Another "We hit 100K Net Worth!!" Post

[thepokercab]

Logged into Personal Capital this morning and after Friday's paycheck, plus a deposit into my Simple IRA our household net worth is at now at $100,230.  Wow. 

Its been about 2 years since I found MMM and when I did we had a household net worth of about $5,000. We were your typical consumer household; spent pretty much everything we earned, had over-priced cell plans and worst of all, weren't contributing anything to retirement accounts. However, I've learned so much the last couple of years through this forum and other FI sites and blogs, and now we're saving anywhere from 40%-50% each month.  Wanting to be free has overtaken the want for more stuff. 

The crazy thing is just how easy it was for us to get to this point. Basically we set some auto contributions, maxed our our retirement accounts, and cut some spending.  We still spend more than we should, but even with that, the small changes we made resulted in us being $100K richer over just two years.  Sometimes i get really frustrated thinking about how much progress we could have made by now if we had been smarter in our 20s.  Oh well...

Next goal:  $250,000K! Then, FIRE by the time i'm 40. I'm more confident than ever that we'll get there. 

[Workinghard]

Congratulations! It's exciting reaching different milestones. Sometimes it seems like forever but you have to keep plugging away. Eventually you reach a point and it's like, "Wow, how did that happen?" :)

[arebelspy]

Its been about 2 years since I found MMM and when I did we had a household net worth of about $5,000...the small changes we made resulted in us being $100K richer over just two years.

Damn that's fast progress!  Congrats!   :D

[chuckaluck]

Excellent PokerCab!! You should be very proud of yourself.   So many of us know how you feel.   Keep going and let us know from time to time how you are progressing.

[firewalker]

5K to 100K in 2 years!?! Now THAT'S peddle to the metal! Great job!

[apricity]

Wow, that sounds incredibly fast!  Very inspiring.  Thanks for posting :)

[Geldsnor]

Wanting to be free has overtaken the want for more stuff.

First of all, nice job!
Secondly, I just had to quote this brilliant line. Buying stuff feels so empty, after you realize you can purchase free time instead.

[forummm]

Wow, going from a few $k to $100k in only 2 years! Very impressive! The hardest part is getting started. It gets easier with each paycheck, because your money is now working for you too.

[Calvawt]

Excellent progress.  These threads are mini celebrations and motivate others.  Congrats on the major changes in a short time.


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[Murdoch]

Awesome work Thepokercab.
Keep up the hard work, and keep us posted.

[Pooplips]

Congrats! I will be joining you soon.

[aetherie]

Congratulations!!!

[NearlyThere]

Outstanding progress. Here's hoping the next 150,000 comes quick and fast

[LackOfSense]

Congrats PokerCab! We just recently hit $100k Net worth also. I didn't realize it until I saw this post and decided to check Mint today, but here are the Net Worth numbers over the past year:

April 2014: $27,094
March 2015: $111,270

We are still "liberal" spenders but have made some positive moves thanks to MMM and the forum. Over the past year we sold the new car and bought one slightly older, gets better MPG, and was $7000 cheaper. Also maxed out my TSP (military 401K) contributions at $18k a year. Wife was also able to land a promotion nearly doubling her income. Next goal is a Net Worth of $250k also.

[Cougar]

 congrats poker, i'm with you on the wouldve, couldve.

 i could be sitting at 250k myself if i wouldve started this years ago and not last year.

 

[thepokercab]

Thanks all for the congrats! 

 congrats poker, i'm with you on the wouldve, couldve.
 i could be sitting at 250k myself if i wouldve started this years ago and not last year.

Yeah, after I read "Your Money or Your Life" i went through my first 7 years in the work force (and my wife worked during the first 5 years of our marriage, before kids) and came up with an alternative universe estimate of around of around $350K potentially saved.  Oomph.  Oh well, live and learn. 

Wow, going from a few $k to $100k in only 2 years! Very impressive! The hardest part is getting started. It gets easier with each paycheck, because your money is now working for you too. 

Its definitely gotten easier as time has gone on.   I've also benefitted from a couple of good years bonus wise, along with great market returns since I started saving, so I can't take all of the credit :) 

I'd say the biggest changes we made were:

1) Maxing out retirement accounts (Simple IRA, HSA, both IRAs)
2) Getting ride of massive cell phone bill.
3) Downsizing to one car and a scooter/motorcycle, which I use to get around. 
4) Finding side hustles, and alternative sources of income.
5) Moving to a work from home schedule, which has cut out a lot of at work lunch/coffee spending. I cringe when I look back and see just how much I spent on lunches, happy hours, etc.. 
6) Just keeping track of every cent we spend.  We still tend to overspend in some areas (food being the biggest one) but just being aware of where the money goes I think has been positive.

Most of all though, the freedom is what is so intoxicating.  I work in an industry that tends to be cyclical where stretches of unemployment are possible. (i've been lucky over the years, but its always a possibility)  Before I started saving, I felt like we always lived on the knife's edge and it was quite stressful; but my thought process was always "I need to find a higher paying job" not "I need to cut expenses and save money".

We're not near FI yet, but the fact that my family could live pretty comfortably for like 2 years without new income; its like this huge weight is lifted.

[Reepekg]

Congratulations Poker!

I fondly remember my $100k post. Seems like it was only yesterday (mid-Jan 2013) and I'm about to post $400k. Keep on like this, and I'll see you at the finish line!