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Let's say for these age brackets - 30, 40, 50, 65 (at retirement).
At each age mention a number that YOU think would be considered good compared to the entire population. This means a net worth slightly north of the median for that age bracket...say at the 70th percentile. Separate out cash/liquid assets, real estate and retirement accounts. Here is what I think:
30 - $20k liquid, $20k retirement, $0 real estate equity = $40k total net worth
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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You should have far more in your retirement accounts than you are predicting. By age 40, I would think one should have about $200K in retirement, $500K at age 50 and $1Mil at age 65. Real estate is hard to say because it wides SO MUCH based on where you live. For low cost areas, your numbers are probably okay, but I'd expect much more if one lives in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic, another big city or in California. The liquid seems reasonable.
I just HATE questions like these unless they consider your working-years INCOME. A burger flipper making $15k is simply NOT going to have the same net worth of someone making $150K and we realistically can't even expect the burger flipper to have 1/10 as much net worth of someone making $150K
You should have far more in your retirement accounts than you are predicting. By age 40, I would think one should have about $200K in retirement, $500K at age 50 and $1Mil at age 65. Real estate is hard to say because it wides SO MUCH based on where you live. For low cost areas, your numbers are probably okay, but I'd expect much more if one lives in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic, another big city or in California. The liquid seems reasonable.
Hell I'd say by age 40, one should have $500k in retirement/investing accounts, $750k by age 50, and about $1.5-$2 million by age 65.
It's unrealistic to think you could retire on $1 million at age 65 and not continue working unless you have an income stream from rental property.
By age 30, I think it's realistic to have at least $100k-$150 in a retirement and/or investment account.
I just HATE questions like these unless they consider your working-years INCOME. A burger flipper making $15k is simply NOT going to have the same net worth of someone making $150K and we realistically can't even expect the burger flipper to have 1/10 as much net worth of someone making $150K
Yes, but he is asking about "net worth slightly north of the median" at each of these life stages
A burger flipper making $15K at the age of 30 is far off the median income just as a person making $150K is as well.
The sad thing is that I think his numbers are reasonable expectations
I'm sure most of the readers on this forum will have much more, but I don't think we represent the general public.
Let's say for these age brackets - 30, 40, 50, 65 (at retirement).
At each age mention a number that YOU think would be considered good compared to the entire population. This means a net worth slightly north of the median for that age bracket...say at the 70th percentile. Separate out cash/liquid assets, real estate and retirement accounts. Here is what I think:
30 - $20k liquid, $20k retirement, $0 real estate equity = $40k total net worth
40 - $50k, $100k, $50k = $200k
50 - $100k, $150k, $100k = $350k
65 - $200k, $250k, $200k = $650k
far fetched or reasonable?
The only problem here is that you are not including any liabilities such as credit card balances and student loans... These are needed for a proper Net Worth valuation.
So what you're really only asking for is "What ASSETS should one have by a certain age?"
I just HATE questions like these unless they consider your working-years INCOME. A burger flipper making $15k is simply NOT going to have the same net worth of someone making $150K and we realistically can't even expect the burger flipper to have 1/10 as much net worth of someone making $150K
Which is why I said a single person at the 70th percentile of savings rates in the United States. It is not a variable question, it is a pretty exact question. The only variability that exists is your perception of how much such a person should have saved.
Let me rephrase the question if you are confused...
Say you are 40 yrs old, regardless of your income, what do you think is the 70th percentile net worth for age 40 in the United States?
The only problem here is that you are not including any liabilities such as credit card balances and student loans... These are needed for a proper Net Worth valuation.
So what you're really only asking for is "What ASSETS should one have by a certain age?"
yep, the estimation assumes 0 debt, if there is debt then the net worth is obviously reduced by that amount. It's basically a question as to how someone's net worth compares to a 70th percentile calculation of net worth for the population at a particular age.
i was happy this year when mine went above $0 lol! i'm not 30 yet, though.
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