Just about a year from this last update and it was fun to see the progress, so I thought I'd do another one.
We had our wedding and it was a great day. Also got a puppy which has been very fun for us. NW is up to about $725k largely due to housing appreciation, several large bonuses at work, and this bull market run. Invested assets is only about $400k of that (rest is home equity and cash). I have been at my new job for over a year now and it's been great - similar environment so still a lot of work, but nice people and a much more stable work flow. Could definitely see myself doing a few more years here unless one of these federal job applications manages to stick. Monthly spending has been pretty stable, maybe a hair higher now that going out for food and drinks is a bit more common than during the earlier portions of the pandemic.
Thought it would be fun to provide an update. Seems like things are generally on track for this plan I made 2+ years ago, which is fun to see.
I'm engaged (would be married but we pushed the wedding to 2021 bc of covid).
NW is about $350k when you include the equity in the house we bought on Long Island.
Still at the same biglaw firm, although I will almost certainly miss my bonus this year because of low hours. Applied to a federal gov job, but I don;t have particularly high hopes.
Been working from home since March, so I'm yet to do the commute, which should be about 1:10 each way via train and e-scooter.
Monthly spending is a bit higher with a mortgage, higher utilities, necessary car, etc. but not all that much due to reduced spending going out and cheaper food/drinks than the city. I'm typically at about $4k/mo now (6k total split 2/3 with fiance). Salary is at 220k, fiance is at about 67k.
Hope you all are healthy & wealthy!
Topic Title: Case Study - I'm 25, new lawyer, my career is odd in that I'm starting (before tax) at $195k, which will end up at about $350k by my 5th year (large firm, lockstep pay). I don't see a world in which I can do these hours for more than 5 years, so at that point I'l likely switch to government or in house at likely around $100k until FI/RE or some part-time situation.
My question is if this weird path warrants any significant changes to the normal MMM plan of saving as much as possible and investing in a vanguard fund. Thanks!
Life Situation: IRS filing status - single with a long time SO, probably kids within 5 years, work/live in NYC but hoping to return to Long Island to raise a future family.
Gross Salary/Wages: 195k
Individual amounts of each Pre-tax deductions 401k (have to wait a bit longer bc of my job being new), HSA (still on dad's insurance until the end of 2018 - thanks Obama), IRA (make too much, but I put $15k from summer jobs in college in a Roth before I finished law school)
Taxes: Federal, state/local, and FICA. These should be consistent with your AGI and Life Situation. For non-U.S. posters, we’ll have to take your word for these. Living in NYC I get about 5500/month taken out in taxes, netting me about $9100/mo
Current expenses (monthly):
Rent - $1490 (but puts me in a 15min commute)
Food - $100
Going out - $700 (restaurants, bars, events, etc)
Travel - $170 (subway metrocard + LIRR visiting family twice a month)
Dry cleaning - $30
Subscriptions - $15
Internet - $15
Utilities - $35
Phone - $65 (my portion of split family plan)
Gifts - $50
Clothes - $25
Other - $200
Total - $2900
Assets:
Roth IRA - 15k
3-year CD - 15k
2-year CD - 2.5k
Savings Account - 14k
Checking account - 8k
Liabilities: $60k private family loan over 7 years of school (mostly taken care of via scholarships)
Specific Question(s): Should the sort of backwards expected income over 10 years change my plans compared to alot of the typical MMM advice? Thank you!
Seeing as it's been a while (~10 months) I thought I'd continue updating this thread. Even with the market downturn, I just about met my earlier stated goal of 500k invested before 30th birthday. I also recently crossed the threshold of $1M NW, which is pretty exciting. Still in biglaw, still applying for government jobs, but collecting 400k a year for a while longer than expected is a very silver lining for now and has clearly done wonders for my NW.
Oct 21: 745
Nov 21: 778
Dec 21: 811
Jan 22: 824
Feb 22: 890 (EOY Bonus)
Mar 22: 941 (house appreciation boom)
Apr 22: 970
May 22: 983
Jun 22: 949
Jul 22: 999
Aug 22: 1,025
For additional context, approx. breakdown of the 1,025:
$615k invested ($65k cash; $10k in i-bonds; $170 in retirement accounts; $370k in taxable brokerage). Home equity is approx. $410k; zero remaining debt (other than mortgage)
It's been another 10 months or so and last time it seems at least some people enjoyed an update so here it is:
Current TNW: 1,156; LNW: 775 (some house depreciation after the booms). Still at the same biglaw firm collecting checks. I've continued the efforts to move to government with no luck yet, although I'm finding much more traction getting interviews as my YOE increase, which hopefully is a sign of things to come. I had an offer to move inhouse that I turned down because it did not seem like a great fit or career move, but always nice to have that as a possibility. With my wife and I planning to start trying for kids soon, I may put the career change efforts on pause to make sure I can be eligible for full paternity leave when the time comes.
Other than that, things are rolling. Hoping to use this bonus biglaw time to pad the numbers, fight the possible recession, maybe do some home improvement projects. Work isn't too bad - interesting but the hours are still tough at times and the road ahead looks daunting with partners and counsel seemingly working around the clock, so still motivated to leave at some point. All things considered, it could be a whole lot worse.
Early retirement plan has probably shifted with a goal between $2-2.5 MM LNW depending on a few home improvement goals, number of kids, etc. Puts my career at somewhere between 8-14 remaining years obviously depending on future pay/market performance. So still on track but that number feels pretty far away still!
