Net worth milestones: do you celebrate any of them?

[JoeP]

Curious if people here do any kind of celebrating when certain key net worth milestones are achieved.

Of course, net worth is just on paper, in that your home's value is only what someone is willing to pay when you actually put it up for sale, and that retirement value is before taxes and cannot be accessed until certain a age. Also, there are dips like the stock market, so that milestone may be lost and crossed a few times.

I ask because we haven't celebrated milestones in the past. We don't go on vacations very often, and maybe the next milestone would coincide nicely with our need for a nice trip (of course it will be budgeted and paid for without incurring debt or even a credit card Service Charge).

What say ye?

[bjl584]

It's just been more of a feeling of personal satisfaction for me. I've never celebrated by buying something or going on vacation.

[snafu]

We had a mortgage burning celebration and toasts when we paid off the house and were mortgage free. We took a great leap of faith to relinquish paid employment for self employed contract work but haven't celebrated financial milestones with a spending spree. We are still celebrating our DSs graduating their university programs and launched into careers last May without SLs hanging over their heads.

Habit has us still planning expenditures but lowering the bar for what is considered a 'need,' that others might see as a 'want.' That nasty bump in values of investments both retirement and portfolio 2008 - 2010 made us see how fast our value on paper can vanish and how flexible we'll need to be once retired.

If you want to celebrate and go on vacation, do it! We're currently traveling in Cambodia and it's a wonderful experience.

[feh]

We don't celebrate in any official manner, like going out to dinner or vacation.

I do send my wife email whenever we cross a 100K mark.

[disneysteve]

I'm not sure if it constitutes celebrating exactly but when I paid off my student loans, I finally broke down and got cable TV. I figured since I was no longer sending $1,200/month to the lenders, I could afford to send $15/month to Comcast.

When we pay off our mortgage, we'll probably do a little something - go out to dinner maybe.

And maybe when our portfolio hits $1 million we'll acknowledge that somehow.

[JoeP]

We're generally not the "celebrating" type. We go out someplace nice for our anniversary and that's about it as far as celebrations are concerned.

Reaching a certain net worth goal through hard work is intangible, in that digits simply change in a spreadsheet. Having a reward or event in place ties something tangible to that. It doesn't necessarily need to cost a lot of money, and we're not big spenders anyway, so maybe what we'll do is go on a nice weekend trip, enjoy some good food and drink, and set our sights on the next milestone.

[GREENBACK]

And maybe when our portfolio hits $1 million we'll acknowledge that somehow.

I think this truly does represent a milestone that should be celebrated, if no others are along the way. I'll certainly raise a glass to anyone who has worked to get to that point.

[HappySaver]

We never really have, but when we pay off our house I would like to buy myself something nice that I would not normally buy. I just haven't decided what yet.

[krantcents]

Celebrating a milestone can be anything from running around and cheering to spending a little money. A lot depends on the milestone! I expect to spend a little money when I hit my 50th anniversary, retire from my (second) career or birth of my grandchild. I am not sure how I will celebrate though.

[disneysteve]

I think this truly does represent a milestone that should be celebrated, if no others are along the way. I'll certainly raise a glass to anyone who has worked to get to that point.

Depending on various factors, most importantly market performance, we're probably somewhere around 3 years from hitting it so I'll let you know when we get there.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Well, not exactly for a net worth increase but....

Once a month we play this song and laugh at our good fortune when we get confirmation that my spouse's pension check has hit the bank.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfxVDe7JOWk

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Nope. not a one. But we are closing in on some major ones. Last year was NW of $1M and a couple of other small stuff. I can't wait until we have enough cash to pay off the mortgage. I was looking at our balances we are just about there if we cashed out all taxable accounts. CRAZY.

[JudyDunlow]

Yes! My husband and I review & set goals each year - and when they are achieved we always celebrate. It keeps your marriage strong, and reinforces the team element of your accomplishment.

Pay off a smaller debt = celebrate with a fun night out
Pay off a big loan = go on a vacation
Pay off your house = go anywhere in the world for a month! haha... just some generic examples.

[baconexplosion]

My wife and I had always talked about getting a fancy new TV and cable after we got out of debt (which took us several years) but when we finally got there we decided we'd done without it for so long there was no need to start paying for it now, so we didn't lol

[disneysteve]

Pay off your house = go anywhere in the world for a month! haha.

I wish. Paying off our home wouldn't free up enough cash to send one of us on an exotic trip. A weekend away maybe.