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Florida
Education: Masters Degree
Age: 65 & 60 (DW) Respectively
$0 Income (not including investments) Just take expenses out of Taxable Accounts when needed. Not touched IRAs yet.
Not taken SS Yet, will be ~$30k. DW will get about $15k
Home Paid for ages ago.
Multiple 7 Figure NW. (Cash, IRAs & 427b)
figures are for both of us
Age 57
Education Bachelors Degrees
Southern California
$250k
$2.7M ($1.25M in RE- primary house)
It all sounds like a lot but we are in the end years (hopefully) of our working lives, bought a house in a transitional neighborhood (it gentrified, to say the least) at the absolute bottom of the market (dumb first buyer's luck) and are both in professional jobs, though mine was only attained very recently- I was a waiter 20 years ago, now an architect (and trust me, it is not a high paying profession for the "professional" status job it is positioned as).
We live modestly as if we are still earning $50k/year and after taxes and deposits to retirement accounts it isn't much more than that but we still have fun, have zero debt, 12 and 18 y.o. cars, save over 60% of our salary every month- finally, it is starting to finally pay off.
We are better off than most to be sure and are extremely grateful for that, but around here we are but firmly in the middle class with plenty of folks doing way better than us. (just a couple posts above)
You’re doing awesome! And obviously living a smart but also enjoyable life. I mean middle class or not by living style, we can only wish that everyone had your savings habits and frugality in this country. Why did I have to take Algebra in 8th grade, freshman year HS, and college for some random reason but in 18 years of school or whatever it was apparently just impossible to cram in some class on finance, managing money, retirement savings, anything. I really think we could do a better job in this country of that. My dad is a business man so I was learning and understanding a lot of advanced concepts as early as 8 or 9 haha but as the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” gets into that’s not reality for many people.
Great job saving well, and no idea what your retirement plans are, but that money would go a long ways in most other states even nearby Nevada or perhaps Arizona.
Age 48 & 46
Education: Masters
Wisconsin
$400,000
Real estate equity: $425k
Cars: owe $12,000 (zero interest rate so doesn't make sense to pay off)
401k/IRA/Brokerage/savings/pensions/company stock plan: $2.6 million
SLIRP Insurance Policies: $1 million
Kids 529: $210k
Wow, you did an amazing job based on your age and income and education levels!
Thanks. I've always been a minamalist and have had access to cheap housing comparative to where I live. I started investing in 2010 which couldn't have been a better time. So cheap housing and luck have got me where I'm at. The last 2-3 years I made closer to 70k and saved about 75k the last 3 years. My income dropped recently when I made a career change. I'm a lot happier and less stressed out now so it was so with it.
Thanks. I've always been a minamalist and have had access to cheap housing comparative to where I live. I started investing in 2010 which couldn't have been a better time. So cheap housing and luck have got me where I'm at. The last 2-3 years I made closer to 70k and saved about 75k the last 3 years. My income dropped recently when I made a career change. I'm a lot happier and less stressed out now so it was so with it.
It does sound like you had some luck, but you also made the most of your luck. Other people with cheap housing would just spend the money instead of saving it.
275K with 6% returns grows to $881K in 20 years. You could almost quit saving for financial independence now and probably still be able to retire before traditional retirement age (not that I'm recommending that!).
If you manage to invest $1K a month and get 6%, you'll hit $1.374M in 20 years.
That's awesome!
And because you've front loaded your savings, you can now switch to a career you like better without having to worry too much about the drop in income (which I assume will probably grow over time as you get more experience).
Why do people ask a question if they don’t want the answer? I feel like I’m being judged now because all I did was answer the question of the thread. I found it interesting reading through the other answers.
FWIW, I was in $25k credit card debt all through my 20’s. So I have been on both sides.
Why do people ask a question if they don’t want the answer? I feel like I’m being judged now because all I did was answer the question of the thread. I found it interesting reading through the other answers.
FWIW, I was in $25k credit card debt all through my 20’s. So I have been on both sides.
You are doing great and we all know how difficult it is so don’t worry about it.
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