At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

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SmoothieJ
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by SmoothieJ »

White Coat Investor wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2023 6:20 pm
Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:51 pm Peers should be based on more than just age alone. A couple which earns $75k a year and accumulates $1 million has a much tougher hurdle or rather a set of hurdles to cross compared to a couple which earns $100k+. Wouldn’t you agree?

These polls really don’t mean much.
Can't really be just income and age either though because most high earners have only had that high income for a few years. Same issue with the calculations in the Millionaire Next Door.

We were 38. 80%+ of it was brute force savings.
Maybe someone should create another pole to see how many Boglehead Millionaires Next Door drive a 10 year old Buick.
NiceUnparticularMan
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by NiceUnparticularMan »

Starfish wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2023 8:08 pm
White Coat Investor wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2023 6:22 pm
ramram22 wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 9:55 pm
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:46 pm
davidferrer31 wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:45 pm Haven't hit it yet, but I hope to between 10-15 years. Currently 26
Being 26 is worth a lot more than $1 million.
Maybe for women. I remember being 26 and broke; it wasn’t fun. I’d much rather be 40 with $1 million.
Would you switch places with Warren Buffett? Probably not. I'd pay a lot to drop 22 years off my age. Would I pay it all (my NW at 26 was $0)? I don't know. I'd have to think about that. There are a lot of nice things about being 48 this year.

For me it's a very easy choice. It's nice now but it was way better to be broke and young. I was broke until 30, and dropping 22 years would put me in my 20s. I would go back in a blink. And I bet I would be a lot richer than I am now after 22 years.
If nothing else, I wouldn't feel a particular need to have kids again (assuming I could choose to de-age my spouse but not my kids).

That alone would likely be a huge financial boon, and I would also be looking forward to likely a lot longer with grandkids (knock on wood).

Although wait--do I have to give up the 529s? That would be a bit of a bummer, I suppose, for our HS junior.

But double wait--needs-based aid is back on the table!

OK, where do I sign up?
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GRP
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by GRP »

SmoothieJ wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:41 pm At what age did your net worth reach $1 million? (July 20, 2013)

[Link formatted by admin LadyGeek]

I found this pole from 2003. Interested in restarting the thread, or posing the same question.

I am 46, wife at 43. We are at this milestone and just curious where we are compared to our peers.
32. Real estate.
Almost nothing turns out as expected.
davidferrer31
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by davidferrer31 »

H-Town wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 10:00 pm
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:46 pm
davidferrer31 wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:45 pm Haven't hit it yet, but I hope to between 10-15 years. Currently 26
Being 26 is worth a lot more than $1 million.
Exactly! Time is the ultimate currency.
I do hope my investments will compound a lot over the next few decades. Time in the market is more important than timing the market, no?
angelescrest
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by angelescrest »

gips wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:03 am
White Coat Investor wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2023 6:22 pm
ramram22 wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 9:55 pm
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:46 pm
davidferrer31 wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:45 pm Haven't hit it yet, but I hope to between 10-15 years. Currently 26
Being 26 is worth a lot more than $1 million.
Maybe for women. I remember being 26 and broke; it wasn’t fun. I’d much rather be 40 with $1 million.
Would you switch places with Warren Buffett? Probably not. I'd pay a lot to drop 22 years off my age. Would I pay it all (my NW at 26 was $0)? I don't know. I'd have to think about that. There are a lot of nice things about being 48 this year.
we crossed the 7 figure threshold 23 years ago when i was 44. my comp was around $300k, so sounds easy but we live in a vhcol area, three kids, crazy maint costs on home, so basically it was about maxing 401k and sep, spending the rest. what an intense struggle.
You’re right, $300k in the year 2000 does not at all sound like anyone with a family of three kids should be struggling financially, much less intensely, regardless of where they lived in the U.S. then. :confused Rather, it sounds like you had an intense spending problem at the time. But hey, you’ve done well with where it’s all ended up, and hopefully so will your kids. :beer
Donethat96
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by Donethat96 »

Just my personal perspective but........this thread illustrates exactly what I find least attractive about this site. Obviously ymmv.
JimD7
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by JimD7 »

1rl9DS5gl2, Most threads dont go down this path . This site is mostly high class in my experience.

Certainly 1MM is not what it used to be. And your expenses/cash flow determine how impressive that number is.

If you spend 200k a year , it aint much
gips
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by gips »

angelescrest wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 8:58 pm
gips wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:03 am
White Coat Investor wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2023 6:22 pm
ramram22 wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 9:55 pm
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:46 pm

Being 26 is worth a lot more than $1 million.
Maybe for women. I remember being 26 and broke; it wasn’t fun. I’d much rather be 40 with $1 million.
Would you switch places with Warren Buffett? Probably not. I'd pay a lot to drop 22 years off my age. Would I pay it all (my NW at 26 was $0)? I don't know. I'd have to think about that. There are a lot of nice things about being 48 this year.
we crossed the 7 figure threshold 23 years ago when i was 44. my comp was around $300k, so sounds easy but we live in a vhcol area, three kids, crazy maint costs on home, so basically it was about maxing 401k and sep, spending the rest. what an intense struggle.
You’re right, $300k in the year 2000 does not at all sound like anyone with a family of three kids should be struggling financially, much less intensely, regardless of where they lived in the U.S. then. :confused Rather, it sounds like you had an intense spending problem at the time. But hey, you’ve done well with where it’s all ended up, and hopefully so will your kids. :beer
probably, i will say it pushed me to break through the ceiling of what i could earn working as an employee.
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Hacksawdave
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by Hacksawdave »

Hello! Long time lurker and a participant on other boards. Haven’t been active on any boards for a long time, and retired at the end of 2019. Good place for a first post.

Reached at age 43 on 03-31-2007.

Hacksawdave
Topic Author
SmoothieJ
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by SmoothieJ »

White Coat Investor wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2023 6:20 pm
Grt2bOutdoors wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:51 pm Peers should be based on more than just age alone. A couple which earns $75k a year and accumulates $1 million has a much tougher hurdle or rather a set of hurdles to cross compared to a couple which earns $100k+. Wouldn’t you agree?

These polls really don’t mean much.
Can't really be just income and age either though because most high earners have only had that high income for a few years. Same issue with the calculations in the Millionaire Next Door.

We were 38. 80%+ of it was brute force savings.
Not sure exactly how much was savings vs gains. Had several rollover accounts over time and lost track a bit. But probably saved around 30-40%. Learned things the hard way 1998-2008 by listening to others such as Mr. Jones and Mr. James. Finally caught on with indexing around 2008 and began making changes, and under own management now.
Starbase
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by Starbase »

SmoothieJ wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:41 pm At what age did your net worth reach $1 million? (July 20, 2013)

[Link formatted by admin LadyGeek]

I found this pole from 2003. Interested in restarting the thread, or posing the same question.

I am 46, wife at 43. We are at this milestone and just curious where we are compared to our peers.
Including the home equity?
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Godot
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by Godot »

1rl9DS5gl2 wrote: Fri Feb 10, 2023 3:18 pm Just my personal perspective but........this thread illustrates exactly what I find least attractive about this site. Obviously ymmv.
I expect a thread in the near future to ask about IQ, and then to rate the attractiveness of their SO and/or pet. BTW, mine is 140, and I rate my cockatoo a 9.4. Your turn.
"The day you die is just like any other, only shorter." | ― Samuel Beckett
capran
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by capran »

Important variables: Married, two kids:their college(1 1/2 years for one, the other 6 years), two teacher salary schedules (modest income). House, boat, cars paid off. I printed off our investment list on the very date portfolio 1 mil. Me 55, her 52. Retired 62/59 1/2 with 1.875. At age 69 1/2 had only 1.9 but last year bought a boat for 270k, so now down to 1.795. Figured it's time to start spending what we worked so hard for.
stoptothink
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by stoptothink »

Godot wrote: Wed Feb 15, 2023 2:42 am
1rl9DS5gl2 wrote: Fri Feb 10, 2023 3:18 pm Just my personal perspective but........this thread illustrates exactly what I find least attractive about this site. Obviously ymmv.
I expect a thread in the near future to ask about IQ, and then to rate the attractiveness of their SO and/or pet. BTW, mine is 140, and I rate my cockatoo a 9.4. Your turn.
I'm thinking about starting the "how much can you bench press or deadlift" or "how many Brazilian jiu jitsu tournaments have your wife and kids won" threads...
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SmoothieJ
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by SmoothieJ »

capran wrote: Wed Feb 15, 2023 3:09 am Important variables: Married, two kids:their college(1 1/2 years for one, the other 6 years), two teacher salary schedules (modest income). House, boat, cars paid off. I printed off our investment list on the very date portfolio 1 mil. Me 55, her 52. Retired 62/59 1/2 with 1.875. At age 69 1/2 had only 1.9 but last year bought a boat for 270k, so now down to 1.795. Figured it's time to start spending what we worked so hard for.
Congratulations!
Flashes1
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by Flashes1 »

45 for me and 38 for my wife. That was in 2013 and then we started hitting peak saving years thereafter and hit $3.0 million at the end of 2021.

But so much of it is a function of just being lucky when bull markets happen and how much money you have saved when they do. If I didn't have a lot of money invested by 2013, it wouldn't have had as big a $ impact as it did. But it just so happened to be when one of the great bull markets began. The bull market of 2019 - 2021 had a particularly major impact.
oldfatguy
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by oldfatguy »

Never have, never will.
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SmoothieJ
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by SmoothieJ »

Flashes1 wrote: Wed Feb 15, 2023 7:50 am 45 for me and 38 for my wife. That was in 2013 and then we started hitting peak saving years thereafter and hit $3.0 million at the end of 2021.

But so much of it is a function of just being lucky when bull markets happen and how much money you have saved when they do. If I didn't have a lot of money invested by 2013, it wouldn't have had as big a $ impact as it did. But it just so happened to be when one of the great bull markets began. The bull market of 2019 - 2021 had a particularly major impact.
The last 10 years or so has been an absolutely remarkable run. We were 100% equities and had been backing off more and more with rebalancing and adding in Bonds to the mix; as the risk of loss became more and more of a concern.
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blimp
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by blimp »

anon_investor wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 5:59 pm
blimp wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 5:57 pm $1 mil net worth at age 38

I did not achieve a net worth of $0 until around age 31

-Blimp
Student loans?
Yes. >$300,000

I paid off my student loans the same year reached $1 mil
Mathew675
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by Mathew675 »

I guess I still haven’t because there are two of us and we aren’t at $2m. But I can say my wife made it to millionaire status at age 37. Now I’m working on my first million 5 years later. :mrgreen:
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TinyHouse
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by TinyHouse »

SmoothieJ wrote: Wed Feb 15, 2023 11:57 am
Flashes1 wrote: Wed Feb 15, 2023 7:50 am 45 for me and 38 for my wife. That was in 2013 and then we started hitting peak saving years thereafter and hit $3.0 million at the end of 2021.

But so much of it is a function of just being lucky when bull markets happen and how much money you have saved when they do. If I didn't have a lot of money invested by 2013, it wouldn't have had as big a $ impact as it did. But it just so happened to be when one of the great bull markets began. The bull market of 2019 - 2021 had a particularly major impact.
The last 10 years or so has been an absolutely remarkable run. We were 100% equities and had been backing off more and more with rebalancing and adding in Bonds to the mix; as the risk of loss became more and more of a concern.
If you’re in a PM friendly state, maybe buy gold and silver instead of bonds…
slalom
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by slalom »

Ron Ronnerson wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 5:36 pm At age 44, in 2019. Current age is 48 and net worth is now $1.6m. I’m a public school teacher and my wife (also 48 years old) is a stay-at-home parent. Pension and social security should fully cover our retirement expenses.
Mind explaining how in the world you have $1.6MM on a single teaching salary at your age? Are you in a wealthy part of MA/NY making $150k or something with a phd in the pay scale etc? What has your career path and savings level been?
zkzkzk
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by zkzkzk »

44
stock options
foghorn300
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by foghorn300 »

1M = 38
2M = 46
3M = 51
4M = 53

Single, never married, no kids. Live way below my means. MegaCorp jobs for most of my career.
wilked
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by wilked »

Is the question at what point did you and your spouse each hit $500K in net worth? Or when you and your wife combined had over $2MM in assets, such that each is a millionaire?
austin757
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by austin757 »

Around 25 turning 26. Though the growth rate has really slowed down the last couple of years with the market, despite investing regularly.
N.Y.Cab
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by N.Y.Cab »

At 55, after a few good years after GFC.
Ron Ronnerson
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by Ron Ronnerson »

slalom wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 10:56 pm
Ron Ronnerson wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 5:36 pm At age 44, in 2019. Current age is 48 and net worth is now $1.6m. I’m a public school teacher and my wife (also 48 years old) is a stay-at-home parent. Pension and social security should fully cover our retirement expenses.
Mind explaining how in the world you have $1.6MM on a single teaching salary at your age? Are you in a wealthy part of MA/NY making $150k or something with a phd in the pay scale etc? What has your career path and savings level been?
Our net worth was a negative number 15 years ago, at age 33. It is around $1.6m now. My wife and I are both currently 48 years old. Here is the approximate breakdown:
≈960k in investments ($520k in traditional retirement accounts, $310k in Roth IRAs, and $130k in taxable)
≈630k in home equity ($470k remaining mortgage on a home valued at $1.1m; 30-year fixed at 2.375%)

Our total household income has ranged from $100k-150k over the past 15 years. My wife worked until 5 years ago and then became a stay-at-home parent at age 43, when our daughter was 3 years old.

I became a teacher about 20 years ago and my salary was around $60k back then. It is currently about $125k. I have two masters degrees and teach multiple subjects at an elementary school in the Bay Area. I’m expecting a pension of a bit over $100k/year (in current dollars, with cost-of-living adjustments, and 100% survivor benefits) around age 60.

Wr have had a relatively high savings rate in recent years (ranging from 40-50%). I do count mortgage principal as part of savings. Returns have been generous over the past decade so luck has helped as well.

I provided fuller details of our journey in this thread from 2019, when I was 44. Here is the link in case it’s of interest: viewtopic.php?t=290459
joechristmas
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by joechristmas »

Wife and I were both age 35 when net worth crossed over into $1m.

Oddly, we do not feel very financially secure and worry about saving and investing a lot. I am always looking for new ways to improve and make more / save more / invest more.

$1 million isn't much of a milestone for us.
Glockenspiel
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by Glockenspiel »

Sometime between age 35 and 36, household net worth, including home equity.

My spouse and I combine all our finances and I guess we'll still be 38 by the time we hit $2 million, or $1 million per person. :)

Hoping to retire around age 52-55 when my kids are in college, with around $4-5 million in invested assets.
stoptothink
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by stoptothink »

wilked wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 7:22 am Is the question at what point did you and your spouse each hit $500K in net worth? Or when you and your wife combined had over $2MM in assets, such that each is a millionaire?
In that case, my personal liquid NW is ~$900k, our paid off home is worth ~$400k. So if I take half of the home, I'm just over the threshold (I'm 41). Wife's liquid NW is ~$500k, so (with her half of the home) she's in the neighborhood of $700k (she's 36). Combined, I think we hit $1M NW like 3yrs ago. We'll likely hit $2M combined sometime next year.

Kind of an odd backdoor brag thread.
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by sschullo »

53 during the 2000 .com bubble, but declined after the bubble burst and 9/11.
Never in the history of market day-traders’ has the obsession with so much massive, sophisticated, & powerful statistical machinery used by the brightest people on earth with such useless results.
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vanguarded
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by vanguarded »

I always imagine the Boglehead response to a question like this to be "somehwere around 16" :)
Simple 3 Fund: 60% VTSAX 20% VTIAX 20% VBTLX
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whodidntante
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by whodidntante »

ramram22 wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 9:55 pm
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:46 pm
davidferrer31 wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:45 pm Haven't hit it yet, but I hope to between 10-15 years. Currently 26
Being 26 is worth a lot more than $1 million.
Maybe for women. I remember being 26 and broke; it wasn’t fun. I’d much rather be 40 with $1 million.
I'd give my entire portfolio to be 26 again. I have confidence that I could go get more money. But you can't go get more life.

Unless it's some sort of Twilight Zone trick.

Also, it's not a gender issue. :confused
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whodidntante
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by whodidntante »

vanguarded wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 10:42 pm I always imagine the Boglehead response to a question like this to be "somehwere around 16" :)
The best predictor of your income is the income of your parents. But I prefer the outliers.
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by VanGar+Goyle »

broncocountry25 wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 4:26 pm
broncocountry25 wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 4:22 pm
broncocountry25 wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:53 pm Wrote a check to myself and my wife that we would hit $600,000 at 30.
Haha, yes. To motivate myself for a goal I put in writing.

It worked!
I took an actual check and wrote it out to myself and my wife for $600,000 and stashed it (For Fun).

Something to keep us motivated, we wrote 30th birthdays in the memo line.
You wrote a check that you couldn't cash,
but better to have put it in writting.
Most of my TTD lists are more modest, and get done much sooner ;)

A better or worse different question might be, when did you attain the top 10%, top 5%, top 1% ...
as 10% today may be millionaires.
pmm
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by pmm »

around 35, SINK helps
M22RPCV
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by M22RPCV »

If the online calculator I just used is accurate, not until retirement age.
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by stoptothink »

whodidntante wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:01 pm
vanguarded wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 10:42 pm I always imagine the Boglehead response to a question like this to be "somehwere around 16" :)
The best predictor of your income is the income of your parents. But I prefer the outliers.
I think I first started making more money than my mom at 16 (when I got an on-campus job as a janitor - paid 3x what I was making at Baskin Robbins before - my first semester in college) and earned more money than she did most of my 4yrs of undergrad. One of my brothers started making more than her around the same age, possibly the other one as well.
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by smitcat »

whodidntante wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:01 pm
vanguarded wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 10:42 pm I always imagine the Boglehead response to a question like this to be "somehwere around 16" :)
The best predictor of your income is the income of your parents. But I prefer the outliers.
Interesting - that is not at all the case with us.
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AnnetteLouisan
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

joechristmas wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:16 am Wife and I were both age 35 when net worth crossed over into $1m.

Oddly, we do not feel very financially secure and worry about saving and investing a lot. I am always looking for new ways to improve and make more / save more / invest more.

$1 million isn't much of a milestone for us.
Interesting book on why the affluent sometimes feel less secure and more anxious financially than the middle class and even the near poor in some cases. It’s called Cut Adrift. It profiles households at vastly different income levels and how they build security for themselves in different ways in unpredictable times.

One takeaway is that having more money allows the affluent to think longer term and thus include more worries in their day to day thinking. Another takeaway is that they are aware of more risks and more used to controlling matters in their personal and work lives and carry that over to financial planning.
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rocket354
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by rocket354 »

AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Mar 18, 2023 8:44 am
joechristmas wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:16 am Wife and I were both age 35 when net worth crossed over into $1m.

Oddly, we do not feel very financially secure and worry about saving and investing a lot. I am always looking for new ways to improve and make more / save more / invest more.

$1 million isn't much of a milestone for us.
Interesting book on why the affluent sometimes feel less secure and more anxious financially than the middle class and even the near poor in some cases. It’s called Cut Adrift. It profiles households at vastly different income levels and how they build security for themselves in different ways in unpredictable times.

One takeaway is that having more money allows the affluent to think longer term and thus include more worries in their day to day thinking. Another takeaway is that they are aware of more risks and more used to controlling matters in their personal and work lives and carry that over to financial planning.
I've never read the book, but I definitely believe in the concept. Every time I hear someone talk about how coming into wealth would allow them to "never have to worry about money again," I laugh. I'm 44 and am worried about paying for things that might be 30+ years out (CCRC, LTC, etc). I'm FI, so always worried about keeping my spending in line so I can stay FI--other than my actual life, my financial independence is the most valuable thing I got. Other worries: am I invested correctly; am I allocated correctly; what will the markets do; is the stock market gravy train over; what if I get hacked; etc, etc, etc. There will probably never be a time that I don't worry about money, even if I become a billionaire.

Or, as a wise man once succinctly put it: Mo' money, Mo' problems.
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by JD2775 »

I was on pace to hit my first million before 50 (just turned 48) but now not so sure. It definitely won't be due to a lack of trying on my end. Returns have just come to a halt the last ~15 months
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SmoothieJ
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by SmoothieJ »

I’m currently reading “Misbehaving”. Pretty sure there is a section on this same topic. Even when you have enough, it is not enough and you are left unsettled, not content. This is irrational, which is or leads to “Misbehaving”.
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warner25
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by warner25 »

rocket354 wrote: Sat Mar 18, 2023 9:14 am
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Mar 18, 2023 8:44 am
joechristmas wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:16 am Wife and I were both age 35 when net worth crossed over into $1m.

Oddly, we do not feel very financially secure and worry about saving and investing a lot. I am always looking for new ways to improve and make more / save more / invest more.

$1 million isn't much of a milestone for us.
Interesting book on why the affluent sometimes feel less secure and more anxious financially than the middle class and even the near poor in some cases. It’s called Cut Adrift. It profiles households at vastly different income levels and how they build security for themselves in different ways in unpredictable times.

One takeaway is that having more money allows the affluent to think longer term and thus include more worries in their day to day thinking. Another takeaway is that they are aware of more risks and more used to controlling matters in their personal and work lives and carry that over to financial planning.
I've never read the book, but I definitely believe in the concept. Every time I hear someone talk about how coming into wealth would allow them to "never have to worry about money again," I laugh. I'm 44 and am worried about paying for things that might be 30+ years out (CCRC, LTC, etc). I'm FI, so always worried about keeping my spending in line so I can stay FI--other than my actual life, my financial independence is the most valuable thing I got. Other worries: am I invested correctly; am I allocated correctly; what will the markets do; is the stock market gravy train over; what if I get hacked; etc, etc, etc. There will probably never be a time that I don't worry about money, even if I become a billionaire.

Or, as a wise man once succinctly put it: Mo' money, Mo' problems.
I started a thread here in 2016 shortly after I turned 30 and reached a $500k net worth, asking why I still felt like my position was tenuous. A lot of people contributed wisdom and insight. I most remember that some of us were hypothesizing that retirement is when we'd finally feel secure and relaxed, and then Taylor Larimore came to tell us how the feeling of insecurity gets even worse in retirement.

So it seems that some of us are just prone to this and need to learn to cope, because it won't go away. The upside is that this is how we reach $1M in our mid-30s, and will probably be fine.
Ron Ronnerson
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by Ron Ronnerson »

whodidntante wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:01 pm
vanguarded wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 10:42 pm I always imagine the Boglehead response to a question like this to be "somehwere around 16" :)
The best predictor of your income is the income of your parents. But I prefer the outliers.
I agree. If you look broadly and include all people born throughout all time periods in all places, I wonder what percentage had a change in wealth during their lifetimes that was significantly different from that of their parents. I honestly don’t know the answer but I’d venture the number is pretty low. Congratulations to the outliers who managed to do it.
mptfan
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by mptfan »

JD2775 wrote: Sat Mar 18, 2023 9:49 am I was on pace to hit my first million before 50 (just turned 48) but now not so sure. It definitely won't be due to a lack of trying on my end. Returns have just come to a halt the last ~15 months
Don't get discouraged, keep investing. Now is a good buying opportunity, more money is made during down markets than up markets, you just don't realize it at the time.

Years from now you will look back at S&P 500 at 3,916 with fond memories and wish you could go back and buy more at that level.
Keenobserver
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by Keenobserver »

1.2 Million invested at 38..then 2022/23 hit.
stoptothink
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by stoptothink »

smitcat wrote: Sat Mar 18, 2023 8:36 am
whodidntante wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:01 pm
vanguarded wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 10:42 pm I always imagine the Boglehead response to a question like this to be "somehwere around 16" :)
The best predictor of your income is the income of your parents. But I prefer the outliers.
Interesting - that is not at all the case with us.
All anecdotes aside (and mine is the same as yours'), there is a very strong evidence-base to suggest this is the case. It is pretty much the same across all related metrics of "success": financial health, academic achievement, various lifestyle habits, physical health...the single best predictor is the parents.
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SmoothieJ
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Re: At what age did you reach your first $1 Million

Post by SmoothieJ »

warner25 wrote: Sat Mar 18, 2023 10:04 am
rocket354 wrote: Sat Mar 18, 2023 9:14 am
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Mar 18, 2023 8:44 am
joechristmas wrote: Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:16 am Wife and I were both age 35 when net worth crossed over into $1m.

Oddly, we do not feel very financially secure and worry about saving and investing a lot. I am always looking for new ways to improve and make more / save more / invest more.

$1 million isn't much of a milestone for us.
Interesting book on why the affluent sometimes feel less secure and more anxious financially than the middle class and even the near poor in some cases. It’s called Cut Adrift. It profiles households at vastly different income levels and how they build security for themselves in different ways in unpredictable times.

One takeaway is that having more money allows the affluent to think longer term and thus include more worries in their day to day thinking. Another takeaway is that they are aware of more risks and more used to controlling matters in their personal and work lives and carry that over to financial planning.
I've never read the book, but I definitely believe in the concept. Every time I hear someone talk about how coming into wealth would allow them to "never have to worry about money again," I laugh. I'm 44 and am worried about paying for things that might be 30+ years out (CCRC, LTC, etc). I'm FI, so always worried about keeping my spending in line so I can stay FI--other than my actual life, my financial independence is the most valuable thing I got. Other worries: am I invested correctly; am I allocated correctly; what will the markets do; is the stock market gravy train over; what if I get hacked; etc, etc, etc. There will probably never be a time that I don't worry about money, even if I become a billionaire.

Or, as a wise man once succinctly put it: Mo' money, Mo' problems.
I started a thread here in 2016 shortly after I turned 30 and reached a $500k net worth, asking why I still felt like my position was tenuous. A lot of people contributed wisdom and insight. I most remember that some of us were hypothesizing that retirement is when we'd finally feel secure and relaxed, and then Taylor Larimore came to tell us how the feeling of insecurity gets even worse in retirement.

So it seems that some of us are just prone to this and need to learn to cope, because it won't go away. The upside is that this is how we reach $1M in our mid-30s, and will probably be fine.
One thing to consider is maybe we place too much security in our finances. It all goes back in the box in the end. My wife's Grandmother has a NW of at least 4M by now, and lives comfortably on Social Security. All of her needs are met, though she would probably spend a bit more if her husband were still living.

The universal human tendency is to worry and to anxiously focus on future cares and needs. 99% of what we worry about never comes to fruition anyhow.

Matthew 6:34
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