How much money have you made life to date?

[Exchme]

I've seen folks do this with and without inflation adjustment as a poor measure of their savings & investing efficiency. Those comparisons fell apart as the older crowd had more years for money to compound. Perhaps it could be done with the SP 500 as the index as that might give a more consistent comparison in investing efficiency through time, though it would mostly tell us that if we just had worn rags, lived under a bridge and avoided eating for the last several decades, we'd be awesomely rich. But I can't understand what using the AWI as the index tells us.

It makes some sense for the SS administration to index benefits with average wages. Otherwise there would be a huge disparity, where the oldest retirees would get way less than younger retirees and early jobs would mean hardly anything to your benefit (since they switch from AWI to CPI-W eventually, this still happens, but not so much as to cost politicians their jobs). But AWI means nothing individually in terms of how well we saved or invested, it's not like we could invest in it.

 

[Atlantis]

I often dreamt of getting rich................ mostly during classes in high school.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I've seen folks do this with and without inflation adjustment as a poor measure of their savings & investing efficiency. Those comparisons fell apart as the older crowd had more years for money to compound. Perhaps it could be done with the SP 500 as the index as that might give a more consistent comparison in investing efficiency through time, though it would mostly tell us that if we just had worn rags, lived under a bridge and avoided eating for the last several decades, we'd be awesomely rich. But I can't understand what using the AWI as the index tells us.

It makes some sense for the SS administration to index benefits with average wages. Otherwise there would be a huge disparity, where the oldest retirees would get way less than younger retirees and early jobs would mean hardly anything to your benefit (since they switch from AWI to CPI-W eventually, this still happens, but not so much as to cost politicians their jobs). But AWI means nothing individually in terms of how well we saved or invested, it's not like we could invest in it.

Trying to meaningfully (and consistently amongst respondents) adjust for inflation would be pretty challenging. I've tracked my expenses and the difference between the average of the earliest 5 years and the most recent 5 years (~20 year period) shows an increase of 160% (which is different than inflation... and which inflation calculation should I use?). That implies a personal inflation rate of about 3% during that time but ignores the variation of the nature of my expenses and lifestyle between then and now... it really doesn't measure inflation wrt cost of goods as there is so much substitution, non-comparable expenses, and different interests and activities then vs now. One thing I could do to normalize it is to subtract out healthcare (or add in the amount my employer paid to be consistent across time) which would make my personal inflation number appear to be near zero (also not paying mortgage interest now which was a financing cost that was an expense back then).

To me the interesting thing about these types posts, is seeing the power of compounding. I was able to save a substantial but still relatively small % of my income and end up with more than I ever earned. I could mess around adjusting for "inflation" by bunch of methods but I don't think it would be of much benefit. I think by most reasonable methods I would still show that I have => 100% of my earnings in buying power at my disposal (ignoring taxes too that will have to be paid on some of that "worth").

 

[old medic]

A more appropriate question would be, how much money have we blown to date?

Most of my money has been spent on Booze Broads and Bikes..... The rest I just wasted....

 

[Koolau]

Here is a site in which the author of "The Millionaire Next Door" gives his calculation for what you should have saved vs what you currently take in (He suggests AGI). On this basis, I'm doing well - even when I include my RMD+ withdrawal from my 401(k). The formula actually seems too low to me, but YMMV.

I currently have more than I've ever earned, though that ignores inflation.

https://themillionairenextdoor.com/2010/08/how-wealthy-should-you-be/#:~:text=In%20short%20it%20is%2010,incomes%20of%20%2480%2C000%20or%20more.

 

[kcowan]

I started my career earning $78k per year. Ended with $280.

Most wealth came from DIY investing starting mid-career using full-service broker then discount brokerage after 10 years.

 

[Dtail]

Made a lot, spent a lot, doing fine, life is good.

Same here.

 

[jollystomper]

More than I deserve .

In truth, part of me is still amazed that my IT "hobby-like" interest led to a long and lucrative career at Megacorp, where most of my jobs felt more like a hobby than work, for which I received "ridiculous" base salaries and bonuses.

 

[Surewhitey]

I did this a few years ago and have saved/grown ~60% of our non adjusted earnings (gross) since we were hitched. Still going at the moment & adding more than annual earnings, after taxes.

 

[ransil]

Our first year in the Navy was little less than 7k each.
I added up all our SS income comes to 3.4m , somehow that is near what now have.

 

[pjigar]

I don't have accurate records before 2007 on spending because that was the year I woke up from the matrix. Before 2007, as I recall, we saved modestly (maxed out 401K, IRA, saved for emergencies, little investing, etc.) but rest was spent and I always felt I am not making enough money. Since 2007, our gross indexed savings rate has averaged 57% (it started at 42% in 2008). IMHO indexing makes the savings rate look artificially higher. I am guesstimating real savings rate to be around 50%.

FWIW I got a big career boost in 2007 so everything just fell in place. Had I not wake up, I am sure I would have managed to keep my spending level in sync with the increased earnings like most of our coworkers and neighbors around me.

 

[pjigar]

More than I deserve .

In truth, part of me is still amazed that my IT "hobby-like" interest led to a long and lucrative career at Megacorp, where most of my jobs felt more like a hobby than work, for which I received "ridiculous" base salaries and bonuses.

Funny you say this. I have hobbies spanning a very vast spectrum (from beekeeping to hacking embedded electronics). My boss (who knows me from previous company as a booze buddy for a long time) who hired me for the current job in a completely brand new domain/technology actually said this to me (para phrasing): "Knowing your tinkering hobbies over the years, I am hiring you because I know you can figure things out." To be fair, I can and have figured things out. I guess he was right.

 

[mystang52]

Too early in the thread, but I will report my lifetime is more than I need or seem to be able to spend. As one of the books recommended by Warren says “money is just how we keep score”. Took a while to wrap my head around that.

I wanted to Multi-quote, but with the new format I can't figure out how to do it! Anyway, until this particular reply I never saw that wise Buffet quote. DW and I were always LBYM, but when kids were very young we had zero savings. Thank goodness for US Savings Bond payroll deduction! My VERY modest start helped me see the ease and beauty of pay-yourself-first. Like another responder, I won't give specifics but we have more than enough, and I'm genuinely not curious of my lifetime earnings vs current savings. Life is good.

 

[Tadpole]

Current savings exceed lifetime SS taxed earnings.

 

[WhenIsItTime]

Never looked at it this way before, but wife and I have 115% of our gross earnings in LNW. LBYM and compounding are powerful, while diversified investing and earning during good market years is blessing.

 

[Gumby]

Concur. We were the people who looked rich but were really in massive debt. We read The Millionaire Next Door in 2013 and decided to change. Glad we did.

Thanks for participating in this quick tip.

I wanted to Multi-quote, but with the new format I can't figure out how to do it! ........ Life is good.

To multiquote, go to the bottom right of each message you want to include and click on "+Quote" It will be highlighted and the plus changes to a minus (so you can click on it again to remove it). When you have clicked on all the messages you want to include, go down to the reply box and click on "insert messages." A pop up will show you all the messages you have selected. Remove ones you don't want or go back and select any that are missing. Then click in the bottom right corner where it says "Quote messages". Your reply box will then return and it will be populated with each of the messages you chose. You can then trim the quotes as needed (please adhere to these standards for that Quoting other members ) and type your reply below each one. Once everything is to your liking, hit the yellow "Post reply" button and you're all set.

 

[mystang52]

Current savings exceed lifetime SS taxed earnings.

Thanks for participating in this quick tip.


To multiquote, go to the bottom right of each message you want to include and click on "+Quote" It will be highlighted and the plus changes to a minus (so you can click on it again to remove it). When you have clicked on all the messages you want to include, go down to the reply box and click on "insert messages." A pop up will show you all the messages you have selected. Remove ones you don't want or go back and select any that are missing. Then click in the bottom right corner where it says "Quote messages". Your reply box will then return and it will be populated with each of the messages you chose. You can then trim the quotes as needed (please adhere to these standards for that Quoting other members ) and type your reply below each one. Once everything is to your liking, hit the yellow "Post reply" button and you're all set.

Gumby - thanks! Here's my successful dry run.

 

[GravitySucks]

No idea what I made. I know what I kept though. How much you keep seems way more important.

 

[OldShooter]

No idea what I made. I know what I kept though. How much you keep seems way more important.

Agreed. I have no idea what I made and no interest in trying to figure it out. Enough.

 

[corn18]

I had the data so I added it all up. Was interesting, but not actionable.

 

[Time2]

I went through the posts and didn't find anyone that answered with a dollar amount. I'll start!
Let's me just start with my wife and I earned very little before we married, I'm not including that.
From 1981 to 2018, our combined income was $1,750,000. However, through saving and investing we peaked at $2,739,000, not including our home ($300,000). We were very good savers, about 20% on average. With gifting over the years of almost $500k to our kids and the market swing we are down to about $2,350,000. We retired 7 years ago.

 

[corn18]

I went through the posts and didn't find anyone that answered with a dollar amount. I'll start!
Let's me just start with my wife and I earned very little before we married, I'm not including that.
From 1981 to 2018, our combined income was $1,750,000. However, through saving and investing we peaked at $2,739,000, not including our home ($300,000). We were very good savers, about 20% on average. With gifting over the years of almost $500k to our kids and the market swing we are down to about $2,350,000. We retired 7 years ago.

That's impressive, IMHO. BZ!

 

[Route246]

I live in one of the highest cost of living areas of the country but I just looked up my SS records for work spanning 50 years including busboy job in my teens to white collar job now.

SS income is $3,876,716, Medicare income is $7,558,568 over those 50 years.

During my white collar post-college years I was always maxed out on SS due to the high cost of living here.

We are doing some asset allocation adjustments from equities to our new home (real estate) and the tax burden here on capital gains is about 38% (from CPA) so it is quite expensive for us to convert some of our equities to real estate. We are finished saving so that is OK. We will have a mid 6-figure tax bill in 2025 and a barely 7-figure tax bill in 2026 in order to pull off this asset reallocation but it is the greatest feeling in the world to be able to pull it off without any feeling of pain, remorse or regret. Our investable assets grew the way they did because of tax deferral, plain and simple.

I've been saying my entire adult life when rich people complain about paying so much tax that nobody feels sorry for you so stop complaining as they would gladly trade places with you. Now I'm getting a taste of my own medicine and I have to admit that it tastes pretty good. I know nobody (excepting rich people) is going to feel sorry for us. We saved intelligently with a great amount of discipline like many or most here and it is time to celebrate and cherish paying taxes at a level where only the few privileged folks in the country are able to achieve that privilege. My CPA told me, "Stop worrying about those things, realize that you did well in life, you'll leave a nice legacy and be able to live financially comfortably in retirement." He is a good friend from college and told me he is very proud of me, something that sunk in slowly but I realized only after existing savings mode and entering into asset management mode. We have a circle of friends and in regards to those who are self-made he puts me in the top tier as he is a CPA and he knows that people are worth.

 

[disneysteve]

I pulled up my SS account and totaled up the "Taxed Medicare Earnings". I'm assuming that's the column you're referring to.

Total Medicare Earnings: $4,035,667.

What I find really interesting is that is very close (well it was close until the past couple of weeks) to our portfolio balance. Of course, my wife had some earnings too though hers were minimal compared to mine. So our savings are nearly equal to my lifetime earnings. Funny how that worked out.

 

[FIREd_2015]

According to SS website total income so far:

Total Social Security income - $1,535,973
Total Medicare Income - $1,896,703

Still working part time.

Edited: Interesting and surprised to see that the sum of my retirement accounts is greater than my total Medicare income.