Share: Age, Salary,profession, Total monthly expense, net worth, and stuff!

[Mwsinron]

Preferably an "action shot".

Perhaps to chariots of fire theme song?

 

[fintoleft1]

I'll play

age: 26
salary: $54,000
profession: retail manager
total monthly expense: $2000
NW: $73,000
stuff: 05' 4runner and a bunch of stuff i never use because i'm a slave to my job... k2 snowboard, trek mountain bike, fender acoustic.

 

[chinaco]

I echo brew's and mwsinron's sentiment. Comparing... mine is bigger than yours! Seems a little sophomoric. Of course, this is not being overtly stated by anyone, but it is going on in the minds of some people.

I think the poster was just curious about their relative postion and trying to understand if they are above or below peers on the board.

That said... Hello tiny (sorry... I was just kidding... couldn't resist).

As most of you, I find the information interesting... But personally, I am little careful about what I divulge for privacy concerns. But when I do share info, it is the truth (certain facts are kept veiled). Why... because I am looking for reflection and feedback from peer FIRE folks. How are others progressing and how did they accomplish their goal?

Bottom line: If you are doing very well, consider yourself blessed. If you are just starting your path to FI and thinking about how to improve yourself and acting on it, you will get there and are on the right path.

 

[OKLibrarian]

Bottom line: If you are doing very well, consider yourself blessed. If you are just starting your path to FI and thinking about how to improve yourself and acting on it, you will get there and are on the right path.

Thanks--needed to hear that today. all these young turks with double our net worth have been making me second-guess life choices--but we're doing better than the vast majority of 30-year olds and are set to do even better than that going forward.

 

[SecondCor521]

Good point chinaco (even if I disagree with you on the 0% cc thing ;-) ).

When I do compare myself, I prefer to compare myself to those large data samples -- average net worth across the US, average US household income, etc. The folks here are a very select group...because of the subject matter most are probably very wealthy, a lot are middle aged I think, and so comparing yourself against the entire group here, especially if you're younger or not as far down the wealth path, could be discouraging. Add to that when these thread crop up the people who post are those who are in the upper portion of this select group reading this board, and it gets even worse.

I bet there's a lot of folks reading this board that have relatively decent incomes but are younger and therefore have net worths in the 0 to 200k range who aren't posting on this thread.

2Cor521

 

[Texas Proud]

Thanks--needed to hear that today. all these young turks with double our net worth have been making me second-guess life choices--but we're doing better than the vast majority of 30-year olds and are set to do even better than that going forward.

Don't second guess.... you can be a slave to the 'mine is bigger' mentality... kind of like the Lowes commercial... one guy buys a three burner grill, the other a 4 burner... one a 4 set patio set, the other a 6...

My sister was proud of her husband one time.... they were at a red light in their 10 yo Camry they bought used... a former working guy of her husband pulls up next to them in a brand new BMW 7 series... the recognize each other and pull over to talk... the guy tries to talk my BIL into going to work where he was.... it would have meant working a lot longer hours and a lot more stress... he thought about it for awhile and said 'No thanks"... He has a good job and they both make good money... putting both of their kids through college and have a very nice house in a 'rich' area of their city.. they did not see the benefit of trying to get more... it would 'cost' to much to get it...

NOW, if the new job is more money for the same work and stress... sure.. take it... but usually it is not...

 

[donheff]

Thanks--needed to hear that today. all these young turks with double our net worth have been making me second-guess life choices--but we're doing better than the vast majority of 30-year olds and are set to do even better than that going forward.

Good grief OK. Any 30 something who is even thinking about these things is ahead of the game. The ones with significant savings at that age are as rare as hens teeth. When I was 30 I had a Household Finance loan for my sofa. Yet I retired comfortably at 56.

 

[OKLibrarian]

Thanks TexasProud and donheff for the reality check The perfectionism sometimes gets the best of me, even though I keep it on a very tight leash.

 

[haha]

monthly expenses: $7,000 (includes nearly equal alimony - ouch - and house payment). The first may end in 3 years; the latter 7-10 years.

You are a woman paying alimony to a man? Could say a little about how that happened?

Ha

 

[DangerMouse]

I have chosen not to play this game, what our household income is between me and the IRS.

However, people need to keep in mind that a $100k salary in California might sound like a lot but after federal and state taxes, social security, additional cost of living expenses, it might actually only be equal to a $60k salary elsewhere.

Remember it's not what you make but what you do with it that counts.

 

[skyline]

This does seem more like an exercise in trivia than anything else. Plus it's misleading since I would guess that the higher NW/income members are more likely to post than the lower ones.

I think it's fine to share this type of information in the right context - asking for feedback or providing feedback on FIRE-related topics where knowing the numbers makes the information more useful.

What I would personally be interested in finding out is how the various board members plan on using their income/savings to come up with a FIRE plan. Whether someone has a NW of $5M or $500K isn't nearly as interesting as finding out how they plan their retirement around it...maybe I should start my own poll?

 

[cube_rat]

I have chosen not to play this game, what our household income is between me and the IRS.

However, people need to keep in mind that a $100k salary in California might sound like a lot but after federal and state taxes, social security, additional cost of living expenses, it might actually only be equal to a $60k salary elsewhere.

Remember it's not what you make but what you do with it that counts.

This is exactly my thinking. I wish there was an animated applause emoticon.

Also, I will add: If your net worth is 9 million, why in the hell are you posting here? If I my NW was 9 mill, I wouldn't be posting on a forum with a bunch of old farts like myself.

Yeah, I'm envious, what of it? :

 

[Celany]

Preferably an "action shot".

heh, not unless you want me to get whiplash.

If your net worth is 9 million, why in the hell are you posting here?

just 2 thoughts:

1) I've heard that, once a person's NW gets to be really high, to some people, it's more a matter of 'keeping score' than anything. so, maybe people that enjoyed playing the money-making game want to keep learning about it to 'up their score'

2) maybe those old farts are looking for some money-savvy younger parters to fill their days with.

 

[P.S.]

... also refrain for privacy reasons,
but will say that i read an article in a recent Vogue on the Dec monthly budget for Jennifer Just who started Peak6 with her husband. After reading how she *managed* to spend >$95,000/1 mo ($700 flower allowance...what working mom wouldn't love to have a personal chef cook meals for $2000/mo), i was feeling *unrich*
...enough to share this sentiment with dh who gave me a look enough to bring me back to reality.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Preferably an "action shot".

I know your drive is long, but why don't you detour from Conneticut to Manhattan on your way home next week and take the picture for the benefit of the entire board?

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Good grief OK. Any 30 something who is even thinking about these things is ahead of the game. The ones with significant savings at that age are as rare as hens teeth. When I was 30 I had a Household Finance loan for my sofa. Yet I retired comfortably at 56.

So true. When I talked about this kind of stuff (not networth, just retirement savings, investments, side businesses) at work, I was usually talking to people in the mid-late forties or even fifties, and they were looking at me like I was crazy or something because the first thing that always came out their mouth was, "I wish I was thinking about this kind of stuff when I was your age." Hehe, I didn't say that I was thinking about this kind of stuff back when I was 25. If I had a dad who didn't blow every dime I made from my side jobs from when I was 13 to when I was 22, I would have been even farther ahead.

 

[NinjaPigeon]

Heh, almost everyone I try to discuss it with nods, smiles, then quickly asks me about American Idol. I gave up discussing it since nobody else cares. But I find it amazing that they have 40k+ cars and I find it hard to keep up with my $300 car payment each month. Then I realized why - I am trying to max my 401k and they aren't even enrolled!

 

[SteveR]

On the internet, even a mouse can look like an elephant.

There is no means to confirm the validitity of information provided here so take everything with several grains of salt.

 

[FinanceDude]

On the internet, even a mouse can look like an elephant.

There is no means to confirm the validitity of information provided here so take everything with several grains of salt.

 

[Celany]

for everyone that's saying this is more of a 'mine is bigger than yours' type thread, I'm curious...when someone posts that they met a goal in saving (usually their first 100k, or 500k, something like that), everyone generally gives them a congrats, right? I've read a few of those posts, & I don't think I've seen anyone accusing someone of anything more than sharing the good news of meeting a goal.

this is sort of a more condensed version of that, with lots of people posting, & not having a hit a goal. I think that my net worth is pretty low on the scale, all things considered (under 50k), but I'm young & reading about anyone else's accomplishments makes me happy. Does it hurt me that someone making over 100k can save FAR faster than I can? only if I let it.

as for the discussing retirement when you're young stuff...I'm 27 going on 28 (he he he), and people *always* give me weird looks when I talk about retirement. Right now, I am actively persuing earning more money, because I am grossly underpaid (yes, I know, everyone is overworked & underpaid, but I've done some thinking, & I'm ridiculously underpaid for the quality of my work). I've talked about it with a few older (mentorish) co-workers, & I'll say something like 'this is really important to me; I need to fund my retirement more'. they just gape at me a little bit, totally shocked that my mind is already there. but I'm not having kids, and I'm not particularly materialistic (my time is more important to me), so what else do I have to throw my money at?

in settings with my peers, it's something that I don't talk much about. probably about 1/3 of my friends are, sadly, having a very hard time finding work (or enough work to support their kids), so I don't bemoan my 'problem' of not funding my retirement 'enough' to them. another 1/3 of friends are in the 'live fast/die young' mentality & aren't willing to listen to anything money-related that doesn't support that lifestyle. the final 1/3 of friends are trustafarians, so they really don't understand the concept of saving for retirement.

I've got a few people my own age that I discuss it with, but most of them just aren't interested, or able to be interested, due to their personal circumstances.

 

[rw86347]

I'm a newb and am curious to know how I stack up. Hopefully, this type of thread isn't considered too invasive for a "rook".

Age: 31
Income: $102,000/yr
Total monthly expense: $1,756.43
Net worth: $72,453
Stuff: Single, Didn't start 401-K until age 27 , still a renter, ~$15 K in debt to be paid off within the next 100 days.

Grade: ?

Age: 34
Income: $120,000 + $20,000 in tax breaks
Total monthly expense: $1,750.00 + $1100 mortgage (going away soon)
Net worth: $375,000
Stuff: Married, Didn't start 401-K until age 27

 

[rw86347]

Anyone else depressed with all the salaries posted here? I thought the median household salary is somethin like 60K....lol. Of course people making 200K+ can FIRE early. I think only myself and one other person posted a salary under 100K...I guess we are both gonna have to work forever...........

median is $41K

 

[novaman]

Age- 43
Income $450,000
Profession- Dentist
Total monthly expense: 16,000
Net Worth- 3 million

Stuff- Married, 3 kids (17, 11, 9), I love my job so don't want to RE but would like to semi retire.

 

[lets-retire]

Age: Me 37, DW 36
Household Income: currently ~46000, The highest ~72000 for one year.
Net Worth: ~60000
Really Started Saving in Ernest: About three years ago, but I took the last year off (It's tough to find a job in a depressed area).
Stuff: Not much.

 

[chinaco]

Age: Me 37, DW 36
Household Income: currently ~46000, The highest ~72000 for one year.
Net Worth: ~60000
Really Started Saving in Ernest: About three years ago, but I took the last year off (It's tough to find a job in a depressed area).
Stuff: Not much.

I lived in an area where it was difficult to find a good job (small town in mid-west). After returning from the service. I went to school in an area with a larger population and jobs were a bit more plentiful. I learned my lesson. I moved to larger metro area and have never been without a job and prospects of better jobs. I have no doubt that if I lost my job today... I would be able to find another fairly quickly. Even in a recession I would not expect it to take me more than a few months to find a job.

Just a suggestion.... consider relocating to a large metro area. You can always move back later.