Your reaction to rising assets

[UnrealizedPotential]

I always thought that it would be exciting getting to the 100k milestones. It is in a way , but I have to think as I become used to the up and down amounts of the stock market and the effects it has on my portfolio, it is more business as usual. I mean I look back 5 years ago and I admit my progress has been great. But I sold my condo and I got a lot of money. So that got me a long ways. I guess what I am trying to say is the closer I get to 500k, not there yet, the more it doesn't seem amazing to me at all. I expect it at some point in time , maybe even this year. I am not worried about that part. I am surprised at how fast things are progressing and how even though i know it is amazing, it really seems so normal. But its not. All I have to do is look at all the people around me who are paycheck to paycheck to know its kind of unusual to be where I am in life. I have hung around this forum and I still feel like the low man on the totem pole but it does not really matter. It feels so good to be here. Anyone else ever feel this way? Can anyone relate?

 

[gcgang]

Remember the words of Winston Wolf spoken to Travolta and SamuelL's characters after they'd cleaned up the car in the movie Pulp Fiction.

It's nice to see an increase, but I consider my future in the light of what would a 50% equity decline do.

Keep saving.

 

[MRG]

I felt like that in 1999.

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[RobbieB]

I made a lotta dough last month so we ate $600 worth of seafood in 2 days at home.

I like to celebrate -

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

I made a lotta dough last month so we ate $600 worth of seafood in 2 days at home.

I like to celebrate -

Nothing wrong with that.

 

[NW-Bound]

It's healthier to eat $600 worth of seafood than $600 worth of steak.

Even when indulging, one must think of the long-term health issue.

 

[DrRoy]

There is an aspect of human psychology where as we achieve good things, we get used to the improvement rather quickly, and it becomes the new normal. Then we want for more. Also, milestones are good, but not the end game.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

There is an aspect of human psychology where as we achieve good things, we get used to the improvement rather quickly, and it becomes the new normal. Then we want for more. Also, milestones are good, but not the end game.

You summed it all up perfectly. Bravo!

 

[Big_Hitter]

unrealized gains are not realized

 

[Markola]

There is an aspect of human psychology where as we achieve good things, we get used to the improvement rather quickly, and it becomes the new normal. Then we want for more. Also, milestones are good, but not the end game.

Aye, one form of the ol' hedonic treadmill. For me, seeing the numbers rise adds an increasing feeling of being bullet proof from workplace unpleasantries and bonehead management by having a growing seven figure mountain of FU money and also an incremental feeling of joy as I near buying my freedom from wage slavery. There is value in that pile, which makes me smile inside all the time just a little bit, enough to shake off the work BS quickly. Rather, my challenge is becoming, as a manager, caring all that much about the tempests in a teapot my team members are so enamored with all the time. They whine to me about insignificant kerfuffels and I find them boring, like, "Really? You're going worry about that and want me to solve it for you? Ha ha. LOL, my child." Every month that rolls by, I give less of a, shall we say, hoot, about that nonsense, thanks to my stash.

 

[Sunset]

I have found a great sense of freedom and contentment in being financially independent.
It's even more joyful when I recall just 20 yrs ago, I was homeless, owned a garbage bag of clothing, and an old car.

 

[Llep]

Make sure you have an AA you can live with when the SHTF and a plan for what you will do when the market drops violently. It has been all sunshine and unicorns for over 5 years now. When the SHTF last time I had a higher equity position than I was comfortable with. That was when I finally got the importance of an AA that matched my risk tolerance. I have been at age in bonds since and all of the minor blips since the Great Recession have seemed like ho hum affairs and I slept through them like a baby.


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[HadEnuff]

OP, I think what you describe is common. I certainly felt that way on my way to FI, at times.
I figured out at least a couple of reasons why I felt that way:

1. Money really isn't "everything". It does not make the sky bluer or the grass greener, in and of itself.
2. Until you have actually reached your FI goal, it doesn't really change the way you live. You still have to answer the alarm clock and all of that. Yes, you are closer, but the daily routines are pretty much the same.

So while it is quietly satisfying to know you are heading to FI and Retirement (in my case not particularly "Early"), nothing changes day-to-day. Until it does.

 

[NextInLine]

I have found a great sense of freedom and contentment in being financially independent.
It's even more joyful when I recall just 20 yrs ago, I was homeless, owned a garbage bag of clothing, and an old car.

Sound very intriguing, If you don't mind to share your story Sunset. We need some inspiration story once in awhile.

thanks

 

[Dawg52]

Your reaction to rising assets


Me being the pessimist that I am.

 

[Danmar]

After a good day in the market, I will often tell my DW. " we made $xxx,xxx" today, She always asks " is it new money?" Ie have we been at this level before. I almost always have to respond "yes, we have made this money many times before". Still better it goes up than down.

 

[John Galt III]

The big challenge for a lot of folks that make a typical salary of less than $50K per year, is simply shedding any removable parasites that are slowing down your accumulation of money, as you live paycheck to paycheck. A spouse that won't work. Divorce which takes half your assets, and now has you paying child support of perhaps $800 a month for years. A mortgage which makes you pay $200,000 for a $100,000 house (not true today but used to be when int rates were higher). Add your parasite of choice to the list. Once the shedable parasites are gone, the bank account magically increases and increases and increases, given any luck at all.

 

[Pilot2013]

I often times feel good when I look at my spreadsheet with total realized and unrealized balances, and as they approach the $1 million mark (still a ways to go).

Then I come in here and look around, see someone that is asking "should I retire" that has seemingly twice what I have and all of the "you're not ready, have you considered..., I would go another few years, etc responses, and I go into depression mode again.

 

[fritz]

Remember it was a great feeling for us to be totally debt-free, and to have accumulated our first $100k in investments. It was the same feeling when we first hit seven figures (something to look forward to). Retired at 58 (7 years now) and our investments are still growing nicely, even though we've made no further contributions. We use very little of it to live comfortably - still following a LBYM lifestyle (no pensions or annuities).

The one feeling that never goes away for us is that secret/quiet giddiness of being financially independent. Yes our investment amount goes up and down - sometimes by an impressive daily amount, but that secret/quiet giddiness feeling of financial independence has never faded..

 

[devans0]

I often times feel good when I look at my spreadsheet with total realized and unrealized balances, and as they approach the $1 million mark (still a ways to go).

Then I come in here and look around, see someone that is asking "should I retire" that has seemingly twice what I have and all of the "you're not ready, have you considered..., I would go another few years, etc responses, and I go into depression mode again.

I knew the feeling. Then I realized that compounding returns were adding to net worth faster than my LBYM induced savings. Then I just smiled and trudged the road to a happy FI.

 

[Koolau]

I recall several years in a row where my investments were making significantly more than my well-paying c@reer. Those were good days indeed. I took a lot of money off the table to preserve my gains. in the great scheme of things, that allowed me to retire when I decided to. On the downside, it lost me some potential earnings (which it turns out I don't need.) YMMV

 

[Totoro]

Then I come in here and look around, see someone that is asking "should I retire" that has seemingly twice what I have and all of the "you're not ready, have you considered..., I would go another few years, etc responses, and I go into depression mode again.

There are quite a few folks that call it quits at your level. Large variances in risk appetite and spend levels are found here.

It can be amusing (or bemusing) to see one set reacting in one thread "keep on trucking" and another set "you're there, congratz!" in another thread with pretty much the same profile.

 

[Markola]

I often times feel good when I look at my spreadsheet with total realized and unrealized balances, and as they approach the $1 million mark (still a ways to go).

Then I come in here and look around, see someone that is asking "should I retire" that has seemingly twice what I have and all of the "you're not ready, have you considered..., I would go another few years, etc responses, and I go into depression mode again.

You could try being among the young and fearless on the Mr. Money Mustache boards. . MMM shows in convincing detail how they live well on $25K/year in their 30s. I'd probably go for it myself with our 1.25M saved at 50, except that I have a loving spouse I want to keep, who earned and saved a third of our stash and who is not, shall we say, intrigued by the MMM lifestyle. Therefore, Hi Ho, Hi Ho, for a few more OMYs.


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[Markola]

Sound very intriguing, If you don't mind to share your story Sunset. We need some inspiration story once in awhile.

thanks

+1 if you're willing to share your story. That sounds like a best seller, honestly. Congratulations.


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[RenoJay]

Seems like OP is a little dismayed at the lack of excitement at the big growth he's experiencing. About 12 years ago I had a passive business that generated between $200k - $300k PER MONTH. And I remember having the thought, "gee this is so easy. Where's the excitement??" Suffice it to say, I'd give my right arm to get back to those glory days.

Portfolio growth is about freedom, not excitement.


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