Where were you at 31?

[ziggy29]

I found a printout I made at year-end 1996 (when I was 31). The only retirement account I had at the time was my first employer's 401K plan worth about $85,000.

In 1999 we opened two Roth IRAs, and in that same year I changed jobs so the above 401K became a rollover IRA. Between those three accounts and my current employer's 401K, what was $85,000 in 1996 is a tad over $500,000 today.

 

[SecondCor521]

That was only 4 years ago (I'm 35), combined with DH, our net worth was about $800K give or take a few thousand. No debt.

Today, our net worth is $1.27 million and we still have no debt (unless you count a 17 month old toddler as debt )

Yeah, but those are Canadian dollars...wait a minute...

2Cor521

 

[Martha]

In debt and budgeting to buy socks.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Yeah, but those are Canadian dollars...wait a minute...

2Cor521

Yup

We're not dealing with monopoly money any more!

 

[CyclingInvestor]

age 31 : $150k, halfway thru 6 year marriage
age 49 : retired 1 year

 

[Gumby]

gosh, but what about after law school gumby?

for now i've decided grad school isn't worth the cost for me since i have a good job, w/ good pay and wouldn't be much higher if i went, but i change my mind every month or so!

i definitely wouldn't go to law school though (but lots of respect for those who do) because i wouldn't actually practice if i went and it is so darn expensive, aside from having to ignore my kids for a couple years!

have a friend who just graduated and makes less than me, me and my sucker friends who all work in nonprofits

I have posted before that my calculations show it took me at least 12 years after law school to break even financially.

A combination of getting a good paying job at a big law firm, not changing my lifestyle to match the increased income, and investing wisely, means that the young wife and I have been able to accumulate a tidy sum.

 

[Khan]

I turned 31 in September '81.

Unemployed, recent graduate school dropout, driving '73 car, savings: ~$5000.

Was married with working spouse, I got a job within a year, drove the car 3 more years, marriage fell apart in early '84.

Retired in '04, living on pension; about $400K in net worth (sans house).

 

[Fireup2020]

Age 31...divorced...on active duty in the USN with maybe 5K in my TSP. This was also the year I discovered the house we did not properly sell was foreclosed (he got the house/mortgage, and I got the 20K misc. credit debt) PLUS - had a 18K car note at a horrible interest rate (lousy credit at the time)

Fast forward six years: 25K in TSP, 10K in deferred comp, 19.25 years towards a military pension I'll collect at 60 and 13.5 years towards a 25 year pension with civil service - bailing from here at 50 or 55 with pension and medical (military time buyback)....and a credit score in the low/mid 700's!!!! No car payment, less than 5K in other debt...time can heal financial wounds! Choose your occupation/jobs with RE in mind - and all will work out as long as we live long enough!

You are doing fine!

 

[SLC Tortfeasor]

I'm 31 right now. I've got $142K in various investment accounts, about $90K of which is in dedicated retirement accounts.

This is actually a problem, because the money that's not in retirement accounts is sort of burning a hole in my pocket. One month I'm fantasizing about using it to buy a plot of land somewhere for a remote cabin. The next month (i.e., this month), I'm shopping around for new sports cars. Please someone talk me out of buying a Lotus Esprit before it's too late!

Part of me keeps telling myself, hey, you earned that money, you've been a good saver, now reward yourself! Very dangerous thoughts, I know, but I still have them.

 

[CuppaJoe]

I

Please someone talk me out of buying a Lotus Esprit before it's too late!

Part of me keeps telling myself, hey, you earned that money, you've been a good saver, now reward yourself! Very dangerous thoughts, I know, but I still have them.

I love the look of red Jaguars. Thank god, I don't have access to parking. But I would go easy on myself at 31; well anyway, I did, and still won't be destitute at 65.

 

[toofrugalformycat]

At age 31 I was underwater on my mortgage (housing crash in Anchorage), with a net worth of about zero. But DH and I both had decent jobs and were soon saving about 50% of take home. When all you do is hike in the woods or canoe, and eat granola for fun those nickels really add up.
I ERed 14 years later.

 

[HobbyDave]

I'll be 31 in 9 months-ish, and we have almost exactly 300k saved (mostly in 401k/IRAs).

We're saving a bit over $40,000 per year right now between 401k's & stock plans. Hopefully that will be enough to put us over $1,000,000 in our accounts by age 40. That's the plan at least

 

[aaronc879]

I have 3 more years 'til I reach 31. By then I should pass the 200K mark. Not bad considering my income is and still will be under 50K per year. I started saving at 21, seriously at 25.

 

[novaman]

at 31- I had $50,000 saved and a net worth of 400,000

at 43- I have 2 million saved and a net worth of 3.4 million

 

[Meadbh]

1988, age 31: NW approximately $60K
2007, age 50: NW approximately $2.5 m

 

[FIREd]

Wife and I were 31 in 2005 and 2 years ago our NW was 225K. Today we are 33, and our NW is 440K.

 

[haha]

When I was 31 I was living at the beach, working part time and a very happy and proud possessor of $10,000.

Ha

 

[Grizz]

That was 7yrs ago for me. I had a NW of about $75000. Approx. $15000 was in liquid investments. This was also the year that I purchased my business, and am now FI and contemplating RE.

The fact that you are on this forum at such a young age, talking about FIRE, and presumably working toward it suggests to me that you are probably of a higher intellect and drive than almost every 31yr old in the world. I'm even something of an oddity at 38.

I'd like to offer up a few words of advice........ If you have a creative mind and can stomach temporarily working for less pay than many of your friends,then get out there and start a business, or preferably buy a fairly valued successful existing one (I never buy IPO's). If you go this route, research the hell out of what you are buying, and know where you plan to take it. If you are a bit more risk averse, then get something started in your garage after hours, but work hard at it, and if it doesn't fly, try something else. Time is on your side right now. On average, you have a sharper brain, and more physical drive now than you'll ever again have in your life. Remember, being somewhat naive in business can be your best friend. The potential upside is huge, and if you have a setback now, it will be much easier to get back on course than if you were 50 and your new venture didn't pan out.

 

[DangerMouse]

Probably in Nordstrom's trying to buy yet another pair of shoes on maxed out credit cards. Ahh the good old days when life was about making minimum payments on the credit cards and getting angry when the bank would deny me a purchase.

 

[Linney]

What a good reflection on how far we've come!

Age 31: $20-30K in retirement accounts. No savings. Very little home equity.
Age 35: Divorced. Everything split in half. My spouse, a grad student who never intended to graduate, was richly 'rewarded' for leaving the marriage.
Today (10 years later): $600K in retirement accounts. House paid off. Early retirement is in sight.

 

[bow-tie]

NW somewhere around 400k (split evenly between home and RE accts)

 

[FinanceDude]

What a good reflection on how far we've come!

Age 31: $20-30K in retirement accounts. No savings. Very little home equity.

Believe it or not, that was WAY AHEAD of most folks at the time.....

Age 35: Divorced. Everything split in half. My spouse, a grad student who never intended to graduate, was richly 'rewarded' for leaving the marriage.

He's probably still in school.........

Today (10 years later): $600K in retirement accounts. House paid off. Early retirement is in sight.

Great job..........

 

[semtex]

31, one year out of graduate school. NW neg 40k.

 

[CuppaJoe]

When I was 31 I was living at the beach, working part time and a very happy and proud possessor of $10,000.

Ha

Way to go!

 

[Linney]

Believe it or not, that was WAY AHEAD of most folks at the time.....

No! Tell me that the young dreamers are doing better than that, please!

He's probably still in school.........

The money only lasted for two years. He has to w*rk now.

Great job..........

I just posted it with the hope of inspiring the younger dreamers. At 31, I would have found it surprising that so many people went from very little money to a lot of money in such a short time (if you call 10-15 years a short time). Yet there are quite a few stories in this thread that confirm how possible this is. LYBM works!