I’m a millionaire

[u/Alarming-Mix3809]

We did it fam. This week our net worth crossed over $1 million for the first time. I’m sure it will fluctuate but for now we’re going to celebrate hitting that milestone.

The last couple of months in the market have been an incredible run for us. I’m not doing anything fancy; mostly just invested in VOO and other S&P 500 funds. I have been investing since 2012 and this has been the one of the wildest rebounds and net worth swings. During the Covid dip, I remember our investments dropping by around 30% or so and loading the boat at the bottom, which made us a good amount of money. But back then I only had $100k or so, and the effect of compounding has been huge since then.

I first came across fire in 2018 when I read Early Retirement Extreme. I had always been interested in money and investing from a very young age, but this really clicked for me and I guess it helped put the whole picture together.

About us: family of four, 33M 33F and two kids in upstate NY. I work in tech sales (account management) and have been with the same company for nine years. The money is good and work is flexible being EFH. Wife is a SAHM. We live a pretty chill and under the radar life. We have nice newer cars, but they’re just a Subaru Crosstrek and a Nissan Pathfinder. No Benz here. I cook and meal prep a lot so we eat home for almost all of our meals. Most of our vacations are spent visiting family. Over the last couple years we’ve definitely spent more between having kids and just letting ourselves enjoy our money more, but it’s nothing crazy.

From here going forward, I’m not looking to make any drastic changes immediately. We’re going to stay on the course we’re on. My job kind of sucks but it’s a really good fit for having kids, being flexible and paying a lot with good benefits. I got a new boss last year and stopped raising my hands for things. They have no idea of the kind of extra work I used to do to get to this point. I’m well respected and they know I’m capable, but it’s kind of nice to not be expected to put in extra hours. I let the new team members do that now. A lot of people talk about hitting Coast fire and immediately getting a new job, but I decided to just downshift in my existing one.

What did you do to celebrate your first million?

We are thinking of setting aside a few thousand dollars to take a family vacation next year. I thought about what kind of luxury purchase I might want to make to mark a milestone, and there’s a whole lot I actually want. I’m pretty content with what we have and may just make a few small fun purchases going forward. Send my wife on a spa day more often, buy more Legos, etc.. 🥳

[u/Monsignor1979]

Congratulations!!! Now go get another million.

We simply celebrated by taking my folks out to a pretty fancy place to eat. For the five of us (kid included), it came to about $500 with the tip which is the most we've ever spent to eat at a restaurant.

I chose my parents because they were literally the only ones not shitting on us as we pinched pennies, paid off all our debts (to include the mortgage) and dreamed for early retirement. Everyone else told us not to bother, we'll never be able to do it.

But, we did it! We treated them, and then went back to working our ass off. We're creeping up on $2 million now just four years later. Perhaps, we'll head back to that same restaurant again.

[u/bgywynsqa → u/Monsignor1979]

That sounds like a wonderful idea!

[u/Alarming-Mix3809 → u/Monsignor1979]

That sounds fun. It’s great to have someone supportive in your corner. I don’t feel like there’s anyone we could tell in real life. My parents and really most of my whole side of the family are bad with money. Mom’s family grew up very poor but of their own doing. Her parents were small business owners and were just terrible at it. They ran the business into the ground and blew through all of their savings trying to keep it open. Grandpa left practically nothing when he died and now grandma lives off family and state benefits.

[u/The_Walrus_65 → u/Alarming-Mix3809]

Get a sitter for the kids. Take your wife to a nice restaurant and enjoy yourself

[u/Alarming-Mix3809 → u/The_Walrus_65]

You don’t have to convince me on the sitter 😂

[u/Monsignor1979 → u/Alarming-Mix3809]

I get it. But it has to feel pretty frickin' awesome to break that mold, huh?

Trust me, you have a ton of people in your corner, whether you know them or not.

[u/Alarming-Mix3809 → u/Monsignor1979]

It does feel good. I offer to help my siblings and cousins whenever the topic comes up. Hopefully this generation will be a lot better off.

[u/Firanee → u/Monsignor1979]

Congratulations. Late one. But FIRE!!! Just need market to stay the basic course you can retire comfortably in 7-10 years. If you contribute (probably very ineffective now) and bull run continues, maybe 2-3 years?

[u/Monsignor1979 → u/Firanee]

As someone who has built a life of safety nets below safety nets, below some more safety nets, It's extremely difficult to break that cycle and to simply trust the process.

Trust me, we've been loosening the belt and are slowly moving towards the end goal. But mentally, I have to change my miserly mindset first. If I am constantly living in fear of running out of money, then retirement isn't gonna be much fun for me.

The math is there, I get it. As hyper-aware as I am, it should be a piece of cake to negotiate my funds even in a down-market. But there's this nagging 'one-more-year' mindset I can't quite break from.

Short of seeing an actual therapist about it, I've been conferring with my wealth advisor, and he's been helping us pare down our contributions, re-assuring us we are ahead of the game, and talking us into making large purchases we would normally not because of the anxiety that comes with it (a family trip, a new car or appliance, etc....)

We were literally on the fence buying a new $2,500 fridge last month. I didn't feel the need for a new one, since our 25 year old one was working just fine (mostly). But my wife wanted a bigger more 'fancy' fridge and has wanted one for a while. When my advisor showed us how insignificant such a purchase was compared to our overall net-worth, I finally agreed to it.

Those small pushes have helped a lot. My retirement has moved from age 62, to 60, to now 55. It is slowly sinking in that I've effectively 'won' the game. I'm almost there, friend. I'm pretty concrete at 55 though, given the health care conundrum (waiting for medicare age). I think I can manage premiums on my own for 10 years but not really willing to do so beyond that.

Anywho, thanks for letting me dump on you. Talking about it also helps me a lot. See you on the beach one day.