Just curious how I'm doing.
Don't fall into the trap of measuring success by how well your achievements compare to those of others. The Stash is just a means to an end, and the end is for YOU to decide.
This thread makes me sad. I'll be the first to cop to a negative net worth, and five figures at that. If by 60 I get to some of the numbers people here had at 30, I'll be ecstatic.
There are kids who got a record deal or a sports contract and were instant millionaires. If I got sad every time I thought about it, I'd be miserable. It's not what you have, it's what you're doing with it and where you're headed that count.
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When I say I wasted my first decade of adult life, financially speaking, I mean I really wasted it. Came out of college with an engineering degree, $1K on a credit card, a few thousand on a car loan (payment only ~$150/mo), and a commission in the USAF. Despite those advantages, and not really having expensive tastes, I managed to blow virtually all my disposable income on... hell if I know. Let's just say general curiosity and lack of focus meant I bought lots of random little things in my efforts to find what I really cared about. Getting divorced twice meant that whatever I accumulated was blown away, and the only thing I really acquired for keeps was a little bit of maturity and investing knowledge.
30 was my absolute low point - divorce #2, depression, flat broke, nearly went under and was saved only by a total
deus ex machina in the form of a lucrative overseas job that fell in my lap. Soon after that, I realized I didn't want to live that way anymore.