Who could possibly save 1 Million by 40?

[Goldy]

Coworker found a retirement article that listed benchmarks for where you should be at 40 to retire at 65 and for some reason it said you needed 1M by 40.  He couldn't fathom how that is even remotely possible even though he makes something between 150-200k.  It took all the restraint I had to just smile and nod instead of pointing out that he is standing infront of someone who hit 1M at age 31 on half his income.

He then complained about is $400 electric bill in a house he rents.

[jessicat]

That is funny.  Way to go on proving the article right.

[Metric Mouse]

That is funny.  Way to go on proving the article right.

Ha! Right?

[talltexan]

That article sounds wayyyy too aggressive. I cannot imagine claiming someone is 25 years away from retirement when their nut is already in the double-comma range.

What kind of assumptions do you have to make? 1% annual investment returns?

[Guesl982374]

That article sounds wayyyy too aggressive. I cannot imagine claiming someone is 25 years away from retirement when their nut is already in the double-comma range.

What kind of assumptions do you have to make? 1% annual investment returns?

The assumption that one spends $150K to $200K/yr.

[Kaspian]

It took all the restraint I had to just smile and nod instead of pointing out that he is standing infront of someone who hit 1M at age 31 on half his income.

Nice on the stealth wealth silence!  While I'm nowhere near FIRE I've learned to completely keep my mouth shut unless someone seems extremely interested.  Of all the friends, coworkers, family who've discovered my plans over the years, only one said outright, "That's the smartest thing I've ever heard and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"  Everyone else seems to either adopt one of the "impossible", "bitter", or "your life must suck" stances about it.

[AM43]

Not trying to brag or anything, but when I turned 40 my assets grew to 1m.
I am counting real state, cash, investments and retirement accounts.
Only has taken us 13 years. Started seriously investing and saving when I was 27.
So its definitely possible to accumulate 1m by 40, but very few can accomplish it.
Best part is, it has only taken next 6 years to earn one more million.

[Just Joe]

Some people don't even get career traction until their 40s. Depends on where you live, what you know and the economy at that point in time. I wish I had a clue when I was 16 years old. I had figured out how to make money (relative to the age) but I was a spender until years later.

[nereo]

...
Best part is, it has only taken next 6 years to earn one more million.

When rapper Drake tweeted that "the first Million is the hardest" he got a response from Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens.
 His response; "The first billion is a helluva lot harder."

[Metric Mouse]

...
Best part is, it has only taken next 6 years to earn one more million.

When rapper Drake tweeted that "the first Million is the hardest" he got a response from Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens.
 His response; "The first billion is a helluva lot harder."

The 'stache measuring contest continues... :D