How much money have you made life to date?

mwilson said:
Comparing ratios like this is much more interesting, and satisfying as you approach 100%+ since it feels like you've been living "for free." Comparing absolute values is a meaningless pissing contest.
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The exercise harkens back to those heady days when you first realized that your investments made more in a year than you did by w*rking.
 
Without actually mentioning any numbers I noticed an interesting factoid: My net worth today is very close to my salary in my best year multiplied by the total number of years I worked.
 
stepford said:
Without actually mentioning any numbers I noticed an interesting factoid: My net worth today is very close to my salary in my best year multiplied by the total number of years I worked.
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Similar here.
 
One time we calculated this number - between the two of us we had earned at least 1 million. Compared to what assets we had to show for it, it was a sobering revelation. Shortly after that we decided to retire early and began the journey paying off debt, saving back, etc.
 
Want a sobering data point? By 2013, we had earned just over $5M in 2024 dollars and had $0 in savings. Makes me sad we were so stupid but happy that we had enough income and runway to fix it.
 
Koolau said:
The exercise harkens back to those heady days when you first realized that your investments made more in a year than you did by w*rking.
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I remember being 19 asking my first boss for a raise, and him telling me that you make real money from investments not salary. I left his office wondering how I could start investing if I only had enough salary to pay my bills.
 
I wouldn't think too many here fall into this trap but I know far too many people who lived above their means and planned retirement waiting for a paired set of parents to die. If one of each spouse loses a parent and the remaining two parents live into their late 90s it can be a surprising outcome for those who planned on waiting for a paired set of parents to die in order to cash that inheritance paycheck. It is a true shaking my head moment when I hear these stories. I lost both of my parents, mother at 89 and father at 99. I miss both of them so much today. The 7-figure inheritance did not change our lives and went into an index fund. When my father died I really felt this sense of emptiness. The good news is I was able to show him our portfolio before he was gone so he would not have to worry about our finances. He left this earth with a smile on his face.

I also realized that money doesn't really change people, it just brings their true feelings to the surface, regardless of how much they say the money doesn't matter. The old saying of when they say it is not about the money you can bet your life that it is about the money.
 
Route246 said:
I wouldn't think too many here fall into this trap but I know far too many people who lived above their means and planned retirement waiting for a paired set of parents to die. If one of each spouse loses a parent and the remaining two parents live into their late 90s it can be a surprising outcome for those who planned on waiting for a paired set of parents to die in order to cash that inheritance paycheck. It is a true shaking my head moment when I hear these stories. I lost both of my parents, mother at 89 and father at 99. I miss both of them so much today. The 7-figure inheritance did not change our lives and went into an index fund. When my father died I really felt this sense of emptiness. The good news is I was able to show him our portfolio before he was gone so he would not have to worry about our finances. He left this earth with a smile on his face.

I also realized that money doesn't really change people, it just brings their true feelings to the surface, regardless of how much they say the money doesn't matter. The old saying of when they say it is not about the money you can bet your life that it is about the money.
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A bit in jest... money can't buy happiness, but it miserable with money is a lot better than miserable and no money.
 
I'm not nearly as financially successful as I thought I might be, but have done interesting and fun things that I couldn't have imagined.

But, barring societal collapse in the US, I don't think that my wife and I will want for any necessities in our lives. I'll call that a win.
 
My lifetime w$rk earnings (excluding company match on 401(k), stock and real estate earnings and company ESOP stock) total $2.6M, for 30 years of w$rking. Our net worth is now double that.
 
Not adjusting for current value, and not including any benefits, $2.4 mil. With everything it might be closer to $3.4 to $4 mil.
 
Reminds me of a guy I sailed with who ran a cattle ranch his entire life and made a very good living. When he reached his 60’s and got tired of the grind, he hired someone to manage the ranch business for him. Told us all his business was now twice as profitable as all the years he worked his butt off at it. So now he enjoys retirement making much more than he ever did…
 
There is a reason my SS check is just about enough to feed our cat: absolutely tiny SS taxed income for just barely the required number of quarters. My total SS taxable lifetime income is about 1/3 of our current annual AGI. Our NW is more than double what the Millioraire Next Door's formula suggests as adequate.

Easy: Buy horribly run down property, do your own work, rent the property out (making "unearned income"), roll every dime you can shave off back into more property, pay off loans ASAP, persist for decades...
 
calmloki said:
There is a reason my SS check is just about enough to feed our cat: absolutely tiny SS taxed income for just barely the required number of quarters. My total SS taxable lifetime income is about 1/3 of our current annual AGI. Our NW is more than double what the Millioraire Next Door's formula suggests as adequate.

Easy: Buy horribly run down property, do your own work, rent the property out (making "unearned income"), roll every dime you can shave off back into more property, pay off loans ASAP, persist for decades...
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Yes. There are many roads to Financial Independence. It's more about the will than the way IMHO. YMMV
 
Well..looks like my LNW/ss earnings ratio is around 56 %.

Thanks for making me feel bad :)

The good news is, the actual amount is sufficient to allow me a complete freedom of choice in cat food brands I will live off of.

pwf
 
I hope I’m not done earning, just hope my portfolio does the heavy lifting instead of “working for the man every night and day…” 🎶
 
I watch the thread, it seems to get a fair bit of participation. For me, it is about as important as "runway behind me" is to a pilot.
 
So far, enough. Been blessed and grateful. I suppose if I lived a bit more below my means I could FIRE already, but its a balance of living life and saving for later.
 
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