GUYS! LOOK!!!
I HIT $100k NET WORTH!!
In case you couldn’t tell, I am SUPER PUMPED I hit the 6 figures milestone.
Me and Jeremy renner are super excited
$100K! I just can’t believe it’s actually here!
I started out in 2014 at the age of 23 with a net worth of $10k. In 2.5 years (or 30 months or 900ish days) I accumulated an additional $90,000 dollars! Or, added up, I saved just over $100/day for the last 2.5 years. Thank goodness that was automated or else I would’ve snorted and told you I didn’t have enough money for that. In the immortal words of Sweet Brown, “Ain’t nobody got money for that!!” But I did!
A handy dandy chart of my journey
Let’s take a closer look at the numbers.
My total income for that timespan was roughly $125k after taxes, so that means my savings rate was almost 75% of my after-tax income, or 54% of my total income. Stupid taxes. That means Uncle Sam has gotten almost $40k in taxes from me alone. Yikes! [Note: That’s an estimation. I don’t have my W‑2’s sitting in front of me.]
A reader sent me an email inquiry asking how my net worth is allocated. Is it all cash, all investments, some property?
Behold! A break down of all my accounts. I made sure to make it another super fancy Paint graphic too 🙂
$100K NET WORTH:
86% of my $100k net worth is various investments in a few different accounts (401k, Roth IRA, taxable, etc). This comprises the vast majority of my net worth, as I have the easiest access to my investment accounts. Not even seeing the money makes it super easy for me to save so much. Otherwise, I’d just spend it all on various stuff. See the other super awesome graph below for a better breakdown of my investments.
9% of my $100k net worth is cash. I have a fair amount of cash on hand for a few different reasons. One, I like to have the relative comfort of seeing large numbers in my checking and savings accounts. Growing up poor means I still get a thrill out of having that much cash on hand. I’m also saving up for my house down payment fund, and I have a fairly decent sized emergency fund as well.
The last 5% comprises the Kelly Blue Book value of my 2005 Pontiac Vibe. Whether the car is actually worth $4970 is another matter entirely. I like to include my car in my net worth as it is an asset (albeit a depreciating one). IF something went drastically wrong and I needed cash really fast, I could sell it. The Pontiac Vibe is a very popular car due to being almost exactly the same as a Toyota Matrix on the inside. Not to mention, it’s a great little car!
Investments:
69% of my investments are in my 401(k) with my current employer. We have a Fidelity 401(k) with some very nice options. For instance, 98% of my contributions go to our S&P 500 index fund that only charges .01% ER! That’s amazing! The other 2% go to bonds that also have a very low ER.
21% of my investments are in my Roth IRA. I intend to do a Roth IRA ladder when I’m done working, so this sets up a good base for that. I also want to fill my Roth to the max while my income is still low enough to be under the limit. I will also be able to use these contributions to tide me over until my Roth IRA ladder kicks in if my taxable investment account gets too low.
Speaking on taxable investment accounts, that makes up 6% of my investments. I originally started it when I received a VERY small trust from my grandma when she passed away a few years ago, since I didn’t know what to do with it and didn’t want to waste it at the time. I took a chunk out of it to fund part of my Roth IRA last year. Unfortunately, I just don’t make enough to be able to put a whole bunch in here, although any windfalls I get go straight into this account. Hopefully in a few years I will be able to throw a lot more money into this account, as I will need it for the start my Roth IRA ladder.
The last 4% of my investments are in my HSA. I have a qualifying insurance plan through work, so I put a bit into it each month. Maxing this account for the year is my next goal. I currently contribute $100 a month, so I have a bit more to go before I max it out. Afterall, according to the Mad Fientist, this account is the ultimate retirement account!
I am now 17% of the way to my FI number! It’s my hope my contributions will have less of an impact and market gains will have more of the impact on my net worth as time goes on. I’ve heard that’s a thing that happens as your investments get bigger, so I’m excited to experience that momentum for myself 🙂
Before I end this, let me also insert a caveat on all this. I expect my net worth to fluctuate over time. I was stuck at $80k for a few months when we went through the correction at the beginning of the year, so I’ve had a taste of what that feels like and am better prepared to handle it should that happen again. I mean.… when that happens again. I am well aware the possibility/probability of a market slowdown/crash exists and will do my best to stay the course and continue with my investing plans.
Now.….. onto $150k! Onwards and upwards!!
Have you hit a major milestone lately?
Congratulations!
I’m a little bit behind you, but I’ve only been working for just over a year. I’m a few hundred dollars short of $90k at the moment (not counting my car’s value). Hope to hit $100k by this fall. Want to race to $150k? 😉
Nope! I won’t hit that until next year sometime. I already lost one net worth race bet hahaha
Congrats Gwen! Just remember some of that $90k increase is appreciation of your investments and not “savings”. Mr. Market is a good friend of ours 🙂
You’ll be at $150k in no time!
I like to think of Mr. Market as a frenemy. He could make my life great, or crash and make me sad. Lately he’s been doing the former and I’m very grateful 🙂
Congratulations! Your first hundred thousands is always the hardest hundred thousand. Love the charts!
Thanks Norm!
That’s awesome! I might have missed it, but what app/software do you use for the calculation? Or do you manually enter the information? Thanks 🙂
I use Mint for the graphs and aggregation of the raw data, and then I also have an in depth spreadsheet to do some modeling and projection for the future.
You Go Girl!! So happy for you! Congrats!
Thanks Julie!
Woot, congrats on hitting the 100k milestone! First one is always the hardest.
Thanks Taylor Lee!
So cool to run across your blog. It’s hard to find someone at at a similar place/age writing about their FI journey. Looking forward to following along!
Thanks Stephanie! Glad to have you along for the ride!
At your age, a market crash would actually be a great opportunity. Gives you a chance to buy low rather than at the high prices we have now.
The financial crisis happened the year after I left the workforce. Not fun.
I would welcome it except for one thing: I’m not sure I’d be able to keep my current job if the market crashed. My company is already in a trough and I’m fairly new.
Congrats that is a heck of a milestone and to put what Charlie munger said the first 100,000 is the hardest to earn. Now upwards and onwards
Congrats on your 100k milestone, this is very impressive especially for your age. Keep up the good work you will be getting to your 150k milestone in no time.
Congrats! We’re at very similar points in the journey, and it’s definitely cool to be able to relate. I’ll be following along!
The Money Wizard recently posted…Net Worth Update: September 2016
Way to go! I’m happy to have found a blog that I can relate to.. I started working full-time in June of 2013, so its nice to have a good benchmark. I’ll admit, I haven’t done as good as you, especially early on.. I think I came out of school with a negative net worth, and I really didn’t have students loans 🙁 I’ve been lucky to get a lot of nice bonuses at work, so I’ve pulled in more income, but my net worth is only at 85k (very similar distribution to yours, too, which is SUPER comforting! 66% 401k, 20% Roth, but 12% HSA!) I’ve finally focused on my budget and the goal of buying a house, so hopefully I’ll get to that 100k soon!
You’ll get there in no time at all! It’s comforting to me too to know your distribution looks like mine. I feel like we’re all going at this blind, even with all the help from the more established bloggers out there.
This is just SO incredibly awesome! I’m a Gen X’er, with a daughter who is 15 (do they even have a name for that lot yet??) and I’m going to have her follow this blog too…because she will learn a lot from you, Gwen! BRAVO on these savings and keep up the good work!
Hey Kim! I think they’re called Xinnials for now, but I don’t think that’s set in stone yet. If she even starts thinking about this stuff at 15, she’ll be light years ahead of her peers. Who knows, she could be Financially Independent by 30!