YouBet said:

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QBCade said:

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Agree. So, to get this back on track, what's everyone's number now with a huge stock run up

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Hesitant to share. I don't want to offend everyone. Let's just say this...I planning to buy a new car in 2027.

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Same, I would just say that the last couple years have been amazing wrt net worth.

Oh, and buy that car NOW.

QBCade said:

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YouBet said:

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QBCade said:

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Agree. So, to get this back on track, what's everyone's number now with a huge stock run up

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Hesitant to share. I don't want to offend everyone. Let's just say this...I planning to buy a new car in 2027.

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Same, I would just say that the last couple years have been amazing wrt net worth.

Oh, and buy that car NOW.

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Hard to justify. It's 9 years old with only 43k miles on it and I still enjoy driving it. I just want something with a V8. To your point, at the rate V8s are getting killed I may need to buy something now.

YouBet said:

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QBCade said:

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YouBet said:

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QBCade said:

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Agree. So, to get this back on track, what's everyone's number now with a huge stock run up

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Hesitant to share. I don't want to offend everyone. Let's just say this...I planning to buy a new car in 2027.

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Same, I would just say that the last couple years have been amazing wrt net worth.

Oh, and buy that car NOW.

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Hard to justify. It's 9 years old with only 43k miles on it and I still enjoy driving it. I just want something with a V8. To your point, at the rate V8s are getting killed I may need to buy something now.

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No, if you want a v8, wait for the '27 models like you said. Everyone already dusting off V8s in 26 that they were getting rid of and sellling them cheaper even. 27 will have better options likely without having the CAFE penalties

Caliber said:

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YouBet said:

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QBCade said:

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YouBet said:

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QBCade said:

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Agree. So, to get this back on track, what's everyone's number now with a huge stock run up

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Hesitant to share. I don't want to offend everyone. Let's just say this...I planning to buy a new car in 2027.

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Same, I would just say that the last couple years have been amazing wrt net worth.

Oh, and buy that car NOW.

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Hard to justify. It's 9 years old with only 43k miles on it and I still enjoy driving it. I just want something with a V8. To your point, at the rate V8s are getting killed I may need to buy something now.

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No, if you want a v8, wait for the '27 models like you said. Everyone already dusting off V8s in 26 that they were getting rid of and sellling them cheaper even. 27 will have better options likely without having the CAFE penalties

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Ah, good point.

The run up over the past couple of years is incredible. I'm a tad over 3x where I was on 12/1/2020 (about 5years ago).

Net Worth 10 years ago: X
Net Worth 5 years ago: 3X
Net Worth Today: 6X

2015: x
2020: 2x
2023: 4x
today: 10x

I started tracking in 2010 after a 4-5 years of a 401k and all of $15k in home equity.
2010 - x
2015 - 4.75x
2020 - 10.75x
2025 - 24.25x
2026 - 28x (projected)

Projected at age 60 in 2040 with 8% growth - 85x


Best years were 19/20/21 with 28%/33%/35% growth respectively.
2014 was also 30+%

That was me in 2008

We are 7x since 2020. That's as far back as I have readily available.

having a very tough time deciding what to do with $30K in January with the market crashing the last several weeks

being only a few years from retirement (want to stop working at 57) so take advantage of these bargain rates to ride the AI trade to new heights in the 2030s?

or go total safety in bonds/cash and risk losing out on a once a decade opportunity?

hell if I know but if you have a decent enough nest egg, go bonds and cash. At least with the cash you can find entry points and maybe make a few bucks. or throw some in BND and SPXX?

I am selling a rental in February to the tenant and wondering the same. What do I do with the proceeds?

Late-30's male, married, have children (none grade-school level yet), recently crossed the 1MM net worth milestone.

My wife and I have both worked full-time our whole careers (in tech; both now work from home, which is a blessing for the flexibility), and keep kids at home with us thanks to excellent nanny care, and do our own home schooling, too.

PM for more details if you have questions as I'm happy to share/help what little I may actually know.

A few high-level numbers:

1. Tax-Advantaged Retirement Savings: $250k
2. Emergency Fund/Cash: $30k
3. 529: $16K
4. Net equity in 2 homes: $750k
5. Two paid-off vehicles: $35k
6. Brokerage Accounts: $25k

Came out of college in late 2000's with $160k of debt, $25k in car loan debt, and $5k in credit card debt. Only debt now is ~$300k between two mortgages for two homes with a total value of ~$1.15MM. We rent one of them out.

Some advice I'd give after learning the hard way (and doing a few things right the first time), in no particular order

1. Don't go into debt for college unless you know there's a strong, immediate ROI on your degree. Ask me how my wife and I know.

2. Take ALL 401k matchings--that's the minimum you put into a 401k early on, from Day 1.

3. After that, prioritize paying off debt, especially credit cards and student loans. Lots of debate here but CCs are a no-brainer and the mental/financial freedom of no student loan debt is unmatched

4. If you can, work for a public company with an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). Unbelievable benefit, especially if/when you're able to max it out.

5. Do NOT include ESPP, bonuses, RSUs, raises, etc. as part of your monthly budget. Treat those like unexpected windfalls and you'll be shocked at how quickly you can make progress on savings/paying off debt/etc.

6. Learn the difference between a Roth vs Traditional 401k, IRAs, etc.

7. Don't buy too much house

8. Learn to minimize taxes and avoid debt like the plague

9. Use credit cards/credit card points/bonuses/etc. I'm a huge Dave Ramsey fan, but disagree with him on this point. We've done once-in-a-lifetime luxury type trips for ~15% of the cost because of them and incurred no debt. Live, make memories (especially before kids) because having that itch already scratched once the little ones arrives gives tremendous peace.

10. Get on YouTube and start learning about/planning for retirement now. This goes with point #6, but as we aim to retire around 55, give or take, we've realized how much our planning changes pre-retirement vs post.

BONUS: Join the Air National Guard. Hazelwood Act and GI bill will pay for two of my kids college, 529 for the other. Plus, TRICARE Prime Reserve Select health insurance is less than $300 a month for my entire family with excellent coverage. Some companies continue to pay you a base salary for X amount of days/weeks/months while you're on orders so you can double-dip, and drill weekends during college football and NFL season are special, even if bouncing between busy and mundane...you wonder how it's possible to get paid for it.

Best of luck to everyone trying to reach goals. It's not easy. It's not always glamorous, but if you have a plan, you have discipline, and you can delay gratification, you'd be amazed at what even basic saving, investing, and not buying obscene things can lead to.

Principal Uncertainty said:

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So, the guy with $1MM net worth and $1MM in two houses says "don't buy too much house"?

Is that a "don't do as I did advice?" Because if not, I'm struggling to understand what "too much" house would look like.

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Username checks out!

So, you bought a smaller starter home and then after a few years decided to upgrade?

That brings up a rare piece of advice I once heard that would put Ramsey in the ICU; "Buy as much house as you can afford for your first home" The thought being that your tastes will grow, your stuff will grow, your family will grow and your income will grow, so that first home will look too small and you'll be trying to make that flip sooner than you realize. So, get that extra bedroom and 3rd car garage from the start and you won't feel like you have to make the move later. Obviously, this doesn't count job loss, transfer situations, divorces, etc (unexpected life changes) that might say otherwise.

Principal Uncertainty said:

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So, you bought a smaller starter home and then after a few years decided to upgrade?

That brings up a rare piece of advice I once heard that would put Ramsey in the ICU; "Buy as much house as you can afford for your first home" The thought being that your tastes will grow, your stuff will grow, your family will grow and your income will grow, so that first home will look too small and you'll be trying to make that flip sooner than you realize. So, get that extra bedroom and 3rd car garage from the start and you won't feel like you have to make the move later. Obviously, this doesn't count job loss, transfer situations, divorces, etc (unexpected life changes) that might say otherwise.

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I disagree on going as far as you can absolutely go (especially if early career). I don't think you should necessarily stretch that much because it can wreck a lot of years of early investing that has the most years to compound. You don't have to keep up with the Jones' on things.

I do think you should stretch enough to buy a house in schools that you would send your kids to and don't expect to move before then but still have enough room.

I bought back in 2010, in what I though was a starter home. Still there because I love my area and have a street full of fantastic neighbors. Sure, there are a few things that I would like to have, but ultimately I've learned most of those things are just keeping up with the Jones' things. We've remodeled along the way with decisions that we want but are limited in certain ways.

Currently, this is the house we plan to be in till we retire (early) and then GTFO of Houston, even then, that house plan has scaled back because we realized we just don't really want those things. Still going to be plenty big enough for the family to come home to but designed much smarter.

Quote:

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. Rental rates are almost always lower than mortgage payments, which can be 15-20% cash flow savings. If you have discipline and invest that savings in low/moderate-risk investments, you may come out a good bit ahead. Yes - it's not going to home equity, but in a side vehicle with much more flexibility (including for your next downpayment).

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Too many people don't understand this.

People have no idea what #2 looks like until you live through it.

I bleed maroon said:

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62strat said:

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Principal Uncertainty said:

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So, you bought a smaller starter home and then after a few years decided to upgrade?

That brings up a rare piece of advice I once heard that would put Ramsey in the ICU; "Buy as much house as you can afford for your first home" The thought being that your tastes will grow, your stuff will grow, your family will grow and your income will grow, so that first home will look too small and you'll be trying to make that flip sooner than you realize. So, get that extra bedroom and 3rd car garage from the start and you won't feel like you have to make the move later. Obviously, this doesn't count job loss, transfer situations, divorces, etc (unexpected life changes) that might say otherwise.

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also, market conditions.

But also;
We wouldn't be in our forever home if it weren't for the money we were able to get from our first home which became our deposit for second home.
Had we just rented that whole time (which was equivalent to our mortgage when we bought) we would have had no down payment 7 years later. Instead, when we sold we got a lot of those payments back plus the appreciation, giving us $40k to work with.

I think it makes more sense to simply get in a home as early as possible, so you're not wasting rent, have a chance at appreciation, and hopefully maybe in a decade, you can get that upgrade. If you can do this by your early 30s, then you're in a good spot. You can follow the payment schedule and still be paid off by early 60s.

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Just saying - it's not a slam dunk. Proceed with caution.

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no doubt.. but buying a larger home first so you can grow into it is certainly not a slam dunk either. It's more money now which means less saving when it helps the most, a higher down payment to begin with, higher operating costs, etc..

My suggestion is certainly riskier for shorter amounts of time.. but if you put a decade into it, there's a pretty good chance you'll appreciate in value. (Do we have a 10 year period where this didn't happen?)
Do it at age 23/24, and you're hopefully setup for success in your early 30s when you likely now have young children and are looking for more space.
Or, have the discipline to rent below your means in your 20s and save for the decade. $200/mo gets you a good start, and invested wisely could just as well be $40k.

Our first (and current) were new builds, so (luckily) we've never had any major repairs. Something to consider with this method. Maybe don't buy old/fixer upper for first house unless that's your intention or keep an eye out for listings that have these things done in recent years.

When we bought our first (2005), our mortgage (with PITI) was equal to what our rent was being increased to (about $1k at the time for large 1/1 w/loft). I know it's anecdotal, but it can't be that uncommon, again heavily dependent on market conditions.

All I'm saying is when you buy, about 1/4 to 1/3 of your PITI is going to principal which, aside from a few specific scenarios, you will get back plus gains when you sell.