Hi,
Lots of people here seem to have super high incomes, high dual incomes w/ a partner, or are already FIRE, and it can feel discouraging for the rest of us at times. As someone who is still relatively new to taking control of my finances, and who happens to live in a HCOL area (Seattle), it's really nice to look back over the past year and see progress, even if it's slow.
Just thought I'd share & celebrate progress, no matter how slow it may seem. Hopefully this encourages others who are also at the beginning of their journey, too. Some roughish/rounded numbers to share...
At this time last year, in 2015:
Total Assets: $34,117
Online Savings Account: $15,053
Bank Savings Account: $5000
Checking Account: $6247
401K: $4825
Roth IRA: $492
Student Loan Debt:
$13,789
Credit Card Debt:
Card #1 — $89
Card #2 — $188
Net Worth: $17,606
This year, things have improved slowly, mostly due to student loan payments:
Total Assets: $43,571
Online Savings Account: $18,110
Bank Savings Account: $2501
Checking Account: $6,313
401K: $14,037
Roth IRA: $546
Student Loan Debt:
$2,268 (@3.4%... taking my time with this one since monthly payments are manageable, just under $31/mo)
Credit Card Debt:
0$
Total: Net Worth: $41,075
There's still a long road ahead, of course, but it feels really nice to have taken steps to cut expenses, pay off higher interest student loans completely, and see the overall net worth start to rise a little. Really nice to see the net worth more than double simply due to getting serious about destroying the bigger student loans I had.
I'm fully aware that my numbers aren't great still, but hopefully this might encourage other people who are also at the beginning stages of being smart about money to keep going, and encourage people in the idea that small steps, while they can feel tedious, really can add up to some decent progress.
That's all, thanks for reading!