Hey all, this will be my second post. I am 27 now. I joined at 24 and posted this in my first case study post:
---
"My GOALS: By 26, I'll still be living at home, I'd like to have maxed out my ROTH IRA to bring it up to $18,000, I want to have $31,000 in my Savings, and the rest in the Brokerage accounts. Most importantly, I plan to take up a PRN position at a Skilled Nursing Facility after-school next year to bring my salary into the 65-70k range. I'd do it sooner, but this is my clinical fellowship year and in May I'll have my full licensure. Which really means if I get a second job quickly that I'll work more during June and July to bump my salary up from the $54,000 to closer to $60,000.
The $31,000 in savings is idealized for $20,000 DP for a house, $5000 for a used hybrid, and $5000 emergency fund. The last $1,000 is put in for a plane ticket to Florida this summer and for a road trip to Bozeman, Montana.
I am not looking to retire by 30, but I am looking for the option to retire around 50 and to keep working stress free. I plan on having a family and 2-3 kids. I do enjoy my job and by then I will be taking the summers off."
---
I'm 27 now. My salary went from gross $59,000 to $75,000 (monthly take home went from $3,400 to $4,500). My portfolio was at an all-time high of $107,000, but is now sitting at $98,000. The portfolio (all low-cost index funds) is split up between:
Roth IRA (20k)
457b (64k)
brokerage account (14k) - the $98,000 portfolio
I also have
10k in my checking
60k in my savings
No debt
Net Worth is roughly $170,000
At age 25, I changed my goal to have $100,000 invested by 30. I hit that goal a month after I turned 27.
HERE ARE THE SEISMIC CHANGES:
In my post 3 years ago, I mentioned my girlfriend. She is now my fiance, and she is pregnant. Wasn't planned, but we've both talked about how we want a lot of kids (the number moved up from my original 3, I'd be open to 5-8 kids and my fiance also likes the idea of a lot of kids). She is going to be a fantastic mother and I'm too excited for our future. We will be 57 when our oldest turns 30. We both love the idea of being young parents, and while this wasn't exactly the plan, this would have been way tougher had it happened a year ago. Thank the universe and my consistency/dedication since having my savings has relieved what could have been an unbelievable amount of stress.
The hefty amount in my checkings & savings is for the down payment of my first house and an emergency fund. My girlfriend has payed off 30k of her original 70k loan, and she has a total of $9,000 in her checkings and savings.
I'm slowing down on investing and just building up a huge cash reserve for when the pelican drops off our baby in February. Number 1 goal is to get a nice starter house right now. Have a hefty baby fund, and save for the eventual wedding celebration (going to limit this to under $15,000, and also money for our honeymoon in Paris). Then knocking out the remainder of my wife's student loans together, then becoming billionaires, or at least millionaires by our mid forties while raising our family frugally.
Life is good.
This is a writing and reflective exercise for me. My takeaway from these last 3 years is saving and working towards these goals has been difficulty-reducing and it's made this rapidly-approaching chapter enjoyable rather than stressful.
Here's to the next 3 years. My large downpayment saving was originally for house-hacking a duplex. I'm now looking for a structurally sound, cosmetically outdated single family home, fixing it up cosmetically, and then living and holding onto it forever. I plan to move up and out to a bigger house (considering the family-size goal), and then hold and rent out this first house. I bet I'll be in this first house for at least 3 years, but probably by 35 I'd be looking to upgrade. At the same time, after I purchase this first house, my wife and I'll be getting rid of the family debt, saving for the wedding celebration and honeymoon, and then pedal to the metal on investing again.
I'll check in again when I'm 30.
Thanks for reading. Let me know your thoughts and feel free to share your experiences.
