I won the lottery!
I was born a white male in America in a time of relative peace and prosperity. If I’m honest, this is the greatest determining factor in any success I’ve achieved. A small miracle right out of the gate. I was born to hard-working and frugal parents. My father is a college-educated farmer and naturalist, who taught me the value of both physical labor and formal education. He taught me to buy only what you need, and that which provides value. Buy quality and take care of it. Avoid bad debt. Live below your means, etc.
I was also very fortunate to have some innate size and athletic ability that I was able to parlay into a full athletic scholarship. A lot of effort and dedication yes, but parents and coaches that supported my athletic endeavors and ensured I focused on the grades too. Getting a top-notch education and entering the “real” world with no debt upon graduating in 1999 was bigger deal than I even appreciated at the time.
I moved west after graduation. No job and all my worldly possession crammed into the 1993 Ford Taurus that nearly stranded me at a Nebraska rest stop. After a few months of fruitless job searching, in debt to my roommate for two month’s rent, and a net worth hovering around zero, I got another big break in the form of my first professional job offer. I got a job working outside for long stretches in my desired field. Salary my first year was $28,000.
In 2004 I won the lottery again when I met my wife of nearly 15 years now. A chance encounter based on mutual acquaintances. We don’t agree on everything and she’s not as frugal, but we agree on the big things like saving and finding value. Together we have three children. It is my wife who four years ago not only allowed, but encouraged me to quit my career of 17 years, just before my 40th birthday.
Another piece of good fortune was discovering FIRE in 2013, right around the time I was diagnosed with cancer. I was fortunate my cancer was caught in time and readily treatable with surgery and chemo. I say good fortune because it convinced me to get serious about early retirement and to not spend any more time than needed in a job that I no longer enjoyed.
I FIRE’d in 2017 to focus on raising our three boys. Our NW upon retiring was around 1.5 million. It’s now over 4 million. My wife continues to work, but she knows she can retire if she wishes. We own a few rental properties and a primary residence that have appreciated greatly over the years.
In 2013, I also bought a Nissan LEAF that I still own today. Two things became apparent to me at that time; 1) electricifciation of transport and battery storage combined with renewable energy were the future and 2) if human society is going to persist into the future in anything resembling its current state the transition to these technologies needed to accelerate rapidly. This led to my first purchase of Tesla shares. I originally limited our investment to 5% of our NW, but as the value of the stock increased I did not sell off to keep to the 5%. We had never owned more than a few thousand dollars of any single stock prior to this. The majority of our stock market exposure was through VTI and 401k directed target funds (wife’s plan, I’m not a fan). Our current Tesla holding is currently valued just under 2 million with no intention of selling anytime soon.
America is a great land of opportunity, but too often we embrace the mythical “self-made” man or woman to explain our successes or worse, others inability to prosper. The system inherently creates “winners” and “losers”. We should not lose sight of the vagaries of fate that have led each of us to where we sit now. Give back and be sure not to pull the ladders up behind us as we advance. I attended public schools all my life. Never played anything but rec sports or for the school team. Now, a single season of my son’s club soccer could have paid for my entire athletic career, including equipment. Sorry for the tangent, but the avenues of opportunity for all in society need to be kept open. A rising tide raises all boats. This will be my focus going forward, creating societal good, as the pursuit of additional wealth is not the driving need. Money, beyond providing for basic human needs (schooling, food, shelter, healthcare, safety) really does not lead to greater happiness. My focus is increasingly on relationships and finding ways to positively impact the world.
Thanks to all who have shared a little of their story above. A lot of common themes throughout and always good to to see good people do well.