Author Topic: Race from 250 to 500k!  (Read 926908 times)

boarder42

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #200 on: June 30, 2016, 06:10:07 AM »
Hi guys! First post here :)

With yesterdays dead cat bounce and todays paycheck, my SO and I hit a combined $252,000 in investments!

We might be back in the $100k -> $250k Race thread depending on the markets, or we might be going back and forth quite a bit until more contributions bring us here permanently.

you passed it just stay here.  it was about this time last year we hit 250k invested. we expect to hit 400k+ by the end of this year and depending on how my new money making scheme works hopefully 500k by this time next year.

Libertea

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #201 on: June 30, 2016, 07:30:21 AM »
Updated old amounts because I screwed up my spreadsheet earlier.

06/30/2015: $235,381.93
09/30/2015: $261,677.00
12/31/2015: $320,374.69
03/31/2016: $364,966.71
06/30/2016: $412,580.03

I was projecting reaching $500k in March 2017, but now I think maybe I'll get there by the end of this year. 

onlykelsey

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #202 on: June 30, 2016, 08:18:27 AM »
December 2013: 142K
March 2014: 178K
June 2014: 191K
September 2014: 205K
December 2014: 231K
March 2015: 232K (I self financed half a wedding this quarter, and began subsidizing now husband)
June 2015: 249K
September 2015: 272K (a new~30K in debt showed in this quarter from the first half of a 60K roof assessment I didn't have cash on hand for)
December 2015: 326K
March 2016: 342K (including some trades that will go through at close of business, I think)
April 2016: 345K (so. slow.  investing/paying off between 8 and 10K a month and I'm not sure where it's going!  I think my home's zillow value was skewing my total)
May 2016: 352K Finally, a bit of progress! (includes 5/31 trades that just went in today, and a small increase in home value.)

June 2016: 389K Woohoo! I am up 140K on last June. A chunk of this is my zestimate for my house going back to where it's generally been.  I also maxed my 401(k) and have now moved in to exclusively taxable investing.  Waiting on an ~8K tax refund, as well, which will go in to the baby/maternity suits fund, maybe I'll throw a couple K towards my HELOC (still 36K outstanding on 50K loan from last year).

zephyr911

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #203 on: June 30, 2016, 08:26:10 AM »

June 2016: 389K Woohoo! I am up 140K on last June. A chunk of this is my zestimate for my house going back to where it's generally been.  I also maxed my 401(k) and have now moved in to exclusively taxable investing.  Waiting on an ~8K tax refund, as well, which will go in to the baby/maternity suits fund, maybe I'll throw a couple K towards my HELOC (still 36K outstanding on 50K loan from last year).
Why not just put all your free cash toward the HELOC? I'm assuming you can pull it back out any time you want.
Assuming that is the case, you're just paying extra interest for... not sure what reason.

onlykelsey

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #204 on: June 30, 2016, 09:02:30 AM »

June 2016: 389K Woohoo! I am up 140K on last June. A chunk of this is my zestimate for my house going back to where it's generally been.  I also maxed my 401(k) and have now moved in to exclusively taxable investing.  Waiting on an ~8K tax refund, as well, which will go in to the baby/maternity suits fund, maybe I'll throw a couple K towards my HELOC (still 36K outstanding on 50K loan from last year).
Why not just put all your free cash toward the HELOC? I'm assuming you can pull it back out any time you want.
Assuming that is the case, you're just paying extra interest for... not sure what reason.

Yeah, fair question.  I guess I'm afraid that if I start accessing my HELOC in non-emergency situations (I think you remember my roof assessment nightmare), I'll start viewing it as a credit card or something.  It's also not easy to use to buy, say, clothing offline.  But the point is taken, I could pay it down and pull a chunk out for suit or baby shopping in a few months.

I've been paying it off at 1K a month at 3.something%, so I haven't worried too much.  But 3% (2% given my tax bracket and deductions) is a chunk of change on 36K, and the rate floats, so I should maybe reprioritize.

zephyr911

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #205 on: June 30, 2016, 09:13:20 AM »
you remember my roof assessment nightmare), I'll start viewing it as a credit card or something.  It's also not easy to use to buy, say, clothing offline.  But the point is taken, I could pay it down and pull a chunk out for suit or baby shopping in a few months.

I've been paying it off at 1K a month at 3.something%, so I haven't worried too much.  But 3% (2% given my tax bracket and deductions) is a chunk of change on 36K, and the rate floats, so I should maybe reprioritize.
The discipline thing is relevant. This is like the snowball approach - it's not the best, mathematically, but it can still yield better results because it's psychologically superior for some, as its quicker results can reinforce their dedication to the plan via positive feedback.

MMM principles are largely based on math, logic and science. But even science can recognize that human beings are not perfectly logical and our behavior is affected by many different variables. It's all about finding what works best for you.

boarder42

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #206 on: June 30, 2016, 12:18:42 PM »

June 2016: 389K Woohoo! I am up 140K on last June. A chunk of this is my zestimate for my house going back to where it's generally been.  I also maxed my 401(k) and have now moved in to exclusively taxable investing.  Waiting on an ~8K tax refund, as well, which will go in to the baby/maternity suits fund, maybe I'll throw a couple K towards my HELOC (still 36K outstanding on 50K loan from last year).
Why not just put all your free cash toward the HELOC? I'm assuming you can pull it back out any time you want.
Assuming that is the case, you're just paying extra interest for... not sure what reason.

Yeah, fair question.  I guess I'm afraid that if I start accessing my HELOC in non-emergency situations (I think you remember my roof assessment nightmare), I'll start viewing it as a credit card or something.  It's also not easy to use to buy, say, clothing offline.  But the point is taken, I could pay it down and pull a chunk out for suit or baby shopping in a few months.

I've been paying it off at 1K a month at 3.something%, so I haven't worried too much.  But 3% (2% given my tax bracket and deductions) is a chunk of change on 36K, and the rate floats, so I should maybe reprioritize.

i'd keep it no reason not to.

RWD

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #207 on: June 30, 2016, 01:55:16 PM »
12/1/2015 - 248k
1/1/2016 - 253k
2/1/2016 - 252k
3/1/2016 - 265k
4/1/2016 - 290k
5/1/2016 - 296k
6/1/2016 - 301k

BBub

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #208 on: July 01, 2016, 08:12:15 AM »
Nov 31, 2015: $254,178
Dec 31, 2015: $258,054
Jan 31, 2016: $264,247
Feb 29, 2016: $271,241
Mar 31, 2016: $300,034
Apr 30, 2016: $317,839
May 31, 2016: $330,411
Jun 30, 2016:  $333,663

onlykelsey

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #209 on: July 01, 2016, 08:18:57 AM »
you remember my roof assessment nightmare), I'll start viewing it as a credit card or something.  It's also not easy to use to buy, say, clothing offline.  But the point is taken, I could pay it down and pull a chunk out for suit or baby shopping in a few months.

I've been paying it off at 1K a month at 3.something%, so I haven't worried too much.  But 3% (2% given my tax bracket and deductions) is a chunk of change on 36K, and the rate floats, so I should maybe reprioritize.
The discipline thing is relevant. This is like the snowball approach - it's not the best, mathematically, but it can still yield better results because it's psychologically superior for some, as its quicker results can reinforce their dedication to the plan via positive feedback.

MMM principles are largely based on math, logic and science. But even science can recognize that human beings are not perfectly logical and our behavior is affected by many different variables. It's all about finding what works best for you.

We are definitely irrational animals much more often than we'd like to think.  Even if I were behaving perfectly rationally, I'd need infinite time and knowledge to make perfect decisions.

I do need to check out terms of my HELOC. Now that i think rates won't go up much in the near future, I may err on the side of investing for a few more months.  2% guaranteed return isn't much.

JustGettingStarted1980

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #210 on: July 01, 2016, 10:54:36 AM »
Quarterly Update (post Brexit fun times): 7/1/16

April-15     $133,400.00 (+23,993)
July-15   $179,961.40 (+46,561)
Oct-15      $207,727.22 (+27,765)
Jan-16      $257,514.77 (+49,787)
April-16    $277,918.06 (+20,403)
July-16     $306,073.47 (+28,155)

JGS

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #211 on: July 01, 2016, 11:34:45 AM »
3/1/16
NW $414K
Liquid $322K

6/1/16
NW $457K
Liquid $350K

7/1/16
NW $466K
Liquid $356K

I'm likely to be flat for a couple months due to house renovations. Very little will be going into savings.

BBub

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #212 on: July 01, 2016, 01:34:02 PM »
Quarterly Update (post Brexit fun times): 7/1/16

April-15     $133,400.00 (+23,993)
July-15   $179,961.40 (+46,561)
Oct-15      $207,727.22 (+27,765)
Jan-16      $257,514.77 (+49,787)
April-16    $277,918.06 (+20,403)
July-16     $306,073.47 (+28,155)

JGS

Comin' in hot!  Nice work breaking $300.

MickeyMoustache

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #213 on: July 01, 2016, 05:39:53 PM »
jan - $415k stash // $590k NW
feb - $428k stash // $598k NW
mar - $445k stash // $620k NW
apr - $490k stash // $675k NW
may - $503k stash // $687k NW
jun - $521k stash // $703k NW

Alrighty, I think that'll do it for me in this race.  I'm glad I hung around one extra month (especially with the Brexit nonsense) but it looks like I'm good to go on to the next one!  $1MM here I come!! :)

OurTown

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #214 on: July 02, 2016, 06:18:09 AM »
Jan. 1, 2016 = 374
Feb. 1, 2016 = 373
Mar. 1, 2016 = 379
Apr. 1, 2016 = 391
May 1, 2016 = 398
June 1, 2016 = 406
July 1, 2016 = 415

FrugalFan

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #215 on: July 07, 2016, 07:04:14 AM »

Officially joining this thread! We reached $251,521 this month in our personal investments. This does not include cash, property equity, college savings, or our pensions. At our current savings rate, it would probably take us 3-4 years to reach 500k depending on market fluctuations, but we may change some things on the job front before then. If not, then April 2019 would be good stretch goal.

April 2016  $251,521

April 2016 $251,521
May 2016 $263,275
June 2016 $266,151

Hmm. It seems I was off on the May numbers so I have adjusted that, but by some strange coincidence, the June numbers are the same as the original (incorrect) May numbers. I've double checked everything in Mint. So weird.

doggyfizzle

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #216 on: July 07, 2016, 09:48:56 AM »
483K today (813k if you include home equity).  My rise in liquid NW this year has been driven by MO, PM, and our retirement accounts, but especially MO appreciating more than 40% in the last year.

TheAnonOne

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #217 on: July 07, 2016, 12:10:52 PM »

Officially joining this thread! We reached $251,521 this month in our personal investments. This does not include cash, property equity, college savings, or our pensions. At our current savings rate, it would probably take us 3-4 years to reach 500k depending on market fluctuations, but we may change some things on the job front before then. If not, then April 2019 would be good stretch goal.

April 2016  $251,521

April 2016 $251,521
May 2016 $263,275
June 2016 $266,151

Hmm. It seems I was off on the May numbers so I have adjusted that, but by some strange coincidence, the June numbers are the same as the original (incorrect) May numbers. I've double checked everything in Mint. So weird.

Mint and Personal Capital are great for current pictures of wealth but historically they suffer a bit.

I keep track of my bills in an excel sheet and record NW when I do that in my sheet. The numbers in my sheet from say... 6+mo ago vs mint are off by quite a bit.

Also, god-forbid if you ever delete an account from mint and re-add it....

YellowCat

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #218 on: July 10, 2016, 11:42:15 AM »
March Update: I'm adding 2015 quarterly (for comparison) and switching over to a monthly update format for 2016...I think this will make it easier for me to track incremental progress. Year-over-year increase from March 2015 to March 2016 is $102,086 (!)

Dec 2014: $190,811
Mar 2015: $238,653 (+$47,842)
Jun 2015: $262,010 (+$23,357)
Sep 2015: $276,420 (+$14,410)
Dec 2015: $310,350 (+$33,930)
Jan 2016: $307,436 (-$2,914)
Feb 2016: $315,430 (+$7,994)
Mar 2016: $340,739 (+$25,309)

My husband inadvertently just set our $500k NW goal by declaring that he wants to be a "half-millionaire" by his 30th birthday. So, we have until August 2017 to hit $500k in investible NW. Given our current trajectory, I think this is very likely! I'm personally aiming to hit $500k in March of 2017...no math here, just sending good vibes out into the universe.

And a quick NW update, still going strong! Some of the significant increases are due to bonuses - Brown Bear's 6% bonus in April, and then my $5k signing bonus in May.
 
Apr 2016: $356,946 (+$16,207)
May 2016: $370,408 (+$13,462)

I think we're on track to hit $400k by Brown Bear's 29th birthday in August! Have to wait and see how things go...

Movin' on up...
July 2016: 377,258 (+6,850)

I should probably mention that we've been diverting all of our extra cash into our house downpayment fund (besides 401(k) contributions, set to max for both). Sadly this means our monthly gains aren't so high right now since the house money is in a checking account yielding 0.75% per year. Still, this tactic means we're dropping $4,380/month into 401(k)s (including matching) and $3k per month into the house fund. Not too shabby. We probably won't hit $400k by the end of August, though, without some magic happening.


onlykelsey

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #219 on: July 11, 2016, 02:59:26 AM »
March Update: I'm adding 2015 quarterly (for comparison) and switching over to a monthly update format for 2016...I think this will make it easier for me to track incremental progress. Year-over-year increase from March 2015 to March 2016 is $102,086 (!)

Dec 2014: $190,811
Mar 2015: $238,653 (+$47,842)
Jun 2015: $262,010 (+$23,357)
Sep 2015: $276,420 (+$14,410)
Dec 2015: $310,350 (+$33,930)
Jan 2016: $307,436 (-$2,914)
Feb 2016: $315,430 (+$7,994)
Mar 2016: $340,739 (+$25,309)

My husband inadvertently just set our $500k NW goal by declaring that he wants to be a "half-millionaire" by his 30th birthday. So, we have until August 2017 to hit $500k in investible NW. Given our current trajectory, I think this is very likely! I'm personally aiming to hit $500k in March of 2017...no math here, just sending good vibes out into the universe.

And a quick NW update, still going strong! Some of the significant increases are due to bonuses - Brown Bear's 6% bonus in April, and then my $5k signing bonus in May.
 
Apr 2016: $356,946 (+$16,207)
May 2016: $370,408 (+$13,462)

I think we're on track to hit $400k by Brown Bear's 29th birthday in August! Have to wait and see how things go...

Movin' on up...
July 2016: 377,258 (+6,850)

I should probably mention that we've been diverting all of our extra cash into our house downpayment fund (besides 401(k) contributions, set to max for both). Sadly this means our monthly gains aren't so high right now since the house money is in a checking account yielding 0.75% per year. Still, this tactic means we're dropping $4,380/month into 401(k)s (including matching) and $3k per month into the house fund. Not too shabby. We probably won't hit $400k by the end of August, though, without some magic happening.

You're not going to hit 400K at 26?!  For shame!!!!!!!!!!

PFHC

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #220 on: July 11, 2016, 06:16:14 AM »
Just letting you all know I'm watching you! I'm in the 100k - 250k race and am at $236k right now. We hope to break into the mid 240k realm by end of month.

So, see you soon!

FrugalFan

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #221 on: July 11, 2016, 06:16:53 AM »

Officially joining this thread! We reached $251,521 this month in our personal investments. This does not include cash, property equity, college savings, or our pensions. At our current savings rate, it would probably take us 3-4 years to reach 500k depending on market fluctuations, but we may change some things on the job front before then. If not, then April 2019 would be good stretch goal.

April 2016  $251,521

April 2016 $251,521
May 2016 $263,275
June 2016 $266,151

Hmm. It seems I was off on the May numbers so I have adjusted that, but by some strange coincidence, the June numbers are the same as the original (incorrect) May numbers. I've double checked everything in Mint. So weird.

Mint and Personal Capital are great for current pictures of wealth but historically they suffer a bit.

I keep track of my bills in an excel sheet and record NW when I do that in my sheet. The numbers in my sheet from say... 6+mo ago vs mint are off by quite a bit.

Also, god-forbid if you ever delete an account from mint and re-add it....

I do have an Excel spreadsheet as well but I'm not consistent enough in when I update it. Usually a couple of times a month but not always on the same day. The Excel data match up with the Mint data on this one so I'm not sure what went wrong before.

YellowCat

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #222 on: July 12, 2016, 01:26:43 PM »
March Update: I'm adding 2015 quarterly (for comparison) and switching over to a monthly update format for 2016...I think this will make it easier for me to track incremental progress. Year-over-year increase from March 2015 to March 2016 is $102,086 (!)

Dec 2014: $190,811
Mar 2015: $238,653 (+$47,842)
Jun 2015: $262,010 (+$23,357)
Sep 2015: $276,420 (+$14,410)
Dec 2015: $310,350 (+$33,930)
Jan 2016: $307,436 (-$2,914)
Feb 2016: $315,430 (+$7,994)
Mar 2016: $340,739 (+$25,309)

My husband inadvertently just set our $500k NW goal by declaring that he wants to be a "half-millionaire" by his 30th birthday. So, we have until August 2017 to hit $500k in investible NW. Given our current trajectory, I think this is very likely! I'm personally aiming to hit $500k in March of 2017...no math here, just sending good vibes out into the universe.

And a quick NW update, still going strong! Some of the significant increases are due to bonuses - Brown Bear's 6% bonus in April, and then my $5k signing bonus in May.
 
Apr 2016: $356,946 (+$16,207)
May 2016: $370,408 (+$13,462)

I think we're on track to hit $400k by Brown Bear's 29th birthday in August! Have to wait and see how things go...

Movin' on up...
July 2016: 377,258 (+6,850)

I should probably mention that we've been diverting all of our extra cash into our house downpayment fund (besides 401(k) contributions, set to max for both). Sadly this means our monthly gains aren't so high right now since the house money is in a checking account yielding 0.75% per year. Still, this tactic means we're dropping $4,380/month into 401(k)s (including matching) and $3k per month into the house fund. Not too shabby. We probably won't hit $400k by the end of August, though, without some magic happening.

You're not going to hit 400K at 26?!  For shame!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah...I guess that makes me sound like a tool, doesn't it? :) still, though, lofty goals...

boarder42

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #223 on: July 12, 2016, 01:58:38 PM »
March Update: I'm adding 2015 quarterly (for comparison) and switching over to a monthly update format for 2016...I think this will make it easier for me to track incremental progress. Year-over-year increase from March 2015 to March 2016 is $102,086 (!)

Dec 2014: $190,811
Mar 2015: $238,653 (+$47,842)
Jun 2015: $262,010 (+$23,357)
Sep 2015: $276,420 (+$14,410)
Dec 2015: $310,350 (+$33,930)
Jan 2016: $307,436 (-$2,914)
Feb 2016: $315,430 (+$7,994)
Mar 2016: $340,739 (+$25,309)

My husband inadvertently just set our $500k NW goal by declaring that he wants to be a "half-millionaire" by his 30th birthday. So, we have until August 2017 to hit $500k in investible NW. Given our current trajectory, I think this is very likely! I'm personally aiming to hit $500k in March of 2017...no math here, just sending good vibes out into the universe.

And a quick NW update, still going strong! Some of the significant increases are due to bonuses - Brown Bear's 6% bonus in April, and then my $5k signing bonus in May.
 
Apr 2016: $356,946 (+$16,207)
May 2016: $370,408 (+$13,462)

I think we're on track to hit $400k by Brown Bear's 29th birthday in August! Have to wait and see how things go...

Movin' on up...
July 2016: 377,258 (+6,850)

I should probably mention that we've been diverting all of our extra cash into our house downpayment fund (besides 401(k) contributions, set to max for both). Sadly this means our monthly gains aren't so high right now since the house money is in a checking account yielding 0.75% per year. Still, this tactic means we're dropping $4,380/month into 401(k)s (including matching) and $3k per month into the house fund. Not too shabby. We probably won't hit $400k by the end of August, though, without some magic happening.

its a great goal we just hit 500k NW in june my 30th is in november my wife will be 29 in 13 days.  i'm hoping we hit 500k invested only by this time or so next year. currently around 368k after today's market run up

TheAnonOne

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #224 on: July 13, 2016, 11:13:18 AM »
Coming back to update...

2015 DEC: 252k (Actual)
2016 JAN: 260k approx
2016 FEB: 281k approx
2016 MAR: 285k approx
2016 APR: 298k approx
2016 MAY: 305k (Actual)

2016 JUNE: 307k (Still down from Brexit at that time (end of june) but has come up a pile since then(over 7k!)... but end of July numbers will have to reflect that!)

onlykelsey

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #225 on: July 15, 2016, 04:38:12 PM »
December 2013: 142K
March 2014: 178K
June 2014: 191K
September 2014: 205K
December 2014: 231K
March 2015: 232K (I self financed half a wedding this quarter, and began subsidizing now husband)
June 2015: 249K
September 2015: 272K (a new~30K in debt showed in this quarter from the first half of a 60K roof assessment I didn't have cash on hand for)
December 2015: 326K
March 2016: 342K (including some trades that will go through at close of business, I think)
April 2016: 345K (so. slow.  investing/paying off between 8 and 10K a month and I'm not sure where it's going!  I think my home's zillow value was skewing my total)
May 2016: 352K
June 2016: 389K Woohoo!
July 2016: 415K  This is just so far in July, which is exciting.

Am I missing anything huge in this projection below:

I'm currently worth 415K.  Assuming zero market gains (or losses) or increase (or decrease) in home equity, each month I expect to invest/pay off debt like this:
  • 4K invested in taxable Vanguard
    600 principal paid on mortgage
    800 principal paid on HELOC (this will actually get bigger pretty quickly, but I'll ignore that here)
    1200 principal paid on 401(k) loan (I KNOW, I KNOW)
= 6600 monthly.  There are 5.5 months left, so I'll invest ~36,300 this year

and (this is pretty obscene) in December I expect a huge bonus.  not sure what my marginal rate will be when it hits, but I should probably expect 45K post-tax.  I'll invest/pay off debt with all of it, so that's 81,300 in NW jump by the end of 2016, which puts me at 496,300.

It looks like I might aim to be done with this thread by year's end! I feel like I must be missing something...

tightwaddy

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #226 on: July 15, 2016, 06:02:29 PM »
Invested (& Investable)
April 9, 2016:  $319,737
May 6, 2016: $325,093
June 8, 2016: $332,224
July 11, 2016:$337,287


Net Worth (Including Home Equity)
April 9, 2016:  $619,505
May 6, 2016: $629,924
June 8, 2016: $645,682
July 11, 2016: $687,219 (huge Zillow estimate increase ?)

JustGettingStarted1980

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #227 on: July 15, 2016, 06:59:01 PM »
I'm not so sure I like Zillow Estimate very much. My approach is to give a fairly conservative estimate of the value of my house (if I had to sell it within a month, say) based on similar sales in my neighborhood, and then take away 6% for the realtor. That's my asset value. I feel like everything else is just wishful thinking.

boarder42

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #228 on: July 16, 2016, 09:40:07 AM »
Yeah zestimate is awful. I would set a fixed price you think it is worth based on your own evaluation of neighborhood comps then increase it at inflation each year.

onlykelsey

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #229 on: July 16, 2016, 06:57:35 PM »
I'm not so sure I like Zillow Estimate very much. My approach is to give a fairly conservative estimate of the value of my house (if I had to sell it within a month, say) based on similar sales in my neighborhood, and then take away 6% for the realtor. That's my asset value. I feel like everything else is just wishful thinking.

The minus 6% for a realtor is genius.  I think I may figure out how to institute that on mint.  probably manually...

boarder42

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #230 on: July 16, 2016, 08:09:30 PM »
I'm not so sure I like Zillow Estimate very much. My approach is to give a fairly conservative estimate of the value of my house (if I had to sell it within a month, say) based on similar sales in my neighborhood, and then take away 6% for the realtor. That's my asset value. I feel like everything else is just wishful thinking.

The minus 6% for a realtor is genius.  I think I may figure out how to institute that on mint.  probably manually...

I'd do 1k + 3%. You should be able to find low cost full service agents now. The racket is dying

jorjor

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #231 on: July 19, 2016, 02:05:33 PM »
I'm not so sure I like Zillow Estimate very much. My approach is to give a fairly conservative estimate of the value of my house (if I had to sell it within a month, say) based on similar sales in my neighborhood, and then take away 6% for the realtor. That's my asset value. I feel like everything else is just wishful thinking.

I was using Zestimate too because I felt it was realistic for what I could expect in my neighborhood, looking at other houses. Then it got a little unrealistically high, then it dropped to well below what we paid for it a year ago even though if you look around that shouldn't be the case. Then it bounced around for a week and then about a month ago I said "eff it, I'm going to track based on purchase price plus inflation." So, that's what I do now.

jorjor

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #232 on: July 19, 2016, 02:13:39 PM »
On that note, now tracking the home at purchase price + inflation so numbers are different than before. I think the home price I'm using is a bit conservative, but I've decided I like this way better.

Nov 15: $236k
Dec 15: $257k
Jan 16: $259k
Feb 16: $275k
Mar 16: $295k
Apr 16: $305k
May 16: $315k
Jun 16: $320k
« Last Edit: July 19, 2016, 02:23:27 PM by jorjor »

TheAnonOne

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #233 on: July 20, 2016, 11:24:08 AM »
I'm not so sure I like Zillow Estimate very much. My approach is to give a fairly conservative estimate of the value of my house (if I had to sell it within a month, say) based on similar sales in my neighborhood, and then take away 6% for the realtor. That's my asset value. I feel like everything else is just wishful thinking.

I was using Zestimate too because I felt it was realistic for what I could expect in my neighborhood, looking at other houses. Then it got a little unrealistically high, then it dropped to well below what we paid for it a year ago even though if you look around that shouldn't be the case. Then it bounced around for a week and then about a month ago I said "eff it, I'm going to track based on purchase price plus inflation." So, that's what I do now.

I do this too, but the area I am in has jumped up a bit. My little townhome is on my balance sheets @ 130 but could sell for 150.

I am going to do some repairs and move the value by the cost of these repairs. It needs a new deck, so a 5k cost would move my value from 130 to 135.

I just don't want my house to mess with my tracking that much.

TheFirstMan

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #234 on: July 21, 2016, 02:37:59 PM »
I feel like I've found my people!

I'm in the Investable Assets crowd, at 249K as we start 2016.

I will play the tortoise here (or perhaps Eeyore) with a goal of about 4 years from now, in 2020.

Over on the long-term net worth goals thread, I just posted about some of my variables, include pessimistic estimates about spending and income, inflation, and a possible home addition. That's why I'm giving a longer time horizon. If the market is reasonable, and our spending and income are more in my optimistic zone, and we don't do a home addition, the time frame shortens to about 2 years, in 2018.

And that, friends, is motivational. Thanks!

One final thing--some helpful info could be added in here, as we go on this journey together--context like I've shared here, as well as incomes, as those of us who are making 40K shouldn't compare with those making 120K!

I'm married and our combined income in 2015 was 80K. In 2016, it should be close to 120K gross.

Edit 2/18/16: 395K when you add in home equity.

UPDATE MID-2016

Alright, making progress!

Pulled 65K of home equity and still planning on the addition. Currently...

- Cash: 152K (This is high because of the possibility of an addition.)
- Investments: 217K
    - "Investible Assets" (Cash+Investments) 369K (This is up 120K, but 65K was from home equity, so actual increase here in 6 mos is 55K.)

- Home equity 52K
- Total net worth, including equity: 421K (This is up 26K in 5 months.)

- Mortgage: 203K

-Total net worth minus mortgage: 218K

This feels like really great progress, considering VTSAX (as a proxy for the economy) is only up 3.65% YTD.

OurTown

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #235 on: July 30, 2016, 06:15:45 AM »
Jan. 1, 2016 = 374
Feb. 1, 2016 = 373
Mar. 1, 2016 = 379
Apr. 1, 2016 = 391
May 1, 2016 = 398
June 1, 2016 = 406
July 1, 2016 = 415
Aug. 1, 2016 = 426

ender

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #236 on: July 30, 2016, 07:59:48 AM »
I'm not so sure I like Zillow Estimate very much. My approach is to give a fairly conservative estimate of the value of my house (if I had to sell it within a month, say) based on similar sales in my neighborhood, and then take away 6% for the realtor. That's my asset value. I feel like everything else is just wishful thinking.

I was using Zestimate too because I felt it was realistic for what I could expect in my neighborhood, looking at other houses. Then it got a little unrealistically high, then it dropped to well below what we paid for it a year ago even though if you look around that shouldn't be the case. Then it bounced around for a week and then about a month ago I said "eff it, I'm going to track based on purchase price plus inflation." So, that's what I do now.

Ours has been wonky too, so it's in as "Appraisal - 6%" -- which dropped us a fair bit around this threshold. But we're on board with this thread now!

Thinking we'll fluctuate around the entrypoint as the market goes up/down though. Might take a while before I am confident we are "past" this threshold :)

onlykelsey

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #237 on: July 30, 2016, 08:36:24 PM »
December 2013: 142K
March 2014: 178K
June 2014: 191K
September 2014: 205K
December 2014: 231K
March 2015: 232K (I self financed half a wedding this quarter, and began subsidizing now husband)
June 2015: 249K
September 2015: 272K (a new~30K in debt showed in this quarter from the first half of a 60K roof assessment I didn't have cash on hand for)
December 2015: 326K
March 2016: 342K (including some trades that will go through at close of business, I think)
April 2016: 345K (so. slow.  investing/paying off between 8 and 10K a month and I'm not sure where it's going!  I think my home's zillow value was skewing my total)
May 2016: 352K Finally, a bit of progress! (includes 5/31 trades that just went in today, and a small increase in home value.)
June 2016: 389K Woohoo! I am up 140K on last June. A chunk of this is my zestimate for my house going back to where it's generally been.  I also maxed my 401(k) and have now moved in to exclusively taxable investing.  Waiting on an ~8K tax refund, as well, which will go in to the baby/maternity suits fund, maybe I'll throw a couple K towards my HELOC (still 36K outstanding on 50K loan from last year).
July 2016: 442,402K Holy crap.  This is mostly a jump in my house value, but I also got my tax refund and started at a slightly higher rate. Paying off principal of 3K a month, investing 4.5K and then saving a bit more each month now, so things should really move along.  Unfortunately I'm sure my house value will bounce back down at some point.
[/quote]

SAfAmBrit

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #238 on: July 30, 2016, 11:36:45 PM »
Graduated from the 100-250 thread. I wanted to make sure the markets would let me say above, which it did, so joining if you don't mind. Hoping to be at $500,000 in 08/2018.

July 2016 - $257,306

garth

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #239 on: July 31, 2016, 07:55:05 AM »
Good progress this month. Despite a nearly 2% drop in home value according to Zillow (wtf?), we're approaching a $100k gain over a 12 month period. I don't think $400k this year is possible, but that's the next goal.

Oct 15: $247k
Nov 15: $255k
Dec 15: $256k
Jan 16: $241k
Feb 16: $255k
Mar 16: $277k
Apr 16: $290k
May 16: $294k
Jun 16: $305k
Jul 16: $330k

jorjor

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #240 on: July 31, 2016, 09:54:59 AM »
Nov 15: $236k
Dec 15: $257k
Jan 16: $259k
Feb 16: $275k
Mar 16: $295k
Apr 16: $305k
May 16: $315k
Jun 16: $320k
Jul 16: $335k

Invested assets went over $200k for the first time, up from $129k in December (HELOC payoff in Dec-Jan being the other main source of net worth increase).

BBub

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #241 on: August 01, 2016, 07:45:21 AM »
Nov 31, 2015: $254,178
Dec 31, 2015: $258,054
Jan 31, 2016: $264,247
Feb 29, 2016: $271,241
Mar 31, 2016: $300,034
Apr 30, 2016: $317,839
May 31, 2016: $330,411
Jun 30, 2016:  $333,663
Jul 31, 2016:   $348,945

2Birds1Stone

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #242 on: August 01, 2016, 08:17:16 AM »
Hi guys! First post here :)
 my SO and I hit a combined $252,000 in investments!

We might be back in the $100k -> $250k Race thread depending on the markets, or we might be going back and forth quite a bit until more contributions bring us here permanently.

Well, things escalated quickly! We are now sitting as of 8/1/2016 - $265k onward and upward!

boarder42

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #243 on: August 01, 2016, 08:52:27 AM »
invested NW as of 8/1 - 375k.  400k by EOY hopefully 500k around this time next year.

TheAnonOne

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #244 on: August 01, 2016, 12:38:37 PM »
Coming back to update...

2015 DEC: 252k
2016 JAN: 260k
2016 FEB: 281k
2016 MAR: 285k
2016 APR: 298k
2016 MAY: 305k
2016 JUNE: 307k

2016 JULY: 320k (+13k) between our taxable contributions and markets going up, it was a good month!


+$68,000 this year so far. Not too shabby, will probably end up just under 100k in any given year of savings.
« Last Edit: August 01, 2016, 12:44:49 PM by TheAnonOne »

onlykelsey

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #245 on: August 01, 2016, 12:41:38 PM »
you remember my roof assessment nightmare), I'll start viewing it as a credit card or something.  It's also not easy to use to buy, say, clothing offline.  But the point is taken, I could pay it down and pull a chunk out for suit or baby shopping in a few months.

I've been paying it off at 1K a month at 3.something%, so I haven't worried too much.  But 3% (2% given my tax bracket and deductions) is a chunk of change on 36K, and the rate floats, so I should maybe reprioritize.
The discipline thing is relevant. This is like the snowball approach - it's not the best, mathematically, but it can still yield better results because it's psychologically superior for some, as its quicker results can reinforce their dedication to the plan via positive feedback.

MMM principles are largely based on math, logic and science. But even science can recognize that human beings are not perfectly logical and our behavior is affected by many different variables. It's all about finding what works best for you.

We are definitely irrational animals much more often than we'd like to think.  Even if I were behaving perfectly rationally, I'd need infinite time and knowledge to make perfect decisions.

I do need to check out terms of my HELOC. Now that i think rates won't go up much in the near future, I may err on the side of investing for a few more months.  2% guaranteed return isn't much.

Hardy har har, 5 days after posting this my HELOC rate jumped to 5.49.  Which was totally permissible on its terms (which I hadn't read in a while and which somehow are not available online).

YellowCat

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #246 on: August 01, 2016, 05:24:04 PM »
March Update: I'm adding 2015 quarterly (for comparison) and switching over to a monthly update format for 2016...I think this will make it easier for me to track incremental progress. Year-over-year increase from March 2015 to March 2016 is $102,086 (!)

Dec 2014: $190,811
Mar 2015: $238,653 (+$47,842)
Jun 2015: $262,010 (+$23,357)
Sep 2015: $276,420 (+$14,410)
Dec 2015: $310,350 (+$33,930)
Jan 2016: $307,436 (-$2,914)
Feb 2016: $315,430 (+$7,994)
Mar 2016: $340,739 (+$25,309)

My husband inadvertently just set our $500k NW goal by declaring that he wants to be a "half-millionaire" by his 30th birthday. So, we have until August 2017 to hit $500k in investible NW. Given our current trajectory, I think this is very likely! I'm personally aiming to hit $500k in March of 2017...no math here, just sending good vibes out into the universe.

And a quick NW update, still going strong! Some of the significant increases are due to bonuses - Brown Bear's 6% bonus in April, and then my $5k signing bonus in May.
 
Apr 2016: $356,946 (+$16,207)
May 2016: $370,408 (+$13,462)

I think we're on track to hit $400k by Brown Bear's 29th birthday in August! Have to wait and see how things go...

Movin' on up...
June 2016: $377,258 (+$6,850)

I should probably mention that we've been diverting all of our extra cash into our house downpayment fund (besides 401(k) contributions, set to max for both). Sadly this means our monthly gains aren't so high right now since the house money is in a checking account yielding 0.75% per year. Still, this tactic means we're dropping $4,380/month into 401(k)s (including matching) and $3k per month into the house fund. Not too shabby. We probably won't hit $400k by the end of August, though, without some magic happening.

On to July!
July 2016: $397,978 (+$20,720)

Looks like magic is actually happening - $400k here we come (so close!) Did I mention that we did put an offer in on a house, and it was accepted? Our home inspection is scheduled for Wednesday and barring catastrophe we should be good to go!! I'm super excited :) We're doing some funny shuffling of funds right now but since we haven't actually paid anything for the house yet - we've just been moving money around - it's all still there. It's just that $85k of our total money pile is in cash....About $50k set aside for house/closing costs and the remainder for home improvement, which we're hoping will only cost ~$20k.

Cheddar Stacker

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #247 on: August 01, 2016, 08:28:20 PM »
3/1/16
NW $414K
Liquid $322K

6/1/16
NW $457K
Liquid $350K

7/1/16
NW $466K
Liquid $356K

I'm likely to be flat for a couple months due to house renovations. Very little will be going into savings.

8/1/16
NW $477K
Liquid $371K

BookWorm22

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #248 on: August 01, 2016, 08:53:35 PM »
I have taken a bit of a forum break and have neglected to post my totals for the last few months.

12/31/15 - 243,200
3/31/16 - 265,500
4/30/16 - 269,857
5/31/16 - 275,830
6/30/16 - 280,100
7/31/16 - 287,783

Making slow but steady progress.  Some of the stash is cash at the moment since we are saving up for a down payment on a rental property.  Hopefully in a year we will be seeing more significant increases from that.

zephyr911

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Re: Race from 250 to 500k!
« Reply #249 on: August 03, 2016, 10:14:01 AM »
It's been a while since I checked in here, but a rough analysis today says approximately $310k total NW. SR is a bit off our peak but still pretty solid at 50-60%, and returns on the rental partnership are looking good with a growth phase in the near future that will bump up my side income.
Related: I'm still looking at mid-2017 for leaving govt work (see 2017 cohort thread) and DW will probably go freelance around that time. Life is good.
Congrats to all on your continued progress, and good luck! :D