How many 55yo that you know in DMV have $3M+ NW?
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Anonymous
It’s not a good analogy, more often that not getting rich is a function of timing and luck rather than working hard, it’s just a plain hard fact. For example, you are able to get that high paying job for which there were 300 applicants, sure you were qualified but so were at least 30 others but you lucked out and now you can earn and save. Anyone of us who doesn’t credit luck with our success is being disingenuous. Even Jamie Dimon recognized it as a huge factor in his success ( His Harvard commencement address). |
Anonymous
I guess I don't think it requires working all that hard, or at least not in the way DCUM talks about (aka making a huge salary at a top job). I think it's more about discipline and habits, which is also what leads many people to straight A's. You don't get to have or do everything you want all the time. You sometimes choose to stay home to study or plan for studying in advance. To save and invest, you need to choose to consume less, especially at the beginning so you can get compounding started. I'm not 55 yet and not quite at this level yet, but so many people I know upgraded cars in their 20's because they "had to" for some reason. Then same for houses. People don't need 99% of what they say they need. 55 is 30+ years after college graduation, and those little sacrifices can add up to a lot, especially if you're a couple. |
Anonymous
I also meant to respond to your idea is timing. I know you weren't referring strictly to timing markets, but time in the market beats timing the market and really does make a huge difference. |
Anonymous
Yes of course, the COL is different. Put truly, our companies adjust our salaries based on the COL. None of the RSU grants really took off. I was always mid paid employee in my salary band for Texas location. DH changed jobs every 2-3 years and have worked many 18 hr day to progress in his career. We are lucky for sure. |
Anonymous
Hello visionary couple, In which stock should I put all of my money today to replicate your success. I'm willing to pay you to reveal that magic stock. |
Anonymous
We're on the lower end of your range, but we got there by buying a small home more than 20 years ago. The kids shared a room. We paid down the mortgage aggressively so we were paying off principal from the beginning. We paid off our house about 10 years ago. It's one of the smaller houses in the neighborhood but we make it work. We send our kids to public schools. We buy a car with cash and drive it for at least 10 years. We shop at Target, Costco, and Amazon. We don't care about designer clothes or fancy jewelry. We take one nicer vacation every other year. Other vacations are just to see family. We didn't start the nicer vacations until the kids were at least tweens so they could appreciate it. We eat out or do take out no more than once or twice a month. We cook at home and bring bag lunches. We don't go to Starbucks. There are a lot of ways you can save money if you try. |
Anonymous
| I’m pretty sure my dad has about 3mil give or take and he’s mid 60’s. He lives very humbly |
Anonymous
My parents paid for college but I paid 100% of graduate school through loans and scholarships. I got an MBA from a top school and went into consulting after school. I earn 7 figures but also work pretty long hours and travel several times a month. It's not a life everyone wants although I do have decent flexibility at this point. At this point I am more comfortable spending money, but it wasn't until I had saved a LOT that I was willing to do that. Obviously I fully paid for college, grad school and a wedding for my kids. |
Anonymous
To become truly rich, which is beyond $10m by my definition, you have to have luck and, in most cases, work ethic, perseverance, some intelligence, and risk-taking. The wealthiest people I know did not get straight As, go to Ivy, then work in big law or consulting. They started businesses, worked 24/7, and got lucky. |
Anonymous
I don't think that's true. |
Anonymous
I do. My parents paid for my undergrad. DH's parents didn't help him, but they were poor enough that he got a full ride between need, sports, and merit aid. If think if your income is high enough to disqualify your kids' from need-based aid, then you have an obligation to fund their college. |
Anonymous
| This is us. DW 51/ DH 50. NW about 5.6 M. 4.6 is almost entirely retirement accounts. And the rest is in our home which we will have paid off when eldest child reaches college. Had six figure grad school debt which I paid off at 47 bc had to pay for childcare and fund retirement and buy home. Bought new car for first time at 47 after paying off loans— all cash. I will have a fed pension as well so plan to retire as soon as possible. We maxed out early on and had kids pretty late. |
Anonymous
We're not talking about being truly rich or wealthy. We're talking about what it takes to have 3M at age 55, which is roughly 30 years of working. If you save 20K a year over the course of 30 years, and you earn 10% of interest each year, you will have 3.3M in your account. And doing this is the equivalent of getting straight As every single year. |
Anonymous
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We have taken in an average of $200k/year since we graduated college in 1998. Obviously less at first, then more. We are now age 50/50 and have a NW of $9M with $8.2M in investments and $800k in our home. So, we have earned $5.2 million and grown it above that while living decently well. How did we do it?
one child budgeted every dollar did not move multiple times one teacher, one corporate so we avoided most child care did not develop a culture of spending I do find spending money to be a challenge so I'm working to exercise my spending muscle. I have no interest in being the richest person in the graveyard. I find after a lifetime of being frugal, it's what I enjoy! |
Anonymous
I think people say these sorts of things because it gives them comfort that they’re still humble people and true to their roots. Any objective person would say they’re rich. These people just can’t bear the thought of it because to them, when they were growing up, rich people were cheats or dishonest in some way. |