Share your net worth progression

[LiveSimple]

2001: $84,000 (got married and graduated with no debt and some retirement savings from part-time job earnings).
2002: $99,000
2003: $146,000
2004: $221,000
2005: $266,000
2006: $353,000
2007: $435,000
2008: $375,000 (financial crisis)
2009: $677,000
2010: $1,032,000
2011: $1,466,000
2012: $1,739,000
2013: $2,154,000
2014: $2,554,000
2015: $2,766,000 (mostly financial assets, home owned free and clear valued at $160,000).

no kids, short period of unemployment in 2001, pay cut in 2005, still married to the same wonderful woman.

Ausgenf, if possible can you share your portfolio starting from 2002.
Your progression is amazing.

[ausgenf]

Ausgenf, if possible can you share your portfolio starting from 2002.
Your progression is amazing.

My portfolio has changed a lot over the years, so it would be hard to give all the details. My money was managed by Ameriprise until 2005 then I discovered the Bogleheads and switched to Vanguard . I did mostly use index funds after that, although I would still tinker with my portfolio in search of that perfect mix of asset classes. In the past year, I have finally settled for the three fund portfolio. But a good deal of our progression can be attributed to saving a huge chunk of our income every year.

[LiveSimple]

Ausgenf, if possible can you share your portfolio starting from 2002.
Your progression is amazing.

My portfolio has changed a lot over the years, so it would be hard to give all the details. My money was managed by Ameriprise until 2005 then I discovered the Bogleheads and switched to Vanguard . I did mostly use index funds after that, although I would still tinker with my portfolio in search of that perfect mix of asset classes. In the past year, I have finally settled for the three fund portfolio. But a good deal of our progression can be attributed to saving a huge chunk of our income every year.

Thanks. Enjoy

[JimmyD]

How do all of you track net worth? Using paper pencil?

A combination of mint.com and Google Sheets (since at least one of my accounts will inevitably require deleting and re-adding in mint which completely nullifies the usefulness of their net worth tracker).

I tally up my assets and liabilities and record them on the first of every month. I'll also makes notes as to what caused big swings.

[Gemini]

I am leary about using online services that require sharing of passwords. With all of the hacking, it makes me a bit uneasy.

[JimmyD]

I am leary about using online services that require sharing of passwords. With all of the hacking, it makes me a bit uneasy.

Yeah, that risk is the price you pay for the convenience. Will be worth it to some, not so much to others.

[Chadnudj]

I am leary about using online services that require sharing of passwords. With all of the hacking, it makes me a bit uneasy.

Yeah, that risk is the price you pay for the convenience. Will be worth it to some, not so much to others.

I use a Google Docs spreadsheet. I just log on once a month (always near the end of the month) to each of my accounts (investments, Zillow for rental property value, checking/savings, credit cards, student loans, mortgage accounts), put all the numbers into Google Docs, and I'm done. No "sharing passwords" that way. I suppose someone could hack in to Google Docs and read my net worth statements, but they wouldn't have access to to my actual accounts since I don't keep any passwords there or link them directly in anyway to an account (I use nicknames for each account at the top of each column that don't even mention the institution they are with), so that's a risk that I'm willing to take.

I posted back in May 2015, but since then, quite a bit of progress for me. (FYI: I use Zillow for my rental property, but use purchase price for the primary residence we just bought in July -- I've been tracking myself since January 2013, but only started tracking my wife and I combined since April 2014 so that's where I began....plus, I was out of work from June 2014-March 2015):

April 2014: $61k
April 2015: $96k
November 2015: $151k (thank you rental house appreciation!)

Needless to say, with what I hope to be a good bonus this year and 2 more paychecks for me before the year is over, I'm considering this year (or the past 1.5 years or so) a huge success for our family's net worth.

[alfaspider]

This is a neat excuse to go through the exercise. I will just go through the last 10 years with annotations for life events. All amounts are year-end household net worth estimates with full value given to 401k accounts and inclusive of estimated home equity.

2005: $5,000 (in undergraduate)
2006: $10,000 (first job, low paying)
2007: 0 (started law school)
2008: -$20,000
2009: -$40,000
2010: -$65,000 (graduated & married)
2011: -$65,000 (spouse starts law school)
2012: -$40,000
2013: 0 (purchased home)
2014: $150,000 (massive home appreciation confirmed by refi appraisal, spouse starts job)
2015: $300,000 (student loans paid in full)

[clutchied]

2007 (50,000)
2009 25,000
2010 50,000
2011 86,000
2012 123,000
2013 250,000
2014 340,000
2015 460,000

We tend to spend more than most. We have a good income that has doubled since 2007. 60% is financial assets and the other are real estate assets 1 pers and 2 rentals. 2 kids have been added which has slowed down our progress.

[travellight]

Net worth doubled from 2011-2015.

Thanks to RE appreciation and savings (inclusive of rental properties and current home equity).

[clutchied]

I'm pretty skeptical that the posts here are representative of the average population, or even of the average Boglehead population.

This board is most representative of the top 90% and up of the country.

it is NOT representative of the population of the US.

[sawhorse]

I'm pretty skeptical that the posts here are representative of the average population, or even of the average Boglehead population.

This board is most representative of the top 90% and up of the country.

it is NOT representative of the population of the US.

Yes, I definitely agree. My point is that the net worth progressions don't seem representative of people on the board either. I find it impossible to believe that so many people gained every year, even 2008. There must be some selective responding, faulty memory, or both.

[clutchied]

I'm pretty skeptical that the posts here are representative of the average population, or even of the average Boglehead population.

This board is most representative of the top 90% and up of the country.

it is NOT representative of the population of the US.

Yes, I definitely agree. My point is that the net worth progressions don't seem representative of people on the board either. I find it impossible to believe that so many people gained every year, even 2008. There must be some selective responding, faulty memory, or both.

I've found that the people here are honest to a fault and that you're probably just equating timing differences with some form of selective amnesia. Also the savings rates are pretty high here...

[stoptothink]

I'm pretty skeptical that the posts here are representative of the average population, or even of the average Boglehead population.

This board is most representative of the top 90% and up of the country.

it is NOT representative of the population of the US.

Yes, I definitely agree. My point is that the net worth progressions don't seem representative of people on the board either. I find it impossible to believe that so many people gained every year, even 2008. There must be some selective responding, faulty memory, or both.

There is obviously selective responding - a lot of it. Whose going to respond to a thread with their numbers when the other posters have way more impressive portfolios? It's human nature. As far as the general public, I'm easily above the 90th percentile for networth for my age yet I'm not going to post my numbers here.

[furnace]

Remember to include your children in your net worth. Each child is priceless and you have the daycare bill to prove it

[ponyboy]

Would like to see numbers where home equity was not included. Take these numbers as a grain of salt.

[rayson]

I've found that the people here are honest to a fault and that you're probably just equating timing differences with some form of selective amnesia. Also the savings rates are pretty high here...

This.

BHs have pretty high savings rates by any standard. Combine that with high earning careers, and simple index investing, you cannot avoid an exponential networth progression.

[sawhorse]

I'm pretty skeptical that the posts here are representative of the average population, or even of the average Boglehead population.

This board is most representative of the top 90% and up of the country.

it is NOT representative of the population of the US.

Yes, I definitely agree. My point is that the net worth progressions don't seem representative of people on the board either. I find it impossible to believe that so many people gained every year, even 2008. There must be some selective responding, faulty memory, or both.

I've found that the people here are honest to a fault and that you're probably just equating timing differences with some form of selective amnesia. Also the savings rates are pretty high here...

How did you conclude that people are are honest to a fault? Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. I don't know who they are, and even if I did, I wouldn't be privy to their finances. I also think that selective reporting may be not be untruthful, but it doesn't provide a full picture.

If savings rates and investment strategies remained unchanged, then there would have been a dip in 2008 because of the stock market and real estate crashing so badly. People on here are heavily invested in the stock market, and many own a home. Almost no one was able to increase their savings so much that it would have compensated for the losses in investment portfolio value and home value.

Upon re-skimming the thread, it's interesting how many people reported their net worth progression starting between 2009 and 2011. That's major selective responding. It suggests that people who started accumulating at that time were more likely to post their progression, and people who already were in the accumulation phase chose not to report earlier figures. Of course those people may not have kept as detailed track of their net worth before that, but they don't even present ballpark figures. This board was already quite active prior to the crash, with many of the members still active, so there are a good chunk of members who were keeping track but chose not to respond to this thread or chose only to present the prettier years. Also interesting is the people who presented figures dating further back but skipped over 2008.

The selective amnesia need not, and probably isn't, deliberate. During that time, many people turned away from their portfolios and didn't pay close attention to real estate in their area because they didn't consider selling their houses. I also suspect that parenthood caused a dip in net worth that is under-reported here. When you have a young child, keeping track of your net worth is low on the list of tasks.

[travellight]

^ I only started tracking my net worth in 2011 when I discovered mint.com.

[techcrium]

If savings rates and investment strategies remained unchanged, then there would have been a dip in 2008 because of the stock market and real estate crashing so badly. People on here are heavily invested in the stock market, and many own a home. Almost no one was able to increase their savings so much that it would have compensated for the losses in investment portfolio value and home value.

Upon re-skimming the thread, it's interesting how many people reported their net worth progression starting between 2009 and 2011. That's major selective responding. It suggests that people who started accumulating at that time were more likely to post their progression, and people who already were in the accumulation phase chose not to report earlier figures. Of course those people may not have kept as detailed track of their net worth before that, but they don't even present ballpark figures. This board was already quite active prior to the crash, with many of the members still active, so there are a good chunk of members who were keeping track but chose not to respond to this thread or chose only to present the prettier years. Also interesting is the people who presented figures dating further back but skipped over 2008.

The selective amnesia need not, and probably isn't, deliberate. During that time, many people turned away from their portfolios and didn't pay close attention to real estate in their area because they didn't consider selling their houses. I also suspect that parenthood caused a dip in net worth that is under-reported here. When you have a young child, keeping track of your net worth is low on the list of tasks.

If you think about it: Let's say someone has $300,000 in 2007 with 50% equities and 50% bonds with a savings rate of $30,000 per year...

Stocks crashed 40% of the value...so half of the $300,000 crashed 40%. But you can also take into account they saved $30,000 per year.

It would be
2007: $300,000
2008: $270,000
2009: $450,000

So to the naked eye, you may think this guy didn't live a crash. Sure, it seems like he only lost $30,000...


B) People are posting what I presume is their fiscal YEAR END. That doesn't mean in March 2009, that portfolio could have even hit $240,000 or something like that, but you only see that they posted $270,000 as year end and dismiss it as fake/fluke


Conclusion: We all lived through the crash...but to the untrained eye, the networth numbers may SEEM rosey and dosey.

[leod]

Remember to include your children in your net worth. Each child is priceless and you have the daycare bill to prove it

Haha guilty as charged!

[unclescrooge]

Would never claim I was wealthy but
I suggest
1) marry the right partner
2) Live in the same house for 34 years
3) work very hard at your profession
4) live below your means and save prodigiously
5) never listen to or pay a dime to a broker or other thief

I don't really understand how you can choose 1) as an active step to building wealth. It seems to me more like the luck of the draw if you get someone with similar financial goals. I don't see how it is actionable to "choose" your life partner as a means of building wealth, as opposed to deciding how much to save every month.

It gets easier with age.

I bonded with my wife on our first date over how we both scored free parking. I met her during a 3 month period during which I went on 27 first dates.

After getting out of a long term relationship where we fought incessantly, I was determined to find someone who had the same outlook on education, finances, spending, religion, movies, books and music.

And I found such a person.

Missing out on step 1 sets you back several years, at the very least.

[Vilgan]

Will try to fight the self selection bias a bit by posting my own numbers which are much more humble than most posted here. Plenty of mistakes along the way as well.

2001: After a bit of college before deciding I'm just not in the mood, I join the military. -10k NW
2005: Finish 4 years military with 20k saved. NW 20k
2006-2009: college. Didn't work, toyed with professional card playing but didn't like the life, etc. Could have easily avoided going into debt here with smarter decisions. Skipping out on medical insurance turned out poorly as well.
2009: NW -40k
2010: Tried starting a business because I didn't like my job options after the financial crisis. That tanked. -52k
2011: -32k
2012: -10k
2013: 15k
2014: 75k
2015: 220k

Things should take off nicely from here, but I spent a long time before settling down in a career. I also think some of my mistakes turned out okay in the end. Starting a business because no one was hiring in 2010 wasn't a smart money decision: I had no friggin clue what I was doing. However, it was a huge learning experience that helped me make better choices later. It also gave me an idea of when it *would* be the right time and I pulled the trigger again in 2015 with a lot more success.

[Toons]

How do all of you track net worth? Using paper pencil?

Quicken

[dziuniek]

How do all of you track net worth? Using paper pencil?

Quicken

MINT

[Traveller]

How do all of you track net worth? Using paper pencil?

Quicken

MINT

By using my handy-dandy spreadsheet, of course. I update it every January with all the money details of our life, then have the annual financial summit meeting with my wife. Since she isn't interested in our day-to-day finances, this is our chance to fully sync up and make sure she knows what we have and where it is.

Gotta tell ya, the money geek in me is really excited for next month to do the official net worth update!

[White Coat Investor]

I'm pretty skeptical that the posts here are representative of the average population, or even of the average Boglehead population.

This board is most representative of the top 90% and up of the country.

it is NOT representative of the population of the US.

Yes, I definitely agree. My point is that the net worth progressions don't seem representative of people on the board either. I find it impossible to believe that so many people gained every year, even 2008. There must be some selective responding, faulty memory, or both.

Nah, just early accumulation stage. My net worth went up in 2008 even with a -32% portfolio return.

[corysold]

I'm pretty skeptical that the posts here are representative of the average population, or even of the average Boglehead population.

This board is most representative of the top 90% and up of the country.

it is NOT representative of the population of the US.

Yes, I definitely agree. My point is that the net worth progressions don't seem representative of people on the board either. I find it impossible to believe that so many people gained every year, even 2008. There must be some selective responding, faulty memory, or both.

There is obviously selective responding - a lot of it. Whose going to respond to a thread with their numbers when the other posters have way more impressive portfolios? It's human nature. As far as the general public, I'm easily above the 90th percentile for networth for my age yet I'm not going to post my numbers here.

I will!

Home value took a 35% dive in 2008 and hasn't recovered hardly at all and we didn't discover Bogleheads and how to save until 18 months ago. We obviously made many mistakes, but I just understood enough to run the numbers two years ago.

2014 - ($22,450)
2015 - ($11,700)

If all goes well we will be positive in April for the first time ever.

[dziuniek]

I'm pretty skeptical that the posts here are representative of the average population, or even of the average Boglehead population.

This board is most representative of the top 90% and up of the country.

it is NOT representative of the population of the US.

Yes, I definitely agree. My point is that the net worth progressions don't seem representative of people on the board either. I find it impossible to believe that so many people gained every year, even 2008. There must be some selective responding, faulty memory, or both.

There is obviously selective responding - a lot of it. Whose going to respond to a thread with their numbers when the other posters have way more impressive portfolios? It's human nature. As far as the general public, I'm easily above the 90th percentile for networth for my age yet I'm not going to post my numbers here.

Lol, ok.

You don't have to, it's not mandatory. You're posting you won't share your net worth in a post about sharing your net worth.

Maybe you can start a post called "Not sharing your net worth progression"

I agree though, more posts post-2008 than not.

[dziuniek]

New year, any updates folks?

[JimmyD]

Jan 2014: ($84,860)
Jan 2015: $27,000
Jan 2016: $139,818

We've gotten lucky with our primary home. Bought at a great time (Feb 2013) and have seen a serious equity gain because of it.

Outside of that, just socking away everything we can in tax-advantaged accounts and counting down the years until my wife's gargantuan student loans are forgiven. Hoping to start taxable investing at that point.

Numbers would be a little better if it weren't for some medical bills and daycare.

[sesq]

New year, any updates folks?

I edited my post on the first page, but I was up about 8%, almost entirely driven by savings since the market wasn't great. My one winner was company stock, which I am incentivized to hold after vesting (yay for luck). The prior 3 years had increases in the 30% range (savings+growth) so no complaints.

[B0bL0blawsLawBl0g]

interesting stuff

[letsgobobby]

I am curious to know how the bogleheads got wealthy, what was your salary + savings rate at your early age.

For me, had $3,000 or so at 18 (working various jobs)

saved up $30,000 at 23 (again various jobs and parents paid tuition)
This is when I purchased my first stock (JNJ at $54)

Currently:
$100,000 at 27 (100% equities and thanks to bull market; split between ETFS, indexes, and individual stocks)


EDIT: So for me, it is
2005: $3,000 (age 18) (worked at McD; KFC, etc earning $9/hour)
2010: $30,000 (age 23) (worked as intern in the summer earning $13-15/hour)
2014: $100,000 (age 27) (fulltime position earning 44,000 a year)

Year end:

2000 - X (27 years old, first year of residency - note, a positive number, so already a huge leg up compared to those who had to take on a lot of debt for school)

2001 - 3X

2002 - 5X

2003 - 9X (joint accounting with fiancee/now wife begins here) (first year of practice)

2004 - 20X

2005 - 39X (wedding gifts totaling 3X)

2006 - 56X (inheritance totaling 3X)

2007 - 76X (gifts totaling 3X)

2008 - 78X

2009 - 109X (gifts totaling 4X)

2010 - 117X

2011 - 125X

2012 - 180X

2013 - 220X

2014 - 238X

2015 - 257X

Now whether X was $1 or $1,000,000 or somehwere in between I'm not saying.

I note that in recent years our net worth has gone up as much in one year as our entire net worth was 10 years ago. That can't continue forever but it puts those early years in perspective. The money saved then was not substantial. Only the habits developed and the philosophy adopted made a significant impact in the long run.

[surfstar]

2004 don't know
2005 don't know
2006 don't know
2007 don't know
2008 don't know
2009 don't know
2010 higher, but don't know
2011 higher, but don't know
2012 higher, but don't know
2013 higher, but don't know
2014 higher, but don't know
2015 higher, but don't know


All I know is that past and present NW has been too low to retire and I've never tracked it. It has increased though, so that's my progression.
Oh wait, you wanted "wealthy" BHs to respond. I measure wealth in "net time", as in free time to do fun things. That is one area that I know I'm ahead of most of the BHs, especially in utilization.

[fh2000]

I am 60. DW is 54 1/2. We are both IT professionals. We began our career in US later in life.

1st M: took us 19 years to achieve that. Our pay was low. We bought a house, raised 2 kids. So did not save much.
2nd M: took 4 more years.
3rd M: took 3 more years.

The last 6-7 years of bull market certainly helped a lot. We are now ready to retire.

[tj]

I didn't start really keeping track until the middle of 2010 at the age of 25.

7/1/10 - $44k
1/1/11 - $69k (I think this increase is a combination of bull market and I bought a new car towards the end of 2010)
1/1/12 - $79k (In late '11 I refinanced condo loan from 30 year 5.25% to 15 year 3.625%)
1/1/13 - $132k (Have to assume that this is mostly from the stock market
1/1/14 - $232k (Most of this was from fairly significant appreciation in my condo)
1/1/15 - $251k (Most of 2014, I worked part time for lower salary with a long expensive commute - lived by the beach. That I still managed to grow my Net worth by 10% seems a bit shocking.

1/1/16 and I'm almost exactly where i was on 1/1/15.

[Tyrobi]

2005: -$50.9k
2006: -$5.7k
2007: $4.6k
2008: $29.2k
2009: $87.4k
2010: $139.5k
2011: $192.8k
2012: $267.5k
2013: $345.2k
2014: $529.2k
2015: $684.8k

Net Worth

Wife is still SAHM with our daughter and son.

I started out in negative territory after graduation in 2005. It took a while to reach 100k, but each 100k after that came at a faster pace. Wife is SAHM with a young daughter. At this rate, we will achieve our number in 11.8 more years on a single income earner.

2005: -$50.9k
2006: -$5.7k
2007: $4.6k
2008: $29.2k
2009: $87.4k
2010: $139.5k
2011: $192.8k
2012: $267.5k
2013: $345.2k
2014: $414.8k (May)

[Grogs]

Here's mine. I put this together for "fun" a few months back. The numbers get increasingly fuzzy before about 2008 because I had car loans that I no longer have records for, I've thrown out the old statements for my Roth, etc., but I've reconstructed them as best as I can. My condo is included in net worth, but I just use purchase price - remaining mortgage.

12/31/2002 $(6,000.00)
12/31/2003 $11,000.00
12/31/2004 $18,000.00
12/31/2005 $11,000.00 Started Grad School
12/31/2006 $7,000.00
12/31/2007 $7,000.00
12/31/2008 $7,000.00
12/31/2009 $12,000.00
12/31/2010 $33,000.00 Graduated
12/31/2011 $49,000.00 Real Job
12/31/2012 $72,000.00 Bought Condo
12/31/2013 $89,000.00
12/31/2014 $126,000.00
12/31/2015 $166,000.00

[mattshwink]

Didn't start tracking until 2009:
2009: $274,575.39
2010: $390,550.76
2011: $432,760.24
2012: $612,438.00 (got an inherited IRA worth $60,000)
2013: $828,576.98
2014: $1,120,689.09 (Inherited $125,000)
2015: $1,220,777.29 (Inherited $56,000)

[mchriton]

My progression was roughly:

• 2006: $100,000 net worth (age 21; in college)
• 2007: $150,000 net worth (age 22; graduated college; total comp ~$95k/yr)
• 2011: $350,000 net worth (total comp ~$160k/yr)
• 2013: $670,000 net worth (total comp ~$310k/yr)
• 2015: $1,450,000 net worth (age 31; total comp ~$560k/yr)

Some details:

1. $100,000 before graduation was from internships and 'hobby' internet businesses. Money wasn't significant relative to time invested but it set the stage for jobs/positions I was eligible for after graduation. I've probably worked/invested 60-90 hrs/week in my career/tech passion from age 12 to age 30. Age 30+ later I've allocated more time for family/kids (averaging a more typical 40-60hrs/wk).
2. Increase in salary has primarily come from promotions.
3. I'm in tech, bay area so I don't think my numbers are uncommon/special. Had I moved around and took more risks I probably could've done better. Over the past couple years since I was 'finally' able to purchase a home in the area I'm feeling more comfortable / less behind.

[SJCX]

I went into the Army right out of HS
4 years later hired as a federal employee and contributed 10% to the TSP
4 years later wife was hired as a federal employee and we both contributed 15% to the TSP
Late 30s paid off house 7 years early and started maxing out two Roth IRAs
At 40 both maxed 17500 to TSP and started a taxable account with Vanguard for 3k a year

At the end of 2015(44yrs old and 45) we had a net worth of 1,030,000.00. I was pretty even or down on investments but racked up more shares and my quarterly dividends increased nicely by the end of the year.

My goal is to have a net worth of 2 mill by age 50.

[dziuniek]

2004 don't know
2005 don't know
2006 don't know
2007 don't know
2008 don't know
2009 don't know
2010 higher, but don't know
2011 higher, but don't know
2012 higher, but don't know
2013 higher, but don't know
2014 higher, but don't know
2015 higher, but don't know


All I know is that past and present NW has been too low to retire and I've never tracked it. It has increased though, so that's my progression.
Oh wait, you wanted "wealthy" BHs to respond. I measure wealth in "net time", as in free time to do fun things. That is one area that I know I'm ahead of most of the BHs, especially in utilization.

I think wealthy is pretty subjective. I like this thread because it motivates my lazy butt.

[M_to_the_G]

2004 don't know
2005 don't know
2006 don't know
2007 don't know
2008 don't know
2009 don't know
2010 higher, but don't know
2011 higher, but don't know
2012 higher, but don't know
2013 higher, but don't know
2014 higher, but don't know
2015 higher, but don't know


All I know is that past and present NW has been too low to retire and I've never tracked it. It has increased though, so that's my progression.
Oh wait, you wanted "wealthy" BHs to respond. I measure wealth in "net time", as in free time to do fun things. That is one area that I know I'm ahead of most of the BHs, especially in utilization.

Not to challenge here, but I don't understand your post. You know that Bogleheads are inclined to make some sacrifices early on, save prodigiously, and track their progress. It's very important to most of us that we are on track to retire in comfort, and "wealthy" is relative. There are multimillionaires here, but there are also those of more modest means who are trying to build a nest egg of $1 million or less over the coming decades. Are you saying that you don't care? Why?

Also, don't be so sure that there is a relationship between your low confidence in your retirement prospects and your enjoyment of life; it does not mean that you are having any more fun than anyone else. For all you know, there is a doctor on this thread with over $2 million saved who is having more fun than you. For most of us, it would be hard to enjoy life knowing that our prospects for a comfortable retirement were "too low."

[DVMResident]

2009, summer: $5k ER fund plus a car , ~$15k (student loans)

Didn't keep track until 2011. I count my rental and I'll only count the market appreciation at the end of 2015 since that's when I got an appraisal. It's not prefect, but it's my best guess. The small increases in the real estate from year to year are the principle pay down.

2011: $58k
2012, Purchased house/rental: $44k (investments) + $46k (RE) = $80k
2013: $80k (investments) + $52k (RE) = $96k
2014: $128k (investments) + $59k (RE) = $139k
2015: $167k (investments) + $157 (RE, mostly appreciation, maybe a mini-bubble, who knows?) = $324k

Resident income $38~39k/yr (one 3% rise in 5 years-woot!) plus some moonlighting, vaccines clinics (get your dog vaccinated the local pet store type of thing), enrolling in clinical trials, and CC sign up bonuses. Lucky enough to live almost rent free house sitting and I choose to use the opportunity to save a much as possible. Started first real job Q1 2014. Make ~$125k gross plus 9.5% match plus RSU/options.

[surfstar]

Not to challenge here, but I don't understand your post. You know that Bogleheads are inclined to make some sacrifices early on, save prodigiously, and track their progress. It's very important to most of us that we are on track to retire in comfort, and "wealthy" is relative. There are multimillionaires here, but there are also those of more modest means who are trying to build a nest egg of $1 million or less over the coming decades. Are you saying that you don't care? Why?

Also, don't be so sure that there is a relationship between your low confidence in your retirement prospects and your enjoyment of life; it does not mean that you are having any more fun than anyone else. For all you know, there is a doctor on this thread with over $2 million saved who is having more fun than you. For most of us, it would be hard to enjoy life knowing that our prospects for a comfortable retirement were "too low."

Oh, we save like heck, and live well below our means, while still enjoying ourselves as much as possible.

Too many posts on here, despite coming from a savings standpoint, end up being like "keeping up with the Joneses", except in NW progression or something to that affect. I, and I know others, find it a bit unnerving seeing the numbers some people throw out there. Many BHs in my position would see that and say "I'm done, I can retire now", whereas those BHs keep on chugging away increasing their NW, for whatever reason.


I always see the inverse relationship of those who want to retire extremely early vs those who have the assets to do so. If you are the type of person who does not like working and would prefer to spend your time traveling, exploring, etc, you seem much less likely to have the wealth to do so. If you have the funds available to quit and do the above, you are much more likely to be someone who is content to work their life away. A catch-22 of sorts.

My NW progression is not tracked. I know that we're aiming for mid 50's retirement, although I'd prefer ASAP. That's ~20 years off, so I see no need to plot our path at such as early stage. Its just too much "keeping up with the Bogleheads" -like.
Fine for those who are "inspired" by this thread. In reality, I don't see it as actionable, though.

[boglesmymind]

Me- 62 Retired from 31 yr career as Telco tech. Now working P/t fun job. Not on SS yet.
Wife- 59 Working RN

We married in our mid 30's living PC to PC. We both attended a one month course in personal finance which became the smartest thing we ever did.
It was our wake up call to get started.

We now have retirement accounts worth over $ 1.7 mil

We've been truly blessed.

If we could do this, anyone can.

[gunn_show]

My progression was roughly:

[*]2006: $100,000 net worth (age 21; in college)
[*]2007: $150,000 net worth (age 22; graduated college; total comp ~$95k/yr)
[*]2011: $350,000 net worth (total comp ~$160k/yr)
[*]2013: $670,000 net worth (total comp ~$310k/yr)
[*]2015: $1,450,000 net worth (age 31; total comp ~$560k/yr)[/list]

[*] Increase in salary has primarily come from promotions and negotiations. I've been at the same company since 2007. I've averaged ~ a promotion a year with merit based salary increases. Some large jumps by negotiating up my salary with external job offers, e.g.: I had offers at other companies with > 2x my previous compensation and was able to negotiate significant adjustments. This helped my salary keep up and in some cases lead my promotions.
[*] I'm in tech, bay area so I don't think my numbers are uncommon/special. Had I moved around and took more risks I probably could've done better. Over the past couple years since I was 'finally' able to purchase a home in the area I'm feeling more comfortable / less behind.[/list]

this salary progression is impressive alone, but to have done it within one organization at your age is extra impressive. how much of that is stock/RSU based? I think I need to head into my (bay area tech company) annual review this year pushing more RSUs. With negotiating using external job offers, has there been any issues or resentment at all from your employer? (one assumes not since you are still there and clocking it..). well done

[tj]

I always see the inverse relationship of those who want to retire extremely early vs those who have the assets to do so. If you are the type of person who does not like working and would prefer to spend your time traveling, exploring, etc, you seem much less likely to have the wealth to do so. If you have the funds available to quit and do the above, you are much more likely to be someone who is content to work their life away. A catch-22 of sorts.

I think this definitely used to be true, but with the idea of early retirement being more publicized, I think more people who want to hang up the desk job and travel are doing it or working towards it.

[BW1985]

I always see the inverse relationship of those who want to retire extremely early vs those who have the assets to do so. If you are the type of person who does not like working and would prefer to spend your time traveling, exploring, etc, you seem much less likely to have the wealth to do so. If you have the funds available to quit and do the above, you are much more likely to be someone who is content to work their life away. A catch-22 of sorts.

I think this definitely used to be true, but with the idea of early retirement being more publicized, I think more people who want to hang up the desk job and travel are doing it or working towards it.

I agree and think this could be a generational thing too. My mom really struggled to pull the trigger and retire even though she was able to financially. I, on the other hand, would retire today without so much as a second thought if I could.