 and will be paid off in less than 10 years.

ff

That's awesome, FrugalFarmWife. Congrats on having made such a smart investment.

[UnknownXV]

I'll be hitting $10,000 in April 2013. I'm 22 years old, so it's a decent start. Been saving for a bit over a year.

By the time I am 34, I should have about $130,000 saved, roughly. I only earn $15,000 a year after taxes though, and I don't see that after-tax income climbing above $23,000.

I'm about to hit a different milestone -- I'm in the process of buying my first home, and closing next week!

As for dollar figures, I can only consider myself extremely blessed... I'm 26 y/o, single, make $78k/yr, and my accounts currently total up to $177,903 (though this will drop significantly after next week -- I'm putting down about $50k on the house, ~28%).

A realization I had when I hit $100,000 in Jan'11 (that was the milestone that was really exciting for me): The hardest part about saving money and building wealth is making the decision and starting. Once you get going along the path, as long as you stick to your plan, things can happen fast and without you realizing it. Putting a focus on saving changes your outlook, and it becomes alot easier to be smart with the money you have, whether you make $100k/yr or just $7k/yr (like I did when I first started really saving in college 6 years ago).

Honestly, the hardest part for me is boosting my income to an acceptable level. I have disadvantages though. I don't possess exceptional academic intelligence, and I am also picky on how I'd work a full time job (9 to 5, five days a week would be hell for me).

I have to be content with low pay, but saving a very high percentage of this income. It's not easy, but retirement will make it worth while. It also means I expect to spend less in retirement too.

Out of curiosity, what do you do to make over 70k a year?

I used to think that, too. Fast forward 5 years, my home value is half of what it was. That down payment money certainly can just fall off your books.

True, but if you hold onto that home for another decade, the price will likely have returned to where it was, maybe above it. You'll likely still have incurred a loss when you factor in inflation, but it's not as bad as it may appear if you are willing and capable of sticking it out for the long run.

I've always thought that a home is a long-term investment.

[snafu]

UNKNOWN: What is your long term [5 yr] plan for your savings? What is your risk tolerance? What are you currently investing in to help the sum grow? Where do you see yourself [income/investment] by 9/1/2018.

[TBH]

We just hit $175K in retirement savings.

Our annual income is about $80K. I'm 35 and started saving at 20. My spouse is 49 and started saving at 38.

[Snave]

I am closing in on 500k in retirement and am quite excited about that milestone. With the downturn, it has taken a few years longer than I thought it would. I am 37 and have been saving since my first job out of college. I also have about $2500 a month accumulated in my company pension fund as well.

[UnknownXV]

UNKNOWN: What is your long term [5 yr] plan for your savings? What is your risk tolerance? What are you currently investing in to help the sum grow? Where do you see yourself [income/investment] by 9/1/2018.

Currently I will be getting to $10,000 by April. I have already invested the maximum in my RRSP (Here in canada, it's similar to a 401k, although I don't have any company matching). The difference is all contributions here are tax deductible, which is why I will hit 10k in April, I will get a nice tax return.

After that, I will keep on saving until I have $10,000 in my standard savings account. I get 1.35% in it here, not much but I want to keep a lot of assets liquid, I'll feel much safer in riskier investments like that. After that, I'll contribute the maximum to my RRSP for 2013, and get some into a TFSA. (Tax free savings account). I'll probably put this into a redeemable GIC here, I can get a few for 2.35% per year. If I do manage to get into my desired job and can make $23,000 a year after taxes, I'll be finally living on my own, and it'll boost my average monthly savings to around $1,000 a month + tax return.

I'll be investing any excess beyond the RRSP and TFSA into a mutual fund, probably one of them from ING direct. Been keeping track of the four funds they manage, and they've been mostly going up over the past month. I'll keep track of it until I invest.

I will be on track for over $450,000 by the time I am 50 at an average 4.5% return.. which seems pretty good. If I can get 8%... well, that would be incredible.