Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!

[JoJoP]

Where the hell y'all been?  Must have been out spending some of that money.  Not one post since 12-14-2018.  Me I've been moving some stuff around.  Been buying VBTLX ans selling some stock funds like VINIX that are up like 25%.  I was fully invested all year and finally getting some bond exposure.  I've also bought some individual stocks that have been dogs.  Mostly GE and AT&T.  GE I bought again today at blood in the street level.  AT&T has already added a 10% increase in price since buying a month ago.

Yup!  Out spending some of that money and being with the ones we love.  Our family spent the holidays together in Europe.  It was one of the best Christmases and New Years we've ever had.  A real change of pace.  We want to build memories, and this was a home run.  The parents (me/DH) came home and the kids are still there, getting themselves around with no parental help or funds, finding their way to hostels, etc. 

Today is the first day I had a chance to peek at the thread.  I'm glad to see so many new posts.  I also took a look at Mint, for my 2018.  My updates are very outdated, and things are more rosy than it shows.  Some passwords have changed, a few accounts were never added, etc.  It's a good tool for general tracking.  FWIW, my AT&T stock is one of the bigger lugs in my stock portfolio.   Glad it worked for you with 10% up.   

[Bateaux]

Hey Jill P.  Glad you had such wonderful family time.  That's really what it's all for right?  Yep, you're right AT&T as well as GE were pretty bad in 2017.  I'd not owned them till December at the very bottom.   They are both up nicely for me now.  I did go to about 15% in VBTLX.  I've never owned bond's or bond funds in my life.  That's where I'm losing money.  JL Collins says it helps smooth the ride, we will see.  Even with my dumb move into some bonds we are still up 20k for the year.  Not sure how much further the market can push, we'll enjoy it while it does.  Glad to see ya back.  Happy Mardi Gras.

[farmecologist]

Hey Jill P.  Glad you had such wonderful family time.  That's really what it's all for right?  Yep, you're right AT&T as well as GE were pretty bad in 2017.  I'd not owned them till December at the very bottom.   They are both up nicely for me now.  I did go to about 15% in VBTLX.  I've never owned bond's or bond funds in my life.  That's where I'm losing money.  JL Collins says it helps smooth the ride, we will see.  Even with my dumb move into some bonds we are still up 20k for the year.  Not sure how much further the market can push, we'll enjoy it while it does.  Glad to see ya back.  Happy Mardi Gras.

Interesting about VBTLX.  I just cashed out some very old mutual funds that I've had for years.  Thought it was 'time'.  Plan is to move the proceeds to our taxable brokerage account where we already have a sizeable balance due to some successful 'side gig' stock trading.  I'm struggling a bit on what to do with these funds.  I'm sure much of them will end up back in equities at some point though..however, not 100%. 


 

[PhrugalPhan]

As of the close today..

Investments $2,003,400

Pensions $504,000

Paid off house approx $400,000

I think by any measure we are in this pool, at least for now..:)

As of close yesterday my GF has her TSP over $1 Mil

My investments are just under $900,000

And our two pensions combined are worth over $1 Mil as well

Paid off house approx. $350,000

The day I can walk out with pension in hand can't come soon enough.

[Car Jack]

With the runup Friday and my adds to taxable, I clicked over $2.3M in investments.

[JoJoP]

I stayed up late last night doing math.   After I did the math, I realized I've got to come up with a better plan.
 
 I ran some snow ball numbers... if it takes us 8 years to pay off the remaining 600K+ in debt by snowballing 4 remaining loans at an 8K payment per month, I'll still be paying almost $100K in interest over those 8 years.   The interest rate on my real estate property loans is costing me $22K in the next 12 months.  $22K wasted in 2018!  Sacrilege!! 

I've got to face this challenge head on.  I woke up and sent a $5K payment to one of the loans.   I'm waiting for a big check to arrive, and I have earmarked a chunk of change to the debt reduction.  That will speed up the snowball and I'm going to run the numbers again, just as soon as I know the actual figure.   I am sick and tired of paying the banks my hard earned money. 
Disclaimer:  I know there are differing opinions about paying off mortgages vs. stock portfolio investments.  I listen closely to the reasoning on both sides.  Our 4 loans are not all low interest fixed, so I've got more incentive.  Since most of our wealth is from/in real estate, I'm in the "pay off the mortgage, don't put it in the stock market" camp. 

[Bateaux]

I stayed up late last night doing math.   After I did the math, I realized I've got to come up with a better plan.
 
 I ran some snow ball numbers... if it takes us 8 years to pay off the remaining 600K+ in debt by snowballing 4 remaining loans at an 8K payment per month, I'll still be paying almost $100K in interest over those 8 years.   The interest rate on my real estate property loans is costing me $22K in the next 12 months.  $22K wasted in 2018!  Sacrilege!! 

I've got to face this challenge head on.  I woke up and sent a $5K payment to one of the loans.   I'm waiting for a big check to arrive, and I have earmarked a chunk of change to the debt reduction.  That will speed up the snowball and I'm going to run the numbers again, just as soon as I know the actual figure.   I am sick and tired of paying the banks my hard earned money. 
Disclaimer:  I know there are differing opinions about paying off mortgages vs. stock portfolio investments.  I listen closely to the reasoning on both sides.  Our 4 loans are not all low interest fixed, so I've got more incentive.  Since most of our wealth is from/in real estate, I'm in the "pay off the mortgage, don't put it in the stock market" camp.

There are mathematical equations which state that with current low interest mortage debt you are better off paying the minimum and investing the difference.   Great theory.  Those of us who are older faced much higher interest rates on our mortgages.   My mortgage was financed at 8.5% fixed.  Early payments made sense.  Whatever the current blend of which school of thought yields the most, one fact remains.  We have NW over 2 million on this thread.  Something worked.

[PhrugalPhan]

There are mathematical equations which state that with current low interest mortgage debt you are better off paying the minimum and investing the difference.   Great theory.  Those of us who are older faced much higher interest rates on our mortgages.   My mortgage was financed at 8.5% fixed.  Early payments made sense.  Whatever the current blend of which school of thought yields the most, one fact remains.  We have NW over 2 million on this thread.  Something worked.

Exactly.  I split the difference with my investments / payments as I had 6.75% fixed, and those extra principle payments from 2003-08 didn't melt away when the market went south 08-09 like my investments did.  For me being mortgage free since 2011 has been fabulous.

[honeyfill]

Good news, I broke the 2.5M barrier this month.   Bad news , the kitchen remodel is costing more than I thought and I  will drop back below 2.5M.  Since I'll still be  worth more than I was Jan 1, You might say I got the kitchen for free. (Just kidding, but at least I'm taking some money off the table just in case the market tanks!)

[dogboyslim]

$83k up in January, $324k increase last year.  Both of these numbers exclude any contributions on my part.  I still fear the phrase what goes up, must come down.

We are just over 2 if I include property.

Invested Assets 1.77, Home 1: 380k, Home 2: 450k: Home Debt: 380k = 2.22 M.  We are in the middle of moving from home 1 to home 2 due to a relocation to a more costly area.  Once that happens, we will drop 20k of home debt and put the rest of the equity into invested assets and then pay off the mortgage over time.

[bluebelle]

I'm having a hard time deciding if I belong in this group....debated posting for a while now, written and deleted a few posts....but what the heck, you sound like my peeps....stealth wealth, and a desire to have a nice buffer, live conservatively but still have some luxuries.

I've been sitting here trying to not laugh out loud with the absurdity of saying we ONLY have 1.73M in investible assets, so I don't yet belong in this group.....but if I include DH DB pension, and do back of the napkin math of the commuted value of that pension, we're "allowed" in this group.  Add in the home value in our ridiculous market, we actually surpass it.  But I don't count our home value because our retirement plan is to swap this house for a lakefront home and hike and fish to our hearts content.  We expect to break even between the two homes - it was a conscious decision to do so, and not downsize.

[Exflyboy]

I'm having a hard time deciding if I belong in this group....debated posting for a while now, written and deleted a few posts....but what the heck, you sound like my peeps....stealth wealth, and a desire to have a nice buffer, live conservatively but still have some luxuries.

I've been sitting here trying to not laugh out loud with the absurdity of saying we ONLY have 1.73M in investible assets, so I don't yet belong in this group.....but if I include DH DB pension, and do back of the napkin math of the commuted value of that pension, we're "allowed" in this group.  Add in the home value in our ridiculous market, we actually surpass it.  But I don't count our home value because our retirement plan is to swap this house for a lakefront home and hike and fish to our hearts content.  We expect to break even between the two homes - it was a conscious decision to do so, and not downsize.

I wrestled with that too.. I didn't have to wrestle long though...:)

[Dicey]

Ha! I just checked balances on our two main accounts. Gulp. $1.2M! Paid-for primary home is worth $1.4M, sez Zillow, which I know from recent comps to be low. I think I'll stop looking now. If I check any more balances, I'm going to find myself pushed right out of this nice club.

[Bateaux]

Only $31K to go to 2000K.  Going to keep pushing.  Took a week long vacation and spent a little money.   Felt good spreading it around some.   

[itchyfeet]

At this point, and whilst you’re still working, spending a little cash on a weeks vacation won’t even be felt at the bank, but will make a big difference as to how you feel about fronting up to the office a little longer.

[Koogie]

At this point, and whilst you’re still working, spending a little cash on a weeks vacation won’t even be felt at the bank, but will make a big difference as to how you feel about fronting up to the office a little longer.

+1

we took 9 weeks vacation last year.  gonna try and ramp it up to 12 this year (quite a few might be staycations).    it makes semi-retirement bearable and even enjoyable.

[Exflyboy]

I can testify that learning to spend after decades of "saving everything" can be quite the challenge.

We did 8 weeks on the road travelling through SE Asia in 2016 and probably spent $5k or so.. I just had to clench my teeth and type in my CC numbers..

Of course the money is not even measurable compared to our net worth, but you have to do it a few times to feel comfortable.

This year we are going to Poland, Slovenia and Croatia for 6 weeks or so..:)

[AdrianC]

I think I'll stop looking now. If I check any more balances, I'm going to find myself pushed right out of this nice club.

I took the club name to be “Race from $2M to $3M+”.

If so you’re safe. It’s been a crazy year already.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

We are past $3M with the crazy market, but plan to invest a bunch in a remodel, which may drop our cash flow, but positively increase our house value. So . . . I'll keep coming back & consider this my "home". I have no idea how property values in the bay area will continue to grow/drop/stabilize. After we pay for this remodel, we will do other facepunch worthy things like potentially buying a rental property in Hawaii. So, there's that.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Alright, we have lots of contenders - who's going to start the 'Race from $3M to $4M' thread?  The nice thing about finance is that doubling means you go from 1M to 2M in the same time as 2M to 4M, so getting from 2M to 3M is relatively quick in a rising market.

[CoffeeR]

Alright, we have lots of contenders - who's going to start the 'Race from $3M to $4M' thread?  The nice thing about finance is that doubling means you go from 1M to 2M in the same time as 2M to 4M, so getting from 2M to 3M is relatively quick in a rising market.

Better would be to change the title of this thread to to "Race from $2M to $3M+".

[Bateaux]

Bluerunner made the 2 to 4 thread.   Should have made the 3 to 4.  We've got the 2 to 3. Maybe we just start counting by 2s from here.

[itchyfeet]

Alright, we have lots of contenders - who's going to start the 'Race from $3M to $4M' thread?  The nice thing about finance is that doubling means you go from 1M to 2M in the same time as 2M to 4M, so getting from 2M to 3M is relatively quick in a rising market.

I have a sneaking suspicion that my 3rd will take a lot longer than the 2nd, even if I kept working.

[JoJoP]

Alright, we have lots of contenders - who's going to start the 'Race from $3M to $4M' thread?  The nice thing about finance is that doubling means you go from 1M to 2M in the same time as 2M to 4M, so getting from 2M to 3M is relatively quick in a rising market.

Better would be to change the title of this thread to to "Race from $2M to $3M+".

I agree.  Just add the plus sign and be done with it.  Does the OP agree?

 I'm not sure why another, bigger race thread was started.  Seeing the new posters join this thread is amazing.  Those are the posts I enjoy reading.   This thread has taken off recently.   We are examples of success.  I like the discussions about who's making what moves, such as paying off houses, buying in Hawaii, where to put the investments now.  I hope that the members of this thread can provide great advise to those who aspire to be here, rather than compete for an eve higher finish line.   Splitting the thread would dilute the discussions.   I'm not excited about hanging out in ever bigger threads.   As the guys say, E-peen comparisons aren't needed.   We're here, at the finish line, if we're in this thread.   Any 'stache over 2M is enough, and the journey for financial independence can be considered achieved. 

IMO, We're not racing any more, more like sauntering along.  Many of us here have enjoyed 20-30 years of financial growth, and are exactly where the young Mustachians will end up in the same time frame.  The frugal habits of a lifetime have come to fruition, and the money just makes itself.   Isn't that the whole point of being a Mustachian?   My NW has doubled in the past 10 years.  It's likely to keep rising, since my patterns aren't changing.   I'm older, wiser, and less risk adverse (not that I ever was particularly risk adverse).  A couple of easy moves, like moving chess pieces on the chess board, increased my monthly passive cash flow by $2500.  A couple more moves, and I reduced my outflow by over $3K a month.  I paid off a bunch of debt that I mentioned upthread. That's a net positive of $5500 a month.  I was broke 25 years ago, thus, living proof of Mustachian style success.   I hope my stories, our stories, are inspiring anyone dropping by to read these posts and wanting to join this race.

[Exflyboy]

Its clear that unless you have a huge salary that we really arn't doing anything to make more money.. its happening by itself at this point.

So i guess calling it a "race" is a bit nonsenical. Of course there are people for whom $2m or $3M really is not enough, but they have lifestyles that are beyond normal Mustashianism.

Assuming normal rates of return on the stock market (10% ish), then with a 100% stock portfolio we can expect to double our money in about 7 years.

So want another million $ and currently have $2m.. simply wait about 4 years and have a savings rate of zero. Of course, many of us are now FIRED and don't have 100% stocks, plus have some degree of negative savings rate so increases to the next milestone will vary.

I am also concerned at the enthusiasm shown over the rapid stock market rise. I could easily see at 20% pullback in the near future and possibly more. Thats not a problem.. just keep rebalancing or increase one stock asset allocation when the market tanks and everybody here will do very well... Just don't get married to these high numbers.

[itchyfeet]

I certainly don’t expect to be wobbled by a correction. When I fire in 11-17 months my net worth will be split
 - Home.                      27% - not exposed to stock market (could always buy cheaper if needed)
 - investment property   20% - not exposed to stock market
  - indexed pension.       10% - not exposed to the stock market
 - Cash and fixed interest 10% - not exposed to stock market
 - Stocks.                       33%

So, a 20% correction in stocks will represent a 6% drop in my net worth. Yawn.

[Dicey]

I certainly don’t expect to be wobbled by a correction. When I fire in 11-17 months my net worth will be split
 - Home.                      27% - not exposed to stock market (could always buy cheaper if needed)
 - investment property   20% - not exposed to stock market
  - indexed pension.       10% - not exposed to the stock market
 - Cash and fixed interest 10% - not exposed to stock market
 - Stocks.                       33%

So, a 20% correction in stocks will represent a 6% drop in my net worth. Yawn.

That's a great way to look at it! Our profile is similar to yours. This perspective is a great way to keep calm when the next slide occurs.

[Koogie]

I certainly don’t expect to be wobbled by a correction. When I fire in 11-17 months my net worth will be split
 - Home.                      27% - not exposed to stock market (could always buy cheaper if needed)
 - investment property   20% - not exposed to stock market
  - indexed pension.       10% - not exposed to the stock market
 - Cash and fixed interest 10% - not exposed to stock market
 - Stocks.                       33%

So, a 20% correction in stocks will represent a 6% drop in my net worth. Yawn.

Not debating your conclusions but do you really think your pension isn't exposed to the stock market ?   
This is a misconception many people have.

[itchyfeet]

I certainly don’t expect to be wobbled by a correction. When I fire in 11-17 months my net worth will be split
 - Home.                      27% - not exposed to stock market (could always buy cheaper if needed)
 - investment property   20% - not exposed to stock market
  - indexed pension.       10% - not exposed to the stock market
 - Cash and fixed interest 10% - not exposed to stock market
 - Stocks.                       33%

So, a 20% correction in stocks will represent a 6% drop in my net worth. Yawn.

Not debating your conclusions but do you really think your pension isn't exposed to the stock market ?   
This is a misconception many people have.

I feel very comfortable with my Australian Federal Government Pension. Australia remains one of 10 or so countries with a AAA credit rating. My pension is far more secure than any other part of my stash.

[DavidAnnArbor]

The advantage of federal pensions, from a central government, is that they can be backed up by debt obligations. The debt obligations or treasuries are highly desired if we enter another recession.

[Koogie]

I feel very comfortable with my Australian Federal Government Pension. Australia remains one of 10 or so countries with a AAA credit rating. My pension is far more secure than any other part of my stash.

The point was, what you said is factually incorrect. All pensions invest in equities. So, by definition they cannot be "not exposed to the stock market" as you said.

Whether they are secure or not is something else entirely.

[itchyfeet]

I feel very comfortable with my Australian Federal Government Pension. Australia remains one of 10 or so countries with a AAA credit rating. My pension is far more secure than any other part of my stash.

The point was, what you said is factually incorrect. All pensions invest in equities. So, by definition they cannot be "not exposed to the stock market" as you said.

Whether they are secure or not is something else entirely.

I understand your point, but not really relevant to what I was saying.

My point was that a major stock market correction is not likely (extremely unlikely) to have any impact on the future cash flows I will enjoy from my pension and I will continue to sleep well at night.

[FOBStash]

So stoked to join this thread! Hoping to get to $2.5M as our major FIRE milestone and then $2.5M with a paid off house. Then we will assess going FIRE. We enjoy our jobs for now so no burning need to quit.

Still a ways out since we just hit $2M at the start of the year.

[DavidAnnArbor]

I guess I can sort of join this thread.
My invested assets and cash in bank account is about $1,635,000 plus about $385,000 of equity in my home, which combined kicks me just above $2 million.

[JoJoP]

Welcome DaveAnnArbor and FOBstash!  Great to have you in the thread. 


So here's an interesting link to a bunch of interviews with Millionaires.  https://esimoney.com/millionaire-interview-37/

I haven't had time to read more than a handful of the stories, but what strikes me is the incredibly HUGE income that many of them have.   That said, I don't think they are MMM lifestyles, or some of the ones I've read about would have far more wealth.  Most of them have completely different profiles than mine.  I would consider my path to be more lower income, frugal savings, and high motivation from an early age.   Perhaps these are just your more run of the MILLionaires-- high income, high spending, yet good long term goals and planning that come to fruition.  The interview I just linked, #37, parallels my path in one way:  Real estate investments (he has 6), with $$ obtained from leveraging his personal residence.    I think he makes a valid point, also, that sometimes life gets in the way of our financial goals, and you have to sell something that would be better left alone.   Also, he points out the magic of time in fortune building. 

What do you think of these interviews?  Any comments or observations?

[DavidAnnArbor]

I agree about the amount of time makes a huge difference in accumulating assets, although I guess the point of this website is that you can reduce that time drastically through ultra -frugality.

[Car Jack]

So i guess calling it a "race" is a bit nonsenical. Of course there are people for whom $2m or $3M really is not enough, but they have lifestyles that are beyond normal Mustashianism.

Or perhaps it's because of life circumstances.  Let's see....a child with a disability that means that an appropriate school costs $56k a year and takes the spouse's entire day because it's a long drive every day, so she can't work.....and another kid in private college because the parents believe in providing the best education they can....... 

I understand that the Boglehead way seems to be "Send the damn kid to community college until he can pay his own way through school because I want to retire and I don't like hip hop and those man buns and what the hell is it with all the tatoos......the kid wasn't even in the marines?".  It ain't everyone's way.  Some of us care about our kids and are willing to pay for them to have opportunities.

[DavidAnnArbor]

I would say the Boglehead way is to send the kid to an expensive private college. Many on Bogleheads aspire to retire on many millions of dollars if not tens of millions.

[Fomerly known as something]

Welcome DaveAnnArbor and FOBstash!  Great to have you in the thread. 


So here's an interesting link to a bunch of interviews with Millionaires.  https://esimoney.com/millionaire-interview-37/

I haven't had time to read more than a handful of the stories, but what strikes me is the incredibly HUGE income that many of them have.   That said, I don't think they are MMM lifestyles, or some of the ones I've read about would have far more wealth.  Most of them have completely different profiles than mine.  I would consider my path to be more lower income, frugal savings, and high motivation from an early age.   Perhaps these are just your more run of the MILLionaires-- high income, high spending, yet good long term goals and planning that come to fruition.  The interview I just linked, #37, parallels my path in one way:  Real estate investments (he has 6), with $$ obtained from leveraging his personal residence.    I think he makes a valid point, also, that sometimes life gets in the way of our financial goals, and you have to sell something that would be better left alone.   Also, he points out the magic of time in fortune building. 

What do you think of these interviews?  Any comments or observations?

I have a hard time reading all the way through most of them.  I kind of see the demographics and think this is someone "not like me."  I think the higher incomes and the OK NW just doesn't inspire me like it could to others.  I guess I should maybe volunteer to be one of them to try to inspire others not like those.

[Dicey]

I guess I can sort of join this thread.
My invested assets and cash in bank account is about $1,635,000 plus about $385,000 of equity in my home, which combined kicks me just above $2 million.

I totally count our primary house. We paid cash for it and it's now worth over $1.4M, so why not? There are other assets that I don't count (rental properties, defined benefit pension) mostly because I'm too lazy to look them up. This is definitely not a race, it's more like a game of horseshoes. But then, that doesn't sound like much of a gauntlet, does it?

[wannabe-stache]

i know this is the wrong forum for this but happy to say that we're at the $2.93M mark and i just paid off the rest of our $48k mortgage.

should free up some cash to put into the market going forward.

it will be interesting to see what happens with said market, btw...

[itchyfeet]

So.... which camp are you in:

A. The bigger you are the harder you fall. Ie: this small blip in the market set you back a 6 figure sum which is more than 3 or 4% of you net worth; or

B. As you are wealthy and properly diversified this small blip cost you far less than the market movement, like maybe only 1%; or

C. You knew the top was in, shorted the market, made an absolute killing and grew your stash even to a more enviable number??

[Exflyboy]

1.5 Tesla drop for me.. I think our investments are slightly under $2m.. but still have $0.5m in pension valuation and at a guess $0.4 or 0.5 in house.

Don't think the baliffs are showing up just yet..:)

[MaybeBabyMustache]

So.... which camp are you in:

A. The bigger you are the harder you fall. Ie: this small blip in the market set you back a 6 figure sum which is more than 3 or 4% of you net worth; or

B. As you are wealthy and properly diversified this small blip cost you far less than the market movement, like maybe only 1%; or

C. You knew the top was in, shorted the market, made an absolute killing and grew your stash even to a more enviable number??

Somewhere between. I'd happened to pull a bunch out (not because of C, although I suspected, as many of us did) because we are planning to use cash for a remodel. I certainly am also down significantly in our main retirement account as well, so some of A & C.

[markbike528CBX]

So.... which camp are you in:

A. The bigger you are the harder you fall. Ie: this small blip in the market set you back a 6 figure sum which is more than 3 or 4% of you net worth; or

B. As you are wealthy and properly diversified this small blip cost you far less than the market movement, like maybe only 1%; or

C. You knew the top was in, shorted the market, made an absolute killing and grew your stash even to a more enviable number??

.

A and 0.01*C.  Almost got the peak when I sold stocks to finish off the house mortgage.

[honeyfill]

So.... which camp are you in:

A. The bigger you are the harder you fall. Ie: this small blip in the market set you back a 6 figure sum which is more than 3 or 4% of you net worth; or

B. As you are wealthy and properly diversified this small blip cost you far less than the market movement, like maybe only 1%; or

C. You knew the top was in, shorted the market, made an absolute killing and grew your stash even to a more enviable number??

Mostly A and a little bit of C.  I took out about 1/2 what I needed for the kitchen remodel a week ago but told my self to wait a couple of weeks to take out the rest.

[Car Jack]

B.

A 50/50 asset allocation helps with reducing volatility.

[farmecologist]

So.... which camp are you in:

A. The bigger you are the harder you fall. Ie: this small blip in the market set you back a 6 figure sum which is more than 3 or 4% of you net worth; or

B. As you are wealthy and properly diversified this small blip cost you far less than the market movement, like maybe only 1%; or

C. You knew the top was in, shorted the market, made an absolute killing and grew your stash even to a more enviable number??

..hmm none of the above? 

I have to add a little story here.  I cashed out a large amount of old mutual funds from a previous employer to 'consolidate' them into my brokerage account.  Mostly so I can manage tax costs better.   I did this at what turned out to be very near the market high.  So I 'timed' the marked by Complete, dumb luck....but I'll take it! 

[itchyfeet]

Thanks for the replies.

I was down about 1.4% NW at the close of Aus markets earlier today.

Made the call to stop buying stocks in December when the Aussie market had a massive run up, and to start paying down debt quicker. This was a decision to deleverage a little before FIRE next year.

If the market drops another 5% I will prob say screw conservatism, redraw the money off my loan, and buy more stocks at the cheaper price.

[Dicey]

Sort-of answer here: I am trustee/executor of my parent's estate. I'm in the process of consolidating some stuff. The very awful company cashed out all the stock in late December, in anticipation of finally following my instructions to move it to the very less awful company. When the transfer didn't happen (not really surprised) we missed the total run-up. Guess we're safely on the sidelines now. Accidental market timing, perhaps?

As for our own real numbers, meh, I haven't checked. We have a lot of cash sitting on the sidelines, so we could toss some in, but I think I'll wait until the Jim Cramer types are screaming that the end of the world is near before pulling the trigger. Oh, except that I don't watch Jim Cramer or any of the rest of them. Will somebody let me know when it's time, please?