What's the size of your portfolio?

[aida2003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset Wow, you really want folks to work looking up the estimated growth of their inheritance. This part I find odd because while I worked for my $$$, after I invested it really is luck as to my earnings. Your return (size of portfolio) is a function of the investment. I've read of a couple retired in HI who invested a small amount in Apple in the beginning, while I didn't. As for Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, etc. do data mining , they don't exclude the inheritances invested with them, since they have no idea of the fund sources.

Yep, you nailed it: I want that lucky number of savings. How much you & spouse saved and how lucky your investments were. I didn't invest in Google, Apple, etc., so I'm out of that luck as well.
But again if I've said savings in the poll, people would have teared me apart either way. I thought 401k+IRA stand for savings and then I defined them a bit more in my OP.
Net worth is also skewed by values of houses in SF, NYC, Boston, etc. vs. some rural place in Alabama. Then add boats, Harley's given by parents or grandparents. It's also over the map, isn't it?

For example, yes, it would be interesting to create a multi-layered survey like CaliKid suggested, but that's above my skill. I'll let someone else do it.

[dvalley]

No big deal to me, I logged into Personal Capital, looked at cash+investments and picked the range on the poll.

[DrRoy]

I also question deducting inheritance. It would be about 25-30% of the total in my case.

[petershk]

I feel so simple minded. Seems like the intent is pretty simple. How much liquid "money" do you have right now?

The complexity comes from the endless mechanisms and lifestyles that people have for retiring.

So I'd just total up all my bank accounts, investment accounts, CD, etc. subtract any debt and that's the number.

Without comparing that to my lifestyle choices and other forms of cash flow it's not that helpful of a number... but it's a number ... I mean it doesn't tell you how safe someone's retirement is or how much money they can spend each month.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

[Danmar]

So to the OP: with all the data, have you learned anything or reached any conclusions?

[bingybear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by petershk I feel so simple minded. Seems like the intent is pretty simple. How much liquid "money" do you have right now? The complexity comes from the endless mechanisms and lifestyles that people have for retiring. So I'd just total up all my bank accounts, investment accounts, CD, etc. subtract any debt and that's the number. Without comparing that to my lifestyle choices and other forms of cash flow it's not that helpful of a number... but it's a number ... I mean it doesn't tell you how safe someone's retirement is or how much money they can spend each month. Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

The op wanted any inherited dollars subtracted out. Only money your worked to earn. Inherited $ could be substantial and be liquid.

[petershk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bingybear The op wanted any inherited dollars subtracted out. Only money your worked to earn. Inherited $ could be substantial and be liquid.

Ahh ok . Yeah you're right. This topic is always so fun to read about :P

[aida2003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danmar So to the OP: with all the data, have you learned anything or reached any conclusions?

I don't know, probably not. I got into a complicated pool. But as the 1st burned pancake it did attract audience. I look at this as a funny experiment.

Just yesterday evening I thought about people saying that Net Worth is better and then about Rodi's note stating that it will be so different because some are young, some are not. This would imply that the Net Worth poll doesn't show that much comprehensive data either.
A net worth of a kid out of college or mid-career couple living in a pricey locale with 2 or more kiddos will be very different from people close to retirement and with luck they might have inheritances too. Then expenses come into place, then lifestyles.

I kind of got a feeling from reading this thread that people want to show a 'bigger' something hence all the questions why is that included and why is that excluded, even though it's a private poll and there's no way to compare Peter's stash to John's or Stacey's stash.

I might belong to this minimalist movement (you can google them; they have a documentary about minimalism; however, I don't follow them), so I have a different opinion about collectibles, fancy toys/cars/boats/houses, whatever.

Based on the poll results, the stash is spread in the middle and I kind of expected that. There're quite a few in $7M+ range which is nice to know that such wealthy people take their time to talk here. But yes, I admit that I don't know if the data represent the numbers I was asking for. Like the saying goes "you get what you pay for" meaning I was not a great pollster here . I'll probably go back to reading "Hi, I am.." threads.

[Amethyst]

As for inheritances, I received a small one from my Mother which immediately joined the family investment "pot."

Whether I subtract the original cost basis of the bequest, or its presumed "growth," will make very little difference to the total.

[Major Tom]

Although I had previously decided to sit this one out, I just realized that whether I included my modest inheritance or not, wouldn't change the poll band I was in, so I voted.

I also agree that this is kind of a "how long is your johnson" poll, but would like to point out that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the occasional bit of schoolboy comparison from time to time. After all, we're retired - what else are we going to do all day?

[tmm99]

Hi Aida, I think you did great with this poll. The accompanying thread has been very interesting too (and at times quite entertaining!)

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 Hi Aida, I think you did great with this poll. The accompanying thread has been very interesting too (and at times quite entertaining!)

+1

I thought you did a great job with the poll! I was a little annoyed at all the "nit picking" in the thread, but after some reflection it seemed to me that the source of that was that others thought the poll was really neat and wanted to make an even better poll.

Another good thing about your poll, was that it led to sort of an ER Forum "poll Monday" yesterday. We had a lot of polls, some serious and some just for fun.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aida2003 ... I kind of got a feeling from reading this thread that people want to show a 'bigger' something ...

If the men want to talk about their hand size, what do the women want to compare? Their feet?

[RobbieB]

The important thing is to see that "it can be done". By pretty much anyone willing to live below their means and save some dough. When I was just getting started I built up my slush fund first so I could buy stuff I needed w/o the 18% of credit cards. I started a brokerage next and started adding to that. Then an IRA broker account which I used to zero anything owed to the IRS, instead of writing them a check I looked to see how much I needed to put in the IRA so I didn't have to write that check.

I have Pops to thank for teaching me to "save some dough" -

[rodi]

Aida - you did create a very interesting discussion - bravo!

As for the stages of life/ages... What about retired, with two kids, in a pricey area... that describes my household.

And to your thinking about how much you've saved based on your hard work... I see your point, but as usual, the argumentative side in me comes out.... We chose to divert a lot of our "savings" into paying off our SoCal sized mortgage... so that makes our answer smaller.... but those extra payments mean we now need a lot less income in retirement. Same hard earned cash - just used to pay off a house rather than invested in the portfolio....

Ok... I'll be nice and stop arguing. Once again - even though I'm raising lots of arguments and objections, I'm enjoying this discussion.

[RobbieB]

I did the same thing, paid down the house fast. But "way back then" interest rates were ~8%. CA has a very favorable property tax and it really favors those who "stick" in a house for a long time.

Now I bask in the glow of a paid off house that costs me 2 grand a year in property taxes.

[aida2003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 Hi Aida, I think you did great with this poll. The accompanying thread has been very interesting too (and at times quite entertaining!)

You know, I agree. Without the thread and all the nitpicking, the poll would have been boring, wouldn't it? I dislike looking at surveys with no stories attached. Now people expressed thoughts and moods and that's fine by me.

Maybe we should make a poll about money stash and weight and how it correlates.... Just kidding, but I found this data driven article entertaining: https://assetbuilder.com/knowledge-c...-are-we-so-fat

[aida2003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi And to your thinking about how much you've saved based on your hard work... I see your point, but as usual, the argumentative side in me comes out.... We chose to divert a lot of our "savings" into paying off our SoCal sized mortgage... so that makes our answer smaller.... but those extra payments mean we now need a lot less income in retirement. Same hard earned cash - just used to pay off a house rather than invested in the portfolio....

Yep, Rodi, we did the same thing. Your household earned/earns much more than we're earning (I'm guessing only based on your area; you/your DH must be smart to earn good money in order to RE with kiddos), but we're living in a less expensive city and cheaper house, but we chose to pay off our house early as well. If I've added the house, I would have needed to select a higher range (not much into the next band, but still 'bigger'). I tend to be conservative: inflate expense/liabilities, deflate income/assets). Oh, yeah, maybe I (or both) will retire when I reach your age when you quit...See, here the age comes in...your stash is larger than mine .

[aida2003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound If the men want to talk about their hand size, what do the women want to compare? Their feet?

Well, you know what boys are talking about...so we do cup sizes in the youth? however, feet would work too.... unless the winner is who wears a smaller shoe...

[aida2003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Major Tom Although I had previously decided to sit this one out, I just realized that whether I included my modest inheritance or not, wouldn't change the poll band I was in, so I voted.

See, you and Amethyst found a work around perfectly. If the deduction of inheritance doesn't affect the range in the poll, there's no problem at all. But I think some people had substantial inheritance, so it would be different. Yes, it's their money, but they didn't earn it. However, I understand their position. If I ever get an inheritance (that's a big and distant 'if), I'll probably think that it must be included because it's now *my/our* money though I didn't go to a job to get it.