Race from 100 to 250k

[DarkandStormy]

NW // Inv. Assets

5/1/17 - $115,775  //  $92,843
6/1/17 - $132,067  //  $96,095
7/1/17 - $134,078  //  $96,404
8/1/17 - $142,711  //  $100,068
9/1/17 - $144,009 // $102,800
10/1/17 - $146,185 // $106,104
11/1/17 - $151,793 // $111,791
12/1/17 - $155,245 // $116,204

1/1/18 - $157,542 // $115,616

Had some unexpected medical bills hit this month (hence the drop in HSA funds) and decided to pull the trigger and prepay property taxes late in December as well.

So it looks a bit odd, but the "trend" should normalize come March/April.

[Stimpy]

6/1/2017 - $115,738
6/30/2017 $117,232 ~ +1.29%
7/31/2017 $119,087 ~ +1.58%
8/31/2017 $123,218 ~ +3.47%
9/30/2017 $123,886 ~ +0.54%
10/31/2017 $125,468.75 +1.28%
11/30/2017 $124,036.64 ~-1.14%   - Almost a new leap day  ;)

12/31/2017 $130,952.23 ~5.58%   - Side note: previous month didn't have tax liens so this % is a little skewed

Numbers based on Mint and does not include:
 A small crypto currency investment < $1000
 
So most everything should be in mint as of yesterday, except that crypto which tbh is too volatile to reliably track for this thread.  (Others can disagree, but that's my take.)

Did my year in review yesterday and figured out I saved/gained roughly 30k this year.  Not bad but considering my avg is about 20k a year(for the past 6 years)... I'll need to step it up to reach my goals for this year.

Hope everyone had an awesome new years and I look forward to a better year for all!

[Check2400]

Jan. 1, 2017 - 103,000
Feb. 1, 2017 - 106,500
Mar. 1 2017  - 102,500
Apr. 1  2017 -  110,000
May 1  2017 -  112,500
June 1 2017 -  113,500
July  1 2017 -  120,500
Aug. 1 2017 -  131,000
Sept. 1 2017-  131,000
Oct.  1  2017-  131,500
Nov. 1  2017 - 135,000
Dec. 1  2017 - 140,000
Jan. 1   2018 - 160,000

Total growth of $57,000, almost all over the final 9 months.  Looking forward to logging a year of budgeting without the house expenses.

The goal each year is to save $50,000.  Since gains were near 20% this year, I didn't hit that, but the goal for this time next year is to have my number be $220,000 to account for growth and savings.  So long as I'm socking away 50K though the 10 year FIRE horizon seems viable.

So weird to have been logging this stuff on this thread for 12 months.  Forum member for 3 years now too!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z8OcegKpbeNJoqSI0nzoBuypFKqDD7BT2SS60oFEeCw/edit#gid=0

[Pooperman]

Total growth of $57,000, almost all over the final 9 months.  Looking forward to logging a year of budgeting without the house expenses.

So weird to have been logging this stuff on this thread for 12 months.  Forum member for 3 years now too!

Very nice! We ended up $62k this passed year.

[KelStache]

Time to join this thread!  When I started reading MMM my husband and I were negative net worth, and I never thought this day would come - yet alone at age 25!

To be honest I'm not sure if our net worth will dip soon; we purchased some land, are starting to build a house, and I'm having a baby in April so will be on maternity leave for a year.  But hopeful this thread helps keep me motivated!

Net worth includes all assets / debts except for our used van, which was paid for with cash.

12/01/2017 : $102,500

01/01/2017 : $108,000

[wonkette]

Employer contribution for 4th quarter hit at the end of the year, driving my rate of increase to over 6%! Whoo!

Nov: 131,132
Dec: 136,176
Jan: 144,773

[BiggerFishToFI]

              Invested       NW
1/31/2017:  $55,715     $115,306
2/28/2017:  $57,750     $122,296
3/31/2017:  $58,109     $118,381
4/30/2017:  $58,207     $117,249   <<-----------Discovered MMM!
5/31/2017:  $69,706     $125,027
6/30/2017:  $82,626     $132,130
7/31/2017:  $89,755     $177,201
8/31/2017:  $95,620     $183,831
9/30/2017:  $100,062   $184,858   <<-----------100k invested!
10/31/2017:$106,436   $193,830
11/30/2017:$110,545   $202,672 
12/31/2017:$123,159   $228,007   <<-----------Bonus Time!

After reviewing our financial year yesterday, I decided to remove our vehicles from the NW column. Now NW only includes investments, conservative fixed rental house equity and cash on hand.

Hoping to hit 250k by July 2018!


              Invested       NW
1/31/2017:  $55,715     $115,306
2/28/2017:  $57,750     $122,296
3/31/2017:  $58,109     $118,381
4/30/2017:  $58,207     $117,249   <<-----------Discovered MMM!
5/31/2017:  $69,706     $125,027
6/30/2017:  $82,626     $132,130
7/31/2017:  $89,755     $177,201
8/31/2017:  $95,620     $183,831
9/30/2017:  $100,062   $184,858   <<-----------100k invested!
10/31/2017:$106,436   $193,830
11/30/2017:$110,545   $202,672 
12/31/2017:$123,159   $209,602   <<-----------Bonus Time! Also removed 18k of vehicle equity from NW.

[dreadmoose]

Jul 1, 2016	-$19,048.00
Jan 1, 2017	-$25,189.00	<---Discovered MMM
Jul 1, 2017	$27,638.49
Dec 29, 2017	$110,473.03

Graduated the last thread a few days ago, very excited to be joining this one with the compounding interest starting to noticeably help!

I believe it will be slower to grow though with the spread into taxable accounts imminent here.

[kickel]

8/8/16: $101,750

2/24/17: $110,773

3/31/17: $115,783

4/30/17: $116,557

5/31/17: $117,749
6/30/17: $121,780

8/17: $124,670
9/17: $126,816
10/17: $126,387 (Commission check hit month after)
11/17: $137,646

12/17: $146,267

Making big moves. I've been riding a little of the Canadian Cannabis Stock hype, but I can't complain get while the getting is hot! That plus holidays and generally better saving habits are giving me some great tailwind.

Looking to purchase my first investment property. Any suggestion on how to include that? Should I leave it out and take the big capital hit, or include the home value minus mortgage?

Either way, looking to break $150,000 at the end of the month!

[BiggerFishToFI]

8/8/16: $101,750

2/24/17: $110,773

3/31/17: $115,783

4/30/17: $116,557

5/31/17: $117,749
6/30/17: $121,780

8/17: $124,670
9/17: $126,816
10/17: $126,387 (Commission check hit month after)
11/17: $137,646

12/17: $146,267

Making big moves. I've been riding a little of the Canadian Cannabis Stock hype, but I can't complain get while the getting is hot! That plus holidays and generally better saving habits are giving me some great tailwind.

Looking to purchase my first investment property. Any suggestion on how to include that? Should I leave it out and take the big capital hit, or include the home value minus mortgage?

Either way, looking to break $150,000 at the end of the month!

A lot of folks here don't include house equity if it is their primary residence, which I kind of understand but disagree with unless you know that you will own the residence until you die.

I think it would be silly to not include an investment property that you intend to one day possibly sell in your net worth calculation. However I would estimate its value and your equity conservatively and only update the properties value once a year or so. I'd also subtract estimated realtor fees taxes etc if you sold the property from your equity.

[the_gastropod]

Wohoo! Just hit $100,300 today. Hoping I can hit $250 by the end of 2017.

March 2016	$100,300
September 2016	$137,838

I'm going to have to change something if I'm going to hit that goal by the end of next year haha.

Well, the market was kind to us. I just crested $250 thanks to my last paycheck of 2017! Onward!

[Cornel_Westside]

03/2017 - $130,500
04/2017 - $133,780 (+3280 - Saved $2500, Market Gains $780, Savings Ratio 48.2%)
05/2017 - $138,157 (+4377 - Saved $2835, Market Gains $1542, Savings Ratio 54.4%)
06/2017 - $144,144 (+5987 - Saved $3265, Market Gains $2731, Savings Ratio 61.9%)
07/2017 - $147,452 (+3308 - Saved $2039, Market Gains $1269, Savings Ratio 39.1%)
08/2017 - $152,993 (+5541 - Saved $2961, Market Gains $2580, Savings Ratio 54.3%)
09/2017 - $155,863 (+2870 - Saved $2838, Market Gains $32, Savings Ratio 52%)
10/2017 - $162,673 (+6810 - Saved $2999, Market Gains $3811, Savings Ratio 54.9%)
11/2017 - $168,673 (+6000 - Saved $2775, Market Gains $3225, Savings Ratio 50.8%)
12/2017 - $175,755 (+7082 - Saved $2730, Market Gains $4352, Savings Ratio 50%)
01/2018 - $193,174 (+17419 - Saved $3452, Market Gains $13967, Savings Ratio 63.3%)

Cryptos and a good month make a big difference.

+74006 for the year in networth. Can't believe the progress.

[RockytopinDC]

January 2017: $ 80,450
January 2018: $ 197,446

[Imustacheyouaquestion]

Well, the market was kind to us. I just crested $250 thanks to my last paycheck of 2017! Onward!

Congrats! Hope to see you in the next thread soon!

[SarkastikNinja]

DATE                    |      NW          |       CHG          |              COMMENT                                              |
2017-10-31                 115,301             +25,438            YE bonus graduated me to this thread.   
2017-11-30                 115,827             +     526            Too spendy this month, but at least positive
2017-12-31                 116,736             +     909            Another slow month, but reinvigorated for a frugal January


+59,509 for 2017. Pretty happy with that!

[moonpalace]

01/2017:  $42,000
02/2017:  $51,000
03/2017:  $57,500
04/2017:  $62,500
05/2017:  $71,546
06/2017:  $80,500
07/2017:  $88,597
08/2017:  $97,618
09/2017:  $106,055
10/2017:  $111,242
11/2017:  $120,141
12/2017:  $131,419
01/2018:  $143,602

Took me 41 years to get to 42k (1k/year) and then after finding MMM only 1 year to add 100k. Holy moses!! :-)

[dignam]

Jun 2017 $112k
Jul 2017 $115k
Aug 2017 $111k [sold house and paid off student loans]
Sep 2017 $117k
Oct 2017 $121k
Nov 2017 $125k
Dec 2017 $126k [buying a house, lots of associated expenses]

[MVal]

5/31/17 - $100,187
6/31/17 - $102,500
7/31/17 - $104,809

I'm hoping to get to at least $120K by the end of the year on NW and cross $100K just in investments.

9/29/17 - $109,800
This will hopefully turn over $110K by Monday after my last 401K deposit hits. I'm up to $95K in invested value. Still finding it difficult to come up with extra liquid to put away though. Seems like every month there's been new expenses that crop up I have to take care of like a major car repair, plane ticket for a conference coming up, healthcare, etc.

12/31/17 - $121,515
Very happy to have finished the year over my goal of $120K net worth. I was able to cross the line mostly due to the swelling market as well as cryptocurrency values, although I don't have much in crypto. Anxious to see what happens in 2018 as I feel we are due for a market crash of some sort soon. Rumor has it my office is going to be closed sometime this year, so I'm looking forward to a chance to make a career change, maybe. I'll also get a handsome severance package, so I'm looking forward to being laid off!

[MrMoneySaver]

I'm looking forward to being laid off!

One of the most Mustachian statements ever stated.

[kickel]

8/8/16: $101,750
2/24/17: $110,773
3/31/17: $115,783
4/30/17: $116,557
5/31/17: $117,749
6/30/17: $121,780
8/30/17: $124,670
9/30/17: $126,816
10/30/17: $126,387
11/30/17: $137,646
12/30/17: $146,267

Making big moves. I've been riding a little of the Canadian Cannabis Stock hype, but I can't complain get while the getting is hot! That plus holidays and generally better saving habits are giving me some great tailwind.

Looking to purchase my first investment property. Any suggestion on how to include that? Should I leave it out and take the big capital hit, or include the home value minus mortgage?

Either way, looking to break $150,000 at the end of the month!

A lot of folks here don't include house equity if it is their primary residence, which I kind of understand but disagree with unless you know that you will own the residence until you die.

I think it would be silly to not include an investment property that you intend to one day possibly sell in your net worth calculation. However, I would estimate its value and your equity conservatively and only update the properties value once a year or so. I'd also subtract estimated realtor fees taxes etc if you sold the property from your equity.

Thanks, Soontoberich. This is my first property purchase so those are good things to factor in. Everything else is either investment or cash. So it's been easy to calculate so far.

[sieben]

Net Worth
---
Jan. 2017 $29,637.12
Feb. 2017 $36,317.20
Mar. 2017 $43,522.48
Apr. 2017 $48,904.08
May. 2017 $55,640.65
Jun. 2017 $56,282.89
Jul. 2017 $58,226.19
Aug. 2017 $65,441.38
Sep. 2017 $71,924.87
Oct. 2017 $83,119.07
Nov. 2017 $98,670.49
Dec. 2017 $116,437.40

Numbers don't include my cabin (approx 65k)
End of 2017 was pretty great for my NW!

[solon]

01/2017 $88,615
02/2017 $88,660
03/2017 $99,298
04/2017 $103,578
05/2017 $107,174
06/2017 $113,684
07/2017 $114,171
08/2017 $117,825
09/2017 $120,714  <-- bought a house, didn't affect rate of increase in net worth
10/2017 $123,290
11/2017 $129,261 < -- started a company, transferred a bunch of personal money to company, still saw a huge increase in networth
12/2017 $125,716 < -- bought a car to replace the one that was totaled
01/2018 $132,155


Also updated the group spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z8OcegKpbeNJoqSI0nzoBuypFKqDD7BT2SS60oFEeCw/edit#gid=0

[use2betrix]

Climbing at a very stop and go pace due to my gypsy-esque career. I’m only counting liquid dollars (savings/investments)

Feb 1, 2016 - $90k
Jan 1, 2017 - $177k
Jan 1, 2018 - $196k


I only worked 4.5 months in 2017 (my wife doesn’t work so no income otherwise)  so coming out ahead is great. We traveled for 4-5 months when not working but did so somewhat thrifty.

We hope to hit $250k by this summer now that I’m back to work.

[MrThatsDifferent]

Started last year just entering this challenge and now about 3 months before moving on to the next, happy with that.

[Apples]

Nov. 1 2015:  $101,701.11 --- gain of $8,228.48
Dec 1 2015:  $106,488.64 --- gain of $4,787.53
Jan. 1 2016:  $107,709.77 --- gain of $1,221.14
Feb. 1 2016:  $106,318.40 --- loss of $1,402.91
Mar. 1 2016:  $108,550.55 --- gain of $2,232.15
Apr. 1 2016:  $115,724.63 --- gain of $7,174.08  woohoo market swing up!
May 1 2016:  $119,946.35 --- gain of $4,221.72
June 1 2016:  $125,160.93 --- gain of $5,214.58
July 1 2016:  $127,094.93 --- gain of $1,934.00
August 1 2016:  $133,039.69 --- gain of $5,944.76
September 1 2016:  $136,465.21 --- gain of $3,425.52
October 1 2016:  $140,391.81 --- gain of $3,926.60
November 1 2016:  $145,497.13 --- gain of $5,105.32
December 1 2016:  $149,771.11 -- gain of  $3,732.60
January 1 2017:  $153,948.79 -- gain of $4,177.68
February 1 2017:  $163,262.29 -- gain of $9,313.60 
March 1 2017:  $169,266.73 -- gain of $6,004.44  January had 5 paychecks, so extra went in savings, which made this a better-than-average month.
April 1 2017:  $173,615.56 -- gain of $4,398.83
May 1 2017:  $179,910.03 -- gain of $6,294.47
June 1 2017:  $185,658.02 -- gain of $5,747.99
July 1 2017:  $189,004.34 -- gain of $3,346.32
August 1 2017:  $194,775.49 -- gain of $5,771.15
September 1 2017:  $198,403.35 -- gain of $3,627.86
October 1 2017:  $203,102.05 -- gain of $4,698.70
November 1 2017:  $210,951.82 -- gain of $7,849.76
December 1 2017:  $216,449.55 -- gain of $5,497.73

The link to the spreadsheet is:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z8OcegKpbeNJoqSI0nzoBuypFKqDD7BT2SS60oFEeCw/edit?usp=sharing

January 1 2018:  $219,525.37 -- gain of $3,075.82

We bought a car. I include our cars in our net worth calculations, but the taxes and paperwork fees and such, plus adding car insurance for it, slowed down progress a bit this month.    The second car is going to start slowing down our net worth increases though, between depreciation and saving less due to higher bills.  Oh, growing up and adulting, why are you expensive sometimes?

[MEJG]

I get to join this race!
Hoping to be up $50,000 for 2018, and in this race for 4 yrs or less.

12/31/17:  115,566.39 (+1655.22)

[Nick_Miller]

Jan 2016     $80,165.78
Mar 2016     $101,768.81
May 2016    $106,529.21
July 2016    $115,035.02
Sept 2016   $126,076.92
Nov 2016    $135,152.36
Jan 2017     $147,729.69
Mar 2017    $140,835.79 (moving expenses set us back)
May 2017    $149,690.19
July 2017    $157,768.24
Sept 2017   $167,359.52
Nov 2017    $175,059.46
Dec 2017    $181,416.68
Jan 2018 $190,018.18

Okay, so we're $60K from graduating this thread. To graduate by year's end, we need to average NW gain of $5,454 per month for the next 11 months. I have a bonus (about $10K) due next month, and we should get a decent tax refund back, so hopefully we can make decent jumps in Feb and March.

[dignam]

Dec 2017 $126k [buying a house, lots of associated expenses]

Congrats, fellow new homeowner!

Thanks and congrats to you!  This property is smaller and closer to work than my last house.  Housing (even renting) is insane in my area; kind of surprised I got the place at the price I did.

[Slow&Steady]

I am joining this race from the $10k-$100k race!  Hopefully not too early.

I don't count true NW but thought it would be nice to look back and see it, so I added it!  What I am really tracking is the "Invested Total" column.  I also don't count different savings accounts if they have a specific purpose (maternity leave, self-employment taxes, etc).

What is happening in 2018:  Baby #2 is due in late March!  I accepted a job offer last week that includes a 30+% raise. I will not be able to contribute to the new company 401k until I have been there for 30 days, very close to when I take unpaid maternity leave, and we are holding off on putting anything into the IRA until after maternity leave so our Invested Total should follow the market increases/dips for the next several months with very little contributions added.  We also plan to finish off student loans in 2018 (finally).  If DH's business continues growing as it has for the last few months I would love to max his IRA and then will need to make decisions of paying down debt vs investing in another rental vs increasing my 401k vs opening an IRA for me vs increasing contributions to 529 Plans.

Code: [Select]

        401K        IRA Invested Total Home Value Rental Value Debt         Total NW
Dec-13 $43,660 $0         $43,660 $120,000 $120,000 $232,000 $51,660
Dec-14 $52,943 $0         $52,943 $125,000 $125,000 $227,000 $75,943
Dec-15 $55,622 $0         $55,622 $130,000 $130,000 $227,000 $88,622
Dec-16 $68,870 $700 $69,570 $200,000 $130,000 $281,000 $118,570
Dec-17 $96,294 $1,167 $97,461 $240,000 $135,000 $317,727 $154,724
*Jan-18 $99,676 $1,201 $100,877 $240,000 $135,000 $317,727 $158,150*Stats for Jan 15th, 2018 (not end of month)

[Izybat]

I'm a bit last posting for the end of 2017, but:

1/17 - $71,425.20
2/17 - $81,629.90
3/17 - $90,185.83
4/17 - $106,744.63
5/17 - $112,212.95
6/17 - $119,459.82
7/17 - $123,788.19
8/17 - $130,553.30
9/17 - $137,292.06
10/17 - $141,917.56
11/17 - $149,045.19
12/17 - $153,537.92

More than double our net worth in a year? I'll totally take it.

[me1]

Column 1: investments (retirement + otherwise):
Column 2: total net worth (including investments, savings account and the paid off part of the house)
 7/17/17    $182,905   $301,487
 8/17/17    $184,943   $301,381
 9/17/17    $191,576   $308,692
10/17/17   $197,557   $314,090
11/17/17   $201,230   $315,249
12/17/17   $210,178   $328,245
1/17/18     $225,531  $340,364
I'm so grateful for this site making this possible. blows me away every time I look at this growth

[urover]

Joining this thread as we recently breached 110K in nw. Single earner family with a not-so-crazy salary, but here goes:

17th-Jan-2018: 110K

[CCam10]

Joining this thread after recently passing 150k:

12/31/14 - 70,800
12/31/15 - 92,541
12/31/16 - 114,950
12/31/17 - 151,000

Hoping to hit 200 in the next 18 months

[Anon in Alaska]

As of today - $114,566.38 invested. More with paid for condo, car, etc.

[FI-REality]

Goal of $200,000 by June of 2018.

Jan 1/16 - $105,809.20
Feb 1/16 - $102,834.20
Mar 1/16 - $105,602.70
Apr 1/16 - $108,749.60
May 1/16 - $111,301.30
Jun 1/16 - $115,863.40
Jul 1/16 - $117,155.44
Aug 1/16 - $121,029.58
Sept 1/16 - $115,764.20
Oct 1/16 - $118,878.00
Nov 1/16 - $121,182.02
Dec 1/16 - $122,740.03
Jan 1/17 - $126,041.95
Feb 1/17 - $126,222.84
Mar 1/17 - $131,614.25
Apr 1/17 - $138,777.41
May 1/17 - $143,059.30
Jun 1/17 (Goal of $150,000) - $145,507.49
Jul 1/17 - $144,570.34
Aug 1/17 - $144,686.48
Sept 1/17 - $147,458.04

Been a while since I posted.  Here are my numbers.
Oct 1/17 - $152,266.77
Nov 1/17 - $158,846.78
Dec 1/17 - $162,149.53
Jan 1/18 - $164,613.88

[NextTime]

Just crossed $200k. Haven't really kept a monthly record so will try to start with Feb 1.

[MChaven0607]

First time poster just crossed 100k on my 457 account joining this race and updating quarterly.

January-2018    $100,038

[MVal]

05/31/2017: $101,116
06/30/2017: $105,800
07/31/2017: $108,102
08/31/2017: $109,173
09/30/2017: $112,641
10/31/2017: $114,947
11/30/2017: $120,950
12/31/2017: $130,109

Wow, how did you jump $10K in one month? That wasn't just from market growth, was it?

[Imustacheyouaquestion]

Aug 2016      $104,410.00
Sept 2016    $106,084.00   
Oct 2016       $107,559.00
Nov 2016      $103,227.00
Dec 2016      $107,460.00
Jan 2017       $111,400.00
Feb 2017       $145,239.58
Mar 2017       $154,141.21
Apr 2017        $160,150.58
May 2017       $156,334.39
June 2017      $162,557.18
July 2017       $170,357.32
August 2017   $174,107.52
Oct 2017        $184,884.82
Nov 2017       $198,945.16
Dec 2017       $206,349.74
Jan 2018       $209,636.49
Feb 2018     $229, 479.48

+$19843 this month!!! Three paycheck month for me, plus my wife got a lump sum of back pay (salary adjustment dating back to August).

We also saw our investments crest over the $200k mark this month, which was very cool. Lots of big expenses on the horizon for this year: a $10k home improvement project, wedding reception, and honeymoon this summer.


Google doc link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z8OcegKpbeNJoqSI0nzoBuypFKqDD7BT2SS60oFEeCw/edit#gid=0

[SpareChange]

Aug 2016      $104,410.00
Sept 2016    $106,084.00   
Oct 2016       $107,559.00
Nov 2016      $103,227.00
Dec 2016      $107,460.00
Jan 2017       $111,400.00
Feb 2017       $145,239.58
Mar 2017       $154,141.21
Apr 2017        $160,150.58
May 2017       $156,334.39
June 2017      $162,557.18
July 2017       $170,357.32
August 2017   $174,107.52
Oct 2017        $184,884.82
Nov 2017       $198,945.16
Dec 2017       $206,349.74
Jan 2018       $209,636.49
Feb 2018     $229, 479.48

+$19843 this month!!! Three paycheck month for me, plus my wife got a lump sum of back pay (salary adjustment dating back to August).

We also saw our investments crest over the $200k mark this month, which was very cool. Lots of big expenses on the horizon for this year: a $10k home improvement project, wedding reception, and honeymoon this summer.


Google doc link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z8OcegKpbeNJoqSI0nzoBuypFKqDD7BT2SS60oFEeCw/edit#gid=0

Now that's the way to start a year! :)

[Tyson]

Wow, how did you jump $10K in one month? That wasn't just from market growth, was it?

I used to wonder that too.  Now that I've moved up to the Race to $500k thread, jumps of $10k per month are not uncommon.  Mostly from market gains. 

When I was in the Race to $250k thread, a $10k month might happen if I had a combo of bonus at work or a big tax return, plus market gains. 

It's amazing, as you get more and more $$, just how much in gains the money itself starts to generate.  I can't even imagine what it'll be like as I start to approach $1m. 

[ender]

It goes the other way, too. Just not for the last few years ;)

[Tyson]

It goes the other way, too. Just not for the last few years ;)

Oh absolutely.

I struggle sometimes with being properly frugal with my earned income when I see how little that matters compared to the swings the market takes...I have to remind myself that every little bit matters.

Agreed.  The best thing you can do to be "anti-fragile" when it comes to the market is to be robustly frugal.  If you consistently live below your means, you save more up front, but it also means you have less lifestyle inflation to support later on down the line if SHTF. 

I realized this the other day myself.  For a long time I HAD to have a job that made above $100k, because we spent $100k per year.  So even a short time of unemployment put us at risk almost immediately.  Nowadays I'm closer to $70k spend.  Which does 2 things - it lets me save $30k per year.  But, if SHTF, like I lose my job, I can survive just fine on $70k per year salary indefinitely.  That's pretty cool.

[Nick_Miller]

I just thought of something depressing...

Lots of people will 'graduate' this thread and then if/when a correction takes place, they might slide back here...

I think that would hit me hard for some reason.

[ender]

I just thought of something depressing...

Lots of people will 'graduate' this thread and then if/when a correction takes place, they might slide back here...

I think that would hit me hard for some reason.

If you have say 300k net worth, mostly in investments, and the market drops 2%/month, then each month you'll "lose" $6k.

Some folks seem to be able to save that much too, so it might take a major market correction to kick a lot of people back here.. or a quick, fast one...

[Imustacheyouaquestion]

Personally, I think I would stay in the next thread once I'd graduated, even if the market experienced a major downturn and I slipped below $250k again. Kind of like how Vanguard converts your VTSMX to VTSAX at $10k - they don't convert you back, even if your balance dips below that threshold in the future.

The milestone of achieving a $250k net worth is more important to me than the actual number. I'd like to think I won't be all that devastated when the next market correction occurs, since I'll still own slices of companies that are producing valuable goods and services. It's just a chance to buy more stocks at discount prices.

A recession while you have a high savings rate and are able to pump money into investments can be a major accelerator to FI if you stay the course. I feel like there are plenty of people who reached FI mostly because they were able to scoop up rental properties at major discounts during the housing crisis, for example.

[Pooperman]

Date	Net Worth	Total Gains	Saved	Market Gains	Saving Rate
5/31/2017	$101,344.65	+$2,422.39	+$1,478.82	+$943.57	+23%
6/30/2017	$100,060.05	-$1,284.60	-$1,601.89	+$317.29	-26%
7/31/2017	$103,868.70	+$3,808.65	+$2,550.76	+$1,257.89	+39%
8/31/2017	$104,537.62	+$668.92	+$1,100.88	-$431.96	+14%
9/30/2017	$107,892.53	+$3,354.91	+$2,288.37	+$1,066.54	+33%
10/31/2017	$110,221.54	+$2,329.01	+$1,193.40	+$1,135.61	+30%
11/30/2017	$111,408.49	+$1,186.95	+$268.63	+$918.32	+4%
12/31/2017	$132,802.54	+$21,394.05	+$5,134.14	+$16,259.91	+59%
1/31/2018	$137,862.25	+$5,060.29	+$1,119.44	+$3,940.85	+25%

[Raenia]

04/01/2017 - 114,128.11
05/01/2017 - 123,935.63
06/01/2017 - 127,228.98
07/01/2017 - 128,638.92
08/01/2017 - 133,202.60
09/01/2017 - 135,706.79
10/01/2017 - 141,346.00
11/01/2017 - 146,788.93
12/01/2017 - 153,023.95
12/31/2017 - 156,988.01

01/30/2018 - 166,995.57

Wow, that was a good month for the market!

[LurkerStache]

Dec 2017: 102,068.04
Jan 2018: 108,443.97

[MEJG]

05/31/15:  -59,130 - Started tracking
12/31/15:  -48,294
06/30/16:  -31,079
12/31/16:  -12,948
06/30/17:   16,864
7/31/17:     28,092.96
08/31/17:   11,927.63
09/30/17:   10,855.00
10/31/17:  115,192.30
11/30/17:  114,447.76
12/31/17:  115,566.39
01/31/18:  129,358.02 (+13,791.63)


Up $13,791 for January, market returns and a higher than average income.  We have a maternity leave coming up so will see NW losses in the 1st half of the year.