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

[lets-retire]

Actually, we just moved here last year. I had a job lined up, but while waiting for a background check the it dried up and blew away. The same company called back the other day and I start Monday. I would have been able to find a decent job much easier, if I stayed in the exact same line of work, but I'm tired of running around on the streets, being called racist every other day, and receiving a small pay check.

 

[W2R]

I'm tired of running around on the streets, being called racist every other day, and receiving a small pay check.

That sounds like an awful job! What were you doing? Congratulations on your new job and career change.

 

[lets-retire]

That sounds like an awful job! What were you doing? Congratulations on your new job and career change.

Police Officer and thanks.

 

[W2R]

Police Officer and thanks.

Dangerous, too! Thanks for your service as a Police Officer, though. What would we do without law enforcement?

 

[NinjaPigeon]

Police Officer and thanks.

That was actually the exact job that popped into my head when you gave your description. Our cops definitely get treated poorly by the population at large. A few bad apples, like those ones that killed the groom outside the strip joint in NY, tend to have a really negative impact on police in general.

But, thanks for having served. It's an important job and I'm glad people have the courage to do it!

 

[cube_rat]

Police Officer and thanks.

I hold police officers and firefighters with the highest honor and respect. Much like our military who work so hard to protect this country, police officers and firefighters will lay their own lives on the line to save another person. The prime and unfortunate example was 9/11

Hey you resident thread highjackers , don't turn this thread into a political tailspin with my comments, 'kay?

Carry on

 

[furpants]

Age: 37 (me), 31 (dw)
Household Income: 120k
Profession: software developer (me), massage therapist (dw)
Total monthly expenses: 6,500
Net worth: 185k
Location: Colorado
Stuff: First kid on the way , One small rental property with negative cash flow , one 10-year old car, four very nice bicycles

 

[ziggy29]

Age: I'm 41; my better half will be 39 in two weeks.
Household Income: about $110,000/yr
Total monthly expenses: about $3,000
Net worth: about $625,000
Retirement saving rate: About $28,000/yr (including 401K, fully vested company match, Roth IRAs and taxable savings)
Other Stuff: Contributed 12% of pay to 401(k) since age 22 -- early money is like yeast! Almost 3/4 of net worth in retirement accounts

 

[Deetso]

Age: 27
Income: less than half of the post above me
Monthly expenses: the whole paycheck- savings included
Net Worth: negative because of student loans
Location: OR
Stuff: one car for the DW and I ride a 2003 Bianchi Pista (fixed gear)

 

[Xias]

Age: 27
Income: less than half of the post above me
Monthly expenses: the whole paycheck- savings included
Net Worth: negative because of student loans
Location: OR
Stuff: one car for the DW and I ride a 2003 Bianchi Pista (fixed gear)

Hey at least you're honest! Judging by these posts I feel like I shouldn't even consider RE because I'd need to make six figures.

In that spirit, I'll let you know what I have so far
Age: 24
Income: $32,000 (Investor Services Rep, few weeks from my series 7, hopefully I'll be making more once I'm certified!)
Net Worth: $4011.59 (stupid student loans, but at least I'm not negative? )

Graduated in may of 2006, took the summer off except for a cake part time job, and then got my act together and fully employed (currently liking my work just fine) in October of '07

 

[ziggy29]

Hey at least you're honest! Judging by these posts I feel like I shouldn't even consider RE because I'd need to make six figures.

In that spirit, I'll let you know what I have so far
Age: 24

I doubt many of us were pulling in six figures at age 24. My income at 41 is about 3x what it was when I was 24. You're off to a way better start than almost anyone your age, just by thinking about it already!

 

[Xias]

I doubt many of us were pulling in six figures at age 24. My income at 41 is about 3x what it was when I was 24. You're off to a way better start than almost anyone your age, just by thinking about it already!

Thanks for the support ziggy! Out of curiosity, what age do you plan to retire at? How much are you going to retire with?

Currently I broke everything down and I'd only need $18.9k to cover my annual rent/food/emergency savings etc currently. This certainly seems pretty low, but I also don't have kids (or a car, all my siblings bought cars as soon as they got their first job, I avoided it like the plague, train works fine for me.)

 

[ziggy29]

Thanks for the support ziggy! Out of curiosity, what age do you plan to retire at? How much are you going to retire with?

Currently I broke everything down and I'd only need $18.9k to cover my annual rent/food/emergency savings etc currently. This certainly seems pretty low, but I also don't have kids (or a car, all my siblings bought cars as soon as they got their first job, I avoided it like the plague, train works fine for me.)

I don't know when I plan to retire, but I plan to be able to retire within 10-12 years. At this point, the health care situation is the wild card which could change that several years in either direction.

I'm shooting for a minimum income of about $40,000 a year in retirement (in today's dollars). In all truthfulness, I expect to "semi-retire" for a few years first -- working a few hours doing something I enjoy (or at least tolerate well) to add another $10K or so to my income stream at first. I assume my wife will probably do the same thing (depending on how her travel agency business is going at the time).

At your age, to be honest, it's way too early to project retirement income needs. You don't know what your future family status holds. Sounds like you're single (could be wrong) and you don't know your situation with a future spouse (assuming you're single) or how many kids (if any). And you probably no have no idea yet what your desired lifestyle will be like.

Once that aspect of your life is on firm footing, you'll be in a much better position to start tentatively "plotting a course" toward the *ability* to retire early. Note I said "ability" here. Not everyone who CAN retire wants to, and there's something to be said for the blessedness of loving your work (hard for me to believe, but some do!)

 

[Xias]

I don't know when I plan to retire, but I plan to be able to retire within 10-12 years. At this point, the health care situation is the wild card which could change that several years in either direction.

I'm shooting for a minimum income of about $40,000 a year in retirement (in today's dollars). In all truthfulness, I expect to "semi-retire" for a few years first -- working a few hours doing something I enjoy (or at least tolerate well) to add another $10K or so to my income stream at first. I assume my wife will probably do the same thing (depending on how her travel agency business is going at the time).

At your age, to be honest, it's way too early to project retirement income needs. You don't know what your future family status holds. Sounds like you're single (could be wrong) and you don't know your situation with a future spouse (assuming you're single) or how many kids (if any). And you probably no have no idea yet what your desired lifestyle will be like.

Once that aspect of your life is on firm footing, you'll be in a much better position to start tentatively "plotting a course" toward the *ability* to retire early. Note I said "ability" here. Not everyone who CAN retire wants to, and there's something to be said for the blessedness of loving your work (hard for me to believe, but some do!)

That's what I find a bit frustrating. At this point all I can do really is save as much as humanly possible, since I can't really measure how much I'll need at this point (especially healthcare, ow!). I'm not married but have lived with my GF for about a year. We've talked a lot about kids and currently don't have plans for any.

In terms of lifestyle I tend to be pretty simple. We share a car (thank God for that, money pits that they are). I don't need a giant house or big screen TV or a new Lexus (Buying status seems a lesson in futility). Most of what I do doesn't cost very much money, as I love going outdoors and hiking/fishing. My only expensive hobbies are skiing and console gaming (I have a 360 and Wii). The company I work for has a fitness center so thankfully no gym memberships to pay for either.

A good start, I guess, but I'm nowhere close to RE..one of these days

 

[zebageba]

--I am 39, DW is 34
--Combined income of 60k
--I work in a retail job, DW works for the state
--Total monthly expenses around 2k
--Net worth (not including house) around 200k in total assets

94k in 401k
63k non-retirement mutual funds
25k Roth
13k savings account
10k state retirement

--No debt except the mortgage
--No kids yet

 

[firewhen]

Xias,

When many of us started, there was no internet or message boards. I had never even heard of FIRE until a year ago. We just saved for the future, and had a vague notion that the savings would come in handy and perhaps even allow us to stop working alittle early.

I think this was good because while the savings grew over the years, I never worried about where we were and what was our goal, since there was none. At 24, you have to accept that this is all in the distance future. For the vast majority of people, even those on this board, you have a number of decades to go.

Live your life, LBYM, but enjoy at the same time, as it sounds you are doing. I remember the first few years after making a few annual $2,000 IRA contributions, thinking this will never amount to much. 10 years later, it had grown some, and now after having worked about 20 years, we are comfortable, and probably even FI. But this all happens over time, and it will for you, but there is not a get rich quick thing. It is slow, steady growth and reasonable investments.

 

[tricky88]

If I posted on this thread back when it began, I am sorry. But I don't think I did...
Age- 36
Income $110,000 (wife makes more of it than I do. And frankly we both work very long hours and I don't know if this will keep going for much longer. She likes her job better than I like mine. While the getting is good, we're trying to save a lot, but in two years our income could be significantly less than it is now)
Profession- Me: Web Editor Her: TV Show compositor
Total monthly expense: Fluctuates, but roughly $3300
Net Worth- $470,000

Stuff- No kids. None coming. No house, renting a nice place realtively cheap in LA (where shacks still cost $700,000). Me: getting close to another job burnout. Would gladly trade part of my salary for normal hours, less stress, and the ability to take my vacation time.

We've been saving for about 9 years now, and I'm amazed at the progress we've made. And how the money itself generates more money. I think by 50 we'll be ready to downshift. But right now both of our cars are a mess and we're considering buying a new Prius. After tax & insurance that would cost about half of my annual salary. That is insane. I'd love to try to get by with one car, but I am worried it would be very difficult here.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Just out of curiosity, and this has been mentioned previously, but how many of the net worth figures here constitute "family" or "husband AND wife" total net worth? The reason I ask is that some of the numbers being thrown around sound darned impressive for the ages of the INDIVIDUAL people posting them.

 

[Keopele]

Hey...this is my first post. I've been inspired lately by my Pops leaving the workforce at 54 and my Mom only a couple years behind. Here's my status:

Age: 31 (Single)
Income: 63,000...3000 take home/month after 8% 401k contribution.
Expenses: 2300/month
401k: 25k
RothIRA: 7,500
Open-ended Mutual Fund: 8,500
NW: 95k

Great to see like minded people...

 

[fazerman]

Hey at least you're honest! Judging by these posts I feel like I shouldn't even consider RE because I'd need to make six figures.

In that spirit, I'll let you know what I have so far
Age: 24
Income: $32,000 (Investor Services Rep, few weeks from my series 7, hopefully I'll be making more once I'm certified!)
Net Worth: $4011.59 (stupid student loans, but at least I'm not negative? )

Graduated in may of 2006, took the summer off except for a cake part time job, and then got my act together and fully employed (currently liking my work just fine) in October of '07

Just a few words of encouragement to those who recently graduated (less than 5 yrs ago).
1) Keep busting A$$ paying of those student loans, it's amazing how easy saving $ becomes when $500-1000 monthly payment disappears. Of course, when I had to pay my ~$30k student loan debt off, the interest was not deductible so it was a no brainer.

2) you do not have to make 6 figures to RE. I've been out of college for over 10 years, started out making ~ $35k in Silicon Valley (translates to crap wages). Still not making 6 figures and still plan to RE before I'm 50.

 

[Lagrange Multiplier]

Age: 39
Income: $85,000/yr
Profession: Software engineer
Total monthly expense: Don't know, have lived in a way that I haven't been forced to track it
Net worth: $778,399.59 at last count
Stuff: Single, Didn't have access to 401(k) until age 26

, still a renter, $419.55 in credit card debt to be paid off before the end of the month, 2003 Trek 7700 bike that's still in decent condition.

Other: Wondering how so many others stumble into these six-figure incomes.

 

[ats5g]

Thought I'd post to make all of the other young people feel good.

Age: 32 , DW 30
Salary: around $115,000
Total monthly expense: around $5,000 [mortgage and daycare is $3,500 ]
net worth: Just bought house in '05, so probably about negative $200,000 [$50,000 in 401(k)'s]. I screwed around in my 20's [credit card debt, bounced some checks, etc.], so didn't get a real job from which we could save until a couple years ago.
stuff!: minivan, 2 wonderful "whoopsie" kids.

Ahhh... there, feel better now OKlibrarian.

- Alec

 

[CuppaJoe]

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: ?

Good thread, Wealth Health. Your monthly expense looks to me very low for your income and I'm curious does the 1,756.43 include food at home and eating out or maybe do you take all your meals in the company cafeteria as a benefit of the job? Don't laugh too much I know many who do that. I spend about $2,800/month on about 60,000/yr, I don't own and operate a car, I also rent, buy all my own food and eat out a lot. I have enough $$ to retire now at age 60 but am not yet mentally ready. At 31, you are doing great, A+ in my grade book.

CuppaJoe, also a NewB

 

[RE-Fin-54321]

Alright, I'll bite...

Age: 24, DW - 24
Combined Income: ~$115,000
Profession: Consultant, DW - Sales Analyst
Expenses: ~$2800
Net Worth: ~$150,000 (includes $40K home equity)
Stuff: 2003 Toyota Corrola and 2003 Chevy Cavalier both paid for, modest townhome which we purchased about a year ago w/ 20% down... Both DW and I started working immediately after graduating college at the age of 22 - I had a decent amount of student loans and cc debt out of school, she had none. We are both pretty natural at LBYM - I'd characterize myself as having an obsession with personal financial planning and analysis, which compliments DW who is very obsessive with saving money - I've never seen anyone clip so many coupons

Also, I'm fairly new to the forums and have thus far found the depth of information here invaluable. I look forward to contributing more of my insights in the future.

 

[CuppaJoe]

2 cats (1 really, the other is the BFs, but I can't bear to say she isn't a part of MY/OUR family too. if we split, I get 1, he gets the other).

14 years ago I moved and took one of the 2 cats; I regret it to this day. One mourned painfully (he went behind the bath tub and screamed for a couple of days) and settled in with me to a new life slowly, found a cat friend in the building but he was never the same. The other died about 18 months later, suddenly maybe of a heart attack on Dec. 26. Three of us still feel guilty about him and believed he died of a broken heart; those cats so missed each other.