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Old 01-08-2018, 11:14 AM   #61
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Originally Posted by nerdyJON View Post
I love watching progress year over year! Thank you for the update. A couple of large jumps in the last couple of years and you're only going for $100K in 2018? Push yourself, I think you can hit $140K, depending on the market.
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Originally Posted by Exit 2024 View Post
Thanks for update, Staples!
Looks like you had blockbuster year - so many changes and you made it through with excellent results
I also think your target for 2018 of less than $100k is very conservative but understand that you are planning for some expenses to get settled in the new house.
Looking forward to your 2018 updates
Thanks to both of you for the replies, and the NW probably is worth another look. With the minimum adders of $11K Roth, $40K 401k, paydown of existing mortgage debt, and deductions of the one time housing costs, I really would only need to realize about $50K in organic growth to hit $900K. The tax bill should prove helpful to the economy, but I'm still curious when we see our next correction.

I'm going to leave $900K as a number I'd be ecstatic to see come year end, but I'll make $950K my stretch goal.
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Old 01-11-2018, 03:40 PM   #62
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The two of you should be very proud of yourselves for sticking to your plan and growing your net worth. In almost every scenario I have encountered personally when one makes more money they buy more stuff. What do you attribute your maturity to live way below your means to at such a young age. This question is coming from someone who is about the same age as you and has earned a lot more annually but now at 31 years old I have far less net worth. I like most fell into the spending trap. My hat is off to you both but certainly would love to find out more of your day to day habits that compound to what you have amassed!
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Old 01-12-2018, 11:42 AM   #63
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The two of you should be very proud of yourselves for sticking to your plan and growing your net worth. In almost every scenario I have encountered personally when one makes more money they buy more stuff. What do you attribute your maturity to live way below your means to at such a young age. This question is coming from someone who is about the same age as you and has earned a lot more annually but now at 31 years old I have far less net worth. I like most fell into the spending trap. My hat is off to you both but certainly would love to find out more of your day to day habits that compound to what you have amassed!
Thanks for the kind words. I think the desire to be financially free and at least have the option to retire early and spend more time with our kids is the biggest driving force behind our decisions. The funny thing is, if we were on one of the more "extreme" early retirement sites, we would be considered majorly wasteful spenders. Our new home will be more than we need, we both have more car than we need, and we spend thousands on vacation every year. I've never regretted a penny of any of these items, as they're components that really affect our day to day and year to year experiences, but the budget was always considered first.

I'll give you a few tips that have worked for me:

1) It's an old adage, but you have to pay yourself first. I'm not sure how everyone executes this, but my biggest component here is that I put the investing on auto-pilot and treat it like an expense. 401k comes out ahead of the paycheck, so you immediately adjust to the smaller paycheck, but individual contributions can be tough. This is why I demand of myself to treat it like a necessary expense. Mortgage, insurance, food, utilities, investing... all fall in to the same type of category.

For instance, on my Excel master sheet, we have Roth IRA contributions as an expense every month to the tune of ~$917. When looking at the month end totals, that ~$917 is never available to be spent on other things.

2) It's also cliche, but closely monitor your spending and find the leaks. Everyone harps on the big ones like rent/mortgage, auto payments, etc., but I think it's equally important (if not more so) to monitor the small stuff. You will always see and feel the $450 car payment or the $1,800 mortgage payment, but $15 at lunch, $40 at the bar, $25 at the movies will add up very fast if you don't keep a close eye on it.

3) When it comes to your budgeting categories, once you have a grip on what they *should* be every month, I like to over-budget and be happy when I come in under. Again, it creates the mental game of not having tons of money left over each month for frivolous spending. If you expect to spend $300 on groceries, bump it to $375-400. Mint.com gives you an option to rollover unused money from monthly budgets... I never do that. Start fresh every month.

4) Stick with it and don't get discouraged. 2008-2009 wasn't exactly a growth period for most people's net worth. I held on to all my investments and continued adding, and everything is way up as a result. We will absolutely have another correction in due time, and I once again will not sell. If anything, I hope to have sufficient cash flow to increase my purchases.

Good luck, and keep after it. If you have the income you mentioned, you can build your NW insanely fast, so don't feel like you're behind the 8-ball. Most people don't even consider investments until well after age 31.
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Old 01-12-2018, 02:19 PM   #64
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Thanks for the reply! I sent you a pm.
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29 (now 33) - Long Way to Go, But Digging In
Old 01-12-2018, 02:35 PM   #65
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29 (now 33) - Long Way to Go, But Digging In

Looks like you have a good plan in place. Your wife should consider that if she leaves the workforce she reduces her future social security benefits.

I realize you are planning as a couple but its always smart to consider all options so I’m looking at it from a single person perspective. I was a stay at home mom from birth to age 8. However, If I had to choose a few years to stay home, I think I would pick age 10-teens. Younger if the kids are into sports.

I’m very impressed with your commitment to saving. Congrats on the milestone
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Old 01-12-2018, 07:16 PM   #66
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Wow. Nice work. You are laser focused! Great job.
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Old 04-03-2018, 08:18 AM   #67
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Q1-18 is complete, and we're doing very well in our new location. The weather has been tremendous, and there's so much to do in the area. It has really allowed to get outside every weekend and really soak up some quality family time. The kids are loving this lifestyle. Our new home is framed and roofed, with a scheduled completion of late June/early July.

We're currently in an inexpensive rental, so the savings have been tremendous. I budget for a minimal annual bonus, but we hit all our numbers in 2017, and this year's payout was triple last year's, so our income tracking has jumped. I'm feeling very good about all of our metrics, with the exception of the NW target. No big deal, as the down market creates good buying opportunities on a long horizon.

Here's an update of our 2018 goals:

INCOME & SPENDING
Annual Combined Income: $225,000
Tracking @ $240,000

Annual Expenses: $90,400
Tracking @ $87,000

Annual Savings: $91,400
Tracking @ $105,000

Annual Savings Rate: 49%
Tracking @ 56%

Net Worth: $900,000
Tracking @ $850,000 - Really depends how the market cycles throughout the remainder of 2018


GOALS
$39,700 401k (including Company Matches)
Tracking @ $41,000

$2,300 House Principal Payoff
Tracking @ $2,800

$4,300 Rental Principal Payoff
ON TRACK

$13,500 Reinvested Dividends
Tracking @ $14,200

$11,000 Roth (Combined)
ON TRACK - Will complete in Q2

$3,400 HSA
ON TRACK
________________________________________
$74,200 TOTAL
Tracking @ $76,700

On to Q2...
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Old 04-12-2018, 06:50 PM   #68
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it looks like you are making additional principal payments on your house & rental.
personally, i wouldn't do that as it is cheap money. (if your interest rates are under 4.5%)
i would instead put any surplus cash into a taxable vanguard account, along with any cash.
if you have a fair amount of equity in the rental, consider putting a heloc on it. that way you will always have access to emergency cash if needed for a large purchase, while all your cash is building your wealth with compounding interest.
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very comfortably living off of my rental income while my ira collects dust...& compounding interest!
The rentals are now paying me over double the $$$ that I made when I had a job!
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Old 07-02-2018, 09:03 AM   #69
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The first of half 2018 has flown by, and we're in the final stretch on our home construction. We're set to close at the end of this month, and it will be a very welcome change. With the minimal furniture, no photos on the walls and relatively small size, we've never truly "settled" in to this temporary housing, so it'll be great to really feel at home.

Savings have continued to do well, with no major financial changes in that department since Q1.

The big change is that we recently sold our rental property. A little over a month ago, our tenants asked if we'd be interested in selling, and since we moved out of state, the thought of not being an out of state landlord had occasionally crossed my mind. We had the property appraised, agreed on a figure, and they closed a few days ago. Compared to the original purchase price, we made a small profit, but overall it was a nice cash out. I'll miss the income, but I think it's for the best. It eliminates one potential unknown in our day to day life, and I know they'll be happy there for years to come.

Here's an update of our 2018 goals:

INCOME & SPENDING
Annual Combined Income: $225,000
Tracking @ $240,000

Annual Expenses: $90,400
Tracking @ $87,000

Annual Savings: $91,400
Tracking @ $110,000

Annual Savings Rate: 49%
Tracking @ 56%

Net Worth: $900,000
Tracking @ $875,000 - Really depends how the market cycles throughout the remainder of 2018


GOALS
$39,700 401k (including Company Matches)
Tracking @ $41,000

$2,300 House Principal Payoff
Tracking @ $2,800

$4,300 Rental Principal Payoff
SOLD PROPERTY

$13,500 Reinvested Dividends
Tracking @ $15,600

$11,000 Roth (Combined)
ON TRACK - DONE

$3,400 HSA
ON TRACK
________________________________________
$74,200 TOTAL
Tracking @ $77,000

On to Q3...
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Old 07-02-2018, 02:34 PM   #70
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Awesome progress, Staples !!! only one red line and yes, markets are unpredictable, but keep pushing - 900k will show up sooner than later
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Old 01-02-2019, 01:29 PM   #71
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Another year in the books, with a less than stellar finish. My suspicions about a dip in the market were confirmed in Q4, but with a long horizon, I'm not worried. If anything, it just makes things cheaper in the short term, and I'll continue to make purchases every month.

Here's how the end of 2018 looked, when compared with the end of 2017

================================================== ============

$218,600 Annual Combined Income - $260,400

$90,100 Roth - $93,940
$83,500 Taxable Brokerage - $73,430
$52,900 Rollover IRA - $52,110
$255,700 401k (Combined) - $274,960
$43,500 IRA/Roth IRA (College Savings) - $48,450
$182,300 Cash/HSA - $76,920

Primary Residence: $350,000 Debt ($164,000 Equity)
Rental Property: SOLD

NET WORTH END 2014: ~$354,100
NET WORTH END 2015: ~$489,300
NET WORTH END 2016: ~$657,100
NET WORTH END 2017: ~$805,000
NET WORTH END 2018: ~$783,810

2014 Annual Expenses: $57,600
2015 Annual Expenses: $57,300
2016 Annual Expenses: $71,715
2017 Annual Expenses: $76,690
2018 Annual Expenses: $84,820

2014 Annual Savings: $71,850
2015 Annual Savings: $90,120
2016 Annual Savings: $81,560
2017 Annual Savings: $98,830
2018 Annual Savings: $121,710

2014 Annual Savings Rate: ~55%
2015 Annual Savings Rate: ~61%
2016 Annual Savings Rate: ~53%
2017 Annual Savings Rate: ~56%
2018 Annual Savings Rate: ~59%

================================================== ============

2018 Goals & Results

Annual Combined Income: $225,000 - Beat by $35,400
Annual Expenses: $90,400 - Beat by $5,580
Annual Savings: $91,400 - Beat by $30,310
Annual Savings Rate: 49% - Beat by 10%
Net Worth: $900,000 - Missed by $116,190

$39,700 401k (including Company Matches - No match at the new company, yet) - DONE - $42,237.74
$2,300 House Principal Payoff - DONE - $58,000
$4,300 Rental Principal Payoff - SOLD
$13,500 Reinvested Dividends - DONE - $24,261.70
$11,000 Roth (Combined) - DONE
$3,400 HSA - DONE__________________________
$74,200 TOTAL - DONE - $138,899.44

I feel great about these goals, having achieved every single one. Of course, it hurts to miss the big one, but it'll recover quickly.

================================================== ============

2018 Recap & Notes
This was a really great year. We spent the first half adjusting to our new life and getting excited for our new home and for my son to start Kindergarten. Late Summer, we closed on the new house, and we've settled in nicely. School is going well, and both our jobs are humming along.

My wife received an unexpected $7,500 raise in November, and she's on track for another larger raise in February. The job is really testing her, but she's learning a lot and truly excelling in her role.

We took a couple vacations and generally spent a lot of time together as a family. Life is good.

================================================== ============

2019 Notes & Goals
2019 should be another great year. We've really locked in to this life, the kids are happy and we have a few vacations planned throughout the year, including a cruise for my little girl's birthday next month.

Since this will be our first full year in the new home, I'm expecting an increase in spending to cover the property taxes, insurance, utilities, etc. I haven't factored in a raise for my wife, but with the sale of the rental property and a slightly lower bonus for me this year, I expect income to dip a little bit. As usual, we'll work aggressively to ratchet up the savings rate, but I'd be very happy to land around 46%, as projected.

Annual Combined Income: $240,000
Annual Expenses: $100,000
Annual Savings: $86,800
Annual Savings Rate: 46%
Net Worth: $850,000

$42,000 401k (including Company Matches - No match at the new company, yet)
$5,200 House Principal Payoff
$15,000 Reinvested Dividends
$12,000 Roth (Combined)
$3,400 HSA__________________________
$77,600 TOTAL


Here's to 2019! Thanks for following along.
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Old 01-02-2019, 01:39 PM   #72
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$42,000 401k (including Company Matches - No match at the new company, yet)
$5,200 House Principal Payoff
$15,000 Reinvested Dividends
$12,000 Roth (Combined)
$3,400 HSA__________________________
$77,600 TOTAL


Here's to 2019! Thanks for following along.

Congrats, although I never discuss total net worth, we have similar saving goals for the year although add 529 and brokerage to that list for us *we are 37 and earn much less though. We are also laying low on vacations while a sick relative recovers.
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Old 01-03-2019, 09:30 AM   #73
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Standard Staples, you had a great year, very impressed by your results despite you missing NW target. We missed it too but on other hand - lower stock prices are always welcome while we are in accumulation phase.
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Old 01-03-2019, 02:51 PM   #74
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Congrats! Looking at the posts back to 2015, it looks like your spending is creeping up from $55K, to $100K! This will of course, adversely affect your ability to retire earlier. I'm at the 28th year in my career, and am saving 48% of my income, spending only $50k/yr. Choices...spend now, or retire early, and spend later! Best wishes in the new year!
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Old 01-03-2019, 03:00 PM   #75
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Standard Staples, you had a great year, very impressed by your results despite you missing NW target. We missed it too but on other hand - lower stock prices are always welcome while we are in accumulation phase.
No doubt about it. It's not fun to see the numbers shift downward, but it doesn't truly affect our day to day existence at this stage, and realistically, long term it will dramatically help. As long as I can keep the monthly and annual savings chugging along, we're well on course.
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Old 01-03-2019, 03:08 PM   #76
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Congrats! Looking at the posts back to 2015, it looks like your spending is creeping up from $55K, to $100K! This will of course, adversely affect your ability to retire earlier. I'm at the 28th year in my career, and am saving 48% of my income, spending only $50k/yr. Choices...spend now, or retire early, and spend later! Best wishes in the new year!
You're absolutely right, and we have made some conscious choices to find the balance. We could trim back significantly, especially when it comes to the vacation budget, but we have chosen to really enjoy life with our kids now, without sacrificing our primary savings goals (max 401k, max Roth, HSA, etc.).

Having a second child since those 2015 spending numbers has skewed things a bit, as well.
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Old 03-29-2019, 08:52 AM   #77
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Quick quarterly update. Q1 was tremendous, as we're currently GREEN on every metric. My wife and I both received raises, and we both received higher bonuses than expected. I may need to adjust some numbers after Q2...

INCOME & SPENDING
Annual Combined Income: $240,000
Tracking @ $257,000

Annual Expenses: $100,000
Tracking @ $97,000

Annual Savings: $86,800
Tracking @ $101,000

Annual Savings Rate: 46%
Tracking @ 51%

Net Worth: $850,000 => Modifying to $900,000
Tracking @ $890,000


GOALS
$42,000 401k (including Company Matches)
Tracking @ $45,000

$5,200 House Principal Payoff
Tracking @ $5,700

$15,000 Reinvested Dividends
Tracking @ $16,000

$12,000 Roth (Combined)
ON TRACK

$3,400 HSA
ON TRACK
________________________________________
$77,600 TOTAL
Tracking @ $82,100

On to Q2.
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Old 03-29-2019, 11:35 AM   #78
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Awesome progress, Staples !!!!
Looking at your numbers I am truly impressed, keep it up!!!
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Old 03-29-2019, 01:38 PM   #79
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Wow, not sure how I missed this thread before but great progress and congrats on the new raises and high bonuses!
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Old 04-05-2019, 08:26 AM   #80
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$3,400 HSA
ON TRACK
Staples, wanted to ask why you are not maxing out HSA? Looks like you have money for that and it will cut your taxes also. Curious about reasons as for us HSA is basically one more IRA, we never take anything out.
2019 contribution limit for single is $3500 and for family coverage it is $7000, all inclusive employer match if any offered.
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