Author Topic: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!  (Read 1488992 times)

SwordGuy

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7950 on: June 13, 2024, 06:51:41 AM »
I'm on my last day of a two-week bookbinding workshop.   Good times!

I'll have bound two or three books by the time the workshop ends.

LightTripper

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7951 on: June 13, 2024, 08:57:34 AM »
Oh that sounds very satisfying @SwordGuy - what have you bound? Are you a writer?

Dicey

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7952 on: June 13, 2024, 09:24:55 AM »
I'm reminded of this cartoon - this was during Covid but applies to NW as well :-)
Excellent!

Taran Wanderer

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7953 on: June 13, 2024, 09:52:51 AM »
I remember a few years ago joining this thread and marveling about blasé some of you were about being close to or into “beyond” territory. Now we’re in “Beyond” territory, and if we had the implied value of DW’s pension we’re even further into “Beyond” territory, and guess what? I’m feeling pretty blasé about it all. It does all seem kind of ridiculous at this point.

FireLane

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7954 on: June 13, 2024, 12:08:41 PM »
Yeah, if I wanted to flex, this would be the worst place to do it, given the amount of “and beyond” folks here. It’s like going to a bodybuilding competition to show off how well I can do pushups.

I laughed.

Like you, I'm not in the "and beyond" category. I'm still trying to hit that third million. I can admit reading this thread gives me a twinge of jealousy sometimes.

But I try to think of it this way: even being in the lower echelons ofthis thread still puts me in the top 1% by the standards of almost every person on this planet. Just being here at all makes us incredibly fortunate. If that's not enough for me to be content, I probably need to adjust my standards.

Besides, after a certain point, time in the market matters more than anything else. Thanks to the magic of exponential growth, we're all very likely going to be embarrassingly rich later in life!

Lake

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7955 on: June 13, 2024, 02:21:39 PM »
I enjoy seeing milestone updates whether it’s net worth or something else. Even though most on this thread aren’t racing anymore I think there’s still a lot of goals and milestones we enjoy hitting. It’s how most of us got here. For me I’m just happy to have finally gotten back to the net worth I retired with in August of 2021 if I included what my lump sum pension ended up being. So yesterday was a good day for that. It was a long time coming but it feels great to get there. I just use my net worth for that calculation as my wife is still working and building hers. Combined we are still in the low end of this cohort. I think the most memorable time for us was when we hit $500,000 net worth. For some reason that really made us feel rich. Every other milestone we hit just felt inevitable and expected. Well yesterday I celebrated one thing and today the weather just cleared so I think I’ll head out on the lake a troll around and enjoy a beautiful day. That’s my and beyond and it’s priceless!

« Last Edit: June 13, 2024, 02:24:19 PM by Lake »

BECABECA

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7956 on: June 13, 2024, 03:22:56 PM »
I just officially qualified for this thread again after a 50% cut to my NW due to divorce 😜
It hasn’t made any meaningful difference to my ability to stay retired, so that really hammers home that once you make it to this thread, there’s no need to sweat the finances anymore. Now I’m fully focused on my health so I can enjoy as many years as possible.

Fomerly known as something

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7957 on: June 13, 2024, 05:55:12 PM »
I think in part the reason why I have separate account mile stones is that there are more of them so more “wins”.  Hit $1.2 million in my 401k.

Also the pension “cash value” is easy to see, it’s listed on every pay stub.

ixtap

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7958 on: June 13, 2024, 08:09:55 PM »
I just officially qualified for this thread again after a 50% cut to my NW due to divorce 😜
It hasn’t made any meaningful difference to my ability to stay retired, so that really hammers home that once you make it to this thread, there’s no need to sweat the finances anymore. Now I’m fully focused on my health so I can enjoy as many years as possible.

My Mom has said that divorce was never really on the table for them because they couldn't afford it. It is nice to know that we can afford it, even though we don't want it. Especially since we recently celebrated 10 years and I would.be eligible for his SS.

SwordGuy

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7959 on: June 14, 2024, 05:52:22 AM »
Oh that sounds very satisfying @SwordGuy - what have you bound? Are you a writer?

In class, I bound three works that were already printed and folded.  We learned a bazillion ways to decorate the leather and also how to handle it so it does what we want.

I am an author.  I finished my second book recently.   The first was a technical software how-to book.  The latest is part of a 3 book series and I've got about 2/3rds of its prequel done, and 5-10% of its sequel.

I'm learning bookbinding so I can bind my own art-house copies and drawing so I can illustrate them.  I've already learned printmaking so I can print the drawings and tip them in.


More info (including pictures) in the later pages of my journal sometime this weekend.

LightTripper

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7960 on: June 15, 2024, 01:33:29 AM »
Oh that sounds fantastic - I will check out your journal!

Bateaux

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7961 on: June 17, 2024, 06:29:19 AM »
The market has been kind. We've reached the same NW as exactly a year ago. The difference is that was including the cash balance value of my pension, which was over 500K. The investment portions of our portfolio, returned what three decades of working for a pension was worth in cash.
Now with the pension in annuity form, it will pay over 50K a year for the rest of both our lives. It's time to quit worrying about money now.
So what do we do with that freedom?
I'm going hiking again. I'll be flying into Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Friday night. I'm going to Uber to the Appalachian Trail at the halfway point, near Fayetteville, PA. I'm going to hike north till it's no longer fun. I have no fixed plans till October when we have a condo booked at Pompano Beach, Florida. We'll have a good time with some friends and then a couple of weeks later take a cruise out of Tampa. Come November I'll travel some with my wife following LSU girls college basketball. I'll hopefully take a few bicycle tours in-between.
Take care folks. Health, happiness and helping others are our main goals now.
« Last Edit: June 17, 2024, 06:31:53 AM by Bateaux »

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7962 on: June 17, 2024, 08:49:06 AM »
*snip*
 Health, happiness and helping others are our main goals now.

Love everything about this, @Bateaux . You are showing me how it's done!

farmecologist

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7963 on: June 17, 2024, 11:58:44 AM »
The market has been kind. We've reached the same NW as exactly a year ago. The difference is that was including the cash balance value of my pension, which was over 500K. The investment portions of our portfolio, returned what three decades of working for a pension was worth in cash.
Now with the pension in annuity form, it will pay over 50K a year for the rest of both our lives. It's time to quit worrying about money now.
So what do we do with that freedom?
I'm going hiking again. I'll be flying into Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Friday night. I'm going to Uber to the Appalachian Trail at the halfway point, near Fayetteville, PA. I'm going to hike north till it's no longer fun. I have no fixed plans till October when we have a condo booked at Pompano Beach, Florida. We'll have a good time with some friends and then a couple of weeks later take a cruise out of Tampa. Come November I'll travel some with my wife following LSU girls college basketball. I'll hopefully take a few bicycle tours in-between.
Take care folks. Health, happiness and helping others are our main goals now.

Our son is moving to Hanover, NH soon to attend his fully paid PhD gig at Dartmouth.  It should be fun to explore the area...and the Appalachian Trail goes right through Hanover ( I'm sure you knew that already though ).

We are not worrying finances much these days either, but we are still working until the kids get "launched", which is this year!  I also want to work until 2025 so the "rule of 55" will kick in on my 401k if we should ever need the money "early".

Have fun on the trail!

Captain FIRE

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7964 on: June 17, 2024, 12:26:15 PM »
@farmecologist Tell him to checkout https://outdoors.dartmouth.edu/doc/ (descriptions of the many outdoor related member clubs here: https://outdoors.dartmouth.edu/doc/clubs.html)

Dartmouth is very supportive of thru-hikers:  https://outdoors.dartmouth.edu/thruhikers.html
« Last Edit: June 17, 2024, 12:31:02 PM by Captain FIRE »

jeroly

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7965 on: June 17, 2024, 01:24:24 PM »
The market has been kind. We've reached the same NW as exactly a year ago. The difference is that was including the cash balance value of my pension, which was over 500K. The investment portions of our portfolio, returned what three decades of working for a pension was worth in cash.
Now with the pension in annuity form, it will pay over 50K a year for the rest of both our lives. It's time to quit worrying about money now.
So what do we do with that freedom?
I'm going hiking again. I'll be flying into Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Friday night. I'm going to Uber to the Appalachian Trail at the halfway point, near Fayetteville, PA. I'm going to hike north till it's no longer fun. I have no fixed plans till October when we have a condo booked at Pompano Beach, Florida. We'll have a good time with some friends and then a couple of weeks later take a cruise out of Tampa. Come November I'll travel some with my wife following LSU girls college basketball. I'll hopefully take a few bicycle tours in-between.
Take care folks. Health, happiness and helping others are our main goals now.
That's a fantastic plan!  Happy trails.

Much Fishing to Do

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7966 on: June 20, 2024, 08:12:54 AM »
Oh that sounds very satisfying @SwordGuy - what have you bound? Are you a writer?

In class, I bound three works that were already printed and folded.  We learned a bazillion ways to decorate the leather and also how to handle it so it does what we want.

I am an author.  I finished my second book recently.   The first was a technical software how-to book.  The latest is part of a 3 book series and I've got about 2/3rds of its prequel done, and 5-10% of its sequel.

I'm learning bookbinding so I can bind my own art-house copies and drawing so I can illustrate them.  I've already learned printmaking so I can print the drawings and tip them in.


More info (including pictures) in the later pages of my journal sometime this weekend.

The binding/illustrating sounds so satisfying!

bigote2032

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7967 on: June 28, 2024, 05:10:26 PM »
6/30/2023   1.62
7/31/2023   1.68
8/31/2023   1.65
9/30/2023   1.60
10/31/2023   1.55
11/30/2023   1.69
12/31/2023   1.77
1/31/2024   1.78
2/29/2024   1.87
3/31/2024   1.94
4/30/2024   1.89
5/31/2024   1.94
6/30/2024   2.01 (up 77K)

Hello everyone, I just graduated to the 2MIL.  I see people don't post too often here.  It's a pleassure to be among you!

2sk22

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7968 on: June 28, 2024, 05:19:48 PM »
6/30/2023   1.62
7/31/2023   1.68
8/31/2023   1.65
9/30/2023   1.60
10/31/2023   1.55
11/30/2023   1.69
12/31/2023   1.77
1/31/2024   1.78
2/29/2024   1.87
3/31/2024   1.94
4/30/2024   1.89
5/31/2024   1.94
6/30/2024   2.01 (up 77K)

Hello everyone, I just graduated to the 2MIL.  I see people don't post too often here.  It's a pleassure to be among you!

Welcome aboard - so what celebrations are planned in the @bigote2032 household for this landmark?

bigote2032

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7969 on: June 28, 2024, 05:56:42 PM »
6/30/2023   1.62
7/31/2023   1.68
8/31/2023   1.65
9/30/2023   1.60
10/31/2023   1.55
11/30/2023   1.69
12/31/2023   1.77
1/31/2024   1.78
2/29/2024   1.87
3/31/2024   1.94
4/30/2024   1.89
5/31/2024   1.94
6/30/2024   2.01 (up 77K)

Hello everyone, I just graduated to the 2MIL.  I see people don't post too often here.  It's a pleassure to be among you!

Welcome aboard - so what celebrations are planned in the @bigote2032 household for this landmark?

Thanks 2sk22!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We plan to go tomorrow to our favorite steakhouse! :)

Where are you at in this race? I have a goal of 3.5 to 4 MIL.  I see the numbers advance much faster in this thread so that is exciting to see!

Dicey

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7970 on: June 28, 2024, 07:56:04 PM »
Many of us don't post because we're just watching our balances grow. Most of the heavy lifting has been done already. Congratulations!

2sk22

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7971 on: June 29, 2024, 02:14:07 PM »
6/30/2023   1.62
7/31/2023   1.68
8/31/2023   1.65
9/30/2023   1.60
10/31/2023   1.55
11/30/2023   1.69
12/31/2023   1.77
1/31/2024   1.78
2/29/2024   1.87
3/31/2024   1.94
4/30/2024   1.89
5/31/2024   1.94
6/30/2024   2.01 (up 77K)

Hello everyone, I just graduated to the 2MIL.  I see people don't post too often here.  It's a pleassure to be among you!

Welcome aboard - so what celebrations are planned in the @bigote2032 household for this landmark?

Thanks 2sk22!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We plan to go tomorrow to our favorite steakhouse! :)

Where are you at in this race? I have a goal of 3.5 to 4 MIL.  I see the numbers advance much faster in this thread so that is exciting to see!

We are currently so far above the upper bound of this group that I'm embarrassed to post just how much 😀

bigote2032

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7972 on: June 29, 2024, 03:45:08 PM »
Many of us don't post because we're just watching our balances grow. Most of the heavy lifting has been done already. Congratulations!

Thanks Dicey!!!! That makes a lot of sense.  Cheers!

bigote2032

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7973 on: June 29, 2024, 03:46:13 PM »
6/30/2023   1.62
7/31/2023   1.68
8/31/2023   1.65
9/30/2023   1.60
10/31/2023   1.55
11/30/2023   1.69
12/31/2023   1.77
1/31/2024   1.78
2/29/2024   1.87
3/31/2024   1.94
4/30/2024   1.89
5/31/2024   1.94
6/30/2024   2.01 (up 77K)

Hello everyone, I just graduated to the 2MIL.  I see people don't post too often here.  It's a pleassure to be among you!

Welcome aboard - so what celebrations are planned in the @bigote2032 household for this landmark?

Thanks 2sk22!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We plan to go tomorrow to our favorite steakhouse! :)

Where are you at in this race? I have a goal of 3.5 to 4 MIL.  I see the numbers advance much faster in this thread so that is exciting to see!

We are currently so far above the upper bound of this group that I'm embarrassed to post just how much 😀


hahaha, I can totally see that, glad you are doing great with the numbers :)

jeroly

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7974 on: June 30, 2024, 04:35:55 AM »
On the subject of the bounds for this group:

I was fiddling around and saw that if you had contributed the 401(k) maximum every year since 1994 and invested it in an S&P index fund, you'd have hit $2M more or less on the nose at the end of 2023.

Note that that's exclusive of any matching and ignores any fees, so in most but maybe not all cases it would be higher.

That's also just for one person, so a couple that had maxed out their pretax for the last thirty years and had been all in on the S&P would be reaching into the 'beyond' here in 2024.
« Last Edit: June 30, 2024, 04:41:32 AM by jeroly »

Dicey

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7975 on: June 30, 2024, 06:19:01 AM »
We are currently so far above the upper bound of this group that I'm embarrassed to post just how much 😀
I remember when you had to be "encouraged" to pull the trigger. Glad that's working out for you. 😄

Dicey

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7976 on: June 30, 2024, 06:26:06 AM »
On the subject of the bounds for this group:

I was fiddling around and saw that if you had contributed the 401(k) maximum every year since 1994 and invested it in an S&P index fund, you'd have hit $2M more or less on the nose at the end of 2023.

Note that that's exclusive of any matching and ignores any fees, so in most but maybe not all cases it would be higher.

That's also just for one person, so a couple that had maxed out their pretax for the last thirty years and had been all in on the S&P would be reaching into the 'beyond' here in 2024.
Conversely, if you never earned enough to max a 401(k), or deliberately chose not to start a Roth when they were introduced because you were saving your ass off to buy your first house, you can still get there. I am living proof there are a million paths to FIRE.

Car Jack

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7977 on: June 30, 2024, 06:39:50 AM »
Well, I just passed my "1 year retired" point last week.  For some reason, I was well aware of it as it was a month away, a week away, then it just drifted out of my head.  Anyways to put in numbers so I can come back and see where I was and when, I'll first say that before I retired, I was quite concerned with having enough available cash and had something like $350k between Ally, Redneck and my normal credit union.  Well, this has been cut down because I learned about IRMAA on Medicare, which I've talked about before.  What IRMAA is, it's increased premiums on Medicare part B and D.  Since Interest is income, it adds to other income to make MAGI higher and risks going over the IRMAA lowest limit.  Yes, it has several brackets and my first 2 years, I got hit with IRMAA from my working last 2 years of income.  I did fill out the forms to recalculate with the "life change" event being my retiring and they approved both.

So anyways, that $350k is now $113k which includes DW's $50k distribution from inheritance.  Where's the money gone?  Some for living, some to fix a roof and some 40 year old windows and mostly gone into Schwab to buy BRK/b.  Why Berkshire?  They don't pay dividends.  I've learned that dividends make my life difficult just like interest because it ups my income.  Other actual income is cash from the tradeline companies.  The biggest chunk making up my "income" is Roth conversions.  DW and I have mostly used 401k's over our working time to save.  We were very late even opening up Roths.  Now, with my handy dandy Excel sheet, I see that if we don't Roth convert, once we're both getting RMDs, and we'll have the added income of 2X Social security, we'll be pinged into IRMAA.  And when I go, DW will be many brackets into IRMAA.  So I'm converting up until my income is just under the first IRMAA bracket.  This year, that's $206k.

So after all that dribble, how's my balance after a full year of not working.  Well, a year ago, I had a liquid balance (no house, no cars) of $4.1M.  Now, I'm at $4.5M.  The most I ever made in a year working was $250k.  So by not working, making $400k, I out earned any of my working years.  While I don't feel I should have FIRED back in my 30's or something, I really should have retired about 5 years earlier.  Perhaps when my first son graduated from college.  Don't wait too long.  I'm not saying to retire with only 25 times spending, but having 58 times is over doing it.


2sk22

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7978 on: June 30, 2024, 07:14:52 AM »
We are currently so far above the upper bound of this group that I'm embarrassed to post just how much 😀
I remember when you had to be "encouraged" to pull the trigger. Glad that's working out for you. 😄

I still remember it well! It was not easy to step away from a firehose of money aimed at me. I credit you and @lhamo with being my main motivators to quit 😀


lhamo

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7979 on: June 30, 2024, 10:24:59 AM »
We are currently so far above the upper bound of this group that I'm embarrassed to post just how much 😀
I remember when you had to be "encouraged" to pull the trigger. Glad that's working out for you. 😄

I still remember it well! It was not easy to step away from a firehose of money aimed at me. I credit you and @lhamo with being my main motivators to quit 😀

Dude, you just made my DAY!!!!!

Dicey

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7980 on: June 30, 2024, 10:35:14 AM »
We are currently so far above the upper bound of this group that I'm embarrassed to post just how much 😀
I remember when you had to be "encouraged" to pull the trigger. Glad that's working out for you. 😄

I still remember it well! It was not easy to step away from a firehose of money aimed at me. I credit you and @lhamo with being my main motivators to quit 😀

Dude, you just made my DAY!!!!!
Lol, I saw this and waited for lhamo to respond. I expected we would both have a Sailer Sam response: Preen, Preen. We are all proud of you! You had it in the bag, but seemed to be the only one who didn't know it. So glad you're enjoying your post-FIRE life. 👏 👏 👏

Watchmaker

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7981 on: June 30, 2024, 11:12:35 AM »
I'll first say that before I retired, I was quite concerned with having enough available cash and had something like $350k between Ally, Redneck and my normal credit union.

I made an error in the opposite direction: I ended up being too light on cash at retirement. This was intentional on my part because retirement was meant to include selling off my company stock, which would have provided spending cash for the first several years of FIRE. Except I didn't sell the stock because the company made me an offer to do some consulting and remain a shareholder.

Income from the consulting, SO's part time work, and my passion project has covered everything, but it has been closer than I had intended at times.

ixtap

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7982 on: June 30, 2024, 11:40:31 AM »
I'll first say that before I retired, I was quite concerned with having enough available cash and had something like $350k between Ally, Redneck and my normal credit union.

I made an error in the opposite direction: I ended up being too light on cash at retirement. This was intentional on my part because retirement was meant to include selling off my company stock, which would have provided spending cash for the first several years of FIRE. Except I didn't sell the stock because the company made me an offer to do some consulting and remain a shareholder.

Income from the consulting, SO's part time work, and my passion project has covered everything, but it has been closer than I had intended at times.

We had a similar issue when downshifting. We took advantage of a 0% cc offer, and used available cash to buy I bonds, expecting an RSU vest before the cc's were due. There was a SNAFU and the RSU vest was delayed by nearly a year, making cash flow rather tight. I think I will have more on hand the next time we make a transition.

oldtoyota

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7983 on: July 01, 2024, 07:20:52 PM »
I guess we don't really post NW updates here? I'm still relatively new here so maybe I will until I lose interest. I've just been keeping track of when I pass nice round numbers.

Mid 2019 - First passed $1M
March 2020 - dropped to $840K (covid)
April 2020 - reclaimed $1M
June 2020 - passed $1.1M
August 2020 - passed $1.2M
January 2021 - passed $1.3M
April 2021 - passed $1.4M
August 2021 - passed $1.5M
November 2021 - passed $1.6M
June 2023 - passed $1.7M
December 2023 - passed $1.8M
January 2024 - passed $1.9M
March 2024 - passed $2M
June 2024 - passed $2.1M

Congratulations!! Look how fast you moved from 1 to 2!

oldtoyota

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7984 on: July 01, 2024, 07:25:27 PM »
Yeah, if I wanted to flex, this would be the worst place to do it, given the amount of “and beyond” folks here. It’s like going to a bodybuilding competition to show off how well I can do pushups.

But at least for now, I do still find it motivating to post the NW numbers here, if only to marvel at how fast things continue to grow. Im not aiming at a particular number anymore, but i suppose it’s just the spectacle of actually witnessing how quickly a snowball grows, even if I always theoretically knew that it would. When you actually watch it happen, you can’t help but be a little shocked by it.

For any who might want to post, I say please do! I don't consider posting NW a flex here, and I find it interesting and motivating. That said, I've always held back from posting NW numbers. It's really hard for me to overcome my upbringing where talking about money was "just not done." Yet I like when others are open and brave enough to share their numbers!

PS: I'm also sort of nosy. haha

Fomerly known as something

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7985 on: July 01, 2024, 07:30:54 PM »
What is amusing to me is the one section of NW, I keep forgetting.  Cash, especially since I have a lot of it right now due to my upcoming graduation from work.  I still can’t believe I have six figures in cash.  That was my NW in the 2008 crash.

Malossi792

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7986 on: July 02, 2024, 03:42:27 AM »
Yeah, if I wanted to flex, this would be the worst place to do it, given the amount of “and beyond” folks here. It’s like going to a bodybuilding competition to show off how well I can do pushups.

But at least for now, I do still find it motivating to post the NW numbers here, if only to marvel at how fast things continue to grow. Im not aiming at a particular number anymore, but i suppose it’s just the spectacle of actually witnessing how quickly a snowball grows, even if I always theoretically knew that it would. When you actually watch it happen, you can’t help but be a little shocked by it.

For any who might want to post, I say please do! I don't consider posting NW a flex here, and I find it interesting and motivating. That said, I've always held back from posting NW numbers. It's really hard for me to overcome my upbringing where talking about money was "just not done." Yet I like when others are open and brave enough to share their numbers!

PS: I'm also sort of nosy. haha
Oh I love the confident aura of 'it's not important anymore ' that's so pervasive here. This thread is a very inspiring one. Sorry, I'll crawl back into my cave now, I have no place here. Just love to lurk (surround yourself with what you want to become something something).

oldtoyota

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7987 on: July 02, 2024, 06:08:03 AM »
Yeah, if I wanted to flex, this would be the worst place to do it, given the amount of “and beyond” folks here. It’s like going to a bodybuilding competition to show off how well I can do pushups.

But at least for now, I do still find it motivating to post the NW numbers here, if only to marvel at how fast things continue to grow. Im not aiming at a particular number anymore, but i suppose it’s just the spectacle of actually witnessing how quickly a snowball grows, even if I always theoretically knew that it would. When you actually watch it happen, you can’t help but be a little shocked by it.

For any who might want to post, I say please do! I don't consider posting NW a flex here, and I find it interesting and motivating. That said, I've always held back from posting NW numbers. It's really hard for me to overcome my upbringing where talking about money was "just not done." Yet I like when others are open and brave enough to share their numbers!

PS: I'm also sort of nosy. haha
Oh I love the confident aura of 'it's not important anymore ' that's so pervasive here. This thread is a very inspiring one. Sorry, I'll crawl back into my cave now, I have no place here. Just love to lurk (surround yourself with what you want to become something something).

I can understand enjoying that confident aura and finding inspiration from that too!


Fomerly known as something

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7988 on: July 02, 2024, 06:40:51 AM »
Another reason why we tend to post NW here, we might be FIRE and using our investments.  I’m at $2.7 million now, based on probability I will be at 3 in two years but then slow down and don’t go beyond for another 8 years, at which point I will have FIREd 10 years earlier.  Now that’s assuming I actually use all the money I’m budgeting myself, which is a stretch so it might be sooner.

SEAK

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7989 on: July 05, 2024, 10:35:04 AM »
Starting some in depth conversations with my wife about me calling it a career soon and her continuing to work (enjoys her job and some retirement accounts vest in 4+ years). Our family could easily enjoy a fat lifestyle living solely on her $200k salary. One thought is that if I continue to work a bit longer, most of my salary would be used to pay for some much needed home maintenance (gutters/paint house) and remodels (bathroom/kitchen). I've had some extreme wanderlust for years now and should probably travel solo some since I get more PTO. Wife is concerned about us living two very different lifestyles and tension building up because of that.

Retirement contributions this year are looking to be $100k + another year of service into my pension.

LNW not including kiddos 529s
2019- $1.08M
2020- $1.35M
2021- $1.68M
2022- $1.46M
2023- $1.83M
3/21/24-$2.00M
07/03/24-$2.11M + pension currently valued at $61k/year

Turtle

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7990 on: July 05, 2024, 12:06:07 PM »
I came across some older paperwork on my late spouse's 401k recently, so here's an update on my journey as well:

401K/IRA/HSA and Stock/Bond Investments only

Solo numbers for historical data
End of 2011 - $119,519
End of 2012 - $182,941
Didn't track for a few years
End of 2018 - $373,648
End of 2019 - $516,500
End of 2020 - $613,300
End of 2021 - $771,504

Found paperwork for inherited spousal 401K (no access to data which wasn't printed out.)
March 2017 70K from cash value pension was rolled in
End 2016    - $440,000 approx
1st Q 2017  - $520,430 (Jump was mostly from addition of the pension cash value.)
We likely passed combined 1MM sometime in 2017-2018

Table is combined inherited and earned myself

                       2022                2023                2024               
January-$1,682,771$1,932,150
February-$1,651,301$2,002,751
March-$1,695,258$2,080,894
April$1,616,393$1,709,287$2,012,001
May$1,620,128$1,685,455$2,088,300
June$1,502,733$1,769,299$2,120,323
July$1,609,981$1,833,052-
August$1,553,391$1,801,133-
September$1,429,000$1,726,665-
October$1,534,000$1,680,000*-
November$1,637,342$1,818,188-
December$1,567,591$1,927,629-


deborah

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7991 on: July 05, 2024, 02:18:53 PM »
Starting some in depth conversations with my wife about me calling it a career soon and her continuing to work (enjoys her job and some retirement accounts vest in 4+ years). Our family could easily enjoy a fat lifestyle living solely on her $200k salary. One thought is that if I continue to work a bit longer, most of my salary would be used to pay for some much needed home maintenance (gutters/paint house) and remodels (bathroom/kitchen). I've had some extreme wanderlust for years now and should probably travel solo some since I get more PTO. Wife is concerned about us living two very different lifestyles and tension building up because of that.
I’ve been retired for more than 14 years, and SO retired a couple of years earlier. I have wanderlust, he doesn’t. On the other hand, his sport takes him all around Australia. It’s great! We’re not living in each other’s pockets, but we both really enjoy each other’s company.

With modern technology, we’re able to communicate regularly while we’re separated. It’s been fantastic to be able to get his help when things go wrong. We both enjoy sharing what each of us is doing each day, and learning about far flung places. It’s the best time of our lives. We probably had the most tension during the time when he was retired and I wasn’t because I’d come home after a long day, and nothing had been done.

Fomerly known as something

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7992 on: July 05, 2024, 07:11:13 PM »
Wow crazy markets.  I hadn’t planned to fund my DAF after this year, but I likely will make another deposit in 2025.

Exflyboy

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7993 on: July 05, 2024, 10:34:31 PM »
Crazy markets indeed.. Crossed $3.5m liquid yesterday ($3509k).. Plus pensions+SS of about $100k in 4 years time.

I remember somebody at work saying how I would be at $3m one day and me thinking they were nuts!

I need another airplane!

Much Fishing to Do

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7994 on: July 06, 2024, 07:13:10 AM »
Crazy markets indeed.. Crossed $3.5m liquid yesterday ($3509k).. Plus pensions+SS of about $100k in 4 years time.

I remember somebody at work saying how I would be at $3m one day and me thinking they were nuts!

I need another airplane!

$100k in pension+SS?  You most definitely need another plane, and maybe even a boat or that stache is gonna become ridiculous...

Dicey

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7995 on: July 06, 2024, 07:42:20 AM »
Crazy markets indeed.. Crossed $3.5m liquid yesterday ($3509k).. Plus pensions+SS of about $100k in 4 years time.

I remember somebody at work saying how I would be at $3m one day and me thinking they were nuts!

I need another airplane!

$100k in pension+SS?  You most definitely need another plane, and maybe even a boat or that stache is gonna become ridiculous...
Pretty sure it already is...

Exflyboy

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7996 on: July 06, 2024, 08:58:32 AM »
Here's to ridiculous staches!...:)

FireLane

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7997 on: July 07, 2024, 01:17:24 PM »
These comments made me curious, so I looked at my accounts outside my once-a-month spreadsheet day (bad habit, I know)... and whoa! My NW just crossed $3M for the first time ever.

After a couple years of stagnation, the tide is rising again, and it's taking all our boats with it.

oldtoyota

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7998 on: July 07, 2024, 02:01:22 PM »
These comments made me curious, so I looked at my accounts outside my once-a-month spreadsheet day (bad habit, I know)... and whoa! My NW just crossed $3M for the first time ever.

After a couple years of stagnation, the tide is rising again, and it's taking all our boats with it.

Congrats on crossing $3M!

The comments made me curious too, and I took a look. I am especially happy to see the increase in the college account. Nice!


frugalecon

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Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #7999 on: July 07, 2024, 05:11:32 PM »
Just looked myself…NW at a hair under $3.6 million in financial  assets. Once the NW number gets big, compounding really does amazing things. At this level, dividends and interest are plenty to supplement our two COLA-protected pensions plus SS, which all told will total around $140,000/year. It’s crazy when even a 1% WR would be fine, and 2% is luxurious. And yet I’m still planning to stay for the 2025 cohort…it is just really hard to turn down the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.