Finally made it - Two comma club

[YeahNo]

Pretty big day here in the YeahNo household. Of course I can't share this with many people in "real life" so wanted to share it here. It has been a long road to get here. I've owned a manufacturing business for 10 years and have continuously lived below our means, worked my ass off for 8 of those years, kept lifestyle inflation at bay as much as possible, and just tried to do everything by the book. I've had a goal for awhile to hit it by 35 and I just barely did that (turn 35 this year).

While our business is worth much more than 1m on paper, I've always had a goal to reach 1m completely separate from our business assets as who knows if we'd ever realize the business worth (from a sale standpoint).

I am so thankful that David Bach visited one of my college courses and gave me his book, Automatic Millionaire. That is the beginning of a 15 year transition from broke college student to millionaire.

As others have stated, reaching the two comma is a some what muted celebration -- nonetheless I would definitely say just a bit more uncertainty and stress has been lifted off my shoulders.

Anyways....PRETTY SWEET!

 

[braumeister]

I've owned a manufacturing business for 10 years and ... worked my ass off for 8 of those years

There's the problem right there. Those two years of coasting are a bad sign that you're not cut out for this. Shame on you!

Seriously though, that's wonderful! Take rightful pride in this huge milestone and treat yourself to a great dinner or whatever you consider a suitable treat. Congratulations!!!

 

[RobbieB]

Good for you! Have a cocktail and a nice supper -

I was a millionaire twice, once before the crash of 2007 and then again after the recovery. Yup, I did nothing and it all came back and then some.

Congrats.

 

[Markola]

Woot! Woot! At 35! Congrats.

 

[littleb]

Many people are members of that club but only a few hit it at age 35. All your hard work and sacrifices have paid off. You should be proud of yourself!

 

[Koogie]

Congrats !! Hard work and sacrifice have paid off. As one small business owner to another, I hope you are quietly proud of yourself and this milestone.

I chronicled the same milestone here (almost eight years ago I think) FYI, it took me about 6 years to double it. You'll do it faster no doubt !

 

[NW-Bound]

Welcome to the club.

Enjoy the moment, as the next comma will only be in our dreams.

 

[jazz4cash]

Deleted


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[YeahNo]

Thank you everyone! It is great to hear the encouragement. It's pretty unfortunate that one has to go through the journey without being able to tell anyone about it except for your wife. Feels great to be able to release it even if it is anonymously.

Hopefully the rule of thumb stays true and I'm able to hit the next million in 1/2 the time

 

[powerplay]

Congratulations! You have achieved this at a young age so I imagine you will continue to be prosperous. Welcome to the two comma club!

 

[cyber888]

Congrats on the million at 35, but you must have given up on some things or sacrificed a lot. I hope you didn't give up too much of the fun stuff.

 

[YeahNo]

Congrats on the million at 35, but you must have given up on some things or sacrificed a lot. I hope you didn't give up too much of the fun stuff.

I honestly feel like I haven't. The first 3-4 years was of course stressful with the business, but it was a really exciting time and we were growing like crazy so the crazy hours didn't seem as long. My marriage definitely had some delayed repercussions from those long hours for a few years but I think overall it has helped my wife and I grow as a couple and individually.

We very much subscribe to the YMOYL (your money or your life) thought process. Essentially cut out all the fat and spend on targeted "high value" items. We've made some big purchases but those purchases have greatly increased our social life and/or adventures together. Also prior to purchasing I did a ton of research and they were bought right.

Another HUGE thing is that neither my wife or I go shopping....as in the sport of "shopping". She is just as frugal, if not more, than I am. This has helped us out immensely. I couldn't imagine going through this journey and having a spouse who was a spendthrift. It would certainly slow down the accumulation.

Starting young helped as well. Prior to starting the business, I worked for a large corporation for 3 years. This was my first job out of college. I still remember calling HR right away during my first week and telling them I wanted to max out my 401k as soon as I could. It was around $1k/month at the time which was a ton for a fresh grad that was making a ~40k salary.

 

[Rickt]

YeahNo, Congratulations on achieving the 2 comma club milestone at a young 35!
Best wishes to you as you continue your journey on to the next one.
Cheers.

 

[audreyh1]

Welcome to the club.

Enjoy the moment, as the next comma will only be in our dreams.

That's what DH told me - a thousand times more difficult!

 

[chris2008]

Congrats!
FI feels so good, even if not connected to ER.

 

[Looking4Ward]

Congratulations! It's awesome that you've done so by 35. My goal at that age was $100K. I didn't make it. In fact, it took me another 10 years. But once I hit that it only took another 9 years to reach the two comma club.

So I think it's certainly possible you could make the three comma club in another 15-20 years and still be young enough to enjoy it for a very long time.

 

[dallas27]

Congratulations! It's awesome that you've done so by 35. My goal at that age was $100K. I didn't make it. In fact, it took me another 10 years. But once I hit that it only took another 9 years to reach the two comma club.



So I think it's certainly possible you could make the three comma club in another 15-20 years and still be young enough to enjoy it for a very long time.

A billion? Talk about serious OMY.


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[REWahoo]

OMC...

 

[woodguy00]

Congrats. very impressive at age 35. Perhaps a third comma is out of the realm of possibility for 99.9999% but adding another zero may be quite possible for you!

 

[Koogie]

Congrats. very impressive at age 35. Perhaps a third comma is out of the realm of possibility for 99.9999% but adding another zero may be quite possible for you!

The eight digit club !

 

[Markola]

She is just as frugal, if not more, than I am. This has helped us out immensely. I couldn't imagine going through this journey and having a spouse who was a spendthrift. It would certainly slow down the accumulation.

This is one of the insights of the foundational book in my own journey, The Millionaire Next Door. Millionaires' spouses are often even more frugal than they are, which certainly helps accumulate wealth.

If you'd share, where do you think your own frugal nature comes from? Is it a result of childhood patterns or learned behavior? And how about your spouse?

I didn't have good frugal role models as a child and have learned it. My wife grew up poor and, though not extravagant, she is a spender. My observation is that people who grew up in an environment of unstable finances either lock it down as adults and never waste a dollar, or they tend to want to have and experience things that they felt deprived of growing up.

 

[NW-Bound]

That's what DH told me - a thousand times more difficult!

OMC...

Having just finished The Intel Trinity book, I learned that Andy Grove's networth only reached $300M (compared to tens of billion that Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore had). And Andy Grove was smart and worked damn hard. And he had always been at a fairly high level at Intel before becoming CEO, then chairman.

Andy died recently at 79 despite his money. It remains to be seen that I will beat him there.

The eight digit club !

The OP is still young. He might make it for another digit, with a few OMY's.

But for people who already ER'ed like myself and who do not buy lottery tickets or sell illegal drugs, there's no way. It's OK. If I maintain my current health, it will be enough blessing for me.

 

[Looking4Ward]

A billion? Talk about serious OMY.

LOL! One can dream.......

 

[YeahNo]

This is one of the insights of the foundational book in my own journey, The Millionaire Next Door. Millionaires' spouses are often even more frugal than they are, which certainly helps accumulate wealth.

If you'd share, where do you think your own frugal nature comes from? Is it a result of childhood patterns or learned behavior? And how about your spouse?

I didn't have good frugal role models as a child and have learned it. My wife grew up poor and, though not extravagant, she is a spender. My observation is that people who grew up in an environment of unstable finances either lock it down as adults and never waste a dollar, or they tend to want to have and experience things that they felt deprived of growing up.

My frugality is somewhat of a unique situation. My parent's divorced when I was 1 so I grew up with my Mom and Step Dad. About once a month I spent the weekend with my Dad and Step Mom growing up. The house I grew up in was and is a financial disaster. My step dad makes a very healthy salary but they have no financial smarts at all. From them I learned what not to do. Now my Dad, who I only stayed with maybe 20-30 days a year, is a pretty financially stable and frugal guy. He never made a ton of money but I believe he was a good saver and was able to retire early because of a merger with his employer with whom he'd been with his entire career. He retired at 49.

So I think my frugality comes from both sets of parents. I learned what I didn't want to do from one set, and the other set I wouldn't say I learned from watching (because I wasn't there), more like I got the built in frugal genetics from them (my Dad).

That's my theory anyways.

 

[DrRoy]

Very well done. Took me until 39. Doubled that in 1/3 the time.