Race from 10 to 100k!!

[Middlesbrough]

Extra paycheck and tax refund make for a good month.

[minority_finance_mo]

Finished off April with ~$12,000. May should end (and with it comes graduation) with me at $15,000 NW.

[Wiggle]

Done moving moving around for this month so time for another snapshot, end of March:
Cash/Savings: $8,271
Mutual Funds (non-retirement, house savings): $10,756
Work Retirement Accounts: $33,506

NW: $52,533 (increase of $4,545):)

Big increase this month thanks to a ridiculous tax return (I will adjust for next year) and some lower expenditures.  I am now over half way to the 100k mark!

Paid for some car repairs this month and a little bit of indulgence too.  Nothing too crazy but going to tighten down a bit this month.

Beginning of May update:
Cash/Savings: $7,772
Mutual Funds (non-retirement, house savings): $10,686
Work Retirement Accounts: $35,726

NW: $54,184 (increase of $1,651)

[Apples]

Does the spreadsheet look really wonky to anyone else?  None of the entries are in order for me.  Everything is scattered around.

[tarheeldan]

It was sorted weird, all the lookup formulas etc look good though.

[lpep]

Some kinda false gains for me this month--my dad's had some individual stocks for me since I was tiny, and he sold a bunch of shares awhile back (with some prodding from me) and transferred the money to me to manage! Into VTSAX it goes.

[tlps]

Hi all, have just joined the forum and would love to join this challenge.

My starting point as @ 6 May 2015
Credit Cards: -£7680.22
Checking & savings account: £2785.19
Company Pension plan: £7148.73
Personal pension account: balance unknown - will be transferring balance to other pension if possible??

Net worth: £2253.70  (i have put this amount in the end of Apr column on the spreadsheet - hope this is correct - if not please move to right place!)

First goal is to pay off the credit cards, then start saving........ good luck everyone

[JLee]

I finally got a mutual fund I opened in 1998 switched over to my name (vs c/o parent).  There's $3k in it.

Current-
$3000.26 - Franklin Templeton
$2809.98 - ESP
$24,982.41 - tIRA
$8,215.80 - 401k
~$11k liquid

I just crossed $50k! Halfway there! I have $1461.50/mo going to my 401k right now, so I should be pushing $60k easily by the end of the year.

I'm not counting house equity or cars, but if I did I'd be getting really close to 100k!

[tarheeldan]

Welcome, tlps! and congrats, JLee!

[givemesunshine]

Slowly making headway - more medical expenses last month ($5K) so happy I could absorb them and still make some savings. Hopefully only $1K more to outlay and then I can save, save, save!

[SpareChange]

Slowly making headway - more medical expenses last month ($5K) so happy I could absorb them and still make some savings. Hopefully only $1K more to outlay and then I can save, save, save!

I feel ya on the medical expenses. Glad you've almost got them in the rear view mirror.

[Pooperman]

New job comes with a 15k/yr increase in income, immediate vesting (1.5% match) of the 401k that I can contribute to immediately, but no HSA. HSAs are prorated, too, which kinda sucks since I can't just go max it. Anyways, this should increase the amount I can save every month by around $800. This should knock off about 4.5 months in getting to 100k :).

[tarheeldan]

Congratulations on the new job,  Pooperman!

[Pooperman]

Congratulations on the new job,  Pooperman!

Thank you! New commute should be about ththe same, but working hours should be less in addition to the bump in salary. It will also allow me to do consulting on the side where I was forbidden from doing so due to the job I currently hold. I'll be glad when the wedding stuff is over. So much money spent on stuff (invitations, dress, suit, DJ, rings, etc). We're still positive most months (this one may be an exception), but our expenses would be lower if we weren't spending $500 every month on wedding related stuff. :/ hopefully the result of the wedding is a decent addition to our stache and the start of a downpayment fund for a house/rental.

[SpareChange]

Thank you! New commute should be about ththe same, but working hours should be less in addition to the bump in salary. It will also allow me to do consulting on the side where I was forbidden from doing so due to the job I currently hold. I'll be glad when the wedding stuff is over. So much money spent on stuff (invitations, dress, suit, DJ, rings, etc). We're still positive most months (this one may be an exception), but our expenses would be lower if we weren't spending $500 every month on wedding related stuff. :/ hopefully the result of the wedding is a decent addition to our stache and the start of a downpayment fund for a house/rental.

More money for less work. Good deal!! That should 'roid up the ole stash in short order.

[Treesworth]

Some amazing efforts here. I think maybe we should be looking at a handicap 'prize' based on income and starting date as well as line honours.

I have just recently started my path to FIRE: $14,556 31/3/2015,$16,002.42 30/4/2015. Projecting a finishing date around... end of 2018.

[ash7962]

This really is the best kind of competition there is... just finishing the race means you're a winner!

[jooles]

Are you talking about net worth or the specific balance of a savings or investment account? 

Does anyone have a goal for when they are trying to reach 100k?

[seanc0x0]

Looks like I'm going to take a hit next month. Our driveway, which we've been saving up to repair (it's been going downhill for a while) has been very badly beaten up by the harsh winter this year. It's developed multiple large holes that pose a risk to people and property, so we've had to pull the trigger on a replacement.

I suppose I should be glad that thanks to saving up, I only have to hit my line of credit for about 40% of the total cost, but the idea of paying interest again grates. So I guess I'll be ploughing the money I've been investing into that to get it out ASAP. Just a minor setback, really, but irritating none the less.

[FoundPeace]

It's been a busy month, but I just crunch my numbers from April: $50,742.21. I passed 50k! Halfway there. That's up about $31k since the start of the challenge.

Sadly it will take me a few more years to reach $100k because I'm planning on sinking about $50k into a down payment for a house next year.

[tarheeldan]

Are you talking about net worth or the specific balance of a savings or investment account? 

Does anyone have a goal for when they are trying to reach 100k?

Not everyone's racing the same way, I'm going by NW, and I know at least one or two others are going by investment accounts only

I think I'll be there in 2016Q1 but hoping to get as close as possible by the end of the year :-)  I would hope new racers keep joining all the time, so there's always someone near your starting point to race against and people ahead to try to catch up to!

It's been a busy month, but I just crunch my numbers from April: $50,742.21. I passed 50k! Halfway there

Congratulations, FoundPeace! I don't see why buying the home would slow your progress too much though, you'd count home value less loan value in your NW number right?

[KzooKendrick]

Hey Everyone!

I've been tracking my net worth since I had to start paying back student loans in October 2012. Started at ($3,185) and am currently at $27,713.

I'm definitely joining this challenge and have already updated my information in the spreadsheet! My goal is to hit $100K NW by mid 2017. Love this "competition"!

[khotte]

I'm in the same boat as KzooKendrick! Currently at $9775 and hoping to hit $100k NW by Q3 of 2017!

[Pooperman]

On course to hit $100k around Q4 2016/Q1 2017. Depends on markets and other stuff of course.

[SpareChange]

Welcome Kzoo and khotte! You both seem to have excellent goals.


My own goal is to hit 100k by Feb 1, 2016. Difficult, but achievable I think. 

[FoundPeace]

Congratulations, FoundPeace! I don't see why buying the home would slow your progress too much though, you'd count home value less loan value in your NW number right?

tarheeldan, that's a good idea. I've been trying to figure out a good way to deal with the mortgage and home values. I have been thinking about just counting my housing as an expense rather than an asset; I have a hard time counting my equity and mortgage as a part of my net worth because that is money that I will likely never see again.

[tarheeldan]

I see what you guys are on about. I don't think either way is "wrong".

My personal preference would be to include it.

So the home equity doesn't produce the X% real ROR that we hope invested assets will average out to. Instead, it'll keep up with inflation probably - but I don't see that as a reason not to count it. It's part of your total portfolio, right? So you pick your asset allocation including this chunk of very high specific risk, extra illiquid, likely 0% real return (I'm just teasing here) real estate. It would be weird to ignore a large chunk of your wealth in your asset allocation.

At any time you could theoretically sell the home for equity less transactions costs and then buy up some VTSAX.

[ash7962]

I'm also saving up some cash for the downpayment on a house, but I don't include that for the sake of this thread.  The downpayment funds currently exist in my bank account, and for this thread I'm only measuring the balance of my investment accounts.  Might not work for everyone if your future downpayment funds are also invested, but it might work for some.  The way I see it, when I retire I will live off of the money generated from my investment accounts only, so that is what I should be using to track my retirement progress.

[Treesworth]

Looking towards recording end of month NW and it looks like I've gone backwards. I'm pretty bummed, its the first time I've experienced a backward step. The worst part is that it is not any special expenses or changed spending. It's just a spike in my investments at the end of last month and a drop this month combined with the timing of my pay. Hopefully the market stays down a bit and I can get a boost with a 3 pay check month.

[SpareChange]

Looking towards recording end of month NW and it looks like I've gone backwards. I'm pretty bummed, its the first time I've experienced a backward step. The worst part is that it is not any special expenses or changed spending. It's just a spike in my investments at the end of last month and a drop this month combined with the timing of my pay. Hopefully the market stays down a bit and I can get a boost with a 3 pay check month.

Sounds like you'll be fine. Nothing to worry about. Investing is a marathon, not a sprint, as much as we would love it to be at times :).


Up 5k for May. OK for a 3 paycheck month with renter's and auto insurance due.

[TonyPlush]

I calculated my net worth for the first time in months today: $98,060.

So close...

[bokonon]

Down to the last $5k!  May was good for us because we both had a three pay check month.  June will not be as good as we are traveling expensively but I still have outside hope for $100k next month!

I should mention the number I put in here is the combined net worth of my wife and myself.  We have totally merged finances so this is how I  think of my net worth.  I also count the cash I am saving for a home down payment, and if I had a home I would probably count equity minus transaction costs because you could get that money out if you required it.  I don't count my cars because if I sold one I would have to replace it immediately.

[tarheeldan]

Nice! Looks like the first batch of graduates is coming up soon :-)

Treesworth - no worries! At some point stocks will *really* go on sale and NW will drop, but with share balances still increasing it'll be sweet on the upswing

[Pooperman]

Month turned out better than forecast. Up nearly $2k over last month. Slow but steady progress!

This month marks the end of one year of this challenge. How did you all fare? For me, I went from ~$8k to ~$36k. At this rate, it would take me 2 more years to hit $100k, but compounding should cut that down to about 1.5 years provided the market doesn't explode (about 50% chance it will). Of the $36k, about $24k is investments, so it won't compound as quickly as others who are taking this challenge with investments only.

[fb132]

This is a cool thread and a good motivator too to reach 100K$ ASAP. Now let's see my numbers. I have written down my networth since January 1st 2012,so I would say I had started really saving in 2011, before that my net worth hovered around 0$, I would never go in debt, but I wouldn't be saving anything really except by putting 25$ per month in my retirement account which is peanuts. Here are some stats:

January 1st 2012 net worth: 14 481.83$
January 1st 2013 net worth: 28 918.47$     Difference from the previous year: +14 436.64$
January 1st 2014 net worth: 45 459.98$     Difference from the previous year: +16 541.51$
January 1st 2015 net worth: 57 617.73$     Difference from the previous year: +12 157.75$
May 29th 2015 net worth: 69 810.94$         Difference between January1st 2015 net worth and May 29th): +12 193.21$

How much I need to reach 100K$:  30 189.06$

I started learning about MMM and saving more aggressively at the end of 2014 and it shows, I already amassed 12K$ in the last 5 months, so I am pretty confident I will save a minimum 7 K$ (as long as my investments don't go down) by the end of the year which would easily break my personal best of saving up 16K$ in one year in 2013. If things go well, I should hit 100K$ by 2017 (Hopefully before, but it all depends on how the stock mrket behaves in the next 2 years and if I don't get hit with high unexpected expenses). I am proud of myself, because I never thought I would ever come close of reaching it, especially with my low salary.

I just can't wait to hit the 100K$, hopefully the following 100K$ won't be as long.

For those who hit 100K$, how did you celebrate that achievement, I am planning to celebrate it by buying myself a treat, 2 lobsters to eat (I love eating lobster, but so expensive) :)

[Pooperman]

This is a cool thread and a good motivator too to reach 100K$ ASAP. Now let's see my numbers. I have written down my networth since January 1st 2012,so I would say I had started really saving in 2011, before that my net worth hovered around 0$, I would never go in debt, but I wouldn't be saving anything really except by putting 25$ per month in my retirement account which is peanuts. Here are some stats:

January 1st 2012 net worth: 14 481.83$
January 1st 2013 net worth: 28 918.47$     Difference from the previous year: +14 436.64$
January 1st 2014 net worth: 45 459.98$     Difference from the previous year: +16 541.51$
January 1st 2015 net worth: 57 617.73$     Difference from the previous year: +12 157.75$
May 29th 2015 net worth: 69 810.94$         Difference between January1st 2015 net worth and May 29th): +12 193.21$

How much I need to reach 100K$:  30 189.06$

I started learning about MMM and saving more aggressively at the end of 2014 and it shows, I already amassed 12K$ in the last 5 months, so I am pretty confident I will save a minimum 7 K$ by the end of the year which would easily break my personal best of saving up 16K$ in one year in 2013. If things go well, I should hit 100K$ by 2017 (Hopefully before, but it all depends on how the stock mrket behaves in the next 2 years and if I don't get hit with high unexpected expenses). I am proud of myself, because I never thought I would ever come close of reaching it, especially with my low salary.

I just can't wait to hit the 100K$, hopefully the following 100K$ won't be as long.

For those who hit 100K$, how did you celebrate that achievement, I am planning to celebrate it by buying myself a treat, 2 lobsters to eat (my favorite dish) :)

If you celebrate hard enough, you can relive hitting that $100k over and over again... with more celebrations each time!

[ohyonghao]

For those who hit 100K$, how did you celebrate that achievement, I am planning to celebrate it by buying myself a treat, 2 lobsters to eat (I love eating lobster, but so expensive) :)

I'll let you know in a couple days :-D

[Suit]

This month marks the end of one year of this challenge. How did you all fare?

I'm up about $48k since this started! At this rate I'll likely see 100k NW in 2017.

[McStache]

I'm up $54k since the start of the challenge and am on track to see six figures by the end of the year.  Every month I see the dial move a bit, but it's crazy to step back and see that sort of year-to-year change.

[bye-bye Ms. FancyPants]

I want in (late I know) -investments (cash) only, beginning of the year = $53,940.00. May 2015 = $66,564.00. Looking to add another at least another $17,000 to total by the end of the year. Year end goal - $84,000.00. Man, wouldn't be nice to hit that 100,000 by the end of the year?? Hummmmmm. **side hustle, OT, re-budget**

[SpareChange]

I'll let you know in a couple days :-D

Haha. Quite fitting for the 1 year anniversary of the 'sheet. Congratulations!! :)

This month marks the end of one year of this challenge. How did you all fare? For me, I went from ~$8k to ~$36k. At this rate, it would take me 2 more years to hit $100k, but compounding should cut that down to about 1.5 years provided the market doesn't explode (about 50% chance it will). Of the $36k, about $24k is investments, so it won't compound as quickly as others who are taking this challenge with investments only.

I actually started tracking my NW in June, but the one year increase should be 53-54K, about 10k more than I thought I could muster!

[minority_finance_mo]

Just graduated this Thursday, and ended May with a $16.5K net worth, an increase of roughly 4.1K per month since I started working in February. My salary is 3.5K per month gross... It's been a good first half of the year!!

[tlps]

Net worth increase of £761.48 for May 2015

from £2326.44 to £3087.92 increase of 32.7%.........3.1% of the way to £100k

[SpareChange]

Just graduated this Thursday, and ended May with a $16.5K net worth, an increase of roughly 4.1K per month since I started working in February. My salary is 3.5K per month gross... It's been a good first half of the year!!

Excellent start. Congrats on graduating!

[minority_finance_mo]

Just graduated this Thursday, and ended May with a $16.5K net worth, an increase of roughly 4.1K per month since I started working in February. My salary is 3.5K per month gross... It's been a good first half of the year!!

Excellent start. Congrats on graduating!

Thank you! All thanks to MMM and the community :D

[Wiggle]

Beginning of May update:
Cash/Savings: $7,772
Mutual Funds (non-retirement, house savings): $10,686
Work Retirement Accounts: $35,726
NW: $54,184 (increase of $1,651)

Beginning of June update:
Cash/Savings: $7,698
Mutual Funds (non-retirement, house savings): $10,651
Work Retirement Accounts: $37,383
NW: $55,732 (increase of $1,548)

[Pooperman]

Seems to be very consistent wiggle!

[Pooplips]

3/9/15 - PC Net Worth $53,877
4/1/2015 - $60,080.00
5/1/2015 - $63,589.00

6/1/2015 - $65,962.00

[ohyonghao]

5/31/14: $48,054.09
---
4/30/15: $94,786.61
5/31/15: $100,323.89

Monthly Increase for May: $5,537.28
Yearly Increase since last May: $52,269.80

I more than doubled my net worth in a year.  Here's to doing it again this year :-D

It was close this month, we had 2 weeks in Taiwan visiting family.  A fifth paycheck last month helped to boost us over the 100k mark while also making an early payment on our mortgage.  I could have delayed the payment a couple days and boosted our numbers more, but I did enjoy the drive to reduce spending more knowing that I had only $x before dipping below $100k.

For celebration, well, we didn't really plan anything ahead of time, but I did have a beer at a restaurant while singing to myself:

"I'm mister fancy pants with a networth of $100k,
I'm mister fancy pants, sipping a $6 beer
which I could have bought at the store for $1.50
ohhhhhh, yeahhhh
I'm mister fancy pants."

But really, how do people justify getting not just one beer, but multiple beers at a restaurant, which I did witness there?  And not just on a special occasion, like hitting a new high on net worth, but at nearly every dinner out?  I couldn't stop thinking of the fact that I could nearly have bought a 6 pack for the price of a single beer, and at one table the cost of their drinks was more than our meal, which we also took home and had for dinner with some rice and veggies that night.

Congratulations to everyone else who has been building their net worth.  It's been an amazing year to watch all these numbers going up, and the encouragement every month seeing people reach for new heights.

[seanc0x0]

Forum tells me I already posted this, but I'm sure not seeing it. So apologies if this is a repost.

Small but respectable increase this month, given all the things trying to suck up my gains. Up by ~$650 to $17 750, a gain of about 3.15%.

I've been trying to cut expenses without overly impacting the stuff I enjoy, but man is it getting hard. Especially with my wife on mat leave, the free cash flow is pretty tight.

Also, congrats ohyonghao for 'graduating'!