Poll:Self Made or Not Self Made

[Midpack]

Still, the truth is that people have an envy of wealth more than anything else.

[-]Maybe anecdotal though there’s no proof wealth envy has increased in the US. However, because upward mobility has been greatly diminished, it makes malicious (bad) and benign (good?) envy more apparent? And people may be more outspoken these days with what appears to be instant fame on social media and greater wealth inequality? Who knows...[/-]Never mind.

 

[Luck_Club]

Sitting on my inherited yacht drinking pina coladas. Helicopter on its way to go to the casino

 

[Senator]

I do count luck. I was diagnosed with a serious disease that could have killed me 6 years ago. Many people with the same or less severe diagnosis could not be saved. Some were young too, in their 20s and 30s.

I am luckier than many billionaires. None of their money could buy them another minute.

I don't understand why people always look to money as a proof on one's having luck. Why are they not grateful for other things that they have, like longevity, health, and lack of suffering from pain?

If a poor person could have had the same luck, it's not luck... Good health is partially luck, but it has nothing to do with money.

 

[NW-Bound]

Can young persons starting work today get to where we millionaires on this forum are?

I think they can. I don't believe any would say it's impossible.

Is it harder for them? I am not sure.

Being loaded with college debt is not going to help for sure. College tuition is higher certainly, but I wonder if students nowadays work part-time while going to school. In my family, because we are doing better than our parents, our kids do not have to work as hard as we did. I don't know about students from poorer families.

And then, what fields still have good paying jobs? Everybody uses technology toys, but only a few get to design them. What do we do with the rest? There was a thread here about that, but I do not remember if we got anywhere with that.

I think plumbers, auto mechanics, AC installers, etc..., will continue to do well. Not only that most youngsters do not like these jobs, if everyone of them becomes a plumber, there's not enough plumbing for them to fix.

I dunno. It's not a simple problem. But in my case, I taught my children not to complain, and to work hard. Seems to work so far. We will have to wait another 10 years at least to see if they get to be a millionaire. I was not there until I was between 40 and 45.

 

[SnowballCamper]

I answered self made, but not really. DW brought in half of it. And we're just barely there. So as a couple we're self made.

 

[ziggy29]

"Self made" can mean radically different things to different people.

 

[RobbieB]

I thought the "don" had to make you...

 

[W2R]

Perhaps a better way to phrase the question is: "Did an inheritance significantly impact your ability to achieve FI and/or RE

No, when I inherited I was already FI and was about a year from my RE date which I had already determined and disclosed to those closest to me. That RE date was the first date when I qualified for retiree health insurance, and my inheritance didn't speed that up. It gives me some extra spending money for the "Blow That Dough" thread, which I appreciate! But most of my net worth is from more boring sources like saving, investing, planning, working hard, and having the good fortune to live in this great country with all its opportunities.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I said self made with an inheritance, because I inherited about $750K combined from my (divorced) parents over the last 10 years, but we have about $2.3M in assets now. The inherited assets are what got me thinking seriously about FIRE, and although we could possibly have tried to retire just as early without it, our retirement will definitely be very different because of it.

 

[Kwirk]

No $ inheritance, but I was a winner in the birth lottery and that allowed some good decisions.

 

[Calico]

Good luck

 

[cooch96]

Am I the first one to notice the poll asks if I’m a self-made millionarie? Oh absolutely!! (or hopefully will be in a year or two) Millionarie is way cooler than millionaire. I’m going to start using that word orally. That matches the theme of the older guys in my profession who pronounce “street lights” as “luminaries”.

 

[NW-Bound]

I thought the "don" had to make you...

And a prerequisite is that you have to be of full Italian descent, and have committed a murder by contract killing. The latter means that a murder for personal reasons is not acceptable.

If you are not Italian, do not bother to apply. No law of Equal Opportunity here.

 

[Senator]

Am I the first one to notice the poll asks if I’m a self-made millionarie?

I think you are. I didn't notice. Good catch. Although spelling and grammar are on the way out.

 

[tinlizzy]

I said self made. No inheritance, no college education. Hit a million at 50 without counting pension or home. I feel lucky but it wasn't luck that got me here. FIRE class of 2020.

 

[pj.mask]

Sticking to the OP earned vs inherited topic and leaving “luck” out of this:

Self made with an inheritance. One parent passed away in high school with life insurance. Used about $35k to buy a used car, computer, and fund 4 years of college (total college costs were ~$20k/yr). I consider that my deceased parents contribution. The remainder I put in stocks and it now 17% of net worth. At projected growth rates it will end up being about 10% of final net worth and means ability to retire age 40-45 vs 45-50.

I do expect to spend most of that remaining inheritance on my siblings who are less successful. But since they are not into saving I’ll hold onto it until they can’t meet their needs easily with work. We all got equal shares, mine is now 75% of total value remaining.

 

[marko]

If you were born in american, you're probably not self made. Richest country on the planet, most opportunity. Just being born here already puts you halfway through the race. LEts notn kids ourselves.

Not to down the "luck" rat-hole, but I'm often reminded of my good friend from Germany who sent each of his kids to live in the US for a year.

"I want them to see what it's like to live in a country where if you don't work or are sick, they let you die on the street like a dog".

 

[ckelly78z]

At 54, i'm not quite there yet with $1,000,000 investable, but I live on a paid off farm with no debt, so I am probably there with net worth.

My parents were good people, but no help with getting started, or in any way financially, and there has never been any inheritances going around in our families. Both my DW, and my families tend to have long lives, and don't have much left at that point to distribute.

 

[Jeffman52]

I said self made. No inheritance, no college education. Hit a million at 50 without counting pension or home. I feel lucky but it wasn't luck that got me here. FIRE class of 2020.

+1

No inheritance. Parents/Grandparents left nothing but debt and no assets. I went to technical schools at night while working but no actual college. Won the birth lottery of being a US citizen. I could have done way better. Divorce left me with almost zero assets at 40 years old. It really was hard work, tons of hours sometimes two jobs, LBYM, and putting money away for the long haul that still got me to the million mark.

 

[Markola]

Not to down the "luck" rat-hole, but I'm often reminded of my good friend from Germany who sent each of his kids to live in the US for a year.



"I want them to see what it's like to live in a country where if you don't work or are sick, they let you die on the street like a dog".

Yes, the way I read our country’s history, ever since the Jamestown Colony was founded, often for better, often for worse, America’s true religion is pursuit of the almighty dollar.

 

[pjigar]

No inheritance here as I grew up in a real poor family with alcoholic parents. I left at 17 and charted my own course. Used the GI bill to go to college. Etc, etc.



I think I ended up with a "reverse inheritance" as I paid the funeral and burial expenses for my parents when they died.

Similar story here. My dad piled up a ton of debt, thanks to shark lenders, by the time I finished college. It took me couple of years to pay off all his debts. My dad worked hard and made good money but everyone in town relied on shark lenders to go through an agriculture year, pay off most of the balance upon harvest and start over.

PS: I also had student debt on top of that which took another year to pay off.

 

[Mdlerth]

Maybe not all that impressive, but what's there is self-made

I never inherited anything other than mediocre genes. Not handsome, not athletic, not talented. Not rich either, although FI and winding down toward RE.

DF passed away 3 months ago leaving everything to DM who continues on, lingering in confusion and despair. When she departs, one fifth of the estate will be the first and last inheritance I ever receive. It will be a trivial amount, since their memory care will have depleted most of their life savings.

In happier times, my folks were very generous to my sisters and older brother, all of whom needed frequent bailing out. From a logical rather than legal definition, would that count as inheritance? (Spoiler alert: I didn't get any of it.)

 

[tb001]

No inheiritance here and not expecting much. DH’s mom is still a force of nature in her mid nineties but requires signifcant help to allow her to stay in her home. Though she has a great pension, I expect what’s left when she passes will be minimal. I think she’ll have done it perfectly!

My DF pulled all of his money out at the bottom of the recession and never got back in. He now has dementia and will likely need Ltc in the next year. His wife is in great health and will inheirit whatever, if any, is left.

DM is almost 80 and her and her husbands (mid 90s) savings are dwindling. They were scammed out of about a quarter of their savings about 10 yrs ago, which really hurt. They need to sell their place (too much $$ and maintenance) but too much change for her husband at this point. She’s in a tough spot.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

When I was in college, I was getting GI-Bill to help with tuition and I was working fulltime. My parents offered to co-sign the mortgage for my wife and me to buy a tri-plex.

Is 'co-signing' a note considered an inheritance? I do not think it is.

When my grandparents died, I got $6,000.

I retired at 42 and a couple of years later my mother died and I got $10,000.

So I have gotten inheritances in my life. $16,000 in total. Those inheritances had no real effect on my Net Worth.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Am I the first one to notice the poll asks if I’m a self-made millionarie? Oh absolutely!! (or hopefully will be in a year or two) Millionarie is way cooler than millionaire. I’m going to start using that word orally. That matches the theme of the older guys in my profession who pronounce “street lights” as “luminaries”.

It's a long way to Millionarie