Financial successful beyond your wildest dreams??

[brett]

Like others, I could not have imagined my current net worth 40 years ago.

I have been fortunate. Changed careers and had 30 years of continuous employment that was both enjoyable and lucrative.

[MichaelB]

Our wildest dreams were timid and life filled with good fortune. One thing I always felt, however, was I would never make it to retirement, unable to conform for that length of time, and I knew it was my responsibility to provide for that day. When my income jumped and suddenly my peers were all high consumers I chose to save most of the paycheck. That was awkward, only lasted a few years. I was amazed at how much faster my BS bucket filled as the bank account grew.

[calmloki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI I never could have imagined years ago my net worth would be what it is today. I still get light headed when I see how well our plan is working thus far. As for wildest dreams...I have them, but it's not about money. The Moody Blues- Your Wildest Dreams - YouTube

Hey! Just saw them last night - well, three of the original members. Mixed feelings about the show, but damn, up there singing and stepping at 72 YO or so - have to give them credit. Always liked their music and lyrics.

The evening before we were out Craigslisting - we looked at some outdoor chaises at a gated community: http://yourresorthome.idxre.com/idx/...12277&hid=3908 The homes were moving well beyond very nice and the entrance walls featured lots of blazing gas parapets, while the gate guard got to stand near a real fireplace with 3' logs keeping the 72 degree weather at bay. One of the darkest housing developments I've ever been in - HOA must have decreed 1/2 nightlight bulb maximums for outside. 10' entrance doors, cobble drives, pressing the doorbell gets you a conversation over radio with the occupant. Reminded me that there are lots of different levels, but we are all people. It was a fine place, but the HOA rules wouldn't work for me at all, quite happy with the place we are in. Didn't get the chaises, we preferred the features of our current ones.

[Danmar]

I don't remember having dreams about success when I was young. Pretty much focused on day to day of education and career. Basically broke at age 42 because of terrible divorce. Between age 42 and 56 an incredible confluence of luck and hard work exceeded any thing I could have reasonably dreamed for. I won't bore you with the details but we have a wonderfully well funded retirement as well as good health. Very lucky indeed. Dreams do change as you get wealthier though and sometimes I think it would be nice to have a 125 ft yacht and a private jet to get to it.

[Alan]

Bill Watterson has a nice strip on financial dreams

[daylatedollarshort]

Our wildest success has been realizing that the first time we got serious about ER and started to run the numbers we were already there, and actually had been for some time. We just had to cut our expenses to live a more middle class life.

It still seems a bit surreal. One of the first things we did was go to an art museum on a free library pass and see a traveling exhibit with treasures from India. We took our lunch in back pack and ate it at park. This was on a week day when our former co-workers were all at work. It was a fun day and we knew then that this was going to be pretty cool.

We still work at home on hobby businesses but we are FI without the extra income.

[Brett_Cameron]

When I got out of college I told my family I was going to retire at 55 and I did despite a divorce that cost me 40% of my savings 14 years ago and huge costs incurred by both wives, one who had an inability to handle money and the current one having to massive medical expenses. I have been very, very fortunate.

[Major Tom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Culture In other words, does a predilection towards LBYM and FI/RE translate to a higher chance of financial success? I would assume it must.

I have always been concerned with wanting to ensure basic comforts for myself, at the very least, rather than maximize my standard of living. The priority in my mind has been to ensure I was comfortable if things hit the fan, and that is pretty much how it has worked out. In that sense, I have achieved financial success, though my material standard of living is below middle-class.

If I hadn't been laid off 5 years ago, I would have continued working, resulting in a bigger stash. However, after stopping work, I began to realize that my motivation to re-invent myself in order to keep working wasn't that strong. I was content to accept a lower standard of living in return for being able to do what I want, when I want. Kitties and coffee in my pajamas every weekday morning at 11am anybody?

I haven't achieved a high material standard of living in ER, but I have achieved financial stability. It's not the kind of "bling" that many associate with success, but it works for me.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danmar ... sometimes I think it would be nice to have a 125 ft yacht and a private jet to get to it.

and a chopper to go from the nearest airport to the helipad on the yacht.

I never dreamt that I would be rich enough for a yacht. I was just dreaming about being a decamillionaire, and that would not be enough for a yacht.

However, that would be enough for a nice home on the shore of "Braindead" Island, opposite the bay from the Seattle skyline, which I could watch while sipping my hot coffee, or a 50-yr old cognac depending on the mood. And if I felt like it, I would row my canoe (no yacht here!) out to check on my crab trap.

I do not see myself getting there, but I no longer care. When one gets sick, he realizes that health trumps everything else, even if he has to camp out in a state park in New Mexico with his RV.

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronstar Maybe more than I expected when I was in High School - I had a tough time figuring out how to scrape up enough money for a car back then. But I'm certainly not successful beyond my wildest dreams. My dreams involve jets, yachts, Bentleys, private islands, ranches, etc and I'm nowhere near that level.

Sure, I dreamt of those things when I was younger. But I think it was day dreaming rather than an actual vision for my own future.

I grew up in a small farming/logging community, and that's what I best relate to. People in my family have low key lifestyles, even the ones that are quite wealthy. They drive small cars and live in small houses. They fly economy or better yet enjoy RVing. And while I rubbed elbows with affluent city kids throughout my education, I never really fitted in that crowd. So I would feel quite out of place in the jet-setting world. Visions of my own future were always modest and I think I exceeded my own expectations. I was the first one in my family to go to college. I emigrated to the US at age 23 with $3,000 to my name and became a millionaire 13 years later. I retired early (in my 30's), a luxury unheard of where I come from. And while I can't sustain a jet-setting lifestyle, my standard of living is very plush compared to that of my family and friends. So I consider myself a success, but it's all relative. Had I come from a wealthy family, I might not be so proud of my accomplishments.

[dunkelblau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifp I am going to say yes but with a caveat. When I was 17 I told my mom I was going to retire by the time I was 40. Now this was mostly the impossible arrogance of a teenager. I had almost forgotten about it but my mom reminded me of it in my early 30s and became a goal. By then I was living in Silicon Valley and becoming rich wasn't all that far fetched a goal.

I also had different dreams at different times and circumstances. When I graduated from high school in the midwest my hope was for something like a six figure income and a million in the bank. But after attending graduate school in silicon valley, I woke up to what serious money looks like and my goals shifted accordingly. So while I may be in a good financial position from the perspective of the average American, by local standards it's been a disappointment. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone-- if you look up contentment surveys we're not doing all that well even if the numbers suggest otherwise.

For me this question is completely decoupled from standard of living. Mine hasn't changed since graduate school and I don't foresee any movement even at ten times my net worth. It's really a matter of what have I brought into the world and the answer is less than what I had expected at the time I finished school.

[ziggy29]

Well, I guess I'd say we were successful enough that I could get laid off at the age of 47 and I don't feel and significant financial pressure to go back to work -- and I tend to be someone who is conservative to the point of paranoia when it comes to financial planning and forecasting. I may have never made the outlandish salaries, but I did fine -- and saved enough of it -- long enough that in retrospect, I guess it was quite the success even though I only earn about $200 a month these days....

[Sniggle]

Nope, I have not. I have a few of my high school friends that have done quite well, and I have an uncle worth lots.

The reasons are many, but it rests pretty much upon the fact that although I am quite capable, I don't apply myself as well as I could. I do get to spend more time with my son as a benefit of not killing myself.

However, I have muddled through and find myself looking good for a slightly early retirement in 10 years or so, with 4 solid legs to my retirement stool (Mil pension, megacorp pension, 401K/ROTH, social security) solidly built, and a probable income in retirement that will exceed my income today.

I think once I cross the finish line and find myself sitting on a beach with my wife I may marvel some at were I am in relation to many of my peers.......

[Options]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERhoosier I can see how LBYM/FIRE personality could well translate into better financial success. Some characteristics of typical LBYMer should be useful in business, like: - Defined long-term goal (FIRE) - Ongoing planning towards that goal (finances, post-ER activities, etc.) - Working diligently towards the goal - Budgeting discipline - Maintaining real-world perspective - Not wasting $$ - Getting the best bang for the buck I'm sure there's more, but seems to me this LBYMer would tend to be more successful & productive than a rudderless soul who simply shows up for w#rk each morning.

Yep. Every one of them. Squared.

[RenoJay]

My net worth is well beyond what I ever expected, but alas, so is my spending.

[NoMoreJob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamachi My net worth is well beyond what I ever expected, but alas, so is my spending.

So true! Funny how that works.

[6miths]

Yes I would say beyond where I ever thought in $ terms! But hey, inflation is a bitch! Still all in all pretty good.

[jflynn4]

I clearly remember being joked with by coworkers on "being cheap" and "not wanting to live" while I was working and taking vacations to the local beaches while they were traveling to Europe or going on annual high end cruises. I was always being pushed to "get a new car" and, my favorite, "you really need to consider moving to a better house if you want to be seen as successful in this business." I also remember the "suggestions that I was hurting her future" when I sent my kid off to community college for two years rather than a major university. And I recall hearing side comments (that i wasn't supposed to hear) about my wife not working outside the house must be the reason we "struggled so much" with money.

It's kinda nice to be able to now stop by the old workplace and joke around with them about (starting at age 57) having the freedom to do what I want and the fact that I've been able to move to a beach town, have been able to travel extensively throughout the US and Canada (no interest in overseas travel) over the past 3 years. I've even broken down and bought the greatest invention of the past 100 years .... A Kuerig! Of course, I still drive a 12 year old car with 180,000 miles on it (and hope to keep it another 4 years).

Better than I ever dreamed? Not really. Planning, scrimping, and saving weren't part of any dream.

(Though it DOES aggravate the crap out of me when I hear people talk about how those who've managed to ER by doing the right things must've just "been lucky" because everyone knows "it's impossible to do in today's economy." Of course, they're generally having those conversations with each other while sipping on their second $5 cup of coffee).

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jflynn4 I clearly remember being joked with by coworkers on "being cheap" and "not wanting to live" while I was working and taking vacations to the local beaches while they were traveling to Europe or going on annual high end cruises. I was always being pushed to "get a new car" and, my favorite, "you really need to consider moving to a better house if you want to be seen as successful in this business." I also remember the "suggestions that I was hurting her future" when I sent my kid off to community college for two years rather than a major university. And I recall hearing side comments (that i wasn't supposed to hear) about my wife not working outside the house must be the reason we "struggled so much" with money. It's kinda nice to be able to now stop by the old workplace and joke around with them about (starting at age 57) having the freedom to do what I want and the fact that I've been able to move to a beach town, have been able to travel extensively throughout the US and Canada (no interest in overseas travel) over the past 3 years. I've even broken down and bought the greatest invention of the past 100 years .... A Kuerig! Of course, I still drive a 12 year old car with 180,000 miles on it (and hope to keep it another 4 years). Better than I ever dreamed? Not really. Planning, scrimping, and saving weren't part of any dream. (Though it DOES aggravate the crap out of me when I hear people talk about how those who've managed to ER by doing the right things must've just "been lucky" because everyone knows "it's impossible to do in today's economy." Of course, they're generally having those conversations with each other while sipping on their second $5 cup of coffee).

Few things are sweeter in life than having the last laugh, even if it is done in private.

[brett]

I had the same sort of comments from a former manager. He leased 2 vehicles, kept buying larger and larger homes. I kept my car, which I very much liked, for 17 years. We bought small homes in better areas several times and benefited greatly from their appreciation (we did not experience a real estate bubble where we live).

I have been very comfortably retired for three years. He is probably still wondering how we did it.