Where were you financially when you were at 30?

[Tamarind]

I believe at least half here are millionaires.

Far from it. As you can see your post has brought the 30 somethings out of the woodwork. The vast majority of the members here have much more modest assets. But you are doing just fine and with the right habits and continued good decision making you can get where you need to go.

I turned 30 this year:

Engaged.
Household income just topped $100k this year due to both of us getting raises. My income increased 30% over the last year (same company).
Net worth just over $200k.
$110k mortgage debt (year 7 of 15)
$6k auto loan (year 4 of 5) and one paid off car.
$50k in savings (emergency funds and wedding fund)
$60k in Roth IRAs
$30k in 401ks (I rolled into my Roth twice when I left jobs with bad plans.)
We are able to save 30% gross income in tax deferred but not quite maxing out yet. We are lucky to both have access to low cost 401k options now.

That looks pretty good, right?

5 years ago that house was eating 50% of my after-tax income and we had about half as much in retirement savings and little emergency funds. We were dating but combined income was under 40k and one of us was unemployed. And both of us had scholarships and/or parents who could pay for state college so we were lucky among those who graduated in the recession.

My advice to you to achieve your goals is:
Continue to avoid debt
Don't buy real estate until you feel more settled in a career.
Save as much as you can without taking the joy out of life, then keep that lifestyle as salary increases.

[awval999]

The hardest thing for new posters to understand; is that this forum is composed of the creme of the crop savers. Literally, the 1% of savers.

Just like a bodybuilding forum is composed of the most devout and diligent workout-a-holics, or the gardening forums is composed of gardeners with the nicest and most beautiful gardens, or the Lego forums are composed of hand built 10,000+ piece works of art... a new member will feel inadequate. In fact, some people here take saving--in my opinion--to an unhealthy obsession. And no doubt, on any other hobby forum you will find those who are addicted to that specific hobby as well.

The main take away theories of this forum still hold true though:

1. Costs Matter (ie: index funds)
2. Save early and often
3. Live within your means; specifically the Big 3 (Cars, House, Student Loans) as they can kill any sort of budget

Some of the topics here give me laughs. Others make me roll my eyes. It's still an enjoyable community.

[SGM]

At 30 I was single and about to start a graduate program. I had no debt and a few thousand dollars. As a graduate student I made about as much money as when I was working. Two years later I had greatly increased my income and was receiving company stock. I invested outside of my company plan with MFs without loads and in IRAs with $2,000 limits at the time. That's all I care to say about it except I lived below my means and invested on a regular basis in a low cost manner. and without the expense of an advisor.

[sschullo]

I graduated college at 30. Neither I nor my spouse had any retirement savings, and would not start until our late 30s. Furthermore, neither one of us knew anything about the investment process and would not learn the Boglehead way for another 25 years, in my 50s.

Back 35 years ago, the investment world was vastly different.

[student]

At 30, I was in a postdoc position after getting my Ph.D. I had no debt and about $20,000 in retirement and regular savings.

[dswails2729]

Your post reminded me of a spreadsheet I created at age 30 (exactly 2 years ago to the day)... below is where I stood at 30 and where I stand now.

Assets Age 30
401(k) 104,292
Pension 11,202
Roth IRA 8,174.00
Savings 9,214.00
Credit Card -2,558 (pay it off monthly)
Real Estate 0 (Apartment- Rental)
Auto 7,500

Assets Amount
401(k) 150,486
Pension 18,155
Roth IRA 19,552.21
Savings 21,378.08
Credit Card -2,930 (pay it off monthly)
Real Estate 0 (Still Renting)
Auto (KBB) 4,960

[aj44]

deleted

[BlackStrat]

When I was 30 I had just quit a job that had a so-called 'pension'. I was there 8+ years and they paid me off the current value ($2,500) which I rolled into my next jobs 401k. I had a couple of small IRA's and didn't own a house.

A couple of decades later things are looking much better. Remember - the mighty oak starts with an acorn. It's exciting when you get to the point where the wind is at your back and on a good year your investments earn more than you do at work.

Be reasonable with how you live and realize that all those people around you who are living large are either not in any position to do so (and will pay in the long run) or are sacrificing any chance of early retirement or quality of life later on (of course there are exceptions when it comes to high earners). Don't give away financial opportunities (employer 401k match or any tax breaks).

Buy a relatively modest house & car and keep them for as long as possible. Enjoy life as well but it doesn't take huge outlays of cash to do that.

I always felt I was behind my peers but am finding out that compared to the average American, I'm doing ok (not necessarily saying a lot - I know), you just need to keep plugging away.

[dad2000]

Things can change a lot between 30 and 50. Only have a B.S. from mid-tier state school, but consider myself intelligent, hard-working, and a little lucky.

@30, in 2016 dollars:
Single
Renting
~$25k in retirement savings
No debt
Used car worth about $12k
Salary: $85k

@50, in 2016 dollars:
Married with several grade school kids
Own primary and vacation residence, >$1.5M
>$1M in tax-advantaged, >$1M in taxable
$150k per kid (529)
No debt
2 new cars
Salary: high. Save 25% and pay 30% in taxes.

[stemikger]

I'm 52 and I just started to learn about investing back then. I just moved into my new home and I was living paycheck to paycheck. I was 31 when I made my first 401K contribution and that house is now paid off.

Just keep plugging away and learn from your mistakes. The first $100K seems to take the longest. After that, you will be amazed how the magic of compounding really takes off.

Good Luck and Stay the Course but don't be afraid to change if you need to.

[rbaldini]

I'm 29.
Married, no kids
Renting
No debts
2 Cars fully owned, together worth 9-10k
Household Income: Probably ~210k after bonuses. Me: 112k base. Her: 85k base, but topped 100k last year from her rather large bonuses!
~177k in a mix of stocks and bonds (mostly stocks). About half of that is in 401k's and Roth's; the rest in vanguard taxable.
~30k in cash.
Passively looking for a house in Boulder, CO area.

I didn't start thinking about money until about age 27, when I first heard Bernstein on an NPR interview. I was in grad school, making almost no money, but I had saved a few thousand. I immediately opened a Vanguard Roth and put $3500k in there. Fortunately my wife had been working since finishing college, and contributing steadily to her (high expense ratio) 401(k). As of the last year or so I am now employed and able to pull my own weight!

[obgyn65]

I am 51.

I was still at school when I was 30', with a couple of years to go to reach my educational goal.

I was not married, no kids.

My savings were about $50-100k I guess.

[just frank]

I was two years post-PhD, with a low-paying job, newly divorced (no kids), broke, renting a small apt in a city far from friends and relatives, and selling the antique clock my ex gave me as a wedding gift to pay for groceries.

I'm doing better now at 48.

Best of luck to the OP....sometimes forces outside your control can make life more complicated!

[hoops777]

At age 30 I had less than 1000 dollars in the bank and no investments,no property.Just an old car.

[tibbitts]

I am stepping into my 30s at the end of this year. 30 is generally taken as a milestone age in a person's life. Most people in this forum have accomplished building a significant asset (I believe at least half here are millionaires). To become as financially successful as you guys is my dream. so I am wondering how was your financial condition when you were at my age.

me:
single
no debt
one paid-off car
no real estate property
50k/yr income, stable job, no ladder-up, considering career change
20k saved in cash, 15k saved in 401K and Roth IRA

In this forum I'm with no doubt far behind; In reddit.com/r/personalfinance I feel like I'm doing average; In some other websites like this http://www.mybudget360.com/the-average- ... net-worth/ it seems I'm doing pretty good. Whichever is true, I feel I will never achieve financial independent before 60+.

What was your financial condition when you were at 30? It will help much more if you could also list your current condition to show your financial achievement since then.

Honestly when I was 30-ish we had a pretty solid economy (which hadn't been true for some of my life) and I was earning 3% real on essentially zero-risk investments, plus the stock market was booming. And, I was getting pay raises, in real terms, regularly, as were many other people. Not because I was some kind of superstar but because, well, everybody got real pay raises. There was generally more of a "ladder up" because companies hadn't yet learned how to cut out all the middle-management positions. Today you've got negative real rates on savings, and many people have zero or negative real changes to their paycheck for year after year, and the stock market hasn't really moved a lot in almost two decades. So I can see why you feel you'll never achieve financial independence. Maybe you won't, and maybe it won't be your fault.

[Trader/Investor]

In my 20s and most of my 30s I was a deadbeat while trying to figure out how to beat the market. I worked a series of minimum wage jobs, primarily as a security guard. I delivered circulars door to door, and collected cans and newspapers for recycling money. Because of perpetual credit card debt, my net worth was always negative. I resided in run down boarding houses or worse. Such as a bug infested basement apartment with little to no heat in the winters where I lived for many years. I drove beat-up rusted out cars, could never afford health insurance, and lost count of the times I had to pawn my TV to make it through to the next pay day. I was the poster boy for failure.

[TomCat96]

At 30,

Total Student debt: 60k.
401k: 0

Total Net Worth: -55k

It's not the end of the world if you're not where you think you ought to be.

[chonp3]

31 now, net worth of about 300k.

Financial independence goal of age 45 (Fingers crossed)

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

At 30, net worth negative five figures (student loans partially offset by a little home equity). Engaged to be married.

At 40, Financially Independent. Married with two wonderful young boys.

By 50, quite likely retired with two teenage boys.

-PoF

[Grogs]

So mine wasn't pretty. At 30, I lived in a trailer that I owed $20k on, drove a car I owed $15k on, had about $5k in the bank, and $15k split between a Roth and taxable. Net worth of about -$15k, and I was making about $30k (maybe $40k inflation adjusted). Financially, it's scary looking back on it, but I was happy and the lack of money didn't bother me. The rest of my 30s didn't get much better because I spent a couple of years trying to flip houses, then went back to school for 5 years. I didn't invest a dime between 30 and 40. The good news is that I'm back on track now, have a good job, invest regularly, and will probably still be able to retire pretty comfortably before age 60 if I keep on my current pace.

[Sheepdog]

In my 20s and most of my 30s I was a deadbeat while trying to figure out how to beat the market. I worked a series of minimum wage jobs, primarily as a security guard. I delivered circulars door to door, and collected cans and newspapers for recycling money. Because of perpetual credit card debt, my net worth was always negative. I resided in run down boarding houses or worse. Such as a bug infested basement apartment with little to no heat in the winters where I lived for many years. I drove beat-up rusted out cars, could never afford health insurance, and lost count of the times I had to pawn my TV to make it through to the next pay day. I was the poster boy for failure.

But you recently wrote this "I wish I could retire and enjoy my nest egg more. I am 100% debt free, single, age 69, live in an ultra low cost of living region of the country, and finally hit the $2,000,000 mark."

Congratulations..

[jtking44]

Almost 31, married with 1 kid, hopefully more soon
Household Income: 265k
Debt: 26k (student loans at 3%), 25k (car loan at 2.5%)
Retirement Savings: 262k (125k after-tax)
Taxable Account: 112k
Cash/Downpayment: 164k
Other assets: Own 2 cars outright (probably worth 8k total), have about 7k in "equity" in the new car (including depreciation/transaction costs)

[ScroogeMcDuck]

My husband and I are 31. Net worth is $1.4 million ($1 million in stocks and bonds and $400k in home equity on a home worth $600k).

I make $200k, my husband makes $50k, and we spend about $50k a year.

When I write it down, our financial situation looks good but we live in Silicon Valley and it seems like everyone around us is doing better (bigger homes, more lavish vacations, expensive cars). I think at all wealth levels it's hard not to compare yourself to others.

The biggest factor in our ability to grow our net worth is that our parents paid for our educations.

[zaboomafoozarg]

Not very good, compared to this forum.

But pretty great, compared to the rest of the world.

Still, I can't help but be a little disappointed in myself.

[Abe]

What was your financial condition when you were at 30? It will help much more if you could also list your current condition to show your financial achievement since then.

I can't remember my financial condition when I was 30. I'm sure it was probably below $50k.

[Jman]

I'm not 30 yet, so have a couple more years, but here goes...

Me (28)
Married; no kids...yet (wife is 28)
0 CC debt
2 cars - ~$5k debt (worth ~$18k)
Own home - ~$153k debt (worth ~$200k and milking that low interest rate for the long haul)
Household Salary: ~$235k
Retirement Accounts: ~$237k (~$74k Roth IRA, ~$66k Roth 401k, ~$97k Trad 401k)
HSA: ~$11k
Taxable: ~$270k
Cash: ~$8k
Total Net Worth: ~$586k

Hoping to have net worth in the 800k-1M range by 30 assuming stocks don't tank...but if they do, I'm fine with that too as I'll be buying as much as possible and not taking anything out for the next 30-40 years. Basically, after paying off highish interest rate student loans, buying house and cars, the wife and I have been socking away everything we can, which is relatively easy living in the Midwest. We still go on vacations and still have fun, but don't spend on anything unnecessarily. I'm sure kids in a couple years will make saving a little tougher, but totally worth it.

[jeffh19]

The hardest thing for new posters to understand; is that this forum is composed of the creme of the crop savers. Literally, the 1% of savers.

Just like a bodybuilding forum is composed of the most devout and diligent workout-a-holics, or the gardening forums is composed of gardeners with the nicest and most beautiful gardens, or the Lego forums are composed of hand built 10,000+ piece works of art... a new member will feel inadequate. In fact, some people here take saving--in my opinion--to an unhealthy obsession. And no doubt, on any other hobby forum you will find those who are addicted to that specific hobby as well.

The main take away theories of this forum still hold true though:

1. Costs Matter (ie: index funds)
2. Save early and often
3. Live within your means; specifically the Big 3 (Cars, House, Student Loans) as they can kill any sort of budget

Some of the topics here give me laughs. Others make me roll my eyes. It's still an enjoyable community.

First of all, I want to apologize to everyone for the long novel below. I am long winded and ramble on too much. Kudos to anyone who sticks with it and even replies lol

The above is very true. It also applies to people who don't make as much money etc. It can be very intimidating and even if you are on cloud 9 thinking you are doing great, reading some stuff here can make you feel like you aren't in that good of shape financially.

You really can't think that. Just by being on this forum, you are in better shape than say 80% of the country. Knowledge, behavior, will power, time, and decisions are the things that will get you lots of money. People used to rip on me because my mom had money, and thought she gave/bought me everything I have/had, which isn't' true. I tell people what my mom did give me was knowledge, not money. She taught me about money and how to handle it at a very young age, as well as giving me a great work ethic. I really try hard to pass it on to my friends and family, but they usually want 0 part of listening whatsoever. Very frustrating.

I need to take my own advice about comparing situations, because I'm constantly worrying about my financial situation and future. Probably because a big part of my income is dependent on getting a lot of overtime and extra hours at other jobs (PRN/as needed in the medical field) which causes me to feel unsure of my future. I've been wanting to make a post here and have people tell me how I'm doing because I worry. Then I see this thread and see millionaires and people with hundreds of thousands saved at 30 and I feel like crap lmao..... But this forum is probably the top 10% of the earners and savers, or at least comparable to the top 10% or so. No idea on the %, but I'm just saying the only people who come here are the ones making a ton of money and want to learn/know what to do with it, and people who are natural born savers/investors no matter what the income is. So long story short, just by being on this forum you are giving yourself the tools to succeed in life with the best of them.

Me: Single. Just turned 31. Only made about 30k at best in my early-mid 20's. Saved, but didn't really invest. At 25 I choose to back to school and at the same time invested 10k in a Roth at Vanguard for 09/10. I graduated in '13 at 28. Made 30k or so my first half year in '13, at 29/'14 I made just under 50k. At 30, I got a new job making more money, started working crazy overtime and extra PRN/as needed at other jobs when I could, I worked 70-90 hours every week of the year. I made 113k Last year. Probably on pace to make more this year. I make 30/hr at my full time job, 35/hr at my PRN jobs. I usually work 70+ hours a week still.

Debt: No debt of any kind. 13 Cruze Eco, 02 Z06, 95 Z28 all paid off. Next category will change this
Living: I rent for $695/mo but I'm looking for a house with a 3 car garage. Probably will cost 250-300k ish with a 5k yearly tax bill.... :/
Roth IRA: 43k (maxed for 09/10, no income/contributions in school for years 11 and 12, maxed every year since starting with '13)
401k: 14k (just started this about 9 months ago ish...I max my contributions 18k a year/ 1500/mo
Taxable: 78k (Just started this 4/14)
Cash: 5k (Just transferred 15k to brokerage a few days ago after the Brexit thing)

My biggest knock is I'm a car nut. Cars cost a lot of money....working in the healthcare field I realize your tomorrow's are never guaranteed and you can die at any time. So I'm going to try to save as much as I can, while still enjoying life. I plan to buy a new Corvette in a year or two and sell my current one. Maybe a new daily driver too. As mentioned above I want a house with a 3 car garage for all my toys. Currently I'm working and saving like crazy. I want to be able to enjoy life and enjoy the fruits of my labor since I work so damn much. I'm a frugal bastard with an expensive hobby

[petergibbons]

Just turned 30 this year. Have around 100k. No debt. Have a new higher income job now and hope to get to 1 million by age 37-38.

[Trader/Investor]

In my 20s and most of my 30s I was a deadbeat while trying to figure out how to beat the market. I worked a series of minimum wage jobs, primarily as a security guard. I delivered circulars door to door, and collected cans and newspapers for recycling money. Because of perpetual credit card debt, my net worth was always negative. I resided in run down boarding houses or worse. Such as a bug infested basement apartment with little to no heat in the winters where I lived for many years. I drove beat-up rusted out cars, could never afford health insurance, and lost count of the times I had to pawn my TV to make it through to the next pay day. I was the poster boy for failure.

But you recently wrote this "I wish I could retire and enjoy my nest egg more. I am 100% debt free, single, age 69, live in an ultra low cost of living region of the country, and finally hit the $2,000,000 mark."

Congratulations..

Thanks Sheepdog, but I did it the anti-Boglehead way so try to keep a low profile. I am actually a big believer in the Boglehead way but only for those who have employment with a retirement plan and a good income. I only wish I had those luxuries in the past.

[mchriton]

My husband and I are 31. Net worth is $1.4 million ($1 million in stocks and bonds and $400k in home equity on a home worth $600k).

I make $200k, my husband makes $50k, and we spend about $50k a year.

When I write it down, our financial situation looks good but we live in Silicon Valley and it seems like everyone around us is doing better (bigger homes, more lavish vacations, expensive cars). I think at all wealth levels it's hard not to compare yourself to others.

We're in a similar situation. I'm 31 and wife is 30, also in silicon valley. We have around 1.5 million net worth now, family income is around $600k/yr.

It's impressive you're able to keep your spending down to 50k in the bay area. I had expenses in that range prior to marriage + house + kids, I'm paying more than 28k just for my nanny. My total family expenses are around 150k/yr.

Agree on the comparisons to others, it's hard to get excited here wrt absolute numbers. In my social group I'm the worst off. I'm also annoyed at my (low) 3x net worth/income multiple but I was given some significant raises of the past few decade, my net worth/average income is not as bad.

[SQRT]

Don't worry, 30 is very young and only the start. I am 66 retired 10 years, probably top .1%. When I was 30, we had just bought our first house, I was a CPA making about $30k and my wife around $20k I think. House poor, old banger of a car, trouble paying credit cards, it was another 10-15 years before I started to get ahead financially. The fact that you are asking these questions and thinking so much about these things at your age almost guarantees your success.

[Abe]

My husband and I are 31. Net worth is $1.4 million ($1 million in stocks and bonds and $400k in home equity on a home worth $600k).

I make $200k, my husband makes $50k, and we spend about $50k a year.

When I write it down, our financial situation looks good but we live in Silicon Valley and it seems like everyone around us is doing better (bigger homes, more lavish vacations, expensive cars). I think at all wealth levels it's hard not to compare yourself to others.

We're in a similar situation. I'm 31 and wife is 30, also in silicon valley. We have around 1.5 million net worth now, family income is around $600k/yr.

It's impressive you're able to keep your spending down to 50k in the bay area. I had expenses in that range prior to marriage + house + kids, I'm paying more than 28k just for my nanny. My total family expenses are around 150k/yr.

Agree on the comparisons to others, it's hard to get excited here wrt absolute numbers. In my social group I'm the worst off. I'm also annoyed at my (low) 3x net worth/income multiple but I was given some significant raises of the past few decade, my net worth/average income is not as bad.

One thing about the internet and this site, it makes me aware there is a whole different world out there.

[just frank]

One thing about the internet and this site, it makes me aware there is a whole different world out there.

It's ok Abe, they probably still live in their parent's basement.

[chemistrygal]

My 30th birthday was spent in Cotonou, Benin where I was a Peace Corps volunteer. I had a college degree in chemistry and I was making 200 dollars a month in PC. I had taken out student loans that I did not need and put them in a high interest account. I took them out because PC forgave 15-20 percent a year and interest was deferred.

My entire net worth was probably a couple thousand dollars and my possessions include what I could carry in a backpack, a closet in my parent's house stuffed with things, and some boxes of books and clothes stored at my exboyfriend's house. I married a man I met in an African village and brought him back to the US so I wasn't going to dramatically increase my net worth by marriage.

After PC I took a year off and did a round the world trip with the plane fare money PC gave me.

18 years later I am 21 months away from paying off my house. I have 160k in retirement, 10k in an emergency fund, two rentals here in America, and a house in Africa that is paid off. I have no car payment and no cc debt.

I work as a teacher in a private school so I don't make all that much and I have three kids but I feel pretty good about having increased my net worth.

I think that after the age of 30 there is a lot of opportunity to increase your net worth.

[JoeJohnson]

30 is a few weeks away

Single and currently no intention of marriage/kids

Salary + Bonus: approx. $80k with plenty of upward mobility in LCOL area (this was $50k until January. Accepted a job at a new company via my network and then lucked into a promotion after three months when a team member left. Zero lifestyle inflation )

Net Worth: should cross $100k by end of 2016 markets willing

Renting: Might buy a house next year but not thrilled about a long-term commitment given I'm so early in my career. I like to think I'll be with this company until I retire early but things happen.

Lessons Learned in my 20s: Spent too much on education. I made some dumb decisions with cars and priorities have now shifted. Luckily learned from friends' purchases that houses are not all they're cracked up to be. Transaction fees are brutal on housing and cars.

[arthurdawg]

Hmm... at age 30 I was working my way through my first year (of three) in fellowship training, after four years of med school and three years of general medicine.


Probably had about 50k in savings... wife was at home full time by then. I did lots of moonlighting as a fellow, so I doubled my income during that time. Spent plenty of time on the Vanguard Diehards board at Morningstar before the mirror site here became the full fledged Bogleheads site.


Now... 12 years later, I've just completed 10 years of practice. I could probably retire tomorrow... but will continue working for quite a while yet. I have reached the point where I do want to scale back if we can get some young docs in that will stick. Preparing to pay off the last bit of mortgage and will be able to focus all cash after the end of this year on retirement and 529s for the children.

[nyknicks4412]

One thing about the internet and this site, it makes me aware there is a whole different world out there.

It's ok Abe, they probably still live in their parent's basement.

Lol this sites an anomaly if there are really this many 30 year old millionaires.

Most 30 year olds are lucky if they've finished school, paid off student loans and have found some early success in their career. Then again I guess bogleheads aren't most people.

[VAslim16]

Not sure exactly as I didn't start tracking my finances until I was 32.

My guess is about 45K in debt. Yep...not pretty.

Since then I've turned things around and although I am nowhere close to lots of people on here I'm proud about the direction in which I'm headed.

Love this Forum.

[randomizer]

Me at 30: no assets, declining income, and a few thou in credit card debt. Pretty dark times, but totally my own fault.

[rtraud]

We were broke:

Combined Income: $70k
401K: $5k
Cash: $15k
Student loans: $60k
Car loan: $10K

So, a net worth of about -$50k. We're doing better now that I'm 33 and my wife is 31. Our net worth reached $100k early this year, and our combined income improved more than fourfold.
Best regards

[22twain]

When I turned 30 (more than 30 years ago!) I was in the first year of my first "real job" after finishing a Ph.D. in a STEM field, teaching at a small college and earning about $50K in today's dollars. I was single, renting the ground floor of a house across the street from campus. My car was a 10-year-old VW Beetle, a hand-me-down from my parents who decided they didn't need two cars any more, several years after they retired.

I had no debt but not much savings, maybe about $15-20K in today's dollars. The next year, I became eligible for a TIAA 403(b) retirement plan, with total contributions of about 12%.

Now I'm getting close to retiring after more than 30 years of college teaching and administrative work, with more than $1.2M in savings. About 30% of that comes from an inheritance. My wife, who had a similar career and earnings (in a different academic field), and her own inheritance, has saved more than that. (She's the frugal one of us.)

We live in a very LCOL small town in a mostly rural area. When we're both collecting SS after delaying until 70, it alone will be about 50% more than our current annual expenses.

[4nursebee]

I was broke and had burdensome debt levels from student loans, perhaps recently paid off 8K in credit card debt.
Newly married, new house with spouse.
No 401K.
No Roth.
Little clue about money as I do now, nor was I open to such.
Older car was paid for.
Just finished 2nd college degree and starting "career".

[peterinjapan]

Had started my company 4 years before, was in our fast growth phase. Made a lot of mistakes investing. Happily I bought a house with my mother in San Diego, which doubled nicely. Was at least trying to think about structured investing, though I did it haphazardly (since I didn't know about you guys yet).

[Go Blue 99]

At 30 I had just finished b-school and was engaged. Was making $55k with about $100k in retirement accts, very little cash savings, and about $38k in student and auto loans.

So total net worth was less than $75k. The following decade was very good to us though financially.

[Cmpliance]

Just turned 30 this year:

Married - No Kids
~$160k household salary
- 3 paid off cars
- $69k cash
- $91k investments (401k + Roth IRA)
- $156k mortgage on home valued at $800k
- $50k student loan debt

The above looks great until you see that you live in California with high cost of living. Depressing to say the least.

[fastrock]

30yo in 1985. Recovering from Carter's recession was just starting to kick in. Had been working 68 hour/weeks for a couple years w/ several more to follow due to testing and startup of dual unit Nuke plant. Purchased house early 1985 at steep discount due 17.125% home interest rates. We took our much needed, pricey vacations once every 12-18 months but socked 5-6% into 401Ks and remainder of DI into Max Heines/Michael Price's Mutual Series Shares (taxable) fund. Home interest rates continued to drop and in a handful of years we were at 9% or less. Started putting additional DI into paying down mortgage. Black Monday hit in Oct 1987, approx 30% devaluation of US stocks and worse overseas. Serious contentious discussions that week at work betw co-workers about pulling out of market or riding the tiger. Most of the 30+yo employees stayed in markets, most younger co-workers bailed out to cash, most even cashed out 401K. As I remember(again I was working 68+works/week), the market was fully recovered in 6-12 months. By December 1987, I stopped paying down mortgage, kept savings going to 401k, piled all disposable income into (IRA & taxable) Vanguard 500 Index funds. HT to Money magazine for alerting me to the John B, index funds & dollar cost averaging. Kept this up until 1993 when I accepted the Nuke industry was to be a no-growth industry for the remainder of my lifetime, besides it was ruining our marriage and physically killing me from stress. Convinced Toyota Motors they needed to employ me in Feb 1993. Wife and i continued to be avid saver/investors in mutual funds. With 20 years at Toyota Motors, I was offered and accepted a buyout pkg. Been happily retired since, only work I do is around the house, helping friends/neighbors and volunteering at the parish and its school.

Did I make all the best investment decisions? NO but I made more good ones than I did bad decisions. Even my bad decisions were corrected swiftly and at minimal costs to portfolio. We're not millionaires financially tho I feel like one emotionally. BTW, never used an Advisor, I read and researched avidly.

[onmyway33]

At the age of 30, I had just married my wife and was making about $50,000 a year working in Bioscience for a state academic hospital in a LCOL area. I was just investing the default amount into the state sponsored 403b (~$400 a month). I did not have any other debt and thought that putting as much as possible (about half of my after-tax take home pay) into taxable investments would give me the most financial flexibility in the future. Per the recommendation of my FA (who is also my cousin), I was putting that money into American Funds, paying ~3.0% front end loads on my investments and paying 1-2% ER annually . I didn't really know what an IRA was and thought that 1.5% ER seemed reasonable. I probably had a net worth of around $150K. In retrospect, I was doing fairly well resisting the examples of my friends/peers: racking up credit card debt, overly expensive car loans, and large mortgages. I guess that I was successful in setting a reasonable standard of frugal living for my future self.

Fast-forward about 5 years to today and after following Bogleheads for about 2 years, I have changed jobs to leave acadamia and have gone into industry to increase my salary and benefits. I have also become more knowledgeable about tax efficient fund placement and changed my investment priority to max out my 401K first (to take advantage of a really great employer match), then max out IRA space, then taxable space last. Also, I have moved out of American Funds entirely, left my FA, and focus on relentlessly minimizing ERs with Vanguard funds. It has been a good 5 years for me financially, adding a child, a mortgage, and more than quadrupling my amount of invested assets.

The power of compounding interest when coupled with frugal living is truly a wonderful thing.

Thanks Bogleheads!

[finite_difference]

One thing about the internet and this site, it makes me aware there is a whole different world out there.

It's ok Abe, they probably still live in their parent's basement.

Lol this sites an anomaly if there are really this many 30 year old millionaires.

Most 30 year olds are lucky if they've finished school, paid off student loans and have found some early success in their career. Then again I guess bogleheads aren't most people.

I remember an old timer that I knew always used to say, "If you've figured out what you want to do by the time you're 30, you're way ahead of the game."

I like this site because it's all about the long play.

[miamivice]

My net worth was $341,000 at age 30 (2009 dollars). In today's dollars, that'd be $381,000.

[UnitaryExecutive]

I'm so impressed with so many in this thread who make < 75k or those with house hold income < 140k who have accumulated 500k-1M in net worth.

Great work, guys!