10 yrs of concentrated saving

[Northwestie]

I went back and looked at our (me and spouse) records for incremental savings over the past decade.  Soon after we purchased our house we put together a more focused plan - nothing fancy - same as much as we could in our tax-deferred 401 and 403b plans, don't spend much, generally be frugal with vacations. 

So the numbers - in 2006 we had $235k in investments and cash, a $200k mortgage, and a daughter getting ready for college.  In 2016 the kid has been out of college, did some remodeling, we paid off the house (now worth upwards of $700k), purchased a decent used car and a new one with cash, and have $1.2M in savings.  Two more years of working FT will be enough.  So it's possible.

[2Birds1Stone]

That is encouraging!! Congratulations on executing your strategy and reaping the rewards =)

[amyj05]

Congratulations!!! That's a lot to be proud of! Thank you for sharing!

[Northwestie]

Congratulations!!! That's a lot to be proud of! Thank you for sharing!

Now only if I could get my 30-year-old daughter to get on board with a $ strategy.  I guess I didn't think too much about it until around 35 or so.

[sirdoug007]

Wow!  $1.2 million in savings and mortgage payoff in 10 years.  That is definitely badassity!

[Lunasol]

All of that in 10 years, amazing!!

[aaron3719]

Encouraging, congrats!

[forummm]

Nice going!

[katsiki]

So the numbers - in 2006 we had $235k in investments and cash, a $200k mortgage, and a daughter getting ready for college.  In 2016 the kid has been out of college, did some remodeling, we paid off the house (now worth upwards of $700k), purchased a decent used car and a new one with cash, and have $1.2M in savings.  Two more years of working FT will be enough.  So it's possible.

Is the $1.2M in savings in cash or investments?  I am curious about growth..  did you save $200k/year or was there something more involved?

[2Birds1Stone]

So the numbers - in 2006 we had $235k in investments and cash, a $200k mortgage, and a daughter getting ready for college.  In 2016 the kid has been out of college, did some remodeling, we paid off the house (now worth upwards of $700k), purchased a decent used car and a new one with cash, and have $1.2M in savings.  Two more years of working FT will be enough.  So it's possible.

Is the $1.2M in savings in cash or investments?  I am curious about growth..  did you save $200k/year or was there something more involved?

Going to go on a limb here and assume that a house that had a $200k+ mortgage in 2006 has greatly appreciated on top of being paid down.

[katsiki]

Not sure I follow...  My understanding of the OP is that the house value is outside of the 1.2M.

[2Birds1Stone]

Not sure I follow...  My understanding of the OP is that the house value is outside of the 1.2M.

whoops! Looks like you are correct =D

[TheAnonOne]

So the numbers - in 2006 we had $235k in investments and cash, a $200k mortgage, and a daughter getting ready for college.  In 2016 the kid has been out of college, did some remodeling, we paid off the house (now worth upwards of $700k), purchased a decent used car and a new one with cash, and have $1.2M in savings.  Two more years of working FT will be enough.  So it's possible.

Is the $1.2M in savings in cash or investments?  I am curious about growth..  did you save $200k/year or was there something more involved?

Well, if we put growth aside, he went from 200k in savings to 1,200k. So he added 100k a year, but probably less once you include growth.

His paying off the house was over and beyond the savings in investments.

Great job!

[WSUCoug1994]

This is the kind of math I can relate to.  Simply awesome.  Congratulations.

[StarBright]

Inspiring! Thanks for sharing.

[Northwestie]

I should add neither of us have any inheritance if that was a question.  In fact we're helping out my aging mother-in-law who will die with nothing.   And one of my brother-in-laws had a severe health issue that we donated $10k to, which will never be repaid.

I did have about $43k in Microsoft stock that started as a $10k investment in about 1990 that I used to fund most of my kid's college.  Our combined salaries at the start was about $116k and is now about $220k.  When I get a moment I'll post the 10 years of progress.

[happy]

Great work, I look forward to seeing your timeline.

[Northwestie]

Great work, I look forward to seeing your timeline.

Been out of the country for work-- here's the data:

1/1/2005           $253,793
12/18/2005   $299,888
6/13/2006           $313,817
12/30/2006   $374,711
10/1/2007            $467,987
12/30/2007   $487,934
1/11/2010           $461,010
4/17/2010     $504,900
1/3/2011           $573,330
4/8/2011          $496,875
4/12/2012          $644,432
10/1/2012          $693,732
2/12/2013          $740,235
6/10/2013          $788,014
9/30/2013     $827,460
12/31/2013   $898,883
4/15/2013         $919,069
6/15/2014     $955,819
1/12/2015    $1,032,919
8/5/2015      $1,090,825
1/12/2016    $1,071,218
7/8/2016      $1,167,000


This is a mix of about 70% S&P 500 Index funds and bond funds (which have been doing nothing) - all in 401k or the like.  In addition we have kept about $130k in cash - likely too much, buy my spouse is a nervous one.

[Glenstache]

Those numbers paint a really nice picture of the power of steady progress year on year. Good job. Looks like things were interesting in 2011 with some big number changes.

[Northwestie]

Those numbers paint a really nice picture of the power of steady progress year on year. Good job. Looks like things were interesting in 2011 with some big number changes.

Oh yea - that was SPY - spousal nervous year

[RWD]

1/1/2005           $253,793
12/18/2005   $299,888
6/13/2006           $313,817
12/30/2006   $374,711
10/1/2007            $467,987
12/30/2007   $487,934
1/11/2010           $461,010
4/17/2010     $504,900
1/3/2011           $573,330
4/8/2011          $496,875
4/12/2012          $644,432
10/1/2012          $693,732
2/12/2013          $740,235
6/10/2013          $788,014
9/30/2013     $827,460
12/31/2013   $898,883
4/15/20134         $919,069
6/15/2014     $955,819
1/12/2015    $1,032,919
8/5/2015      $1,090,825
1/12/2016    $1,071,218
7/8/2016      $1,167,000

I assume you meant 4/15/2014 instead of 4/15/2013. I attached a graph for easier visualization, I hope that's okay. Nice work!

[Northwestie]

1/1/2005           $253,793
12/18/2005   $299,888
6/13/2006           $313,817
12/30/2006   $374,711
10/1/2007            $467,987
12/30/2007   $487,934
1/11/2010           $461,010
4/17/2010     $504,900
1/3/2011           $573,330
4/8/2011          $496,875
4/12/2012          $644,432
10/1/2012          $693,732
2/12/2013          $740,235
6/10/2013          $788,014
9/30/2013     $827,460
12/31/2013   $898,883
4/15/20134         $919,069
6/15/2014     $955,819
1/12/2015    $1,032,919
8/5/2015      $1,090,825
1/12/2016    $1,071,218
7/8/2016      $1,167,000

I assume you meant 4/15/2014 instead of 4/15/2013. I attached a graph for easier visualization, I hope that's okay. Nice work!

Oh - good catch, looks like you are correct.  Nice visual.

I'm sure there are faster accumulation rates.  After reading here a bit I'm quite amazed at the money smarts here - folks more comfortable than me in say stock picking or real estate investing likely are doing better.  But for my comfort zone and where I prefer to spend my time - this will do.  Cheers.

[happy]

Nice! thanks for putting up your numbers

[frugledoc]

Great stuff.  I notice 2008 and 2009 are missing.  Is that because you were not wanting to look at the short term damage from the crash?

[oldtoyota]

I went back and looked at our (me and spouse) records for incremental savings over the past decade.  Soon after we purchased our house we put together a more focused plan - nothing fancy - same as much as we could in our tax-deferred 401 and 403b plans, don't spend much, generally be frugal with vacations. 

So the numbers - in 2006 we had $235k in investments and cash, a $200k mortgage, and a daughter getting ready for college.  In 2016 the kid has been out of college, did some remodeling, we paid off the house (now worth upwards of $700k), purchased a decent used car and a new one with cash, and have $1.2M in savings.  Two more years of working FT will be enough.  So it's possible.

That is GREAT news. Congratulations!!

[Northwestie]

Great stuff.  I notice 2008 and 2009 are missing.  Is that because you were not wanting to look at the short term damage from the crash?

Ha - yes, I looked but didn't record.  No sense in wallowing.  I have the data somewhere though - would be interesting to look at the bounce.

[TheAnonOne]

Great stuff.  I notice 2008 and 2009 are missing.  Is that because you were not wanting to look at the short term damage from the crash?

Ha - yes, I looked but didn't record.  No sense in wallowing.  I have the data somewhere though - would be interesting to look at the bounce.

I've seen a few others data for this drop, and the actual fall was nothing next to the market due to people still contributing. In the end they skyrocketed as you have!

[Kansas Beachbum]

Well done NW!  Our story kind of mimics yours.  Mrs. KBB and I got married 13 years ago.  At that time we had maybe $200K in savings and a bit of equity in one home.  Now, we have $1.3M in savings and $275K in equity in two homes.  We both have pretty good jobs, which I will admit makes it easier, but we saved like you did...maxing 401Ks, additional to IRAs and taxable accounts outside those.  We do use a a fee only advisor, but I manage over half of our investments and am currently doing better than our advisor (I value his opinion on general strategy and other things so will hang with him for a while).  We invest almost entirely in a mix of funds...a lot of Vanguard, I prefer high dividend paying funds, and individual bond ladders.  Getting ready to head south to live at the beach (dream come true for us) as the youngest heads off to college (fully funded) in a week or so.  It can be done.  Anyone who is just starting out, keep the faith...you will get there!  Cheers all!

[Trudie]

Thanks for sharing.  I think your example shows what you can accomplish in a focused decade.  Our story is somewhat similar -- albeit not as focused.  We always saved more than the minimum to get our matches and we've had no debt, but have only been maxing out our retirement accounts for a few years.  But, I am often amazed at how quickly things have snowballed and where we're at.