Race from $1M to $2M

[Jaayse]

Investments only, solo journey (so far)

	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
January	-	$232,213	$356,542	$500,087	$659,936	$861,393	$832,242	$1,060,161
February	-	$245,447	$383,348	$502,244	$662,250	$822,224	$819,073	$1,116,561
March	-	$242,789	$394,563	$475,671	$684,929	$808,813	$844,327	$1,157,657
April	$164,900	$246,140	$403,461	$429,092	$711,168	$833,824	$854,615	$1,127,352
May	-	$318,398	$421,194	$474,155	$744,322	$774,884	$870,515	$1,175,613
June	-	$328,870	$409,591	$500,241	$758,305	$781,422	$933,698	$1,212,040
July	$180,808	$342,159	$435,981	$516,358	$776,059	$726,973	$966,972	$1,237,693
August	$189,280	$354,936	$443,135	$544,475	$790,664	$786,353	$954,423	$1,268,047
September	$193,727	$366,727	$441,101	$579,806	$814,231	$723,159	$919,923	$1,297,457
October	$209,968	$374,465	$452,232	$568,885	$794,659	$758,212	$905,160	-
November	$220,602	$361,296	$466,688	$562,892	$834,154	$809,175	$994,923	-
December	$225,918	$370,140	$482,944	$632,574	$824,757	$775,674	$1,045,897	-

I feel like my FIRE number has gone up over the past few years with inflation, so although I originally thought 1.25M would be enough, I find myself thinking I need to have enough to buy a house eventually (been renting for a long time due to frequent moves) and that it may be difficult to buy once I FIRE without income to show.  Currently of my 1.3M I only have access to 870k because around 430k of it is in TSP/IRAs.  The past 3 years I have been putting money in a ROTH IRA because my income is too high to deduct a traditional IRA, so I suppose in 2 more years I would start to have access to the principle I put into that account as well.  I'm almost 38, so a little over 21 years until I could access the rest of it. 

I'm at 12 years into my military career, and uncertain that I will finish out 8 more years.  If I do stop before then, I would still get the VA disability pay, which given my current medical status, would likely be anywhere from $170 to $580 per month tax free.  (I know I have at least 1 definite 10% condition and maybe up to 30% between everything).  I've been passed over for promotion, so I could just stop trying hard and wait out 2.5 more years until they could involuntarily separate me and pay me almost 200k and 6 months of healthcare, or I could ramp up on the job, angle for command (I just slated, which allows me to apply) and try to make rank.  I'll admit, relaxing and riding into the sunset at 14.5 years doesn't sound so bad, with 2 more years of salary and gains (or possibly losses if there is a recession) and then a chunk of 200k at the end of it doesn't sound so bad.  I could always join the reserves for the remaining 5.5 years and get a reserve retirement, although it would require me to wait for them to recoup the separation pay before I could receive either VA disability or reserve retirement, and reserve retirement doesn't start until 60.  On the bright side, my cardiologist told me that I would live to be 120 because I have an unusually low heartrate with no negative issues from it (drops to the 30s sometimes when I sleep, practically sleeping in stasis).  Hopefully I didn't bore anyone with my rambling, been thinking more about getting out recently and maybe starting a family on my own.

[UnleashHell]

Nov-17 - 300k

May-18  - 375k
July -18 - 400k
Dec-18 - 345K - liquid 404

annual net +45k (+15%) liquid  ?

Mar-19 - 415K
Jun-19 nw 444K - liquid -514K
Sep-19 nw 450K liquid 527K
dec-19 nw  490k liquid 575k 

annual net +145k (+42%) liquid  +171k (+42%)

mar-20 nw 374 liquid 455
Jun-20 nw 468 liquid 541
Sep-20 nw 612 liquid 573
Dec-20 nw  737 liquid 679

annual net +247k (+50%) liquid  +104k (+18%)

Mar-21 nw 848 liquid 761
jun-21 nw 943 liquid 821
Sep-21 nw 1,009 liquid 818
Dec-21 nw 1,066 liquid 863

annual net +329k (+45%) liquid  +184k (+27%)

Mar-22 nw 1,058 liquid 817
June-22nw 962  liquid 672
Sep-22 nw 964 liquid 684
Dec-22 nw 970 liquid 671

annual net -96k (-9%) liquid  -192k (-22%)

Jan-23 nw 991 liquid 719
Jun-23 nw 916 liquid 801
Jul-23 nw 957 liquid  834
dec-23 nw 940 liquid 814


Mar-24 nw 975 liquid 848
Jun-24 nw 972 liquid 833
Sep-24 nw 1,018 liquid 888

nice to finally be back officially!

[neo von retorch]

Net Worth

1/31/2016:       $254,591
...
9/30/2018:       $519,994 (+17,500)
12/31/2018:     $502,059 (-17,935) -3.44%
...
6/30/2023:       $1,023,377 (+63,406) +6.6%
9/30/2023:       $1,000,249 (-23,128) -2.3%
12/31/2023:     $1,118,806 (+118,557) +11.8%
3/31/2024:       $1,234,443 (+115,637) +10.3%
6/30/2024:       $1,412,877 (+178,434) +14.5%
9/30/2024:       $1,481,176 (+68,299) +4.83%

Net Liquid Assets

$1,011,329 +13.5% in 2023 Q4
$1,002,875 -0.8% in 2024 Q1
$1,242,059 +23.8% in 2024 Q2 Sold old house.
$1,307,301 +5.3% in 2024 Q3 Unemployed but invested

[Imustacheyouaquestion]

Month	2023	2024	2025
January	-	$1,075,000	-
February	-	$1,090,000	-
March	-	$1,124,000	-	-
April	-	$1,150,000	-
May	-	$1,135,000	-
June	-	$1,173,000	-
July	-	$1,196,000	-
August	-	$1,216,000	-
September	$1,000,003	$1,249,000	-
October	$990,000	$1,307,000	-
November	$975,000	-	-
December	$1,034,700	-	-

[turketron]

		2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Jan			141,251.00	$193,414.19	$283,829.36	$359,505.30	$546,089.75	$762,355.51	$1,008,596.87	$896,405.70	$1,174,870.51
Feb			$135,573.00	$200,758.63	$304,851.88	$397,087.41	$557,258.06	$780,137.13	$954,587.38	$956,408.33	$1,202,663.79
Mar			$138,331.39	$211,677.78	$303,796.17	$428,309.57	$522,077.78	$815,764.71	$949,999.72	$942,437.96	$1,254,741.17
Apr		$98k	$146,788.37	$217,643.71	$307,682.67	$440,342.71	$451,185.96	$829,307.88	$999,856.70	$978,864.73	$1,303,051.03
May		$111k	$149,149.52	$225,773.04	$315,634.59	$456,285.80	$510,875.92	$874,326.67	$928,584.50	$995,095.52	$1,252,253.13
Jun		$112k	$161,205.21	$232,222.09	$337,046.55	$441,047.77	$551,923.37	$878,873.50	$916,075.45	$998,436.27	$1,315,895.86
Jul		$113k	$165,947.80	$235,779.19	$340,399.63	$476,489.51	$567,485.67	$907,568.86	$840,059.88	$1,064,698.17	$1,360,362.09
Aug		$113k	$176,198.00	$244,461.55	$363,304.76	$486,559.27	$601,161.19	$923,408.92	$915,283.13	$1,106,018.02	$1,385,504.20
Sept		$116k	$178,840.37	$247,101.69	$385,572.12	$483,967.28	$653,037.25	$950,899.02	$891,457.82	$1,086,863.98	$1,418,438.10
Oct			$184,372.64	$256,365.91	$392,296.56	$490,200.54	$639,398.62	$907,416.93	$822,036.27	$1,043,259.18	$1,452,428.81
Nov		$120,330.91	$181,625.28	$266,140.14	$370,000.25	$501,003.17	$637,260.06	$963,453.56	$886,527.53	$1,022,278.77
Dec		$138,810.56	$187,972.57	$279,806.93	$386,361.40	$531,904.82	$723,586.82	$964,037.88	$938,630.06	$1,112,472.28

[drumstache]

DATE      INVESTMENTS + EF
Dec 2010      $137,800   
Dec 2011      $145,000   
Dec 2012      $179,000   
Dec 2013      $199,543   
Dec 2014      $221,787   
Jan 2015      $247,945   
May 2015      $279,652   
May 2016      $328,980   
Jul 2017      $417,772   *Discovered MMM
Aug 2018      $491,708   
Jul 2019      $617,447   
Jul 2020      $727,000   
Jul 2021      $935,000   
Jul 2022      $877,000   
Jan 2023      $930,091
Jul 2023      $971,263   
Oct 2023      $992,000   
Nov 2023      $1,032,057
Dec 2023      $1,078,425 
Jan 2024      $1,110,511  ($1,320,511 TNW)
Feb 2024      $1,137,614  ($1,347,614 TNW)
Mar 2024      $1,167,962  ($1,377,962 TNW)
Apr 2024      $1,192,878  ($1,402,878 TNW)
May 2024      $1,181,258  ($1,391,258 TNW)
Jun 2024      $1,211,706  ($1,421,706 TNW)
Jul 2024      $1,236,314  ($1,446,000 TNW)
Aug 2024      $1,253,069  ($1,463,000 TNW)
Sep 2024      $1,270,000  ($1,480,000 TNW)
Oct 2024      $1,309,840  ($1,519,840 TNW)

[JupiterGreen]

Investments only, solo journey (so far)

	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
January	-	$232,213	$356,542	$500,087	$659,936	$861,393	$832,242	$1,060,161
February	-	$245,447	$383,348	$502,244	$662,250	$822,224	$819,073	$1,116,561
March	-	$242,789	$394,563	$475,671	$684,929	$808,813	$844,327	$1,157,657
April	$164,900	$246,140	$403,461	$429,092	$711,168	$833,824	$854,615	$1,127,352
May	-	$318,398	$421,194	$474,155	$744,322	$774,884	$870,515	$1,175,613
June	-	$328,870	$409,591	$500,241	$758,305	$781,422	$933,698	$1,212,040
July	$180,808	$342,159	$435,981	$516,358	$776,059	$726,973	$966,972	$1,237,693
August	$189,280	$354,936	$443,135	$544,475	$790,664	$786,353	$954,423	$1,268,047
September	$193,727	$366,727	$441,101	$579,806	$814,231	$723,159	$919,923	$1,297,457
October	$209,968	$374,465	$452,232	$568,885	$794,659	$758,212	$905,160	-
November	$220,602	$361,296	$466,688	$562,892	$834,154	$809,175	$994,923	-
December	$225,918	$370,140	$482,944	$632,574	$824,757	$775,674	$1,045,897	-

I feel like my FIRE number has gone up over the past few years with inflation, so although I originally thought 1.25M would be enough, I find myself thinking I need to have enough to buy a house eventually (been renting for a long time due to frequent moves) and that it may be difficult to buy once I FIRE without income to show.  Currently of my 1.3M I only have access to 870k because around 430k of it is in TSP/IRAs.  The past 3 years I have been putting money in a ROTH IRA because my income is too high to deduct a traditional IRA, so I suppose in 2 more years I would start to have access to the principle I put into that account as well.  I'm almost 38, so a little over 21 years until I could access the rest of it. 

I'm at 12 years into my military career, and uncertain that I will finish out 8 more years.  If I do stop before then, I would still get the VA disability pay, which given my current medical status, would likely be anywhere from $170 to $580 per month tax free.  (I know I have at least 1 definite 10% condition and maybe up to 30% between everything).  I've been passed over for promotion, so I could just stop trying hard and wait out 2.5 more years until they could involuntarily separate me and pay me almost 200k and 6 months of healthcare, or I could ramp up on the job, angle for command (I just slated, which allows me to apply) and try to make rank.  I'll admit, relaxing and riding into the sunset at 14.5 years doesn't sound so bad, with 2 more years of salary and gains (or possibly losses if there is a recession) and then a chunk of 200k at the end of it doesn't sound so bad.  I could always join the reserves for the remaining 5.5 years and get a reserve retirement, although it would require me to wait for them to recoup the separation pay before I could receive either VA disability or reserve retirement, and reserve retirement doesn't start until 60.  On the bright side, my cardiologist told me that I would live to be 120 because I have an unusually low heartrate with no negative issues from it (drops to the 30s sometimes when I sleep, practically sleeping in stasis).  Hopefully I didn't bore anyone with my rambling, been thinking more about getting out recently and maybe starting a family on my own.

Yup. Our number increased too, it's really not that unusual. I think 1-2 is such a hard place to be, it's a lot of money but also not. People are a lot chiller in the 2+ thread, they rarely talk about their numbers. You have a solid cushion. Congrats on getting this far.

[lampstache]

What a journey it's been.
 
Investments only

	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
January	$34,633	$56,928	$98,248	$176,153	$419,499	$643,917	$586,257	$808,772	-
February	$40,740	$56,241	$115,926	$182,362	$433,878	$631,440	$641,711	$828,542	-
March	???	$57,195	$123,445	$171,868	$481,671	$612,570	$643,961	$870,233	-
April	$41,346	$57,635	$129,678	$188,425	$503,015	$628,685	$673,394	$895,779	-
May	$41,840	$66,682	$136,527	$255,004	$536,515	$583,864	$671,053	$861,136	-
June	$45,227	$71,500	$132,945	$279,130	$570,802	$566,514	$689,810	$926,752	-
July	$45,862	$75,817	$142,557	$290,173	$570,802	$546,704	$727,315	$955,569	-
August	$47,377	$85,050	$150,420	$310,173	$568,446	$587,836	$753,046	$951,196	-
September	$47,669	$87,937	$146,310	$336,875	$596,208	$556,816	$752,227	$993,478	-
October	$50,397	$94,114	$150,536	$338,532	$590,085	$526,251	$733,159	$1,020,048	-
November	$52,288	$95,502	$155,627	$332,899	$625,776	$568,125	$720,868	-	-
December	???	$93,596	$165,458	$396,311	$611,435	$602,563	$773,792	-	-
Annual Gain	$22,295	$41,320	$77,905	$243,346	$224,418	$-57,660	$222,515	$211,276	-

[ToughMother]

Hey all - hope everyone is doing well and those who got hit by Helene are safe and get their services back soon.

Retirement has been a little slow out of the gates and of course, like all of life, a little different than expected. I've been pretty consumed by the two rescue puppies we got in early April, and then I was very sick with Covid for about 8 weeks. It was my first go-round and I'm high risk - whew! now I know why we were working so hard helping me avoid it. It was good to not be pressured by work and take the time I needed to heal. Now I have to get back into shape!

A nice surprise gift yesterday - net worth hit $2M!!! What a great milestone. Meanwhile our investments hit 1.8M as we aim for 2.0M there. That said, if my spouse wanted or needed to be done working tomorrow, we could make do with just a little belt tightening. That feels pretty sweet.

2024 Q3 update

date         NW        Investments
4/3/14     $430k         $225k
9/19/14    $500k         $275k
11/6/14    $550k         $300K
5/9/15     $600k         $341k
4/13/16    $650k         $375k
9/7/16     $700k         $410k
5/6/17     $750k         $674k (*I think I lost info on one of our accounts prior to this)
9/9/17     $800k         $717k
11/22/17      Assets hit $1M
12/15/17   $850k         $770K
3/10/18    $900k         $770k (refinanced house, put $ in, and moved from 30 to 15 yrs)
6/16/18    $950k         $818k
12/26/18   $900k         $750k
1/10/19    $950k         $803k
2/19/19    $1M !!!       $856k
6/12/19    $1.05M        $900k
10/9/19    $1.08M        $895k (downpayment on new house)
12/31/19   $1.16M        $974k
2/12/20    $1.19M        $1M !!! 
 bad, scary viral things happened; sold first house; interior reno on new house, then back at it 
8/13/21    $1.46M        $1.27M
12/31/21   $1.54M        $1.34M (refinanced house)
12/29/22   $1.48M        $1.26M (major house repairs/construction; invested ~$95K this year not including pension contributions)
3/31/23    $1.50M        $1.33M (major house repairs/construction con't)
6/30/23    $1.53M        $1.40M (just finished house work)
9/30/23    $1.53M        $1.39M
12/31/23   $1.68M        $1.52M
2/29/24       Assets hit $2M
3/1/24     $1.78M        $1.60M (FIRE'd)
3/31/24    $1.86M        $1.66M (vac payout)
6/30/24    $1.88M        $1.69M 
9/30/24    $2M !!!       $1.80M

[afuera]

Investments Only (as of 9/30/24)

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
January	$12,964	$53,694	$117,156	$286,460	$366,568	$554,279	$789,070	$1,023,691	$954,586	$1,202,797
February	$14,893	$57,320	$130,755	$284,267	$388,104	$530,928	$829,754	$1,000,887	$947,661	$1,243,768
March	$22,065	$71,035	$150,924	$291,192	$415,305	$575,079	$873,947	$1,035,654	$971,612	$1,308,642
April	$24,785	$75,120	$161,757	$306,848	$429,917	$529,397	$925,944	$962,250	$990,639	$1,287,815
May	$26,931	$87,541	$171,174	$317,739	$416,867	$573,991	$938,401	$935,331	$1,002,016	$1,324,305
June	$29,021	$90,964	$191,558	$321,370	$458,412	$607,523	$952,115	$875,560	$1,052,128	$1,364,169
July	$31,341	$93,025	$210,018	$339,122	$459,062	$630,288	$962,887	$965,972	$1,106,098	$1,388,308
August	$34,251	$95,245	$220,293	$353,410	$466,936	$686,631	$998,422	$912,288	$1,086,297	$1,407,630
September	$39,854	$97,814	$231,801	$361,506	$481,531	$669,786	$970,317	$837,917	$1,039,276	$1,449,968
October	$42,018	$98,335	$242,954	$336,674	$499,757	$663,596	$1,023,332	$895,518	$1,006,297	-
November	$45,987	$100,344	$256,324	$356,143	$528,712	$743,883	$1,025,096	$918,718	$1,105,904	-
December	$49,877	$106,390	$265,731	$332,761	$548,679	$779,415	$1,062,376	$896,791	$1,174,920	-

Just came back from an amazing vacation and I felt a little bit of guilt for spending $2K on the trip but then ran the monthly numbers and realized the stash is up $40K for the month.
Gotta love it when your money works harder than you do!

[2Birds1Stone]

01/01/2022 - $1,025,500
02/01/2022 - $1,056,900
03/01/2022 - $1,053,800
04/01/2022 - $1,113,000
05/01/2022 - $1,155,000
06/01/2022 - $1,204,900
07/01/2022 - $1,160,100
08/01/2022 - $1,218,800
09/01/2022 - $1,209,600
10/01/2022 - $1,189,600
11/01/2022 - $1,267,000
12/01/2022 - $1,325,000
01/01/2023 - $1,315,100
02/01/2023 - $1,380,000
03/01/2023 - $1,405,000
04/01/2023 - $1,440,000
05/01/2023 - $1,481,000
06/01/2023 - $1,505,300 - Officially FIRE'd
07/01/2023 - $1,565,500
08/01/2023 - $1,604,500
09/01/2023 - $1,582,200
10/01/2023 - $1,538,400
11/01/2023 - $1,513,300
12/01/2023 - $1,588,700
01/01/2024 - $1,646,500
02/01/2024 - $1,646,600
03/01/2024 - $1,697,800
04/01/2024 - $1,741,000
05/01/2024 - $1,695,900
06/01/2024 - $1,745,300
07/01/2024 - $1,761,300
08/01/2024 - $1,800,000
09/01/2024 - $1,815,000
10/01/2024 - $1,839,000

[dandypandys]

Investments only, solo journey (so far)


I feel like my FIRE number has gone up over the past few years with inflation, so although I originally thought 1.25M would be enough, I find myself thinking I need to have enough to buy a house eventually (been renting for a long time due to frequent moves) and that it may be difficult to buy once I FIRE without income to show.  Currently of my 1.3M I only have access to 870k because around 430k of it is in TSP/IRAs.  The past 3 years I have been putting money in a ROTH IRA because my income is too high to deduct a traditional IRA, so I suppose in 2 more years I would start to have access to the principle I put into that account as well.  I'm almost 38, so a little over 21 years until I could access the rest of it. 

I'm at 12 years into my military career, and uncertain that I will finish out 8 more years.  If I do stop before then, I would still get the VA disability pay, which given my current medical status, would likely be anywhere from $170 to $580 per month tax free.  (I know I have at least 1 definite 10% condition and maybe up to 30% between everything).  I've been passed over for promotion, so I could just stop trying hard and wait out 2.5 more years until they could involuntarily separate me and pay me almost 200k and 6 months of healthcare, or I could ramp up on the job, angle for command (I just slated, which allows me to apply) and try to make rank.  I'll admit, relaxing and riding into the sunset at 14.5 years doesn't sound so bad, with 2 more years of salary and gains (or possibly losses if there is a recession) and then a chunk of 200k at the end of it doesn't sound so bad.  I could always join the reserves for the remaining 5.5 years and get a reserve retirement, although it would require me to wait for them to recoup the separation pay before I could receive either VA disability or reserve retirement, and reserve retirement doesn't start until 60.  On the bright side, my cardiologist told me that I would live to be 120 because I have an unusually low heartrate with no negative issues from it (drops to the 30s sometimes when I sleep, practically sleeping in stasis).  Hopefully I didn't bore anyone with my rambling, been thinking more about getting out recently and maybe starting a family on my own.

Right now I'm listening to the Afford Anything podcast interview with Doug Nordman- it's old, but he is talking about his retirement from the Navy, and what he might have done differently (perhaps not wait the 20 years) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/afford-anything/id1079598542?i=1000372263694

[BiggerFishToFI]

Exhausting, expensive quarter working through our primary home remodel, but we are finally moved in!

The market has had our back while we've been spending more than were brining in, but hoping to reverse that trend for Q4 and hit the 2M NW milestone.

Like the last thread, I'll stick around here until my invested NW eclipses the $2M mark

Month   Invested   Networth   
04/30/17   $67,858   $125,786   <---- Discovered MMM / LBYM
09/30/17   $100,416   $168,105   <---- 100k Invested
01/31/19   $251,061   $311,711   <---- 250k Invested
06/30/20   $501,158   $573,100   <---- 500k Invested
10/31/21   $1,000,117   $1,191,167   <---- 1M Invested
11/30/21   $992,058   $1,164,338   
12/31/21   $1,080,047   $1,267,082   
03/31/22   $1,079,907   $1,261,231   
06/30/22   $951,010   $1,133,332   
09/30/22   $932,215   $1,116,375   
12/31/22   $1,037,594   $1,264,764   
03/31/23   $1,169,701   $1,363,914   
06/30/23   $1,259,219   $1,465,265   
09/30/23   $1,253,710   $1,439,186   
12/31/23   $1,422,250   $1,741,093   
03/31/24   $1,578,470   $1,879,436   
06/30/24   $1,395,860   $1,892,608   
09/30/24   $1,404,577   $1,959,973   

[pasadenafr]

Meh. Still on track for my goal of $1.5M at the end of the year, and next month should be a good one for contributions.

Invested assets, long term savings and debts:

12/31/14       $51,962
12/31/15       $92,762
12/31/16      $163,900
12/31/17      $251,415
12/31/18      $330,093 - new job, nice retention bonus from previous job
12/31/19      $519,878 - pension lump sum after leaving old job (rolled into 401k)
12/31/20      $714,958
12/31/21      $993,847 - reached $1M on 11/03 and then, well... yeah.
12/31/22      $855,784
12/31/23    $1,184,285 - reached $1M again on 05/18
---

01/31/24    $1,196,456
02/29/24    $1,249,619
03/31/24    $1,294,026 - maxed out 401(k) including the senior discount catch-up.
04/30/24    $1,266,485 - started Mega Backdoor
05/31/24    $1,336,432
06/30/24    $1,379,520
07/31/24    $1,421,430 - maxed out Mega Backdoor
08/31/24    $1,439,420
09/30/24    $1,507,580


Oof - just in time! I'll be back under $1.5M when the market closes today, but I got to record it in my monthly spreadsheet and that's all that really matters, isn't it? 😁

The next 3 months will be relatively low in contributions as I start to save some cash to front-load my 401(k) next year and start paying more taxes (back-loading those). Goal is still to be at $1.5M by EOY but there isn't much I can do about that.

Is it weird that I'm feeling this specific milestone a lot more than I did the $1M?

[joedad189]

Investments only, solo journey (so far)


I feel like my FIRE number has gone up over the past few years with inflation, so although I originally thought 1.25M would be enough, I find myself thinking I need to have enough to buy a house eventually (been renting for a long time due to frequent moves) and that it may be difficult to buy once I FIRE without income to show.  Currently of my 1.3M I only have access to 870k because around 430k of it is in TSP/IRAs.  The past 3 years I have been putting money in a ROTH IRA because my income is too high to deduct a traditional IRA, so I suppose in 2 more years I would start to have access to the principle I put into that account as well.  I'm almost 38, so a little over 21 years until I could access the rest of it. 

I'm at 12 years into my military career, and uncertain that I will finish out 8 more years.  If I do stop before then, I would still get the VA disability pay, which given my current medical status, would likely be anywhere from $170 to $580 per month tax free.  (I know I have at least 1 definite 10% condition and maybe up to 30% between everything).  I've been passed over for promotion, so I could just stop trying hard and wait out 2.5 more years until they could involuntarily separate me and pay me almost 200k and 6 months of healthcare, or I could ramp up on the job, angle for command (I just slated, which allows me to apply) and try to make rank.  I'll admit, relaxing and riding into the sunset at 14.5 years doesn't sound so bad, with 2 more years of salary and gains (or possibly losses if there is a recession) and then a chunk of 200k at the end of it doesn't sound so bad.  I could always join the reserves for the remaining 5.5 years and get a reserve retirement, although it would require me to wait for them to recoup the separation pay before I could receive either VA disability or reserve retirement, and reserve retirement doesn't start until 60.  On the bright side, my cardiologist told me that I would live to be 120 because I have an unusually low heartrate with no negative issues from it (drops to the 30s sometimes when I sleep, practically sleeping in stasis).  Hopefully I didn't bore anyone with my rambling, been thinking more about getting out recently and maybe starting a family on my own.

Right now I'm listening to the Afford Anything podcast interview with Doug Nordman- it's old, but he is talking about his retirement from Army, and what he might have done differently (perhaps not wait the 20 years) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/afford-anything/id1079598542?i=1000372263694

nords visits the forums here from time to time, you can search him

[RWD]

A nice surprise gift yesterday - net worth hit $2M!!! What a great milestone.

Congrats, that's awesome!

[dandypandys]

nords visits the forums here from time to time, you can search him
[/quote]
Haha yes I just realized at the end of the podcast with they mentioned it! haha- it was a good one Nord! Hope you are doing well. @Nords 

[ToughMother]

A nice surprise gift yesterday - net worth hit $2M!!! What a great milestone.

Congrats, that's awesome!

Thanks so much @RWD !! Looks like it’s a milestone that I get to revisit again soon. Haha.

[charis]

Apr 2017: 175k (total net worth)
Apr 2018: 333k
Apr 2019: 400k
Aug 2020: 602k TNW (415k invested)
Aug 2021: 831k TNW (625k invested)
(invested only hereafter)
Jan 2022: 688k
Dec 2023: 899k
Mar 2024: 1,005,000 (crossed 1m mark)
Jun 2024: 1,039,000

Oct 2024: 1,134,353

[Finwiz]

Congrats @ToughMother !!

Below as of 9/30/24... another new high water mark for us. Still hoping for 1.5 by EoY, with ~43k left to go in terms of investments/savings - going to be close!

01/01/21 - $400,149
03/31/21 - $458,005 (+$57,856)
06/30/21 - $517,109 (+$116,960)
09/30/21 - $563,939 (+$163,790)
12/31/21 - $603,373 (+$203,224)

01/16/22 - $601,346 (-$2,026)
03/31/22 - $646,383 (+$43,010)
06/30/22 - $638,810 (+$35,437)
10/17/22 - $672,896 (+$69,523)
12/31/22 - $736,945 (+$133,573)

01/15/23 - $758,371 (+$21,425)
03/31/23 - $842,402 (+$105,457)
07/15/23 - $957,667 (+$220,721)
10/16/23 - $988,762 (+$251,816)
11/07/23 - $1,005,005 (+$268,059)
12/31/23 - $1,102,511 (+$365,566)

01/31/24 - $1,117,437 (+$14,925)
02/16/24 - $1,149,646 (+$47,135)
02/29/24 - $1,212,796 (+$110,285)
03/31/24 - $1,256,463 (+$153,951)
05/17/24 - $1,300,982 (+$198,470)
06/17/24 - $1,325,962 (+$223,451)
06/30/24 - $1,339,025 (+$236,514)
07/15/24 - $1,370,200 (+$267,689)
08/19/24 - $1,384,133 (+$281,622)
08/31/24 - $1,414,736 (+$312,225)
09/31/24 - $1,446,094 (+$343,583)

[RWD]

2007  -0.01m
2008  -0.02m
2009  -0.03m
2010  -0.03m
2011  -0.02m
2012  0.04m
2013  0.10m
2014  0.19m
2015  0.25m
2016  0.38m
2017  0.54m
2018  0.61m
2019  0.85m
2020  1.08m
2021  1.34m
2022  1.25m
2023-Q3  1.40m
2023-Q4  1.55m
2024-Q1  1.65m
2024-Q2  1.65m
2024-Q3  1.75m

We're now 3/4ths of the way through this race!

[fuzzy math]

Investments only

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
January	-	$226,942	$401,746	$603,129	$905,792	$860,957	$1,139,972
February	-	$249,796	$414,430	$610,412	$867,164	$930,363	$1,201,046
March	-	$270,351	$412,631	$630,438	$856,028	$938,053	$1,287,113
April	-	$285,770	$393,815	$679,078	$900,389	$957,750	$1,340,771
May	-	$295,838	$414,524	$719,534	$837,895	$973,337	$1,329,973
June	$219,320	$283,393	$452,579	$737,483	$849,385	$968,752	$1,437,719
July	$228,483	$307,071	$471,455	$771,570	$798,307	$1,013,927	$1,501,155
August	$234,711	$315,942	$496,982	$784,835	$861,929	$1,059,239	$1,520,134
September	$245,993	$318,301	$529,603	$815,664	$837,259	$1,057,189	$1,559,409
October	$251,023	$334,301	$525,945	$795,014	$780,500	$1,011,786	$1,596,427
November	$238,881	$352,430	$528,082	$851,714	$844,902	$971,634	-
December	$244,687	$370,715	$585,310	$880,980	$899,305	$1,079,203	-

[Jaayse]

Investments only, solo journey (so far)


I feel like my FIRE number has gone up over the past few years with inflation, so although I originally thought 1.25M would be enough, I find myself thinking I need to have enough to buy a house eventually (been renting for a long time due to frequent moves) and that it may be difficult to buy once I FIRE without income to show.  Currently of my 1.3M I only have access to 870k because around 430k of it is in TSP/IRAs.  The past 3 years I have been putting money in a ROTH IRA because my income is too high to deduct a traditional IRA, so I suppose in 2 more years I would start to have access to the principle I put into that account as well.  I'm almost 38, so a little over 21 years until I could access the rest of it. 

I'm at 12 years into my military career, and uncertain that I will finish out 8 more years.  If I do stop before then, I would still get the VA disability pay, which given my current medical status, would likely be anywhere from $170 to $580 per month tax free.  (I know I have at least 1 definite 10% condition and maybe up to 30% between everything).  I've been passed over for promotion, so I could just stop trying hard and wait out 2.5 more years until they could involuntarily separate me and pay me almost 200k and 6 months of healthcare, or I could ramp up on the job, angle for command (I just slated, which allows me to apply) and try to make rank.  I'll admit, relaxing and riding into the sunset at 14.5 years doesn't sound so bad, with 2 more years of salary and gains (or possibly losses if there is a recession) and then a chunk of 200k at the end of it doesn't sound so bad.  I could always join the reserves for the remaining 5.5 years and get a reserve retirement, although it would require me to wait for them to recoup the separation pay before I could receive either VA disability or reserve retirement, and reserve retirement doesn't start until 60.  On the bright side, my cardiologist told me that I would live to be 120 because I have an unusually low heartrate with no negative issues from it (drops to the 30s sometimes when I sleep, practically sleeping in stasis).  Hopefully I didn't bore anyone with my rambling, been thinking more about getting out recently and maybe starting a family on my own.

Right now I'm listening to the Afford Anything podcast interview with Doug Nordman- it's old, but he is talking about his retirement from Army, and what he might have done differently (perhaps not wait the 20 years) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/afford-anything/id1079598542?i=1000372263694

nords visits the forums here from time to time, you can search him

@dandypandys I'll definitely listen to this soon I haven't seen this before!   @joedad189  I have seen him around on here and I've seen some of his articles, definitely a great resource!

[AFrugalGuy]

November 30, 2023: $1,265,857.28
December 31, 2023: $1,375,143.79 (+$177,313.28 or 14% from December 31, 2022)
January 31, 2024: $1,438,100.90 - first time cracking $1.4M!
February 29, 2024: $1,427,226.01
March 31, 2024: $1,451,464.67
April 30, 2024: $1,466,011.46
May 31, 2024: $1,447,917.73 ($15k+ increase in investments, but a decline in my DB pension's present value)
June 30, 2024: $1,468,763.53
July 31, 2024: $1,532,568.18 (increase in DB pension and increase in investment valuation) - first time cracking $1.5M!
August 31, 2024: $1,572,967.54 - first time cracking $2M in assets
September 30, 2024: $1,604,833.43 - first time cracking $1.6M!

[Nords]

I'm at 12 years into my military career, and uncertain that I will finish out 8 more years.  If I do stop before then, I would still get the VA disability pay, which given my current medical status, would likely be anywhere from $170 to $580 per month tax free.  (I know I have at least 1 definite 10% condition and maybe up to 30% between everything).  I've been passed over for promotion, so I could just stop trying hard and wait out 2.5 more years until they could involuntarily separate me and pay me almost 200k and 6 months of healthcare, or I could ramp up on the job, angle for command (I just slated, which allows me to apply) and try to make rank.  I'll admit, relaxing and riding into the sunset at 14.5 years doesn't sound so bad, with 2 more years of salary and gains (or possibly losses if there is a recession) and then a chunk of 200k at the end of it doesn't sound so bad.  I could always join the reserves for the remaining 5.5 years and get a reserve retirement, although it would require me to wait for them to recoup the separation pay before I could receive either VA disability or reserve retirement, and reserve retirement doesn't start until 60. 

Your contingency plan to leave active duty for the Reserves or Guard is totally feasible, @Jaayse. 

You might already know that although your Reserve pension starts at age 60, when you “retire awaiting pay” (gray area) then (by federal law) your pension is calculated from the future pay tables (the ones in effect when you turn age 60) and at your longevity in your retirement rank as though you’d been on active duty the entire time.  For most Reserve/Guard retirees, that’s the maximum pay for your retirement rank.

The delayed pension (along with Tricare and potentially VA healthcare) means that you might only have to make your assets bridge the gap to age 60 instead of for the rest of your life.  And if you get involuntary separation payments, you can treat those as an interest-free loan for the decades it takes you to start collecting a military pension.

Let me know if you have questions. 

For the rest of the forum, here’s more details:
https://themilitarywallet.com/leave-active-duty-for-reserves/

Ryan Guina is also experimenting with a Reserve pension calculator, which is a more challenging coding project than you’d expect:
https://themilitarywallet.com/reserve-retirement-calculator/

Right now I'm listening to the Afford Anything podcast interview with Doug Nordman- it's old, but he is talking about his retirement from the Navy, and what he might have done differently (perhaps not wait the 20 years)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/afford-anything/id1079598542?i=1000372263694

nords visits the forums here from time to time, you can search him

Haha yes I just realized at the end of the podcast with they mentioned it! haha- it was a good one Nord! Hope you are doing well. @Nords

Thanks for the tags, @dandypandys & @joedad189!

And yes that podcast is... a golden oldie.  I still guest on 10-12 podcasts a year, and I have a more recent list here:
https://militaryfinancialindependence.com/interviews/
People want to verify that this financial independence stuff is sustainable, so I keep showing up on podcasts & videos to address the latest questions & issues.

On Tuesday 8 October I’m doing a live AMA webinar with the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA).  That session will be recorded and released separately.
https://www.moaa.org/content/events/finance/moaa-webinar-finding-your-path-to-financial-independence/
Anyone can join that webinar-- no MOAA membership required, and you don’t even have to be military.  The host says we might go two hours.

Life is good.  Our daughter & son-in-law moved back to Oahu earlier this year, and now our four-year-old granddaughter lives just up the street from my spouse & me, for daily visits after preschool.  Our son-in-law is still on active duty but they plan to stay here at least until our granddaughter graduates from her mother’s old high school (“Class of 2038”)... which means he’s assessing his own Reserve/Guard transition.

South shore surf has been pretty consistent this summer, even delivering a couple of eight-foot swells. 

On the slow-travel side, I’ll be at FinCon24 in Atlanta (23-26 October).  In November-December my spouse and I are going to return to Bangkok, our first month there in over eight years.  That’ll be interesting.

[dandarc]

Date          TotalNW   Stache Only
Nov 12 2020 - 1.001M    0.953M
Jan 01 2021 - 1.061M    1.026M
Jan 01 2022 - 1.279M    1.246M
Jan 01 2023 - 1.066M    1.032M
Jan 01 2024 - 1.259M    1.221M
Feb 03 2024 - 1.269M    1.229M
Mar 01 2024 - 1.311M    1.261M
Apr 01 2024 - 1.358M    1.301M
May 01 2024 - 1.303M    1.251M
Jun 01 2024 - 1.346M    1.250M
Aug 31 2024 - 1.384M    1.358M
Oct 05 2024 - 1.374M    1.379M

Stache Highwater mark: Oct 05 2024 - 1.374M Total, 1.379M Stache

Might have actually hit an even higher point in the last week, however we were in Ireland for a week and I successfully ignored our finances for that entire time. In any event, all time high for the stache, with a slight tick down in the overall net worth. Someday our house in Florida will sell - whatever self-inflicted financial stress there is right now for us will be gone as soon as that check clears.

[Radagast]

Q4 2016:  $112,200     $165,800
Q1 2017:  $124,300     $178,500
Q2 2017:  $148,300     $203,300
Q3 2017:  $160,548     $217,018
Q4 2017:  $178,042     $235,102
Q1 2018:  $203,082     $260,736
Q2 2018:  $213,941     $272,491
Q3 2018:  $223,802     $283,554
Q4 2018:  $235,666     $296,330
Q1 2019:  $229,947     $291,293
Q2 2019:  $284,421     $346,689
Q3 2019:  $315,573     $378,769
Q4 2019:  $350,244     $414,376
Q1 2020:  $408,250     $473,325
Q2 2020:  $362,044     $428,120
Q3 2020:  $457,379     $524,413
Q4 2020:  $383,076     $555,858
Q1 2021:  $478,879     $656,382
Q2 2021:  $522,651     $704,873
Q3 2021:  $575,207     $761,357
Q4 2021:  $722,632     $916,172
Q1 2022:  $785,909     $979,449
Q2 2022:  $793,344     $1,078,999
Q3 2022:  $701,136     $984,207
Q4 2022:  $680,310     $898,221 
Q1 2023:  $766,771     $1,005,937
Q2 2023:  $829,120     $1,072,293
Q3 2023:  $909,213     $1,166,633
Q4 2023:  $846,149     $1,120,101
Q1 2024:  $977,778     $1,241,503
Q2 2024:  $1,193,894  $1,327,748
Q3 2024:  $1,228,874  $1,386,135
Q4 2024:  $1,316,094  $1,463,839

No comment, really.