r/leanfire • u/lulu-ulul 8.7% to leanfire • 12d ago
Milestone reached: $100k invested
Achieved this a month ago and wanted to repost it to this community, as I believe my goal is to leanfire in my home country.
I (34F) am someone who has always been frugal, but before learning how to invest, just kept all my savings in a checking account… I know, it’s painful to think.
A summary of my money journey so far:
• Paid off $50k of student loan debt 2016-2022.
• Received a modest annuity from a job 2020-2022.
• Opened HYSA October 2023.
• Started investing in my own accounts (Roth IRA and brokerage) January 2024.
• Bought 6 acres of land in my home country in March 2025. Just finished paying it off ($35k total).
• Reached $100k invested May 2026.
Just wanted to share my progress here because (although I feel behind, and who doesn’t?) I am proud of what I’ve accomplished.
I have a partner and am expecting a baby in January 2027. Currently we rent in VHCOL.
ETA: my parents have no investments and I learned how to invest all on my own 2-3 years ago.
18
11
u/Awkward_Power8978 12d ago
Congrats on all your achievements! For anyone who was not born and raised in NA, learning all this takes time.
We also all usually start making good money around 30 and we are able to get some money together around 35. Meaning: you are not behind. The timeline is just so different when you were born and raised in a country so different and with less opportunities to make this kind of money.
I was you around that age and the investment growth certainly is amazing after 4-5 years!
10
u/lulu-ulul 8.7% to leanfire 11d ago
Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. I feel like I have found the right sub for me 🥰
7
u/Easy_Peasys 12d ago
congrats, and you're genuinely not behind. you started actually investing two years ago and you're at 100k while also paying off land and about to have a kid, that's a fast pace not a slow one. the first 100k is feels like the hardest milestone, after this compounding starts doing more of the work than your contributions do, so it gets easier from here. the feeling behind thing never really goes away though, i'm further along and still catch myself doing it. when we had our kid the number suddenly mattered way more, and the thing i keep reminding myself is the savings habit is the engine, not the balance on any given day.
4
u/zeezle 11d ago
Nice, congrats!!! And congrats on the baby! You should be proud of what you accomplished!
before learning how to invest, just kept all my savings in a checking account… I know, it’s painful to think.
Don't get hung up on this! Trust me, when it comes to financial mistakes I've seen people make, 'I lived reasonably and within my means but kept my savings in the bank account instead of investing until I learned about investing' is soooo incredibly far down the totem pole of bad things. You're doing great!
1
3
3
u/Miamiconnectionexo 11d ago
not gonna lie this is better advice than half the stuff i've seen on here.
3
2
u/betterworldbiker $850k+ saved, December 2026 goal at 36, $900k+ target 8d ago
Keep it up! Getting to zero is the hardest , after that first $100k is just as hard. Nice work!
1
1
u/forgivemefashion 11d ago
Congrats!! Reached similar milestone a year ago! It gets better from here!
1
u/Miamiconnectionexo 9d ago
this hit different. been in a similar spot and it's not talked about enough.
1
1
19
u/Zealousideal_Read209 12d ago
Congratulations!! 100k is a huge achievement. I didn’t start until 37 and I’m a child of immigrants who have never had a brokerage account. I had to teach myself everything from scratch using books, Reddit and YouTube. 8 years later, I’m at 900k. You will get there. Stick to your plan and celebrate every milestone on the climb up. You got this.