Anyone wake up and say "How did I accumulate so much?"

[HadEnuff]

Yes and sometimes I also pinch myself and ask "How did I get so old?"
DW and I live on a lake in NY State, and in the evenings we sit on the deck and often ask "How did this work out?"
We recently bought a place in The Villages to escape NY State winters. Same question. "How did this happen?"
And DW will look at me fondly and ask, "So, how DID you get so old?"

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

This thread and all the optimism from investment advisers, does make me wonder if we are not at a high. All the stimulus will end soon I think and then what?

We're definitely at a high, we've been breaking records for a while now. And at some point we very well might go below this level again. But surely you don't think we'll ever stay below this level for good? So IMO the important question is, what's your time frame for needing how much of your money, and how do you plan to try to wait out a recession or depression?

 

[Gumby]

...
And DW will look at me fondly and ask, "So, how DID you get so old?"

I don't mind being this old. I just thought it would take longer to get here.

 

[Koolau]

Showed DW our NW figures for start of the year (pretty basic, so some slop including a few estimates.) Her jaw dropped. She always knew we had "enough" but seeing the numbers caused her to pause - and I'm guessing we'd be considered pretty much "mainstream" here on the FIRE forum.

I've talked to her about NW in times past but this time, I think it sunk in. Of course, she is like me. She can recall working for $0.60/hour. When she was 16, her last two paychecks bounced - and she hasn't forgotten it, either! The old "numbers" cloud your rational evaluation of "value." It's better to think in terms of monthly out-flow or cost of a new car or maybe at least to think about inflation. Still, old "thinking" dies hard.

I've never striven for da max (as we would say in the Islands). I've been a good saver but lousy investor (until a few years back - and I'm sure I'm still too conservative.)

But, yeah, "how did we accumulate so much?" A question for the ages, but YMMV.

 

[beernutzbob]

At the risk of humble bragging:

Luck + long-time two earner, decent salary family + stable, happy marriage + inheritances which allowed maximum retirement fund contributions over long period + LBYM + reasonable investing decisions + good health insurance =

>$4,000,000 net worth with >$3,000,000 investment portfolio in early 60s.

Never in my wildest.

 

[indiajust]

Humans are not wired to understand exponential growth. All the spreadsheets and planning in the world does not grasp the impact of the last double. Because it is more than everything that came before. Every time.

I'm still waiting on one more double before I tap the IRA.

 

[unclemick]

1993. unemployed age 50. Net worth 250k yes k. Had no clue what ER meant let alone existed.

Now net worth ? add some zeros. And 27 years of ER now that I can spell it .

Heh heh heh -

 

[1242Vintage]

Love reading the responses here. Like those who have replied, in retirement our portfolio and its income stream is way more than we need and much bigger than Wife or I ever imagined. And it just keeps growing!

We are very blessed and humbled to have the assets to support us through a long and active retirement.

Now if I can just motivate lovely wife to get out and test drive some more new cars to replace the worn out 2004 Toyota with nearly 200k miles she drives I would be even happier!

 

[Nick12]

I wasn't the smartest or most popular kid in class but I took risks, hung out with people smarter than me, slow but steady dollar cost averaging buying into the market long term and yes I know how I got to where I'm at and it helps me start the day knowing only in the greatest country in the world I could do it.

 

[Midpack]

I replied earlier, but found & updated this today - tells the story better than words. My MegaCorp ended (froze) pensions in 1993 and sold our division to a private company in 1994, best thing that could have happened to me. We never would have expected to find ourselves where we are financially today...investing and compounding are magic! We haven't come anywhere near our very conservative 2.5% planned WR, and we haven't started Soc Sec or RMDs yet. Crazy.

 

[harllee]

I guess I am an outlier but I thought I would have a larger net worth at age 70 than I do now. I retired 20 years ago at age 50 with a very good nest egg. I lived comfortably but not extravagantly. Then the 2008 recession/depression hit. I had too much of my assets in the stock market and not enough cash. I never sold my equities but it took years for my net worth to recover. I had to sell some real estate at a loss to get cash to live on. I had to really cut expenditures and even thought I would have to go back to w*rk (fortunately that never happened). When I look at my assets now I am pleased but also in the back of my mind I also think there could be another 2008 recession at any time and the value of my equities could drop like a rock. One smart thing I did was delay SS until age 70 so that gives me some comfort that even if we have a big stock market drop I will have a good income to live on. I hate to be pessimistic but it is hard to watch your assets disappear over night and I never really recovered from it.

 

[RobbieB]

2008 didn't worry me a bit. Just kept on buying the bargains. A couple years later, ou-la-la!

 

[harllee]

2008 didn't worry me a bit. Just kept on buying the bargains. A couple years later, ou-la-la!

You must have had plenty of cash. My problem was I was fully invested and had no cash to invest or actually to live on. It was a scary time. I learned my lesson.

 

[RobbieB]

Nah I was still working and my 401K was maxxed out -

 

[harllee]

Nah I was still working and my 401K was maxxed out -

I see--I was already retired in 2008 so not much cash coming in. I am sure 2008 would not have been as big deal from me either if I were still working. After 2008 I decided to keep cash in my account to live on for a few years in preparation for the next crash.

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, I was more worried about losing my job than I was about the market. I also shifted away from bonds and into stocks in my allocation.

 

[Amethyst]

Now I hate to sell anything because of the tax bite.

 

[RobbieB]

Huh? If you sell high you get more dough even if you have more taxes.

 

[Souschef]

Now I hate to sell anything because of the tax bite.

I understand, but these RMD's are taking a big bite.

 

[W2R]

Yesterday, once again, the sum of my portfolio plus bank accounts is the highest it has ever been in my entire life! What fun it is to check on these things lately. I know how I accumulated so much - - sheer over-the-top LUCK. It sure wasn't investing brilliance/skill since I am primarily a broad index buy-and-holder.

As for 2008, I didn't do so badly because I have a high consciousness of risk and risk management. Being instinctually risk averse, I had a 45:55 asset allocation mostly in broad index funds, but also in Wellesley and considerable cash. I had recouped my (fairly minimal) losses and was back to "more than ever before in my entire life!" status before April 2010.

Where I will probably get "fleeced" with this investment style, is when (not if) we are hit by considerably more inflation than we are presently experiencing.

That's OK, I have SS and a mini-pension and retiree health insurance, plus a paid off house and car and no loans, so I think/hope I'll be fine.

 

[scrabbler1]

2008 didn't worry me a bit. Just kept on buying the bargains. A couple years later, ou-la-la!

The market downturn in 2008 gave me an unexpected boost to my ER, one I have enjoyed every day (month) since then. The big bond fund I bought into when I began my ER that November took a huge tumble throughout 2008, so I was able to buy about 25% more shares of it than I had planned. Those shares have provided me with an extra ~$250-$350 in dividends per month, EVERY month, for the last 13 years and will continue to provide me with that most welcome added income going forward.

The money I used to buy those shares came from the company stock I cashed out when I left. At the time, the price per share was evaluated only once every 3 months, and that 9/30/2008 evaluation reflected only a small drop (less than 2%) from its all-time high 6/30/2008 evaluation. So, I was not really "selling low" to "buy extra low." I was still "selling really high" to "buy really low."

 

[ER Eddie]

Yeah, I find it kind of baffling. I retired two years ago, and my portfolio has grown considerably since then, despite my withdrawals. I never made six figures in my career, but I'm making a lot more than that in retirement -- by doing nothing.

I know a lot of the growth is because the government keeps goosing the economy like a dirty old man who's had too much Viagra, though. That part I'm not happy about. I wish the growth was grounded in economic fundamentals, not based on massive increases in federal debt.

 

[harley]

Yeah, I find it kind of baffling. I retired two years ago, and my portfolio has grown considerably since then, despite my withdrawals. I never made six figures in my career, but I'm making a lot more than that in retirement -- by doing nothing.

I know a lot of the growth is because the government keeps goosing the economy like a dirty old man who's had too much Viagra, though. That part I'm not happy about. I wish the growth was grounded in economic fundamentals, not based on massive increases in federal debt.

Yeah, I've been wondering what "medical assistance" we're supposed to contact once we reach the economic version of the 4 hour erection. I suspect it won't be a pretty picture.

 

[NW-Bound]

What I will say is all you can do is to enjoy it while it lasts.

I am speaking about the frothy market of course, as I have not had the so called blue pill to know about its effect.

 

[brett]

Every quarter when I look at the statements. And in March/April when we do our taxes.