First milestone reached

[kfindley79]

My wife and I just passed the 100K mark in our investments last week. To me, this is a significant psychological step towards a great retirement. Next stop 250K...

BTW, not sure if it matters but we are both 33. We're trying to get to FIRE sooner rather than later.

 

[Lazarus]

Thats very good! I had approximately that net worth allowing for inflation at that age. I retired at 55.

 

[Major Tom]

I think I had about 25K at that age. I was a slightly late starter. Good job - it will continue to get better and better with time (with the occasional bump along the way, of course.)

Congratulations!

 

[Sojourner]

Congratulations, kfindley! I remember getting to $100K years ago and feeling great about it, too.

As is sometimes quoted around here, you will need somewhere between 25 and 33 times your annual expenses in order to retire early (I am currently at about 38x and have just ESR'd, i.e. early semi-retired). The key is to save, save, save as much as you can for many years and try to maximize your income.

Good luck to you!

 

[WM]

Congratulations, that's great! That's around the age when I realized we really might be able to pull off ER, but I don't think we were up to 100K yet.

 

[bssc]

Congratulations. The next 100K is easier.

 

[obgyn65]

Congratulations.

 

[MDJO]

It get easier and easier. Hang in there.

 

[retire2020]

Congrats...That's fantastic! I was in debt at that age.

 

[kfindley79]

Thanks for all the well wishes! I'm beginning to enjoy the journey more now that we have an attainable goal set.

 

[EOKO]

My wife and I just passed the 100K mark in our investments last week. To me, this is a significant psychological step towards a great retirement. Next stop 250K...

BTW, not sure if it matters but we are both 33. We're trying to get to FIRE sooner rather than later.

Longtime lurker but registered to reply to your post. Congrats on hitting this milestone. I agree about the psychology of it all. It's so difficult early when you aren't seeing the progress. But at 100k, as little as it is compared to where we all want to end up, is definitely progress.

I'm 38 and my wife is 33. I was a late starter with regards to retirement planning. Fortunately for me, my wife is much smarter than I and a natural saver. She has us headed in the right direction.

We like to chart our 401k balances twice a yr, the end of June and December. We make little dinner bets on when we will hit certain benchmarks. We hit the 100k mark in June of 2011 and the wife and I had a nice dinner at the restaurant of her choice. We hit 150k in December. I think I will win our bet when we hit 250k. What's crazy is we only had about 35k in Dec of 09.

It's amazing how writing our balance down has really motivated us to keep pushing. We have two kids under 4yrs old so we aren't quite maxed out in our 401k's but with every raise we up our %. I am a few % points away from maxing out my contributions and hopefully with a raise this yr, I'll be able to do that. Daycare at $1,000/mo is kicking our butt right now.

 

[scrabbler1]

My wife and I just passed the 100K mark in our investments last week. To me, this is a significant psychological step towards a great retirement. Next stop 250K...

BTW, not sure if it matters but we are both 33. We're trying to get to FIRE sooner rather than later.

When you write, "or investments," are you counting retirement and taxable (non-retirement) investments?

I was just shy of 32 when I hit the $100k mark in total investments. I was just shy of turning 34 when I hit the $100k mark in only my taxable (non-retirement) investments. So either way my pace is pretty close to yours (although my milestones were in the mid-1990s as the stock market was taking off).

I hope the next $100k is easier than the first $100k, as it was for me. Took me about 2 years (or less) to boost my total by another $100k increment until 2007 when the market began to crash.

 

[Midpack]

Congratulations! You're well on the way and miles ahead of your peers (I come bearing potential evidence below). It does get easier, or seems so thanks to compounding - it's probably just as hard to reach $100K as $1M, or it seems that way.

"According to CNN Money, the average net worth for the following ages are: $9,000 for ages 25-34, $52,000 for ages 35-44, $100,000 for ages 45-54, $180,000 for ages 55-64, and $232,000+ for 65+."

 

[AndrewJackson]

Congrats op, I get pumped up to save and be thrifty every time I see stuff like this. Real inspiration and I truly do appreciate it. Keep up the good work and hopefully others (and myself) will replicate you.

 

[traineeinvestor]

Congratulations. That's a great achievement, especially at your age.

I can well remember the first time I went through that milestone ... in both directions.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

To the OP and others in the same boat. Don't become fixated on how quickly you can achieve the next milestone. Establish a sensible savings/investment plan and stick to it. You'll avoid focusing too much on the future at the expense of the present.

 

[bo_knows]

"According to CNN Money, the average net worth for the following ages are: $9,000 for ages 25-34, $52,000 for ages 35-44, $100,000 for ages 45-54, $180,000 for ages 55-64, and $232,000+ for 65+."

Holy hell. That makes me feel good about my situation.

 

[av8er]

Well done! Keep it up!

 

[kfindley79]

When you write, "or investments," are you counting retirement and taxable (non-retirement) investments?

I was just shy of 32 when I hit the $100k mark in total investments. I was just shy of turning 34 when I hit the $100k mark in only my taxable (non-retirement) investments. So either way my pace is pretty close to yours (although my milestones were in the mid-1990s as the stock market was taking off).

I hope the next $100k is easier than the first $100k, as it was for me. Took me about 2 years (or less) to boost my total by another $100k increment until 2007 when the market began to crash.

We've just recently began contributing to taxable accounts outside of our retirement. The 100K figure would be 99.9% retirement accounts.

 

[imoldernu]

Attitude comes first... Good on ye!

 

[Gonzo304]

Congratulations! Keep socking it away and watch the magic of compounding quickly enable you to reach the 250K milestone. Well done--the time flies and you will both be thanking yourselves when you see the balance in your account when you are in your 50s. Great job!

 

[Cassius King]

Congrats OP!

I too just passed thru the $100,000 mark in investments as well. The most interesting thing that I took from my experience is the momentum this builds. I was pretty hard on myself for not having reached this mark as of yet. So it was always a burden. But now that I have crossed it, I am reinvigorated and it has restored my commitment to making the next milestone.

Congrats again, keep saving and building.

 

[Cloverissweet]

Contragulaton! This is such a motivator.

 

[cshaw07]

Holy hell. That makes me feel good about my situation.

That's how I felt too, I guess I'm doing great for a single 23 year old dude!