Race from 10 to 100k!!

[ohyonghao]

I like the way people are encouraging in this thread so I'd like to join. I've said elsewhere on this forum that I expect to hit 100k in investments this year. Right now we're floating around $64k. Down about 1.5k from the recent stock slip. Looking to put away about $5200 a month. So we're hoping to hit our goal around September time.

Welcome to the thread!  We've experienced a little setback this month too with the stock market fluctuation, abnormally high from last month due to tax refund, and an unexpected dental emergency that is leading to a trip to Taiwan now.  But $5200/mo, that's awesome!

[SpareChange]

Welcome to the thread!  We've experienced a little setback this month too with the stock market fluctuation, abnormally high from last month due to tax refund, and an unexpected dental emergency that is leading to a trip to Taiwan now.  But $5200/mo, that's awesome!

Sorry to hear that. Hope it's not too serious.

[Runningtuff]

It may be some time yet, but I'll play!

Everyday: 300
Emergency fund: 5100
Retirement: 12,000

Student loan: -800 (0%)

Net worth: $16600

[Wiggle]

End of February update:
Cash/Savings: $4,317
Mutual Funds (non-retirement, house savings): $10,703
Work Retirement Accounts: $32,968

NW: $47,988 (increase of $1,489)

Done moving moving around for this month so time for another snapshot, end of March:
Cash/Savings: $8,271
Mutual Funds (non-retirement, house savings): $10,756
Work Retirement Accounts: $33,506

NW: $52,533 (increase of $4,545):)

Big increase this month thanks to a ridiculous tax return (I will adjust for next year) and some lower expenditures.  I am now over half way to the 100k mark!

[tarheeldan]

I am now over half way to the 100k mark!

Congratulations!

[misschedda]

Just updated my row of the spreadsheet and noticed that you guys have incredible percentage growth on the last few months. A lot of people's net worths are growing by 10% or more each month--way to go!

[givemesunshine]

Hi all,

I'm down as expected due to medical expenses - they're all paid off now so the only way is up (I hope)!

My retirement savings (not included in this challenge) are doing well so my true NW is moving along nicely.

Good luck to all!

[johnny847]

Jan 2015: 69.8k
Feb 2015: 73.8k (Back over 70k!)

A larger than expected increase this month, with $2200 of rise in net worth coming from my investments (that's 55% of the growth coming from investments).

March 2015: 76.6k

Had a good month.

Found a new place to live that will cut my housing costs in half. That starts May 1st.

[tarheeldan]

 Found a new place to live that will cut my housing costs in half. That starts May 1st.

Badass! That'll speed your way to the finish line

[johnny847]

 Found a new place to live that will cut my housing costs in half. That starts May 1st.

Badass! That'll speed your way to the finish line

Oh hell yes. I'm pretty excited to be moving out =)
It involves a 8.8 mile RT bike commute, which I'm also excited about. That's over 2000 miles that I will put on my bike from just commuting!

[Pooplips]

Time to join:

3/9/15 - PC Net Worth $53,877

4/1/2015 - $60,080.00

Big jump from that bonus money.

[seanc0x0]

We're really starting to feel the bite of my wife's reduced income on mat leave.  Only up 2.47% to 13,058 from 12,743. Market headwinds didn't help, but at least I did manage to scrounge up $750 after essentials to put into the fund.

[tarheeldan]

Do we have any graduates yet? Where's ohyonghao?

[ohyonghao]

Do we have any graduates yet? Where's ohyonghao?

Just getting in the numbers for March.  Due to refinancing and a dental emergency we went down a little bit in net worth.  As the refinance settles out with getting the escrow payment back, skipping a month in payments, and having $400 extra going from interest to principal every month we should see our net worth savings accelerate again.

Feb: $92,666.05
Mar: $88,667.04
Total Increase: -$3,999.01

[SpareChange]

Jan 2015: 69.8k
Feb 2015: 73.8k (Back over 70k!)

A larger than expected increase this month, with $2200 of rise in net worth coming from my investments (that's 55% of the growth coming from investments).

March 2015: 76.6k

Had a good month.

Found a new place to live that will cut my housing costs in half. That starts May 1st.

Nice! You'll be @ 100k in no time. My own rent goes up 5% in June unfortunately.

[Pooperman]

Aw shucks, my 3/31 401k contribution didn't land until 4/1 - you'll see it in next month's figure ;)

I always count things as they've been paid for. When I got paid on 3/31, the 401k and HSA won't hit until around 4/6, but I count it because the money has been sent that direction as of 3/31.

[SMCx3]

I enjoy checking in on this thread and seeing the success stories. 

Appreciate the post!

[johnny847]

I always count things as they've been paid for. When I got paid on 3/31, the 401k and HSA won't hit until around 4/6, but I count it because the money has been sent that direction as of 3/31.

I've been debating that. I use my own home-brewed software, and I mark transactions as "posted" when they are "finished." So the money I spent on 3/31 at the grocery store on my Amex wasn't counted in my 3/31 net worth figure. It doesn't show up on the special report I have for that, because they weren't yet marked as "posted." Same with the 401k numbers. For consistency, I think I'm stuck waiting until I mark them.

EDIT: Plus point of interest... last quarter, big dividend payout went into Betterment investment/retirement 12/31, but this month it's going in ~today (i.e. late.)

Heh. I use a slightly different approach. My rule is that anything that has tax implications must be tax accurate. Which usually means I need to use the post date.
But for purchases there are no tax implications (at least, not for me - I think this might matter if I owned a business or something). So for purchases I usually go by transaction date, not post date.

It really doesn't matter how you do it so long as you keep it consistent and it is providing you data the way you want to use it.

[tarheeldan]

Just for kicks - for the 25 people on the spreadsheet that have a starting May, 2014 NW and a current March, 2015 NW:

Combined NW increase: $715,151.15

[Pooperman]

I always count things as they've been paid for. When I got paid on 3/31, the 401k and HSA won't hit until around 4/6, but I count it because the money has been sent that direction as of 3/31.

I've been debating that. I use my own home-brewed software, and I mark transactions as "posted" when they are "finished." So the money I spent on 3/31 at the grocery store on my Amex wasn't counted in my 3/31 net worth figure. It doesn't show up on the special report I have for that, because they weren't yet marked as "posted." Same with the 401k numbers. For consistency, I think I'm stuck waiting until I mark them.

EDIT: Plus point of interest... last quarter, big dividend payout went into Betterment investment/retirement 12/31, but this month it's going in ~today (i.e. late.)

Heh. I use a slightly different approach. My rule is that anything that has tax implications must be tax accurate. Which usually means I need to use the post date.
But for purchases there are no tax implications (at least, not for me - I think this might matter if I owned a business or something). So for purchases I usually go by transaction date, not post date.

It really doesn't matter how you do it so long as you keep it consistent and it is providing you data the way you want to use it.

It comes down to when your net worth actually changes vs when taxes are calculated. Example: you buy a 10lb bag of rice, like the mustachian you are, on 12/31. You've agreed to buy it at the given price, so you have a debt to the store (your net worth has changed). It doesn't post until 1/2, so as far as taxes go, that's the date to use. Net worth date is 12/31, tax date is 1/2.

As you said, consistency and personal preference.

[Suit]

Just for kicks - for the 25 people on the spreadsheet that have a starting May, 2014 NW and a current March, 2015 NW:

Combined NW increase: $715,151.15

This is just awesome! Thank you for calculating it, I can't wait to see what we all can do with another 2 months!

[FIPurpose]

I like the way people are encouraging in this thread so I'd like to join. I've said elsewhere on this forum that I expect to hit 100k in investments this year. Right now we're floating around $64k. Down about 1.5k from the recent stock slip. Looking to put away about $5200 a month. So we're hoping to hit our goal around September time.

April 1 ~71k

Looking to hit about 76 by EOM. And SO's bonus review should be coming soon. Fingers crossed!

[starterstache]

Just crossed the 40k mark this month. We only have a single income, but hoping to hit at least 55k by the end of the year. Congrats to everyone who's making great progress in this thread.

[JLee]

I might be at 50k now! I am waiting to get information on a mutual fund I opened when I was a kid, so I am hoping there's a couple thousand in there. Other investments just crossed 35k and I have about $13k liquid (should drop more into Vanguard, but I may use it to float living expenses so I can max my 401k this year). :)

I just started MMM-ing in January- curious how quickly I'll reach 100k!

[Middlesbrough]

Good job, JLee!

[tarheeldan]

Congrats, JLee! Halfway to graduating this thread!

[SpareChange]

I might be at 50k now! I am waiting to get information on a mutual fund I opened when I was a kid, so I am hoping there's a couple thousand in there. Other investments just crossed 35k and I have about $13k liquid (should drop more into Vanguard, but I may use it to float living expenses so I can max my 401k this year). :)

I just started MMM-ing in January- curious how quickly I'll reach 100k!

Cool. Halfway there! I hit 50k just last month myself. :)

[JLee]

Not going to max 401k...starting way too late in the year to be able to afford it. I should land around $12k though, and if I do have enough liquid left at year-end I will put $5500 in a tIRA.  That should put me north of $65k by year end; hopefully 90k by the end of 2016? :D

[Two9A]

Alright, I'll muck in. Some caveats:

• I'm in England, so figures will need to be in pounds instead;
• I'm also rewinding a month or two, because I started climbing past 10k in February;
• I'm not counting payments against my mortgage principal, just investments.

Feb 1: 10k in Vanguard.
Mar 1: 13k.
Apr 1: 15k, hitting the tax-free savings limit for the year.
Apr 6: 33k, by taking excess cash out of the LLC, filling the limit for the next financial year.

I might need to open up a taxable account...

[minority_finance_mo]

Just hit $10K - hoping to be at $40K by end of 2015.

[JLee]

Just hit $10K - hoping to be at $40K by end of 2015.

Awesome - congratulations!

[Eristheunorganized]

I just hit 40k, which is more money than I've ever made in a year. Every 10k feels great to a lower income earner like me.

[tomita]

NW 16300
(47600 invested
21500 SL
10300 credit card debt)

[minority_finance_mo]

6/30/2014: -$6922
7/31/2014: $2291
8/31/2014: $5896
9/30/2014: $11,201
10/31/2014: $14,610
11/30/2014: $21,534
12/31/2014: $24,703
1/31/2015: $22,583
2/28/2015: $27,906

Ah yes back in the right direction. Despite a nearly $1400 repair, I'm doing well. Holiday bonus and a separate company wide bonus gave me a little edge. S.O. has paid me back some for our trip plans. New 401k kicked in and I bumped up my HSA contributions. Also got a big credit card bonus. ($200 from Chase.)

How cool is it to see your net worth increase by over $35K in just 8 months? Imagine if someone had a summary of your life to date; they would be scratching their heads about what happened in June of 2014. Ha!

[SpareChange]

Just hit $10K - hoping to be at $40K by end of 2015.

Excellent.

[SpareChange]

I just hit 40k, which is more money than I've ever made in a year. Every 10k feels great to a lower income earner like me.

It should feel great! Awesome job!

[celticmyst08]

Jumping in on this too! Our current NW is $31-$32k, of which $21k is invested. It's going to dip for awhile, though, because in May we are paying ~$3k for tuition, and then another ~$6k in the fall, with a continual $1700/month being saved for future tuition (through 2017). $1500-$2000/month or so will be going to investments. We originally wanted to have $50k invested by the end of the year but with school I'm not sure that's feasible unless the stock market does insanely well. :P I think we'll shoot for $40k. I'll be pretty happy if we can pull that off. :)

[misschedda]

It's going to dip for awhile, though, because in May we are paying ~$3k for tuition, and then another ~$6k in the fall, with a continual $1700/month being saved for future tuition (through 2017). $1500-$2000/month or so will be going to investments. We originally wanted to have $50k invested by the end of the year but with school I'm not sure that's feasible unless the stock market does insanely well. :P I think we'll shoot for $40k. I'll be pretty happy if we can pull that off. :)

Welcome! And it's nice to know that tuition is also an investment in human capital, so at least that money you aren't putting into investments is still working to make you richer!

[celticmyst08]

Thanks! Yeah... I should be able to double my earnings as soon as I graduate (maybe even before, if I can snag a related job while still finishing my degree), and the job prospects in the field are really positive, so even though this isn't a traditional investment I'm confident I'll be much better off financially.

Honestly I'm just super happy we don't have to take out any more student loans. We have about $4500 left on my husband's student loan and then we'll be free and clear.

[SpareChange]

Hey guys! Up about $4k. I opened an HSA this month and funded it for the year.  Nothing else too special about April...just steady as as she goes. OT dried up for this month, unfortunately. Hope everyone did well!

[misschedda]

Hey guys! Up about $4k. I opened an HSA this month and funded it for the year.  Nothing else too special about April...just steady as as she goes. OT dried up for this month, unfortunately. Hope everyone did well!

Wow SpareChange! In the past two months you sped right past me. Keep up the good work.

[tarheeldan]

Up about $4k. I opened an HSA this month and funded it for the year.

$4k is awesome! NW +7.4% Good stuff!

[tarheeldan]

Wow SpareChange! In the past two months you sped right past me. Keep up the good work.

You had a sweet 6.3% jump too!

[seanc0x0]

Thanks to some tax jiggery-pokery by the account who does our taxes (family friend, it's free for us), I ended up with a MUCH larger than expected tax refund. Half went to my wife, the rest went into my accounts.  Result, a nice jump from ~13k to ~17k, or almost 32%.  Not expecting anywhere near that next month, but it does feel pretty nice!

[ohyonghao]

A good rebound this month, followed by end of month stock sales.
March: $88,667.04
April: $94,786.61
+$6119.57

Will be out of country for 2 weeks which might stifle our progress.  One thing that held us back this month was paying next months mortgage early due to testing out a new system and not wanting to muck up our mortgage payment.  Figure if we do it a few weeks early if anything goes wrong we have that much more time to fix the issue.

Hoping by July we'll break $100k! (May is a 5th paycheck month, so that should help bolster our reserves :-)).

[tarheeldan]

Great to see everyone's progress!

Hit 70k last month, 14.14% to FI and hoping to hit 100k by EOY :-)

[misschedda]

Hit 70k last month, 14.14% to FI and hoping to hit 100k by EOY :-)

Hoping by July we'll break $100k! (May is a 5th paycheck month, so that should help bolster our reserves :-)).

Psyched to see the first graduates of this challenge!

[celticmyst08]

March: $30,029
April:   $34,384

+12.7%!! Woohoo!!

[SpareChange]

$4k is awesome! NW +7.4% Good stuff!

Wow SpareChange! In the past two months you sped right past me. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for being so supportive. I'll try to keep it up! Glad to see you guys doing so well too.

[Pooplips]

3/9/15 - PC Net Worth $53,877

4/1/2015 - $60,080.00

5/1/2015 - $63,589.00

The climb continues!