Race from 250 to 500k!

[mckaylabaloney]

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
January	$(170,956.12)	$(80,750.78)	$(4,484.13)	$124,124.66	$298,228.37	$364,245.38	$414,373.24	$407,197.81
February	$(166,849.63)	$(72,922.02)	$(4,647.56)	$125,821.73	$292,535.79	$387,049.76	-	$420,030.39
March	$(161,395.88)	$(65,244.64)	$398.59	$136,847.83	$289,783.60	$384,051.14	-
April	$(156,590.44)	$(57,807.71)	$(9,003.54)	$145,677.69	$304,542.17	$392,700.46	-
May	$(159,977.61)	$(52,358.05)	$8,209.01	$164,438.72	$289,968.07	$400,751.22	-
June	$(154,655.48)	$(52,769.97)	$19,606.73	$171,195.96	$292,333.93	-	-
July	$(149,000.22)	$(39,802.87)	$26,480.37	$219,072.34	$277,359.75	-	-
August	$(143,758.38)	$(35,751.08)	$40,657.65	$234,012.81	$303,227.07	-	-
September	$(139,839.66)	$(45,074.66)	$52,868.32	$241,148.85	$303,414.27	-	-
October	$(136,009.14)	$(54,949.47)	$53,926.77	$241,206.12	$288,539.64	-	-
November	$(137,519.76)	$(53,156.01)	$61,241.09	$252,403.51	$297,090.56	-	-
December	$(132,193.25)	$(52,946.03)	$78,742.07	$257,721.53	$331,381.44	-	-
Annual gain	$90,205.34	$75,902.65	$128,972.79	$174,103.71	$66,017.01	$50,127.86	-$7,175.43

Well, hello there! I'm returning after nearly two years away from these forums.

In mid-2023, I left my job to spend a year traveling the world. (It was awesome.) I returned last year and kept living off my savings as long as I could, but now I'm back to work -- thankfully, with a renewed sense of motivation (plus a hearty appreciation for biweekly paychecks and employer-paid health insurance premiums).

It's kind of remarkable to see how my net worth barely changed while I was on sabbatical; I made essentially no money for 20 months and spent a lot during that time (I'm not a luxury traveler, but I'm also no budget backpacker, and also I had all my regular expenses at home for the last 8 months), yet my net worth went up over that period. Just goes to show how well the market was doing, I guess (not that I was paying any attention to it when I could, instead, watch the sun set in Sarajevo or whatever).

[lcmac32]

@mckaylabaloney

Welcome back and well done on that awesome sabbatical!  Get back on the high savings rate for a couple of years and I am confident you will (and certainly should be) off on another fun sabbatical.  If you can do two years on and two years off and still hit your FIRE number fairly young, I call that WINNING!  Will follow your progress.

[mckaylabaloney]

@mckaylabaloney

Welcome back and well done on that awesome sabbatical!  Get back on the high savings rate for a couple of years and I am confident you will (and certainly should be) off on another fun sabbatical.  If you can do two years on and two years off and still hit your FIRE number fairly young, I call that WINNING!  Will follow your progress.

Thank you!

We will see -- at this point, I hope to stay at my current job much longer than two years (perhaps even until I hit FIRE) and certainly don't see myself leaving voluntarily unless I have a bit more confidence in the stability of...well, everything. I work for really good people and I'm skeptical that I can find a better combination of pay, work-life balance, and benefits (though of course it's possible that the shine may wear off at some point, and any of those things could change too).

Also, having now taken some extended time off, I'm feeling motivated to work toward FIRE rather than toward another long-term break. But that may shift after I've been back in the daily grind for longer.

At some point there may also be an option for me to buy a small (solo) business from a retiring relative; this has some real appeal, but whether I go for it will depend on whether I decide to prioritize stability/early retirement or flexibility/working for myself/etc.

All in all, who knows what opportunities might present themselves in the coming years!

[SouthAmericanHusky]

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
January	$(170,956.12)	$(80,750.78)	$(4,484.13)	$124,124.66	$298,228.37	$364,245.38	$414,373.24	$407,197.81
February	$(166,849.63)	$(72,922.02)	$(4,647.56)	$125,821.73	$292,535.79	$387,049.76	-	$420,030.39
March	$(161,395.88)	$(65,244.64)	$398.59	$136,847.83	$289,783.60	$384,051.14	-
April	$(156,590.44)	$(57,807.71)	$(9,003.54)	$145,677.69	$304,542.17	$392,700.46	-
May	$(159,977.61)	$(52,358.05)	$8,209.01	$164,438.72	$289,968.07	$400,751.22	-
June	$(154,655.48)	$(52,769.97)	$19,606.73	$171,195.96	$292,333.93	-	-
July	$(149,000.22)	$(39,802.87)	$26,480.37	$219,072.34	$277,359.75	-	-
August	$(143,758.38)	$(35,751.08)	$40,657.65	$234,012.81	$303,227.07	-	-
September	$(139,839.66)	$(45,074.66)	$52,868.32	$241,148.85	$303,414.27	-	-
October	$(136,009.14)	$(54,949.47)	$53,926.77	$241,206.12	$288,539.64	-	-
November	$(137,519.76)	$(53,156.01)	$61,241.09	$252,403.51	$297,090.56	-	-
December	$(132,193.25)	$(52,946.03)	$78,742.07	$257,721.53	$331,381.44	-	-
Annual gain	$90,205.34	$75,902.65	$128,972.79	$174,103.71	$66,017.01	$50,127.86	-$7,175.43

Well, hello there! I'm returning after nearly two years away from these forums.

In mid-2023, I left my job to spend a year traveling the world. (It was awesome.) I returned last year and kept living off my savings as long as I could, but now I'm back to work -- thankfully, with a renewed sense of motivation (plus a hearty appreciation for biweekly paychecks and employer-paid health insurance premiums).

It's kind of remarkable to see how my net worth barely changed while I was on sabbatical; I made essentially no money for 20 months and spent a lot during that time (I'm not a luxury traveler, but I'm also no budget backpacker, and also I had all my regular expenses at home for the last 8 months), yet my net worth went up over that period. Just goes to show how well the market was doing, I guess (not that I was paying any attention to it when I could, instead, watch the sun set in Sarajevo or whatever).

Man I've done a similar thing in 2023 travelling the world for a year. I'm almost same age (37), got married and travelled till we come back, with my pregnant wife! Such and adventure. We ate outside all the times, got to know lot of countries and places and I still think about all those experiences. It's super rewarding thinking about those memories while you are still 'young' and able to do it. Delaying stuff for later doesn't make much sense no matter you are spending your money. As you I came back with more money than what I had when I resigned my job lol. I got a job as soon as I came back and now I'm on track and new to this thread. Congrats. Nice to hear there's more people in a similar boat in this pro saving forum

[Vindicated]

Laid off this month.  I had a large influx of cash from vacation, commission, and severance pay out.  Hopefully I'll pick up another job quickly to not lose any momentum!

Bad month for the market.  I invested $3,500 into 401k, and my balance stayed pretty much flat.

Net Worth / Investments                         2024                2025                2026                2027                2028                January $229,361 / $154,659    $326,319 / $228,762    - - - February $244,573 / $163,859    $341,515 / $228,826 - - - March $268,588 / $171,474    - - - - April $261,445 / $168,856    - - - - May $273,526 / $175,739    - - - - June $259,296 / $181,603    - - - - July $271,886 / $191,002    - - - - August $283,359 / $196,453    - - - - September $292,254 / $204,018    - - - - October $308,389 / $208,236    - - - - November $321,180 / $221,721    - - - - December $323,861 / $223,877    - - - -

[J.P. MoreGains]

Bad month for the market.  I invested $3,500 into 401k, and my balance stayed pretty much flat.

Good to know so I don't get disappointed when I add up my numbers.

Good luck on the job search!

[J.P. MoreGains]

$285,393.17

My arrival to 300k will be delayed some... not the best month.

I saved $4,400 and my net worth only jumped $1,400.

Part of this was a payroll error that took back $1,250 in 401k contributions. Problem is I told them this months ago and they ignored me and told me to contact the 401k provider instead. This error actually prevented me from maxing out my contributions last year (since the provider wouldn't accept any more contributions - they received the max). But I didn't have the max actually deducted. They gave me a free 1,250 that they now took back.

Travel is an insane 70% of my yearly spend with two trips so far. I'm cutting back on this now as I find a second job.

Goal I have is to save $8k a month with two jobs... let's see if I can get there. It's gonna be tough.

[Baguettestache]

2022:
January: 191k€
December: 172k€

2023:
January: 195k€
December: 288k€

2024:
February: 311k€
September:  366k€
October: 401k€
November: 493k€

2025:
January: 471k€
February: 428k€

My NW is currently inflated by the crypto bull run.
February was a low spending month after a pretty spendy 2024 year...
I haven't been investing in the past months as I'll have to pay 35k€ of debt soon.

[peppermint]

12/2024 - $260292.90
01/2025 - $254691.31
02/2025 - $266101.34
03/2025 - $267278.48

Inching along this month.

[mckaylabaloney]

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
January	$(170,956.12)	$(80,750.78)	$(4,484.13)	$124,124.66	$298,228.37	$364,245.38	$414,373.24	$407,197.81
February	$(166,849.63)	$(72,922.02)	$(4,647.56)	$125,821.73	$292,535.79	$387,049.76	-	$420,030.39
March	$(161,395.88)	$(65,244.64)	$398.59	$136,847.83	$289,783.60	$384,051.14	-	$427,479.25
April	$(156,590.44)	$(57,807.71)	$(9,003.54)	$145,677.69	$304,542.17	$392,700.46	-
May	$(159,977.61)	$(52,358.05)	$8,209.01	$164,438.72	$289,968.07	$400,751.22	-
June	$(154,655.48)	$(52,769.97)	$19,606.73	$171,195.96	$292,333.93	-	-
July	$(149,000.22)	$(39,802.87)	$26,480.37	$219,072.34	$277,359.75	-	-
August	$(143,758.38)	$(35,751.08)	$40,657.65	$234,012.81	$303,227.07	-	-
September	$(139,839.66)	$(45,074.66)	$52,868.32	$241,148.85	$303,414.27	-	-
October	$(136,009.14)	$(54,949.47)	$53,926.77	$241,206.12	$288,539.64	-	-
November	$(137,519.76)	$(53,156.01)	$61,241.09	$252,403.51	$297,090.56	-	-
December	$(132,193.25)	$(52,946.03)	$78,742.07	$257,721.53	$331,381.44	-	-
Annual gain	$90,205.34	$75,902.65	$128,972.79	$174,103.71	$66,017.01	$50,127.86	-$7,175.43

[shrimpwd]

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
January	$6,455	-	$14,460	$34,473	$77,625	$107,916	$304,101	$337,044
February	-	-	$14,991	$36,257	$83,384	$114,364	$306,897	$342,522
March	-	-	$14,632	$38,256	$85,694	$112,955	$315,627	$340,742
April	-	$10,960	$13,884	$47,021	$93,539	$118,460	$322,177	-
May	-	-	$17,011	$52,533	$86,952	$118,924	$317,035	-
June	-	-	$19,255	$54,094	$89,131	$226,232	$323,570	-
July	-	-	$20,358	$55,927	$83,281	$234,961	$327,385	-
August	-	-	$21,993	$58,821	$101,031	$290,312	$315,526	-
September	-	-	$23,312	$67,274	$100,303	$288,681	$326,296	-
October	-	-	$24,777	$67,897	$93,821	$283,917	$327,739	-
November	-	$13,466	$26,407	$72,781	$104,050	$283,091	$330,172	-
December	$9,518	-	$30,697	$73,730	$109,646	$295,542	$343,633	-

Looks like I forgot to update it last month. Not much changing these days, so...

[zygote]

For context: I'm 35 in a HCOL city. I'm married, but these are my own numbers since we keep our finances separate. Includes cash, retirement, and credit cards, which are used for normal expenses and paid off in full every month.

3/18: $48,533.91 (found MMM and started tracking)
3/19: $83,762.93 (1 year tracking)
8/19: $101,572.33 (graduated to the 100-250k thread)
3/20: $118,287.76 (2 years tracking)
3/21: $206,593.43 (3 years tracking)
11/21: $254,300.88 (graduated to the 250-500k thread)
3/22: $251,915.95 (4 years tracking)
3/23: $290,001.63 (5 years tracking)
3/24: $381,059.81 (6 years tracking)
4/24: $396,130.57 (+$15,070.76, +3.95%)
5/24: $376,749.65 (-$19,380.92, -4.89%)
6/24: $398,060.42 (+$21,310.77, +5.66%)
7/24: $410,497.26 (+$12,436.84, 3.12%)
8/24: $424,298.49 (+$13,801.23, 3.36%)
9/24: $433,805.98 (+$9,507.49, 2.24%)
10/24: $441,550.73 (+$7,744.75, 1.79%)
11/24: $450,008.71 (+$8,457.98, 1.92%)
12/24: $474,337.95 (+$24,329.24, 5.41%)
1/25: $462,029.90 (-$12,308.05, -2.59%)
2/25: $479,310.54 ($17,280.64, 3.74%)
3/25: $470,240.72 (-$9,069.82,   -1.89%)

Once again the market is fluctuating a lot just as I'm getting ready to graduate to a new race. (It took me a year to consistently stay above $250k). Doesn't really affect what I do because I invest the same amount every month; it'll happen whenever it happens.

[TyGuy]

Graduation Goal: January 1, 2028


Net Worth:

03/04/19: -$30,065 (Started tracking NW)
01/01/20: $1,447  (First month in the black)
01/01/21: $21,735
01/01/22: $63,049
01/01/23: $87,715
04/01/23: $105,349 (Started the race 100K-250K)
01/01/24: $157,250

01/01/25: $250,328 (Started the race 250K-500K)
02/01/25: $260,644 (+10,316)
03/01/25: $264,290 (+3,646)


Steady progress, I had another good month of saving. Slow and steady is the name of the game for me this year!

[J.P. MoreGains]

01/01/24: $157,250

01/01/25: $250,328 (Started the race 250K-500K)

Nice work in 2024! That is a big gain!

[Ensheneer]

01 January, 2020 : 0 EUR
01 January, 2021 : 9,499 EUR
01 January, 2022 : 217,370 EUR
01 January, 2023 : 176,482 EUR
01 January, 2024 : 251,449 EUR
01 January, 2025 : 373,498 EUR = $385,132

01 January, 2025 : 373,498 EUR
01 February, 2025 : 394,101 EUR
01 March, 2025 : 371,281 EUR

More pain to come, I think!

[FICurious]

	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028
January	$260,470	$315,533	-	-	-
February	$260,200	$328,435	-	-	-
March	$269,213	$325,187	-	-	-
April	$277,837	-	-	-	-
May	$268,052	-	-	-	-
June	$278,669	-	-	-	-
July	$281,323	-	-	-	-
August	$294,760	-	-	-	-
September	$308,676	-	-	-	-
October	$316,333	-	-	-	-
November	$313,193	-	-	-	-
December	$330,148	-	-	-	-

[eav]

January 2024: $278,601
February 2024: $297,409
March 2024: $308,077
April 2024: $317,802
May 2024: $322,448
June 2024: $338,180
August 2024: $350,534
September 2024: $364,235
October 2024: $370,528
November 2024: $380,834
December 2024: $401,920
January 2025: $392,759
February 2025: $408,400
March 2025: $407,249

(Only counting liquid assets/FI number)

[TyGuy]

01/01/24: $157,250

01/01/25: $250,328 (Started the race 250K-500K)

Nice work in 2024! That is a big gain!

Thank you, I am hoping for more of the same this year and into the future. I feel like my finances are optimized and I just need to enjoy this "boring" middle part of the accumulation phase! Best of luck on your speedy journey to 500k!

[bcbaseballman]

2018                             2019                              2020                            2021                          2022                           2023                           2024                           2025
1/31: (5949.05)              1/31: 13,493.35              1/31: 44,514                 1/31: 85,576               1/31: 137,128              1/31: 144,932              1/31: 182,741               1/31: 272,928
2/28: (5288.30)              2/28: 15,766.50              2/29: 48,891                 2/28: 86,616               2/28: 132,607              2/28: 149,381              2/29: 194,032
3/31: (4273.93)              3/31: 19,286                   3/31: 46,104                 3/31: 94,009               3/31: 141,282              3/31: 150,830              3/31: 206,283
4/30: (2592.07)              4/30: 19,283                   4/30: 52,720                 4/30: 96,128               4/30: 138,395              4/30: 152,583              4/30: 203,318
5/31: (629.70)                5/31: 18,676                   5/31: 55,177                 5/31: 95,056               5/31: 137,158              5/31: 153,509              5/31: 213,997
6/30: 1,206.77                6/30: 22,362                   6/30: 59,720                 6/30: 96,201               6/30: 131,597              6/30: 162,074              6/30: 221,156
7/31: 2,703.97                7/31: 24,646                   7/31: 65,792                 7/31: 97,017               7/31: 137,745              7/31: 167,006              7/31: 222,422
8/31: 5,651.70                8/30: 27,199                   8/31: 71,970                 8/30: 133,097             8/30: 133,694              8/31: 164,711              8/31: 232,237
9/31: 8,039.01                9/31: 30,664                   9/30: 72,466                 9/30: 129,725             9/30: 126,048              9/30: 159,407              9/30: 239,234
10/31: 7,803.49              10/31: 33,343                 10/31: 72,288               10/31: 135,443          10/31: 133,795            10/31: 157,578             10/31: 241,936
11/30: 9,531.28              11/30: 35,249                 11/30: 80,093               11/30: 132,452          11/30: 139,717            11/30: 168,012             11/30: 252,641
12/31: 9,296.79              12/31: 39,079                 12/31: 84,002               12/31: 139,677          12/31: 135,251            12/31: 174,941             12/31: 251,587
Gain: 15,245.84                         29,783                            44,923                           55,655                       -4,416                         39,690                          76,646

2-28: 277,532

[poetdereves]

7/1/2022   $104,281.96
8/1/2022   $130,183.28
9/1/2022   $127,931.79
10/1/2022   $128,898.99
11/1/2022   MISSED
12/1/2022   $141,418.82
1/1/2023   $121,714.98
2/1/2023   $142,417.22
3/1/2023   $134,691.79
4/1/2023   $142,945.07
5/1/2023   $149,890.62
6/1/2023   $162,561.19
7/1/2023  $174,911.20
8/1/2023  $187,499.33
9/1/2023 $192,180.06
10/1/2023 $188,633.94
11/1/2023 $202,069.37
12/1/2023 $209,686.68
1/1/2024 $221,242.93
2/1/2024 $232,927.06
3/1/2024 $249,749.58
4/1/2024 $250,729.25
5/1/2024 $257,516.11
6/1/2024 $269,741.20
7/1/2024 $284,089.86
8/1/2024 $280,295.79
9/1/2024 $298,568.10
10/1/2024 $307,768.62
11/1/2024 $308,011.63
12/1/2024 $328,688.30
1/1/2025 $319,949.24
2/1/2025 $328,800.71
3/1/2025 $326,020.69 (-$2,780.02)