I am officially - a MILLIONAIRE - at age 33 and a LOT of sacrifices

[RioIndy]

I just needed to share this, as I am feeling quite emotional

I finally did it. My net worth reached 1 Million. The magic symbolic number. $1,003,000 to be precise. As of this morning, at the age of 33, I am, officially, a MILLIONAIRE!

It took SO much work, and SO many sacrifices to get here. Honestly a lot more sacrifice than I could ever have imagined . I gave up almost the entirety of my 20's throwing everything at my career while living extremely cheaply.

And I did this entirely on my own. I am actually worth more than both my parents and my siblings combined, and that's considering that I've made hundreds of thousands for them (I manage the family's finances and invest for them).

I come from a lower-middle class family. I have been financially entirely on my own since I was 18 and paid for my own university. (I would have loved to have met a significant other early on so that this could be something that we build together, but I was not that lucky.)

I could actually have reached it years earlier but had several setbacks along the way. Even in the last few months I came to within 25K of that magic number on 3 serapate occasions.

I was just seeing that my first post in this forum was 9 years ago when I had made my first 100K : https://www.early-retirement.org/for...ork-58848.html

This forum has been a nice oasis for people who share the same FIRE mentality and aspirations. Thank you all

[Car-Guy]

Congratulations and I wish you many more. The first is the hardest... At least is it was for me...

[street]

I feel your joy and you have what it takes to get many more. Outstanding!!!

[HenryD]

Congratulations!

[jfn111]

Good job!

[Rianne]

Yey!!! For you and your family. You are 33 and a millionaire, just think about when you're 50! We were in debt and struggling at 33. Goes to show how far you can go in a relatively short time, LBYM and savvy investing ($100K/year is no small feat).
Congratulations!

[38Chevy454]

Congratulations on achieving this big milestone. You have done very well so far and I anticipate that you will be far ahead in the future. Doing it all on your own is something to take pride in. Have confidence in your plans and path forward. Being essentially self made also means that you can handle whatever comes your way in the future.

One thing that sticks out to me though is you say it was reached with great sacrifice. My suggestion is maybe slow down the extreme saving and cut loose a little. Spend a bit on things to increase your happiness. Get yourself out there in social situations, you might just meet that special person you have not yet found. Buy a nicer vehicle or something to celebrate your success if that helps make you feel better about the sacrifice. Sacrifice without reward kinda sucks.

[JRon]

That's awesome - congrats!

[Amethyst]

Pretty terrific! What's next? You sound like a person who's unlikely to slow down and rest on his laurels at 33.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RioIndy I just needed to share this, as I am feeling quite emotional I finally did it. My net worth reached 1 Million. The magic symbolic number. $1,003,000 to be precise. As of this morning, at the age of 33, I am, officially, a MILLIONAIRE! It took SO much work, and SO many sacrifices to get here. Honestly a lot more sacrifice than I could ever have imagined . I gave up almost the entirety of my 20's throwing everything at my career while living extremely cheaply. And I did this entirely on my own. I am actually worth more than both my parents and my siblings combined, and that's considering that I've made hundreds of thousands for them (I manage the family's finances and invest for them). I come from a lower-middle class family. I have been financially entirely on my own since I was 18 and paid for my own university. (I would have loved to have met a significant other early on so that this could be something that we build together, but I was not that lucky.) I could actually have reached it years earlier but had several setbacks along the way. Even in the last few months I came to within 25K of that magic number on 3 serapate occasions. I was just seeing that my first post in this forum was 9 years ago when I had made my first 100K : https://www.early-retirement.org/for...ork-58848.html This forum has been a nice oasis for people who share the same FIRE mentality and aspirations. Thank you all

[O2Bfree]

At 33, on your own - congratulations! I got mine on my own as well, paying for my own college, house, and all else, but was older when it happened. I was always a good saver, but didn't pay enough attention to my investments early on. Your attention has paid off quickly, good job!

Regarding still being single, getting married may well have slowed your financial gain if you didn't end up with a like-minded mate or ended up getting divorced. You're still relatively young and it sounds like you know how to set and attain goals, so a great relationship can still be in you future. Good luck!

[Niuatoputapu]

RioIndy - congratulations!

Not sure when I hit that mark, but it was much older than 33 years old. In fact, I probably hit the mark around 2007 just before the financial implosion of 2008/2009, so I have may have reached $1 million twice, so far. Hopefully, I can hit it once again on the spend down. Good luck!

[Jerry1]

Congratulations! The first one is the hardest. There’s significant momentum in large numbers. Just don’t get discouraged as the market goes up and down and you bounce between millionaire status and not. In no time, you’ll be closer to the next milestone.

[powerplay]

Congratulations! This is an awesome accomplishment.

[UnrealizedPotential]

Great! It's a wonderful achievement at your age, for any age really, but really impressive at 33.

[EvrClrx311]

The next million will come much easier... enjoy your 30's -- you certainly enjoy a minor reprieve from the extreme frugality of your 20's

I say this, because I think many who get too comfortable in their own sacrifices run the very real risk of defining their path by the continued growth of that number -- never emotionally getting over that hurdle of defining the purpose to the accumulation (to enjoy life).

Your challenge is to learn to continue to grow that account while minimizing your sense of sacrifice... somewhere between is true happiness and a good life.

Congrats!

[harley]

I agree, that's excellent work.

Just a word of caution from experience. I remember making it to a million the first time. Then the second time, and then the third time. I hit it in the late 90s, lost it in 2001, made it again in 2001, lost it again in 2001, and then finally got past it for good. It was a little depressing when it would drop, so keep in mind that the numbers can fluctuate, but if you keep on with what your doing you'll eventually leave $1M in the rear view mirror. But congratulations on the milestone.

[stepford]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 38Chevy454 One thing that sticks out to me though is you say it was reached with great sacrifice. My suggestion is maybe slow down the extreme saving and cut loose a little. Spend a bit on things to increase your happiness. Get yourself out there in social situations, you might just meet that special person you have not yet found. Buy a nicer vehicle or something to celebrate your success if that helps make you feel better about the sacrifice. Sacrifice without reward kinda sucks.

I very much agree with this. Being FI is great, but you'll never have your youth back. I did a bunch of crazy things in my 20s and 30s, some of which undoubtedly set my career and savings back. Now in my 60s there's no way I could duplicate those wild experiences, but I'm very glad for them.


33 is still young, enjoy your life a bit.

[HenryD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley I remember making it to a million the first time. Then the second time, and then the third time. I hit it in the late 90s, lost it in 2001, made it again in 2001, lost it again in 2001, and then finally got past it for good. It was a little depressing when it would drop, so keep in mind that the numbers can fluctuate, but if you keep on with what your doing you'll eventually leave $1M in the rear view mirror.

I hit it in August this year (1.003), lost it in September (0.995), and further backslid in October (0.985). Made it again in November though (1.074).

[ElizabethT]

Congratulations! What a tremendous achievement at any age, much less at 33!

I am going to have to show this to my DD. She told me she is on track to hit $1 million in two years, but she'll be an ancient 39 by then.

[RetireBy90]

Congrats - As others have mentioned you also need to enjoy the journey. Don't get to the end with a big pile and then have to figure out how to go from saving to spending.

Also, did you register yet ? I missed that registering