Race from 100 to 250k

[SAfAmBrit]

I'm in, I am currently at $219,713. I am including the house and am using personal capital to track. I hope to reach $250,000 by 10/2016 all going well!

[BarbeRiche]

Made a simple spreadsheet for myself because I'm canadian and we don't have Personal Capital.

I'm happy with the savings rate considering that we have a 1-month old baby and had a few expenses + our propriety taxes last month.
We had a pretty decent tax return though that helped a lot (9.3k).
The last 6-months will be a bit different with my gf being on that parental salary replacement which will end up being about 40% of her normal salary.

But we do have a beautiful baby to compensate :)

[FrugalFan]

Made a simple spreadsheet for myself because I'm canadian and we don't have Personal Capital.

Love your graphics, BarbeRiche! I have similar ones but the monthly changes are not as exciting! I may plot them yearly like this though. Before I got into MMM this year, we were paying our mortgage very fast and not investing as much, now I get some satisfaction from seeing the proportion of our net worth in our mortgage decrease and the proportion invested increase, so I've been plotting those out as well.

[BarbeRiche]

Love your graphics, BarbeRiche! I have similar ones but the monthly changes are not as exciting! I may plot them yearly like this though. Before I got into MMM this year, we were paying our mortgage very fast and not investing as much, now I get some satisfaction from seeing the proportion of our net worth in our mortgage decrease and the proportion invested increase, so I've been plotting those out as well.

I also have a Spendings-Savings Ratio monthly graphic but it was a bit too much for the post and I think the yearly one is more representative.  Jan-49% / Feb-33% / Mar-75%...fluctuates a lot.

It is nice to get a visual of the asset allocation, I agree.  I plan on reducing the house principal % as well!

[Heckler]

Nice graphics, but why are you showing asset location (account type) as asset allocation?

[Heckler]

here's my version of Asset Allocation, including real estate

[BarbeRiche]

Nice graphics, but why are you showing asset location (account type) as asset allocation?

I didn't want it to reflect my positions in the market but more of a taxable/non-taxable type of thing.  Maybe asset is the wrong term?

I might do one just like yours but it would be a bit complicated as we are spread around a few accounts.  We both have company RRSP contribution plan which are managed by our companies + RRSP invested in ETFs + TFSA invested mostly in microcaps + stock pension plan for me, etc.

Are your investments all ETFs or you pick stocks?

[Heckler]

all ETFs, and I treat 7 accounts as one asset allocation plan.  2 of the accounts are work sponsored "collector" accounts that I transfer to self directed ETFs once a year.

[Heckler]

but, especially if you're spread out all over the place in many accounts, a summary asset allocation will help you understand your holdings, and make a better plan.

Just start by adding up totals.  Heck, even start with a Bonds vs Equities summary.  Let's say your TFSA is in a 90/10 fund, your RRSP is in a 30/70 mutual fund and your spouses taxable account is all Canada stocks (one company).  What is your total Bonds to Equity ratio?  (for example).

[BarbeRiche]

but, especially if you're spread out all over the place in many accounts, a summary asset allocation will help you understand your holdings, and make a better plan.

Just start by adding up totals.  Heck, even start with a Bonds vs Equities summary.  Let's say your TFSA is in a 90/10 fund, your RRSP is in a 30/70 mutual fund and your spouses taxable account is all Canada stocks (one company).  What is your total Bonds to Equity ratio?  (for example).

Good point.  I will do that.  It will be a good addition to my spreadsheet.

[FrugalFan]

Yeah, I actually spent some time figuring out our Pension's overall asset allocation recently (40% bonds 60% equities). I am much less conservative, so to balance this out, I went with 10% bonds and 90% equities for our personal investments, which overall averages out to 25% bonds and 75% equities.

[BarbeRiche]

but, especially if you're spread out all over the place in many accounts, a summary asset allocation will help you understand your holdings, and make a better plan.

Just start by adding up totals.  Heck, even start with a Bonds vs Equities summary.  Let's say your TFSA is in a 90/10 fund, your RRSP is in a 30/70 mutual fund and your spouses taxable account is all Canada stocks (one company).  What is your total Bonds to Equity ratio?  (for example).

Good point.  I will do that.  It will be a good addition to my spreadsheet.

It seems a bit too much weighted toward Canadian Equity but almost 100% of our TFSA are invested in canadian microcaps.  Also, my company stock purchase plan counts for a big part of that (about 20% of the canadian equity).

It should balance out a bit while I continue to max our RRSP + our company funds that are more weighted toward US/International.  I can also sell some of my company stocks gradually (have to hold them for 2 years so I don't get penalized).



Also, I had forgotten to include a line of data for our total assets...nice surprise :P

[Heckler]

Awesome BarbeRiche!  I'm curious - did you know you were hometown biased before doing this graph?

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/2012/05/22/ask-the-spud-does-home-bias-ever-make-sense/

[BarbeRiche]

Awesome BarbeRiche!  I'm curious - did you know you were hometown biased before doing this graph?

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/2012/05/22/ask-the-spud-does-home-bias-ever-make-sense/

Do you mean because the months are written in french?

I actually changed all my spreadsheet in english and noticed that but I thought it would show anyway with the way I formulate my ideas or choices of words sometimes..!

[Heckler]

:)  No, by hometown bias I meant mostly invested in Canadian stocks. 

[BarbeRiche]

:)  No, by hometown bias I meant mostly invested in Canadian stocks.

Oh I see.  It did help to get a visual.  I had a rough idea but it's a lot clearer now.

It will be easier to decide if I sell some of my company stocks or if I need to rebalance my portfolios.

Thanks for the suggestion!

[ohyonghao]

I'd been avoiding posting to this thread for the longest time because it seemed like such a big goal, but now that I'm a little ways in, it doesn't seem so daunting.

Sept 2015: 101,452
Oct 2015:   111,092
Nov 2015:  114,679
Dec 2015:   117,419
Jan 2015:   120,425
Feb 2015:   126,971
Now:            134,464

We came into a small windfall late last year but instead of investing I decided to get rid of the PMI on our mortgage, especially since market returns were poor. Plan to be at about 215,000 by the end of the year, 250,000 by next summer. We also plan to sell our place around that time to move elsewhere and will like spring to about 330k. That puts us at just under 2 years to make the 100 to 250 hurdle, compared to the ~1.5 years to do 10k to 100k.

Here's to getting some good market winds and nice fat bonus.

(Yar har har... Aye)

Great to have you here.  It really is quite amazing how fast it accumulates after the 100k point.

And a big Welcome Here! to anyone else that has joined and I forgot to welcome.  I know this group tends to be a bit quieter than the 10-100k, but I like to think that's because we're too busy enjoying the freedom that you can only buy with money you don't spend.  I expect this room to light up a bit in a couple days though as everyone begins to sound off their current status reports.

[dandypandys]

I'd been avoiding posting to this thread for the longest time because it seemed like such a big goal, but now that I'm a little ways in, it doesn't seem so daunting.

Sept 2015: 101,452
Oct 2015:   111,092
Nov 2015:  114,679
Dec 2015:   117,419
Jan 2015:   120,425
Feb 2015:   126,971
Now:            134,464

We came into a small windfall late last year but instead of investing I decided to get rid of the PMI on our mortgage, especially since market returns were poor. Plan to be at about 215,000 by the end of the year, 250,000 by next summer. We also plan to sell our place around that time to move elsewhere and will like spring to about 330k. That puts us at just under 2 years to make the 100 to 250 hurdle, compared to the ~1.5 years to do 10k to 100k.

Here's to getting some good market winds and nice fat bonus.

(Yar har har... Aye)

Great to have you here.  It really is quite amazing how fast it accumulates after the 100k point.

And a big Welcome Here! to anyone else that has joined and I forgot to welcome.  I know this group tends to be a bit quieter than the 10-100k, but I like to think that's because we're too busy enjoying the freedom that you can only buy with money you don't spend.  I expect this room to light up a bit in a couple days though as everyone begins to sound off their current status reports.

Mine doesn't, wonder what I am doing wrong? Is it just the market? It has stayed in the minus range for aggggges. Just recently i changed everything to vanguard index funds so hopefully that will make a difference.

[FIPurpose]

Mine doesn't, wonder what I am doing wrong? Is it just the market? It has stayed in the minus range for aggggges. Just recently i changed everything to vanguard index funds so hopefully that will make a difference.

What are you invested in if you don't mind me asking? Just being in Vanguard doesn't protect you from bad investments.

[dandypandys]

Sure, I am eager for any feedback on my choices. We dont have too many to choose from in my 403b, but here is what I have and what I could have. The Transamerica guy used to have me in a whole bunch of these funds some had very high fees, so I feel fairly confident with my choices now, but I really am a novice and have only just begun learning the last few months. What do you think? I'm 40 with plans to retire  50-60

[FIPurpose]

From the pictures you have it's kind of hard for me to tell what specific funds you own and in what percentages. Stocks and Bonds are good but there are many varieties in the list of possibilities you present. I think you are at a good distribution of stock to bond if that's your tolerance level, but I think there's probably more to see in a more specific breakdown

[dandypandys]

ah I was trying to be smart with my screenshots, I think it cut off the side perhaps too. Let me try again.
I only recently changed it all, and did my final couple of transfers, it used to be 12% international, so this is going forward.

[FIPurpose]

I don't want to keep this thread off track but I do want to respond. I think part of your losses have just been the general downtrend of small caps and international stocks. Also your long-term bonds have done poorly the past year as well. They aren't a replacement for other typical bonds (a total bond market fund or intermediate fund). They are a lot riskier. Same goes for the inflation protected bonds. There are a lot of unanswered questions about their viability.

If you have a different bond choice, I would switch to that. Or at the very least if you haven't already, read up on the risks of long-term bonds.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bond_basics

Not to say there aren't good portfolios with long-term bonds, but I think it's common to misunderstand them.

[dandypandys]

If you have a different bond choice, I would switch to that. Or at the very least if you haven't already, read up on the risks of long-term bonds.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bond_basics

Not to say there aren't good portfolios with long-term bonds, but I think it's common to misunderstand them.

Thanks! Sorry for being OT and i promise this is my last feedback call :) Yeah i don't have much Bond choices only these:
Short Bonds/Stable/MMkt
Standard Stable Asset Fund II    0%       
Calvert Short Duration Income I    0%       
Prudential Short-Term Corporate Bd Q 0%       
Wells Fargo Shrt Duratn Gov Bnd Inst    0%       
Interm./Long-Term Bonds
BlackRock Inflation Protected Bond K    0%       
Delaware Extended Duration Bond Inst    0%       
Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Admiral    5%       

 I did ask HR to add the total bond index fund but i dont think they will. I will def look into that link today, so far I have only been reading about the Stock stuff and havent got to the Bonds bit yet on the stock series or the books. Glad to hear i haven't being doing a HUGE error these last few years.
THANKS! Sorry for hijacking everyone!!!

On topic: i am at 105k now- woohoo a little movement happened yesterday and my rate of return for the year is almost positive at

-0.64% come on! Get on up there!!!! :) :)

[CanIndian]

I hit 100k last week and graduated from the 10-100k thread.
107K as of today, and expected to be 109k by end of march with another paycheck still in the month.

Dec 2013: ~10,000
Dec 2014: ~50,000
July 2015: $74,250
Dec 2015: $88,329
Mar 20th  2016: $107,112

Took me 27 months to go from 10-100k. Hoping to get to 250k in 24 months, Mar 2018.
Intermediary goals are 150k by Dec 2016 and 200K by Aug 2017.

Let us roll along.

Closed the accounts today for March and I was pushed along a bit farther than I thought.

Dec 2013: ~10,000
Dec 2014: ~50,000
July 2015: $74,250
Dec 2015: $88,329
Mar  2016: $110,200

[Heckler]

On topic: i am at 105k now- woohoo a little movement happened yesterday and my rate of return for the year is almost positive at

-0.64% come on! Get on up there!!!! :) :)

are you still contributing?  if so, your goal of prices going up just means you'll be paying more.  Hmmm....  Buy low, sell high.

[bkmnky72]

I'm signing in with my NW based on my investible assets at $131K as of today.

Back to $129K.

[PFHC]

Aug 2015: $133,000
Sept 2015: $147,097
Oct 2015: $153,200
Nov 2015: $155,986
Dec 2015: $154,299
Jan 2016: $156,663
Feb 2016: $158,332

Mar 2016 $182,654 + $15,000 pension

Decided to forgo the appraisal. Unnecessary expense just to tell me what I already know. Big jump in net worth this month reflects $25k increase in equity due to kitchen remodel.

[ender]

We are getting close to leaving you guys :D  I always get sad when I see how much other folks increase their NW on a monthly basis, but I realized if you max a 401k and two IRAs you still are saving almost $2500 in investments a month. That's a lot it turns out. Sure it's not the $5k or $10k some folks do but hey... slow but steady, right?

We're on pace for about a $50k/year net worth increase from this time last year. Though this is a bit artificially high as we repaid ourselves our tithe last year after pre-tithing for tax perks.

We might also be buying a house in the near future, not sure how that will affect things. But we're getting close to leaving this thread and heading to the 250k-->500k one. Which is super exciting!

[SeattleStache]

Retirement only, does not include real estate or emergency savings:
January 2015: $98,619
February 2015: $102,414
March 2015: $104,001
April 2015: $106,458
May 2015: $106,866
June 2015: $107,133
July 2015: $107,090
August 2015: $102,260
September 2015: $103,731
October 2015: $106,389
November 2015: $107,314
December 2015: $105,826
January 2016: $101,235
February 2016: $101,464
March 2016: $117,072

Had a small windfall in March as well as a bonus check which went straight into my Roth.
Total NW including real estate and cash savings: $191,475.

[FrugalFan]

(Personal investments including college funds only; excludes pension and real estate)
Jul 2015   196,553
Aug 2015  192,205
Sep 2015 188,724
Oct 2015  207,028
Nov 2015 240,500
Dec 2015 248,758
Jan 2016 245,452
Feb 2016 249,608
Mar 2016 271,295 (Minus college fund is 248,483. So close!)

April is going to be a spendy month as we owe a lot in taxes this year, but we should be able to graduate from this thread in May if the market cooperates.

[gecko10x]

Jan 2015: $156k
Feb 2015: $160k
Mar 2015: $179k
Apr 2015: $183k
May 2015: $186k
Jun 2015: $189k
July 2015: $195k
Aug 2015: $198k
Sept 2015: $201k
Oct 2015: $209k
Nov 2015: $212k
Dec 2015: $216k
Jan 2016: $216k
Feb 2016: $218k
Mar 2016: $247k

[mrteacher]

I closed March with a NW of $100,869.59!

Barring a big market downturn in the next few weeks, I should be here to stay! $250k seems far away, but I'm pumped to be entering the next 'bracket' of accumulation.

[FiguringItOut]

2015
June $105,555
July  $111,700
Aug  $112,494
Sep  $109,536
Oct   $117,581
Nov  $121,142
Dec  $128,574

2016
Jan  $125,464
Feb $128,024
Mar $136,905

[johnny847]

1/31/16 - 100,310.75.
2/29/16 - 100,866.78
3/31/16 - 109,343.52

By the numbers I had an amazing month.

Most of hte credit shouldn't go to me though. Markets were responsible for $6523.57 of that $8476.74 increase in NW.

[SpareChange]

I closed March with a NW of $100,869.59!

Barring a big market downturn in the next few weeks, I should be here to stay! $250k seems far away, but I'm pumped to be entering the next 'bracket' of accumulation.

Welcome!!

[SpareChange]

February: $100,095.24
March:     $109,021.70

YTD savings rate: 82.7% :)

[Prairie Gal]

   Cash & Investments   Increase         
               
Sep 1, 2015   100,370            
Oct 1, 2015   101,552   1,182         
Nov 1, 2015   105,260   3,708         
Dec 1, 2015   107,316   2,056         
Jan 1, 2016   108,641   1,325         
Feb 1, 2016   107,917   -724         
Mar 1, 2016   112,893   4,976         
Apr 1, 2016   115,730   2,837         
               
      
               
* Cash and investments. House is paid off, worth approximately $250,000.               
               

[Guava]

February 2016: $117,693
March 2016: $124,848

I started working again a few days ago so I am looking forward to full paychecks and being able to contribute to the 401k again!

[Pooplips]

1/31/16 - $101,376.00
3/1/2016 - $102,990.00
4/1/2016 - $116,749.00

After last months small increse, I killed it this month. I had alot of extra income this month which helped: taxes, coahing, bonus, etc.

[gecko10x]

Jan 2015: $156k
Feb 2015: $160k
Mar 2015: $179k
Apr 2015: $183k
May 2015: $186k
Jun 2015: $189k
July 2015: $195k
Aug 2015: $198k
Sept 2015: $201k
Oct 2015: $209k
Nov 2015: $212k
Dec 2015: $216k
Jan 2016: $216k
Feb 2016: $218k
Mar 2016: $247k

Damn, nicely done! Almost time for the next thread!

Thanks, although the credit doesn't really belong to me... bonus time and market upswing is where most of it came from.  ;-)

[YoungGranny]

Sept 1: $81,575
Oct 1: $100,687
Nov1: $105,779
Dec 1: $108,880 (+$3,300)
Jan 1: $111,133 (+$2,253)
Feb 1: $125,298 (+$14,165)

March 1:$143,249 (+17,951)

An extra paycheck in there that was all saved and and up-tick in the market. I'm actually really surprised with that number and really proud of myself!

[therethere]

I don't think I officially joined this challenge. But I am ecstatic to say the markets and a bunch of 401k front-loading has brought us past the 250k NW mark!

That's pretty crazy to think about. Especially when 9 years ago our NW was -250,000. I guess its easier to stash money when your dollars are working for you instead of being spent paying off debt. We were blessed with a high pay contract job with unlimited OT in 2015 which allowed us to max out 401k's and IRA's for the first time ever.

My history:
May 2014 - 98,814
Jan 2015 -139,954
July 2015 - 191,148
Jan 2016 - 221,252
Feb 2016 - 213,366
Mar 2016 - 227,492
April 2016 - 256,226

[BBub]

therethere - come join the $250 to $500k thread!

[Teacherstache]

January 2015 = $138,250
August 2015 = $162,400
November 2015 = $173,500
December 2015 = $178,800
January 2016 = $191,200
February 2016 = $196,400

March 2016 = $200,800

We crossed the $200,000 mark! Woo hoo!

[McStache]

December 2015:   $101,290
January 2016:      $102,333
February 2016:     $107,201
March 2016:         $116,502

[jbjr]

This is for invested assets only.

February 2016 - $180,741
March     2016 - $190,352

But incidentally I crossed the $300k mark in total net worth (includes house, car, and other physical assets) this month. Which feels pretty good considering my net worth moved into the black for the first time in 2011. The 1st 100k was definitely the hardest.

[dandypandys]

I have just looked back for the first time, and  I can't believe how up and down it goes compared to the rest of you:

This is with the same 13% going in each month and with not messing with my funds until very recently. I might go back further in time and see if i was in the 100k before jan 2015 too.

2015
Jan 1st: 98,437.97
Feb 1st: $96,898.03
Mar 1st: $103,345.54
Apr 1st: $103,819.64
May 1st $105,766.12
Jun 1st $106,565.54
Jul 1st: $105,252.33
Aug 1st: $106,267.37
Sept 1st: $99,122.12
Oct 1st: $99,291.91
Nov 1st: $105,204.00
Dec 1st : $107,535.51

2016
Jan 1st:$104,592.84
Feb 1st: $99,467.66
March 1st:$101, 189.11
April 1st: $107,119.81
May 1st: $107,369.22 

[FrugalFan]

I have just looked back for the first time, and  I can't believe how up and down it goes compared to the rest of you:

This is with the same 13% going in each month and with not messing with my funds until very recently. I might go back further in time and see if i was in the 100k before jan 2005 too.

2005
Jan 1st: 98,437.97
Feb 1st: $96,898.03
Mar 1st: $103,345.54
Apr 1st: $103,819.64
May 1st $105,766.12
Jun 1st $106,565.54
Jul 1st: $105,252.33
Aug 1st: $106,267.37
Sept 1st: $99,122.12
Oct 1st: $99,291.91
Nov 1st: $105,204.00
Dec 1st : $107,535.51

2006
Jan 1st:$104,592.84
Feb 1st: $99,467.66
March 1st:$101, 189.11
April 1st: $106,656.92

Do you mean 2015 and 2016? That does seem a bit strange! About how much is 13% (i.e. roughly how much do you add each month)? And What are you invested in?

[therethere]

If you're talking about 2015 and 2016 with relatively small additions, I don't think that seems too far off. My old 401k accounts that havent had any contributions stayed relatively flat. They are worth roughly the same (within $1,000 difference) in Jan 2015 as Jan 2016 and Mar 2016.