$100k Milestone!

[Mr._johngalt]

Goals for 2006 - at age 62/63 - learn to lighten up and not be such a cheap bastard :

Repeat to myself - you're not going to take it with you ten times a day.

The first twelve years of ER were kind of fun though and spending is still emotionally painful.

But a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do.

Perhaps a snappy new kayak or something.

Heh heh heh heh heh.

Good morning unclemick.........................before I got up today I was
thinking about the "you can't take it with you" thing. It's tricky.
I am making a bunch of moves now that
MAY reduce our meager stash.
OTOH, coordinating dreams/needs and "sleep-at-night"
safety is what ER (and this forum) is all about.

If you do buy a kayak, I suggest you stock it with wheat bread.
It's the preferred food of loafers.

JG

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

I popped my $250K barrier briefly a few days ago, but ended up a bit short once the year drew to a close, at roughly $248,500.  However, that's just my "primary investments" figure (401ks, IRA, mutual funds, stocks).  Add in my checking account, savings bonds, and Emigrant-Direct account and the grand total is more like $337,000.

So, does anybody have their 2006 year-end goals set yet?  For me, I'd like to see my "primary investments" top $300,000, while my "grand total" I'd like to see pop the $400,000 mark.

I'd like to ease out of individual stocks and into actively-managed mutual funds. Most of my actively-managed funds were up substantially in 2005, and based upon past performance seem to be a safe(r) bet for increasing my net worth than riding the rollercoaster of individual stocks. Put differently, I'd like to leave stockpicking to the professionals.

Now that my current work situation is relatively stable, I'd also like to take the plunge into owning real estate in the form of a decent-sized primary residence. Since the real estate market is beginning to turn a bit in the D.C. area, I can afford to take my time.

 

[soupcxan]

.

 

[justin]

My "goal" is to contribute $48,000 to investment accounts, and pay down the mortgage principal by a few thousand extra dollars. I can't really set a "net worth goal", since I don't know how international and domestic indexes will perform.

 

[ccs61]

So, does anybody have their 2006 year-end goals set yet?
2006 goals-----------------
Retirement Savings -- $250k
Debt reduced -- All but house and cars
Try to buy another piece of property, besides residence

 

[SteveR]

My goal is to live through the year; pay off some more principal, pay down DW's stock loan, w@rk another year to sock away another 20%, do some additional home remodeling including replace driveway ($$$$) Yikes! concrete prices have gone through the roof here and contractors are on a waiting list. Supply and demand. I will wait and see if the housing boom here slows down enough to modulate the concrete prices down some by then. I can't go another winter or the whole thing is going to cave in.

No specific investment goals in mind, just keep on keeping on and adding to the pile.

 

[virginia]

My financial goal this year is to add another 25K to my retirement and other money assets. I'm not sure how possible this will be. I have 50K in total savings, and save about $1200/month. I should be able to get some extra in there somewhere through tax returns and some extra money from work.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Our goal for 2006 is for our net worth to hit $975K which should be doable because it's at $938K right now. I would love for us to hit $1 million but we went shopping for the baby on the weekend and I have a feeling this kid is going to be expensive

 

[73ss454]

Our goal for 2006 is for our net worth to hit $975K which should be doable because it's at $938K right now.  I would love for us to hit $1 million but we went shopping for the baby on the weekend and I have a feeling this kid is going to be expensive 

Congrat's you now have enough money to raise the Kid.

Well maybe!

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Our goal for 2006 is for our net worth to hit $975K which should be doable because it's at $938K right now.  I would love for us to hit $1 million but we went shopping for the baby on the weekend and I have a feeling this kid is going to be expensive 

Very impressive. Congratulations on amassing such an amount at your age.

 

[P.S.]

Our goal for 2006 is for our net worth to hit $975K which should be doable because it's at $938K right now.  I would love for us to hit $1 million but we went shopping for the baby on the weekend and I have a feeling this kid is going to be expensive 

Out of curiosity, is that Canadian or US dollars? Either way, great job!

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Out of curiosity, is that Canadian or US dollars?  Either way, great job!

Canadian dollars (DH refers to it as monopoly money though since it's so colourful )

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Canadian dollars (DH refers to it as monopoly money though since it's so colourful  )

That's still $800k USD...

 

[wstu32]

~nothing like hitting a goal! congrats.... remember to have the end game in mind. i will repost my short story for you if you dont mind:
I am 40, make over $400k per year and live in a 3 bedroom townhouse and in Honolulu free and clear with over $1million in my portfolio...can just about retire right now, but want my last kid done with school first....that does it for me...helps me sleep at night.
My Brother in New York is 43 makes about $1+ million per year, is building a $2.5 million dollar house , has tons of bills and probably has <$50k in the bank...and will be working to pay his bills off forever. i dont know how he sleeps at night....
~he wonders how I sleep at night living my simple life...
my point is THIS:

WHAT DOES IT FOR YOU IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN THE NEXT GUY.
~my words of wisdom is that being simple is a Blessing,
having the need for 'stuff' is a curse.

 

[Leonardo]

WHAT DOES IT FOR YOU IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN THE NEXT GUY.
~my words of wisdom is that being simple is a Blessing,
having the need for 'stuff' is a curse.

Couldn't be more true. I know a guy who makes more than $1million/year in the stock market and had recently to sell his $70.000 car because of debt.

It is really wonderful to be a simple person.

 

[chrisdut]

BigMoneyJim....Congratulations on reaching this important milestone!!! I noticed that you seemed to get down on yourself a little bit though. You mentioned that you seemed to be the poor guy around here. How many people do you know personally (outside early retirement sites) that were debt free and had a net worth of 100k at age 35. I bet 9 out of 10 people that you know personally are in worse financial shape than you. Being one of the "poor" guys on this site is kind of like being one of the "dumb" guys at Harvard or MIT.

 

[BearlyWorking]

Congrats BigMoneyJim,

You are way ahead of me at 35. You will be surprised by how fast the amount increases over the next decade!

Bear

 

[bow-tie]

...Being one of the "poor" guys on this site is kind of like being one of the "dumb" guys at Harvard or MIT.

Very well said.

Gotta be careful who we compare ourselves to so we don't get discouraged.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Congrats BigMoneyJim,

You are way ahead of me at 35.  You will be surprised by how fast the amount increases over the next decade!

Bear

True dat. Trust me, if you leave your money alone (and don't count it every day), you'll be amazed at how the amount becomes a larger and larger snowball over time.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

True dat.   Trust me, if you leave your money alone (and don't count it every day), you'll be amazed at how the amount becomes a larger and larger snowball over time.

Couldn't agree more. I've noticed that the saying "It takes money to make money" is very true

 

[wstu32]

i also feel that the more money you have , the less risk you should take...

my personal view of course!

mahalo for all the info

 

[Nords]

i also feel that the more money you have , the less risk you should take...

Only if you don't mind losing to inflation.

Over a five-six decade retirement that's cutting it too close for comfort.

 

[wstu32]

point well taken!

 

[SteveR]

i also feel that the more money you have , the less risk you should take...

my personal view of course!

mahalo for all the info

Sort of depends on what you are saving it for. A big pile of $$ is great. A bigger pile of $$$ is better but at some point the pile is way more than you really need to fund your income needs and it then becomes a hoard.

Some of the folks here have done very well and have socked away multimillions. How much of that will be left on the table or sucked into the tax vacuum after they are gone? There seems to be a disconnect with some folks here with the goal of being FI so you can RE. The pile has become the goal and not the tool to get to RE.

Just my 2 cents on Friday the 13th.

 

[eryx]

keep an old thread alive

Thought it would be fun to bring this thread back. Especially because looking through the archives I found my post when I was 29.

Now I'm 31 and hit another milestone...300K in various investments accounts. Given the recent stock market swings, I will actually be hitting that particular dollar amount more than once...going up and down!

And just for fun, here's an asset allocation...anyone want to comment? This is spread out across 401k, roth, and taxable accounts. Using taxable accounts b/c the 401k/roth is maxed out, and i didn't want to keep holding it as cash.

SP500 40%
Small cap 20%
REIT 8%
long-term bond 8%
VGTSX (vanguard international index) 12%
stock 1%
cash (the "6-month" savings) 11%