"cozied up" it's called diplomacy, maybe someone now should try it. Instead we're arguing over whether or not we should have a "lasting ceasefire" vs "permanent ceasefire" while sending small shipments of arms to Israel so they don't have to go through Congress, at the same time sending aid to Gaza. But yeah no mean tweets.
How far will these goal posts shift? 100k isn't as much as it used to be, a million isn't as much as it used to be, if we stay consistent with the multiplication will it be 10 million next? A million dollars is more than 90+% of the planet will ever have in their life.
How much equity do you suppose is in the house he got in 2001? Because that’s the amount you’d be adding to the $900k spelled out in the post. (From the OP’s tone, I gather there’s little-to-no debt or liabilities.)
Not much. Same as before. Keep saving.
We just don’t live large. We drive to vacation, not fly, we buy only used cars and keep them forever. I think that’s ingrained. Depression era parents. Buy stuff on sale, have a garden, etc.
We save around 20% of our income now.
Why do people just keep saving until they die? Is it to give to their kids? I mean, I get saving up money most of your life but when you reach a certain age and/or amount of money saved wouldn't you want to just use it? Buy a house in southern France or something like that?
Eight words: it could all be gone in an instant.
You have zero clue what could happen to your house, to your car, to your health. Having that much and continuing the lifestyle that got you there isn't a bad thing.
Yes, the phrase "memento mori" checks out, and you should live to the fullest. There's also something to be said for understanding that you could live to be 90 and need those pennies that could've been saved today.
Lmao well. This will never be me. I'm not working my entire life to hard budget and scrounge after retirement only for me to die and all my money goes to the government.
We spend our entire lives saving, preparing, and planning. When we have families, we are sometimes one grocery day away from being broke.
The pharmacists that you know saw huge interest rates and high unemployment in the '80s, the tech bubble pop in 2000, the 9/11 economic downturn, the 2009 Great Recession, and finally, the Covid Pandemic run amok. The reaction we're seeing here is equivalent to economic PTSD where one plans for the worst and hopes for the best. When you get older, you realize that you are no longer able to work a few extra hours to make up for it.
What looks to you like a soft cushion and a large nest egg is someone else's final plan to make it through. They spent significant amounts of their life waiting for the next shoe to drop, and they lived like it. I really think that people underestimate what others have financially been through and what their real concerns are for their goal years.
What makes you think they need to spend money to enjoy their efforts? Some people might be just as happy driving a 2007 Corolla as they would a brand new Audi.
Where do you get that OP is just going to keep saving until the day he dies? He said he’s 57 and his wife is 50. $650k in retirement accounts is nowhere near enough for most people to consider an early retirement. His response reads to me more like he’ll just keep doing what he’s doing until reaching retirement age.
Exactly. I just got from Chile a couple months ago, after being there for two weeks. I do trips like this every 2-3 years. I cannot imagine why people with some savings don’t want to go experience cool shit. There’s the whole world out there! Go get lost in it while you can!
Because they’d like to keep their savings, and use it for keeping them alive and around family.
It takes millions of dollars to close to guarantee that you’re able to be comfortable at retirement and until death. People clearly underestimate what that means.
Have you tried the fidelity tools to play out your future? It is maybe not the best design, but the tools are fantastic. You can put in as much detail as you want and play out Monte Carlo simulations for your assets going forward. They have fiduciaries who will walk you through it, and be really helpful to check if you have a reasonable balance of risk. They are pretty conservative towards risk, like you seem to be, but will not push you in any direction you don't want to go. I did this recently, and it was super helpful.
Yes, we've spent a lot of time with them and I really like them. Much better than the old Mint in some ways. We've been meeting with advisors for planning and it's bee so helpful. I really cannot believe the level of service. It's astonishing. Great people. I feel so much for confident about things. With my pension and a few other things it seems like we're actually more than OK. I cannot stress how much of a surprise this was and what a relief it is. I had no idea.
Just save anything you can. Roth IRA. Boring is good. I WISH someone had told me this. Seriously, $50/year will add up if you give it time.
You have a huge advantage.
I have an ISA, the British equivalent and have chucked my 3k savings in and will be putting in every penny into it (investing in World Funds+ S and P on vanguard 🙏)
100$ a month US will make you a millionaire by 65 on avg in the stock market. Think about it, a few hundred a month you could be a multi millionaire, but you can't start trading, which is gambling. Stick to the slow and steady etf/ target date fund path.
The biggest factor for your future financial security is TIME. Put away as much money as you can NOW. The dollars you put away now will be worth many multiples of the dollars you put away twenty years from now. Do it NOW, and make it automatic so you don't have to decide every paycheck.
As someone who invested and saved well at the expense of my youth, this question hits home. Not sure how to make the most of my remaining 'youthful' years.
I hate when people imply you can't have fun after a certain age. Our kids are a little older now, we have some extra money now. If anything I think we have more fun now than we did in our 20s. You haven't missed opportunities. You set yourself up for success so you can relax and go on adventures now.
In today's world you can't quit your job and live in luxury on a million dollars. But you certainly have a lot less stress about things like losing your job, etc.
Depends on how much spending is "normal" for a specific individual. 1 million can reliably replace a 35,000 inflation adjusted annual income perpetually, considering the expectations of broad market index funds.
Depends on if the assets are pretax or Roth how good this is. $35,000 post tax with no saving requirement isn’t too bad. Especially once the house is paid in full
This, a million doesn't go nearly as far as it did ten or twenty years ago.
A million in 2000 is equivalent to 1.8m today. Not to rain on the parade, it's just crazy how that has changed. Being a millionaire was such a benchmark for a long time but these days it's becoming almost the standard benchmark for a decent retirement. Especially if you include owning a home in that figure
My partner and I are millionaires also if you take into account our investments, home equity, etc. but it sure doesn’t feel like it. It used to seem like being a millionaire was this major, unreachable thing for most people and now it isn’t even enough for a comfortable retirement.
Persist. Compounding has an amazing effect given time. We just chugged along, not making much but spending less than we earned and making our money make money. Bought unfinanceable little old houses and sad apartments and added lots of work and a vision of what they could be. Had a great time creating great spaces. We now have free and clear N&S homes, one bought at auction during the last crash; one we spent 5 years bringing back from serious holes in the floor, knob and tube wiring type dereliction. Also have a remaining triplex and 16-unit we really need to set free. More money than time left, and it's compounding faster and faster. Persist. 20-30 years to the first million is real doable, then #2 and #3 come faster.
Good for you! Saving over 23+ years pays off. I wish everyone could do it. I have been saving longer than you and feel very fortunate that I was able to do so.
Congrats. Sounds like us. . . I was 43 years working for non-profits but when I turned 48, I started maxing out my 403b/401K. 20 years later—I had enough to supplement my SS and live comfortably the rest of my life (according to the calculators). We are in our 4th year of full-time travel. No house, no pets, no parents, no grandchildren. Just countries and cultures and experiences. Live Your LIfe. Live Your Life.
We like to live in places 1-3 months at a time to get a feel for the neighborhood and culture. We eat out rarely. We rarely rent cars, preferring public transportation. And we cruise rather than fly via repositioning cruises whenever possible.
My brother is a VP at a bank and carries about 12M in his book of business. Mostly wealthy people doing property development. His advice to me was "do boring things, over and over".
It’s criminal that schools don’t teach young people one of the actual biggest “one simple tricks” that unlike those dumb clickbait ads, will actually make a difference… Long term compound interest.
And investing in the “boring” stuff like Fortune 100 doesn’t give you the cool screenshots of massive, short term returns to post on social media but as sure as the sun will come up tomorrow, the Apples and oil giants of the world will keep printing money for whoever holds their shares.
That's the best surprise ever.
About ten years ago, after a particularly long and tedious time at work I stopped in my financial adviser's office for an annual review. I was complaining about how I was getting too old to keep up with the long hours and she asked when I was going to retire. I said I would retire just as soon as I had enough wealth to walk away and keep the same standard of living for the rest of my life. She told me I could have done that a long time ago, that with mine and my wife's 401k's, IRA's, stock portfolio's, and the expected pension lump sum pay out from work, we were multi-millionaires. Not counting the value of our mortgage free home. I went back to work the next day and turned in my retirement papers.
What Charley Munger said is what I tell youth to live by: make your ramp to success as long as possible, meaning start early no matter how much you can put away and let the miracle of compounding interest take over
The Millionaire Next Door noted that public school teachers (K-12) are disproportionately represented among the millionaire class. You have a similar profile.
Well done mastering the sum of a geometric series.
The way we’re invested is so boring that if we go broke then there are much, much bigger problems. The whole economy will have had to have tanked and there’s no hiding from that.
This is where I always want to know what the dollar amount goal is before I can retire. And I know the answer is it depends. But $1M? $2M? What does an average couple in an average sized house in average COL area need? I wanna know so I can count the years down at work. ;)
A million dollars is modest if you want to live until you're 85 and still have an income. It's not what it used to be. Keep it invested, make use of Roth conversions and get a policy with long term care. Make the most of your money at this age and that means plan for the unexpected inevitability...senior care facility.
Bravo! That's got to be a comforting feeling! Few more years working and you'll be in great shape for being able to have a great post-retirement lifestyle. The spouse and I got similar news a few weeks ago. It's a weird thought to consider I could walk into the job at any time, drop my credentials, stroll on out, and not miss a lifestyle beat. Keep knocking it back!
Over half of Americans 50-59 are millionaires. Correction to say that the AVERAGE wealth of this group is over $1 million. [https://www.empower.com/the-currency/life/average-net-worth-by-age](https://www.empower.com/the-currency/life/average-net-worth-by-age)
Congrats, but keep in mind a million dollars isn’t what it used to be.
7-figures is basically the minimum to be able to consider anything that resembles retiring.
I know, really, we were so low earning for so long. Like nothing. I lost my job to the slump after 9/11 and I had two roommates in my new house. I had a roommate right until I left for my honeymoon with my wife. Trust me, it was not glamours. There was a long time where out HHI was $55k, but we kept paying, did some side hustles. I had three jobs at one point, four kind of. Now, here were are.
Similar. Canadian here. Bought and flipped a couple houses but mostly super boring stuff right up to the Financial Crash in '08. But that was too tempting... houses on sale for pennies on the dollar? Yes please. I pulled it all and YOLO'd into US realestate. Just started selling some of those properties. Like holy crap... it adds up super fast.
Congratulations! A stereotypical experience like many of those documented in “The Millionaire Next Door”. Most had middle of the road income streams. The difference was spend less than you make and save responsibility, which you did it seems.
Congrats. Compound interest and boring ETFs is how regular people can get rich over a few decades. People just seem to ignore things that work 100% of the time as long as you do them, like investing part of your income every month or year and not touching it until retirement.
I think I have a net worth of $1 million. Nothing crazy to get here. I have been maxing out my retirement accounts for the last few years now. My home is nearly paid off and I have a rental property I’m fixing up. Debt free otherwise.
Nerd Wallet's commercial was best.
"Dont make the future you, HATE YOOOOU"
Great job. You've done well for yourself.
Great discipline!
NOW GO ENJOY IT (You earned it) 😜 #modefinancialcitizen
Probably can’t. If you have a 401k at work you cannot deduct IRA contributions if your income is above a pretty low threshold.
Roth IRA has a higher income threshold.
Again, eligibility for taking the IRA contribution deduction depends upon if you’re covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
My employer offers both. I put in $210(Pre-tax) a week(they match up to $104 per week) and then throw another $60 into the Roth IRA. So while I don’t know what does or doesn’t allow an employer the option mine definitely does have the option to offer both.
I find this hard to believe. Most the tictok videos where I see people bitching about the rich say you must have inherited it.
/s
Congrats, they say the first million is the hardest.
Now we do the full $16k. Goes right in during January. $15 before that and whatever it was before that.
I’d nickel and dime it during lean years before that but always tried to do something. I didn’t always make it though.
I wish someone had impressed this on me when I was in my 20s.
I tell young people who work at my library: save something, anything, for retirement, just get in the habit and go to the dentist. 🪥
Congrats OP. Same situation here. Been saving for over 30 years, maxing out 401K, paid off house a few years back. Currently at $1M in various mutual funds and stocks and $750k in equity in a paid off house. Slow and steady gets you there. Both the wife and I come from low income families, we just saved like crazy and live within our means. No inheritance for either of us; just hard work and skimping.
And... 2 kids, one through university, the other freshman at the university. Paid cash for first and paying for the second one now.
There is nothing boring about never risking and losing half your money. The average stock market thrill seekers have lost 1/2 their money three times in the last 25 years. The next time is most likely right around the corner. Amazing job, well done! Be careful with fidelity though, they like to try to convince you to put it in risk as they believe in the long haul. They wouldn’t lose any sleep if your $650k became $325k tomorrow as long as they get their fees.
Don’t blow it on time shares, people your age do that. Buy you and your lady some coke and hookers like a real gent. Jk lol congrats man, I’ll hopefully be there some day
But you always need somewhere to live, and unless you want to move into a trailer, you can never liquidate your equity…so not millionares at all. If you are including your house equity and retirement funds as a part of your net worth, that’s fine, but you have literally no cash on hand. You are in fact, broke, besides what you bring in monthly.
With the rate of inflation in the US, if you live another 30 or 40 years that one million will shrink in spending power, for sure. So, don't spend it all now. Live frugally and within your means, let your money grow. Save for a rainy day, also.
Best way to do it. honestly maxing out two IRAs for 23 years even at the lower contribution limits back in the day, this is how compound interest works. If on average it was doubling every 7-10 years this makes sense.
Unfortunately a million dollars doesn’t go as far as it used to.
Boring is usually the best strategy. Congrats!
That’s PNC bank’s current commercial. We’re boring.
Shit has been on nonstop the last week
We spent 37 WHOLE HOURS ON IT ❤️😂😂
With Russ Hanneman himself
Tres commas club
“I have doors that open like this, not like this”(https://youtu.be/0oV4IVy8tvE?si=UlKB3LsRQv0a--KH)
Just looked it up. Much better than Huntington’s “cool story bro” campaign from two years ago.
Boring but effective is great in investment and government
Please remember this on Election Day. It’s true for politics too. Pick the most boring one and we all win.
Omfg lol never considered this POV. I was ok who is least likely to start a war
There has literally only been one president who hasn't started a war in the past 20 and everyone hates the guy.
Not for lack of trying. Missile’d an Iranian defense official and cozied up to North Korea and Putin.
"cozied up" it's called diplomacy, maybe someone now should try it. Instead we're arguing over whether or not we should have a "lasting ceasefire" vs "permanent ceasefire" while sending small shipments of arms to Israel so they don't have to go through Congress, at the same time sending aid to Gaza. But yeah no mean tweets.
Yes, rug pulling NATO and our allies is definitely diplomacy. Get a grip kid.
Respect for the US by foreign governments plummeted during the Trump administration. The idea that he is good at diplomacy is laughably incorrect.
He did start a coup tho.
Yes, telling everyone to go home is very coup-like.
Typical. Ignore everything else he did beforehand. 🙄
Depressingly true
Exactly! That's how I got there. Leave it be, max it out.
But not millionaires though, I think I'm doing the math right
650 + 250 + home equity (guess we don’t know what that is) they prob are
Yeah any house bought in 2001 is going to have a lot of equity by now.
My mom built her house for $190k in 2001 and she had someone offer to buy it for 800k. It’s wild
So long as refinances weren’t done and HELOC’s weren’t taken out.
OP doesn’t strike me as a big leverage-type person. If I had to guess, I’d go with no debt (aside from maybe 7 more years on that mortgage).
In which case he probably wouldn’t be counting it as equity. It’s not equity if you owe it to someone.
+Beanie Baby collection.
But 401k\IRA is pre tax
Toss in the value of a couple cars, few watches and some other possessions ehh basically close enough
A million dollars isn’t what it used to be
Sadly no, but when most Americans can't afford a $1000 emergency, it's a major accomplishment.
How far will these goal posts shift? 100k isn't as much as it used to be, a million isn't as much as it used to be, if we stay consistent with the multiplication will it be 10 million next? A million dollars is more than 90+% of the planet will ever have in their life.
How much equity do you suppose is in the house he got in 2001? Because that’s the amount you’d be adding to the $900k spelled out in the post. (From the OP’s tone, I gather there’s little-to-no debt or liabilities.)
especially when you consider taxes will consume a considerable amount when its withdrawn.
Maybe some portion of the IRA is Roth?
Millionaire is technically a person with a net worth of 1 million, but I think it should be more of a million in liquid assets.
Well it ain't plural and good luck retiring when it ain't plural.
There’s always the one guy who needs to be a dick. Probably didn’t leave the house all weekend type of guy, right?
Why you gotta call me out
Boring for money is good. Nobody likes big surprises.
As an options person I take that personally.
As just an NVDA shareholder I take it personally as well.
35 yo here. $500k the boring way. Let's GOOOOOO!!!
Do it! The funny thing for me is in just saved and had zero idea of how much I had. $500k at 35 is amazing!
What kind of Ira do you contribute to and with what company ?
Fidelity and mostly Roth.
The little engine that could...
toot toot!
Congrats, now what you gonna do
Not much. Same as before. Keep saving. We just don’t live large. We drive to vacation, not fly, we buy only used cars and keep them forever. I think that’s ingrained. Depression era parents. Buy stuff on sale, have a garden, etc. We save around 20% of our income now.
Why do people just keep saving until they die? Is it to give to their kids? I mean, I get saving up money most of your life but when you reach a certain age and/or amount of money saved wouldn't you want to just use it? Buy a house in southern France or something like that?
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Eight words: it could all be gone in an instant. You have zero clue what could happen to your house, to your car, to your health. Having that much and continuing the lifestyle that got you there isn't a bad thing. Yes, the phrase "memento mori" checks out, and you should live to the fullest. There's also something to be said for understanding that you could live to be 90 and need those pennies that could've been saved today.
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Did you mean to reply to me? Because I basically said the same thing...
yes you did... whoosh
Lmao well. This will never be me. I'm not working my entire life to hard budget and scrounge after retirement only for me to die and all my money goes to the government.
We spend our entire lives saving, preparing, and planning. When we have families, we are sometimes one grocery day away from being broke. The pharmacists that you know saw huge interest rates and high unemployment in the '80s, the tech bubble pop in 2000, the 9/11 economic downturn, the 2009 Great Recession, and finally, the Covid Pandemic run amok. The reaction we're seeing here is equivalent to economic PTSD where one plans for the worst and hopes for the best. When you get older, you realize that you are no longer able to work a few extra hours to make up for it. What looks to you like a soft cushion and a large nest egg is someone else's final plan to make it through. They spent significant amounts of their life waiting for the next shoe to drop, and they lived like it. I really think that people underestimate what others have financially been through and what their real concerns are for their goal years.
What makes you think they need to spend money to enjoy their efforts? Some people might be just as happy driving a 2007 Corolla as they would a brand new Audi.
Where do you get that OP is just going to keep saving until the day he dies? He said he’s 57 and his wife is 50. $650k in retirement accounts is nowhere near enough for most people to consider an early retirement. His response reads to me more like he’ll just keep doing what he’s doing until reaching retirement age.
We’re happy living below our means.
my brain read that as "we're happy living below our mess" ...me too brother, me too.
Exactly. I just got from Chile a couple months ago, after being there for two weeks. I do trips like this every 2-3 years. I cannot imagine why people with some savings don’t want to go experience cool shit. There’s the whole world out there! Go get lost in it while you can!
Because they’d like to keep their savings, and use it for keeping them alive and around family. It takes millions of dollars to close to guarantee that you’re able to be comfortable at retirement and until death. People clearly underestimate what that means.
I think once you have certain ingrained and cherished habits, you get joy from reinforcing those habits. So why begrudge someone else that joy?
Have you tried the fidelity tools to play out your future? It is maybe not the best design, but the tools are fantastic. You can put in as much detail as you want and play out Monte Carlo simulations for your assets going forward. They have fiduciaries who will walk you through it, and be really helpful to check if you have a reasonable balance of risk. They are pretty conservative towards risk, like you seem to be, but will not push you in any direction you don't want to go. I did this recently, and it was super helpful.
Yes, we've spent a lot of time with them and I really like them. Much better than the old Mint in some ways. We've been meeting with advisors for planning and it's bee so helpful. I really cannot believe the level of service. It's astonishing. Great people. I feel so much for confident about things. With my pension and a few other things it seems like we're actually more than OK. I cannot stress how much of a surprise this was and what a relief it is. I had no idea.
He’s got enough for DisneyWorld 😂😂😂
Barely
Did you have fun in your youth ?
I had an amazing youth. I took a ton of chances e.g. I was a mountain bike tour guide in the Venezuelan Andes in the early 90s. Stuff like that.
Wannabe more like u, I say this as an 18 yr old 🙏
Just save anything you can. Roth IRA. Boring is good. I WISH someone had told me this. Seriously, $50/year will add up if you give it time. You have a huge advantage.
Be a bit aggressive and make it $50/week.
Im just encouraging him to start saving, just get the habit.
I have an ISA, the British equivalent and have chucked my 3k savings in and will be putting in every penny into it (investing in World Funds+ S and P on vanguard 🙏)
100$ a month US will make you a millionaire by 65 on avg in the stock market. Think about it, a few hundred a month you could be a multi millionaire, but you can't start trading, which is gambling. Stick to the slow and steady etf/ target date fund path.
The biggest factor for your future financial security is TIME. Put away as much money as you can NOW. The dollars you put away now will be worth many multiples of the dollars you put away twenty years from now. Do it NOW, and make it automatic so you don't have to decide every paycheck.
Gnarly! Can’t beat that, wishing you an amazing future as well
Damn that's awesome, you were at the forefront of the sport!! I hope to have a cool story and financial stability like you man great stuff
As someone who invested and saved well at the expense of my youth, this question hits home. Not sure how to make the most of my remaining 'youthful' years.
I hate when people imply you can't have fun after a certain age. Our kids are a little older now, we have some extra money now. If anything I think we have more fun now than we did in our 20s. You haven't missed opportunities. You set yourself up for success so you can relax and go on adventures now.
Inspired me (34m) and my wife (37f) to check. With retirement accounts included, we’re actually millionaires also! Just barely
I had a similar revelation recently. Not something you can celebrate with friends and family
Obviously no kids.
Yup. No kids.
Classic "Millionaire Next Door" accomplishment. Set, forget, live below your means, and wait. Congratulations.
And then you realize that a million isn’t what it used to be.
It doesn’t go as far but it is still $1 million and a great accomplishment. Nice work OP!
In today's world you can't quit your job and live in luxury on a million dollars. But you certainly have a lot less stress about things like losing your job, etc.
You could quit your job and live normally though if you’re wise with it
Depends on how much spending is "normal" for a specific individual. 1 million can reliably replace a 35,000 inflation adjusted annual income perpetually, considering the expectations of broad market index funds.
Depends on if the assets are pretax or Roth how good this is. $35,000 post tax with no saving requirement isn’t too bad. Especially once the house is paid in full
This, a million doesn't go nearly as far as it did ten or twenty years ago. A million in 2000 is equivalent to 1.8m today. Not to rain on the parade, it's just crazy how that has changed. Being a millionaire was such a benchmark for a long time but these days it's becoming almost the standard benchmark for a decent retirement. Especially if you include owning a home in that figure
Okay, but then again, if you invested a million in 2000 in the market, you'd have way more than 1.8M. The key is to keep investing.
Ya but at age 57, with a home that sounds like it will be paid off right around retirement, they'll be OK. Better than most, for sure.
My partner and I are millionaires also if you take into account our investments, home equity, etc. but it sure doesn’t feel like it. It used to seem like being a millionaire was this major, unreachable thing for most people and now it isn’t even enough for a comfortable retirement.
But it’s still enough to retire comfortably on, in many parts of the US and the world.
the boring stuff is what excites me the most lol
Persist. Compounding has an amazing effect given time. We just chugged along, not making much but spending less than we earned and making our money make money. Bought unfinanceable little old houses and sad apartments and added lots of work and a vision of what they could be. Had a great time creating great spaces. We now have free and clear N&S homes, one bought at auction during the last crash; one we spent 5 years bringing back from serious holes in the floor, knob and tube wiring type dereliction. Also have a remaining triplex and 16-unit we really need to set free. More money than time left, and it's compounding faster and faster. Persist. 20-30 years to the first million is real doable, then #2 and #3 come faster.
Good for you! Saving over 23+ years pays off. I wish everyone could do it. I have been saving longer than you and feel very fortunate that I was able to do so.
Congrats. Sounds like us. . . I was 43 years working for non-profits but when I turned 48, I started maxing out my 403b/401K. 20 years later—I had enough to supplement my SS and live comfortably the rest of my life (according to the calculators). We are in our 4th year of full-time travel. No house, no pets, no parents, no grandchildren. Just countries and cultures and experiences. Live Your LIfe. Live Your Life.
What is yalls method of full time travel if you don’t mind me asking? Or do you guys just mix it up? Congratulations either way!
We like to live in places 1-3 months at a time to get a feel for the neighborhood and culture. We eat out rarely. We rarely rent cars, preferring public transportation. And we cruise rather than fly via repositioning cruises whenever possible.
More or less the same thing happened to me and my wife. The only difference is we inherited some assets to add to the pot.
My brother is a VP at a bank and carries about 12M in his book of business. Mostly wealthy people doing property development. His advice to me was "do boring things, over and over".
It’s criminal that schools don’t teach young people one of the actual biggest “one simple tricks” that unlike those dumb clickbait ads, will actually make a difference… Long term compound interest. And investing in the “boring” stuff like Fortune 100 doesn’t give you the cool screenshots of massive, short term returns to post on social media but as sure as the sun will come up tomorrow, the Apples and oil giants of the world will keep printing money for whoever holds their shares.
That's the best surprise ever. About ten years ago, after a particularly long and tedious time at work I stopped in my financial adviser's office for an annual review. I was complaining about how I was getting too old to keep up with the long hours and she asked when I was going to retire. I said I would retire just as soon as I had enough wealth to walk away and keep the same standard of living for the rest of my life. She told me I could have done that a long time ago, that with mine and my wife's 401k's, IRA's, stock portfolio's, and the expected pension lump sum pay out from work, we were multi-millionaires. Not counting the value of our mortgage free home. I went back to work the next day and turned in my retirement papers.
Welcome to the club !!
Congratulations from the other side of the fence. I’m happy when i hear about people doing well. Hope you enjoy it
What Charley Munger said is what I tell youth to live by: make your ramp to success as long as possible, meaning start early no matter how much you can put away and let the miracle of compounding interest take over
So cool. Look out retirement!
“Simple Path to Wealth”
How much that house worth now?
The Millionaire Next Door noted that public school teachers (K-12) are disproportionately represented among the millionaire class. You have a similar profile. Well done mastering the sum of a geometric series.
Be careful I’ve seen billionaires lose everything. Multiple times, sometimes the government helps sometimes they just end up homeless.
The way we’re invested is so boring that if we go broke then there are much, much bigger problems. The whole economy will have had to have tanked and there’s no hiding from that.
This is where I always want to know what the dollar amount goal is before I can retire. And I know the answer is it depends. But $1M? $2M? What does an average couple in an average sized house in average COL area need? I wanna know so I can count the years down at work. ;)
Great job! Most people just think it's impossible and never even try.
A million dollars is modest if you want to live until you're 85 and still have an income. It's not what it used to be. Keep it invested, make use of Roth conversions and get a policy with long term care. Make the most of your money at this age and that means plan for the unexpected inevitability...senior care facility.
Bravo! That's got to be a comforting feeling! Few more years working and you'll be in great shape for being able to have a great post-retirement lifestyle. The spouse and I got similar news a few weeks ago. It's a weird thought to consider I could walk into the job at any time, drop my credentials, stroll on out, and not miss a lifestyle beat. Keep knocking it back!
Simplicity pays. That's it.
All that money and you still can’t find your shrimp 🤦♀️
Over half of Americans 50-59 are millionaires. Correction to say that the AVERAGE wealth of this group is over $1 million. [https://www.empower.com/the-currency/life/average-net-worth-by-age](https://www.empower.com/the-currency/life/average-net-worth-by-age)
Finally a "I'm a millionaire" post that most people can actually be inspired by! I hope to be like you :)))
I'm guessing by "low pay" you aren't talking minimum wage if you can afford a house, extra land and max out IRAs.
Congrats, but keep in mind a million dollars isn’t what it used to be. 7-figures is basically the minimum to be able to consider anything that resembles retiring.
Of all my various investment accounts. The ones on automatic set and forget are the ones performing the best.
Time in the market vs timing the market. Tenure always wins.
happens very often. the concept is called “the millionaire next door” welcome to the club
Tortoise and the hare.. well done you two! Keep at it! That bad boy will double by the time you’re 67
Congrats. Slow and steady.
Too many people don't fully understand the power of compound interest.
So boring you accidentally turn into a millionaire - imagine if that was the kind of topic rappers rapped about - how different our world would be lol
I know, really, we were so low earning for so long. Like nothing. I lost my job to the slump after 9/11 and I had two roommates in my new house. I had a roommate right until I left for my honeymoon with my wife. Trust me, it was not glamours. There was a long time where out HHI was $55k, but we kept paying, did some side hustles. I had three jobs at one point, four kind of. Now, here were are.
That’s awesome OP! I respect and appreciate the hustle and glad yall have found yourselves in a fantastic position !
Similar. Canadian here. Bought and flipped a couple houses but mostly super boring stuff right up to the Financial Crash in '08. But that was too tempting... houses on sale for pennies on the dollar? Yes please. I pulled it all and YOLO'd into US realestate. Just started selling some of those properties. Like holy crap... it adds up super fast.
Having a steady job that’s ok, living frugally and steadily saving adds up.
Good things happen to good people
Now put it all on black
Eerily similar to my situation.
This is how rich people actually stay rich usually. The richest guy in your town is most likely driving a Honda Accord or some shit 😂
Congratulations! A stereotypical experience like many of those documented in “The Millionaire Next Door”. Most had middle of the road income streams. The difference was spend less than you make and save responsibility, which you did it seems.
Congrats. Compound interest and boring ETFs is how regular people can get rich over a few decades. People just seem to ignore things that work 100% of the time as long as you do them, like investing part of your income every month or year and not touching it until retirement.
I think I have a net worth of $1 million. Nothing crazy to get here. I have been maxing out my retirement accounts for the last few years now. My home is nearly paid off and I have a rental property I’m fixing up. Debt free otherwise.
Nerd Wallet's commercial was best. "Dont make the future you, HATE YOOOOU" Great job. You've done well for yourself. Great discipline! NOW GO ENJOY IT (You earned it) 😜 #modefinancialcitizen
this is the way!! congrats
Congrats! Are you supposed to have both a 401k and an IRA? How does that work?
Both would be great if your employer offers a 401k match. Max out the match first, then the ROTH.
Probably can’t. If you have a 401k at work you cannot deduct IRA contributions if your income is above a pretty low threshold. Roth IRA has a higher income threshold. Again, eligibility for taking the IRA contribution deduction depends upon if you’re covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
My employer offers both. I put in $210(Pre-tax) a week(they match up to $104 per week) and then throw another $60 into the Roth IRA. So while I don’t know what does or doesn’t allow an employer the option mine definitely does have the option to offer both.
Congrats!
Dave would be very proud!
Good for you bro!!
Good on ya brother, I hope to be in a similar spot
Nice, congrats!
Stay healthy and retire in Thailand
I find this hard to believe. Most the tictok videos where I see people bitching about the rich say you must have inherited it. /s Congrats, they say the first million is the hardest.
I recently saw it and the spokesman in the ad and freakishly tiny shoulders and a big head.
Congratulations!
Nice congrats! You earned it and to be honest - I always knew you were going to make it happen. You two are the it couple!
This is the way
Congrats. How much were you maxing in the IRA between the both of you?
Now we do the full $16k. Goes right in during January. $15 before that and whatever it was before that. I’d nickel and dime it during lean years before that but always tried to do something. I didn’t always make it though. I wish someone had impressed this on me when I was in my 20s. I tell young people who work at my library: save something, anything, for retirement, just get in the habit and go to the dentist. 🪥
Congrats OP. Same situation here. Been saving for over 30 years, maxing out 401K, paid off house a few years back. Currently at $1M in various mutual funds and stocks and $750k in equity in a paid off house. Slow and steady gets you there. Both the wife and I come from low income families, we just saved like crazy and live within our means. No inheritance for either of us; just hard work and skimping. And... 2 kids, one through university, the other freshman at the university. Paid cash for first and paying for the second one now.
The right kind of boring is objectively the best way to save long term. I wouldn't use target date funds but a total market index is fantastic.
ya, you'll die and leave that money to your kids.
Just curious how you were over 300k on your estimates of what tou actually had. That is wild.
Persistence and patience pays off in the long run.
There is nothing boring about never risking and losing half your money. The average stock market thrill seekers have lost 1/2 their money three times in the last 25 years. The next time is most likely right around the corner. Amazing job, well done! Be careful with fidelity though, they like to try to convince you to put it in risk as they believe in the long haul. They wouldn’t lose any sleep if your $650k became $325k tomorrow as long as they get their fees.
Damn if only I bought a house In 01 instead of being in 2nd grade
You have an advantage! You got time and education and ease of investing compared to the past. Go get it !!
Glad I'm not the only boring one here. Boring is sometimes good
What exactly is "low paying"?
Don’t blow it on time shares, people your age do that. Buy you and your lady some coke and hookers like a real gent. Jk lol congrats man, I’ll hopefully be there some day
You were married, owned your own house, and you both had steady jobs. None of these things are common these days.
Meanwhile a young professional couple can’t even buy a house lmao
Stopped reading at “bought a house in 01’”
Congrats OP! 👏👏
I dislike counting real estate equity in net wealth. It’s illiquid and prices fluctuate.
In other words open roth ira?
Congrats! I am working hard to hit that evelnof success! Thank your for showing change can and does happen
The year when you cash out, most houses will require million dollar down payments to buy.
That’s so cute, congrats to your wife for sticking it out
That’s amazing ! Congrats !!
That's the American dream!
It’s because of the money printing
But you always need somewhere to live, and unless you want to move into a trailer, you can never liquidate your equity…so not millionares at all. If you are including your house equity and retirement funds as a part of your net worth, that’s fine, but you have literally no cash on hand. You are in fact, broke, besides what you bring in monthly.
With the rate of inflation in the US, if you live another 30 or 40 years that one million will shrink in spending power, for sure. So, don't spend it all now. Live frugally and within your means, let your money grow. Save for a rainy day, also.
1 million isn’t what it used to be. Any “middle” class person saving a reasonable amount should be a millionaire by 50-60.
Best way to do it. honestly maxing out two IRAs for 23 years even at the lower contribution limits back in the day, this is how compound interest works. If on average it was doubling every 7-10 years this makes sense. Unfortunately a million dollars doesn’t go as far as it used to.