Millionaire celebration!!

[David1961]

For the millionaires, did you do anything special to celebrate when you realized you were a millionaire?

For those not yet there, do you have any plans for how you will celebrate?

 

[LOL!]

Nope.

However, when one realizes that one will always be at least a millionaire no matter what the stock market does, a certain degree of smugness sets in.

And then later, when one realizes that one will always be a multimillionaire no matter what the stock market does, an even larger degree of smugness sets in.

 

[MichaelB]

Too much celebrating and you won't remain one for very long.

Congratulations on your achievement, another important milestone surpassed.

 

[NW-Bound]

I first crossed that mark many years ago. Did not do anything special, which was just as well, as I crossed it soon again going down, and then of course back up.

 

[Andre1969]

Not there yet, although I'm closing in...$972K in investable assets as of last night. I have a feeling that when I do finally hit the $1M mark, it won't feel like that big of a deal.

 

[aim-high]

A million isn't what it used to be.

 

[NW-Bound]

Still, one must get his 1st million before getting the 2nd. And that 1st one is more memorable.

 

[Totoro]

As it happens, my "definitely" FI number is at 720k EUR (1/1/2014 price levels) which roughly equates to 1M USD right now.

If (when?) I'll achieve that plan to celebrate a little bit.

Unless that number is no longer valid by changing circumstances (taxation, inflation, children ..), then it's back to "definitely maybe independent"

 

[Spudd]

Just realized today that we crossed that milestone. But no plans to celebrate. The celebration will be when I quit my job and start living off it!

 

[NW-Bound]

Nope.

However, when one realizes that one will always be at least a millionaire no matter what the stock market does, a certain degree of smugness sets in.

And then later, when one realizes that one will always be a multimillionaire no matter what the stock market does, an even larger degree of smugness sets in.

I still like to count money, because money may not help but it should not hurt unless one is really dumb and does not know how to manage it. But I think I will have a big celebration for my 60th birthday, even though I have often let a birthday pass without even realizing it. The reason is that more than a year ago, I thought I might not make it.

Money is good, money is cool, but life is more important. And one should celebrate life first.

 

[Meadbh]

The year I became a millionaire I had a big increase in NW due to an inheritance from my mother. NW would have crossed the million mark even without the inheritance, which brought it closer to 2 million. Despite the dramatic improvement in my finances I didn't feel like celebrating. Losing my mother was hard.

 

[Andre1969]

Actually, there is one minor thing I'm thinking about doing to celebrate, when I hit the $1M mark. I'm going to finally go and get a professional haircut. I've been doing my own hair for so long now, that I'll probably go into sticker shock when I see what prices are these days!

I did have a friend cut my hair back in December, though. He had just graduated barber school. Unfortunately, he moved away.

Also, I don't want to sound ungrateful for "only" having around $1M. Trust me, I'd rather have it than not have it!

 

[REWahoo]

For the millionaires, did you do anything special to celebrate when you realized you were a millionaire?

No, not the first time...or the second time...or the third.

 

[Koogie]

I was at work, finishing the year end paperwork for my small business. I was all alone so I pulled out the good bourbon (duh..) and had a quiet snifter while reflecting on the state of things and thinking that my father would have been proud of me.
Then I tidied up the paperwork, had another quick little slug and headed home to tell the DW. Next day, I started work on the second one.

 

[WannabeRetired]

No, not the first time...or the second time...or the third.

Nice!

Major financial milestones for me have been fun, but not nearly as rewarding as I'd hoped. It's really hard not to immediately look at the next milestone and estimate how long it'll be before I can reach it.

 

[RetireAge50]

It is kind if a cool number at least it used to be. The conversion to annual income tempers the excitement as money doesn't buy as much anymore.

The best part is just a little more time and the million itself will create another without any effort from me.

 

[robnplunder]

No, not the first time...or the second time...or the third.

See in bold for me. I did let DW know that we crossed the thresholds. Her reaction was "so what?"

 

[heeyy_joe]

I bought a new mattress. For some reason my current one was getting lumpy.

 

[Wrkn4wkend]

We just reached them same milestone last year. I don't mean to be a buzz kill, but for me it really got me thinking and made me realize ER still seems hopeless.

So we have over a million invested, we also paid off the house last year as well which is around $425K in value. 42/43 years old with no debt, no kids at home and $120K annual income. Seems like reaching a million should make me feel closer to ER........but alas I realize that since the vast majority (850K) is in 401K and Roth IRA accounts we need way, way, way more in taxable accounts to bridge the gap between age 50 and 59.5 when we can get to our qualified accounts.

 

[aaronc879]

No celebrating for me since I will never reach the million dollar mark. I don't like working and could never imagine working long enough to reach that amount. I don't need that much.

 

[Letj]

I didn't feel like celebrating because the realization that it doesn't mean much and can't change my life quickly set in. While it's not easy to achieve this milestone, it becomes very obvious that it's not a lot of money, at least nowadays.

 

[retire2020]

No Celebration..Just started dreaming for next. Currently have almost 2.8M and dreaming for 3M. I'll celebrate with wife when I reach 3.5M, my FI number.

 

[Andre1969]

Seems like reaching a million should make me feel closer to ER........but alas I realize that since the vast majority (850K) is in 401K and Roth IRA accounts we need way, way, way more in taxable accounts to bridge the gap between age 50 and 59.5 when we can get to our qualified accounts.

That's something I hadn't taken into account in the past, but have been thinking more and more about lately. My split is something like 55% non-retirement/taxable, and 45% retirement/tax-deferred. So, maybe my balance isn't too bad. And, part of what I classify as "retirement" is actually a Roth IRA, and I think with that, you can at least take out what you put in, before 59.5?

FWIW, there is something called a Rule of 72(t) or something like that, that will let you access an IRA before 59.5, without penalty. I don't know much about it though.

 

[jetpack]

I don't recall specifically. I didn't have Mint.com to add it up and give me a daily running total of my net worth.

The biggest milestone for me was when I had a well paid day job and my business was starting to take off... There was the first month my business made more than my work.. That was fun. I quit 2 weeks later. Exciting times.

 

[Andre1969]

No Celebration..Just started dreaming for next. Currently have almost 2.8M and dreaming for 3M. I'll celebrate with wife when I reach 3.5M, my FI number.

I'm already starting to set my sights on $2M. One thing that's going to make $1M seem pretty insignificant, is when i update the graphs in my Excel spreadsheets to show $2M on the scale, and my ~$1M plot only coming about halfway up.