Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

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retire2022
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by retire2022 »

Op I reached a 1 million net worth in 2013 and 2.197 million end of 2020 and 3.2 million net worth recently 6/2021, and my portfolio of approximately 2.482 million.

My current Asset Allocation is 95/5.

Total contributions since 1987 approximately 600k with two homes, apt and land upstate.
goblue100
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by goblue100 »

MrBobcat wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:24 pm
RadAudit wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:37 am IIRC, it took us about 30 years to get to 1m. It took about 10 years more to get the next 1m.

What bothers me is that when I started, 1m was considered enough to retire well, if you had a pension and SS. Now, numbers like 3m are thrown around, assuming no pension. Hard to get to retirement when "they" keep moving the goalposts.
If it were $3MM, there'd be very few retirees. I plan on pulling the plug around $1.5MM and fully expect not to have to cut my lifestyle ever, it very well may go up.
I'm in that boat. With a paid off house my monthly nut isn't that big. And I don't really desire a Ferrari, so my money goes farther.
"Confusion has its cost" - Crosby, Stills and Nash
binvesting
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by binvesting »

Age 37, but late starter due to moving countries and higher studies.
So career is 11 yrs old now, and hit 1mil in investments beginning of this year. With home equity we are at 1.5
Hopefully I'll get to 3mil in investable assets before I retire, as we are living in Hcol :happy :sharebeer
goblue100
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by goblue100 »

binvesting wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:55 pm
Hopefully I'll get to 3mil in investable assets before I retire, as we are living in Hcol :happy :sharebeer
And someone will post "they said we needed 3 million, but they are moving the goal post to 5 million". And the beat goes on....
"Confusion has its cost" - Crosby, Stills and Nash
binvesting
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by binvesting »

goblue100 wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 7:09 pm
binvesting wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:55 pm
Hopefully I'll get to 3mil in investable assets before I retire, as we are living in Hcol :happy :sharebeer
And someone will post "they said we needed 3 million, but they are moving the goal post to 5 million". And the beat goes on....
Haha..i should have clarified, 3mil in today's dollars :D :D
edit: reason is, there is very high chance that i wont want to work beyond 50. or i can't work beyond 50 due to ageism in my field.
also, i dont want to move to lcol area until the kids move out too. so 3mil in todays dollars seems a safe bet, with a 3% WR. we'll see what happens though :D
ScroogeMcDuck
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by ScroogeMcDuck »

Looks like a lot of people are hitting new milestones today, including me.

1st million -> 5 years
2nd million -> 3 years
3rd million -> 2 years
4th million (reached today, age 36) -> 1.5 years

This is for a couple and includes home equity. I would guess that half is from savings, half from growth. We never grossed more than $300k ish and our post tax savings rate averaged 70%. We did get a $100k inheritance early on.

I am questioning the need to work as our portfolio has been out-earning us for a while.
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anon_investor
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by anon_investor »

ScroogeMcDuck wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 11:05 pm Looks like a lot of people are hitting new milestones today, including me.

1st million -> 5 years
2nd million -> 3 years
3rd million -> 2 years
4th million (reached today, age 36) -> 1.5 years

This is for a couple and includes home equity. I would guess that half is from savings, half from growth. We never grossed more than $300k ish and our post tax savings rate averaged 70%. We did get a $100k inheritance early on.

I am questioning the need to work as our portfolio has been out-earning us for a while.
How much is in home equity?
ScroogeMcDuck
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by ScroogeMcDuck »

anon_investor wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 11:07 pm
ScroogeMcDuck wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 11:05 pm Looks like a lot of people are hitting new milestones today, including me.

1st million -> 5 years
2nd million -> 3 years
3rd million -> 2 years
4th million (reached today, age 36) -> 1.5 years

This is for a couple and includes home equity. I would guess that half is from savings, half from growth. We never grossed more than $300k ish and our post tax savings rate averaged 70%. We did get a $100k inheritance early on.

I am questioning the need to work as our portfolio has been out-earning us for a while.
How much is in home equity?
$1 million :oops:
VHCOL city
smitcat
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by smitcat »

Wedemeyer wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 4:31 pm
smitcat wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 10:09 am
RadAudit wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:37 am IIRC, it took us about 30 years to get to 1m. It took about 10 years more to get the next 1m.

What bothers me is that when I started, 1m was considered enough to retire well, if you had a pension and SS. Now, numbers like 3m are thrown around, assuming no pension. Hard to get to retirement when "they" keep moving the goalposts.
"Now, numbers like 3m are thrown around,"
The inflation index tells us that 1 million in 1981 had the purchasing power of about 3 million today.

"Hard to get to retirement when "they" keep moving the goalposts."
Always work with your best estimates in nominal dollars for your plan(s).
...and $1M in the S&P 500 in 1981 would be worth over $40M today....
I believe th S & P was at 133 on Jan 1st 1981 and 3793 on Jan 1st 2021.....28.5X.
And at present the S & P is about 4247 ....31.9X.
chenzi
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by chenzi »

2003-$500
2005 -$2000
2006 - $12000
2007 - $40000
2008 - $20000
2012 - $120000
2014 - $400000
2015 - $500000
2016 - $1000000 - YAY Finally $1M
2018 - $1500000
2019 - $2000000 (i did not notice the 2M milestone)
2020 March - The crash brought the portfolio back to $2M
2020 June- $2700000
2021(June) - $4.1M
2021 (October) - 4.6M
(In Tech, our total compensation has also increased significantly, 3X in the last 5 years)
Last edited by chenzi on Thu Oct 21, 2021 6:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
mffl
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by mffl »

1st million - 19 years
2nd million - 3 years
3rd million - *9 months*

I see at least a couple other posters with similar 2 to 3 million times. Wow, it really does accelerate past the first million. In this particular case, timing has something to do with it too, but I was shocked when I went and did this exercise for myself even though I keep pretty close track of these things.
an_asker
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by an_asker »

livesoft wrote: Sun May 17, 2015 5:34 pm To go from $0 to $1M, one needs an infinite gain.
To go from $100K to $1M, one one needs a 9X gain.
To go from $1M to $2M, one needs a 1X gain.
To go from $2M to $3M, one needs a 0.5X gain.
With due respect, these gain numbers make sense for those who are retired. For those who are in the accumulation phase, these gains are overstated.
mptfan
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by mptfan »

smitcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 6:54 am I believe th S & P was at 133 on Jan 1st 1981 and 3793 on Jan 1st 2021.....28.5X.
And at present the S & P is about 4247 ....31.9X.
You are making the common mistake of ignoring dividends. I did my own calculation... I used an average annual return of 10% (rounded down from 10.3%) which I got from Vanguard's Model Portfolio of 100% stocks based on data from 1926 to 2020...

https://investor.vanguard.com/investing ... allocation

I then assumed a starting value of $1,000,000 in 1981 and assumed an average annual return of 10% each year until the end of 2020, and the ending value was $45,259,256. If you lower the average return even further to 9.7% the ending value would be $40,575,614. Wedemeyer was correct when he/she said "...and $1M in the S&P 500 in 1981 would be worth over $40M today...."
Last edited by mptfan on Sat Jun 12, 2021 10:36 am, edited 4 times in total.
DangerDad
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by DangerDad »

I can only guess the timing of these and other net worth milestones. I was diligent about setting up a Boglehead style investment plan in 1995 but not at all diligent about tracking our financial progress...up until 2020, when I became much more engaged. Fortunately my benign neglect didn’t hurt us, in fact we likely benefited from this hands off approach. I wonder if others have had similar experiences.

Cheers,
DangerDad
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MrBobcat
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by MrBobcat »

goblue100 wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:34 pm
MrBobcat wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:24 pm
RadAudit wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:37 am IIRC, it took us about 30 years to get to 1m. It took about 10 years more to get the next 1m.

What bothers me is that when I started, 1m was considered enough to retire well, if you had a pension and SS. Now, numbers like 3m are thrown around, assuming no pension. Hard to get to retirement when "they" keep moving the goalposts.
If it were $3MM, there'd be very few retirees. I plan on pulling the plug around $1.5MM and fully expect not to have to cut my lifestyle ever, it very well may go up.
I'm in that boat. With a paid off house my monthly nut isn't that big. And I don't really desire a Ferrari, so my money goes farther.
I've always found it interesting how many people's happiness seems to be tied to one's perceived position in their peer group. I have no desire for "fancy" things or big houses, but then none of my friends or family (except one sister) does either. It certainly helps to keep costs down, lol.
Wedemeyer
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Wedemeyer »

mptfan wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 10:20 am
smitcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 6:54 am I believe th S & P was at 133 on Jan 1st 1981 and 3793 on Jan 1st 2021.....28.5X.
And at present the S & P is about 4247 ....31.9X.
You are making the common mistake of ignoring dividends. I did my own calculation... I used an average annual return of 10% (rounded down from 10.3%) which I got from Vanguard's Model Portfolio of 100% stocks based on data from 1926 to 2020...

https://investor.vanguard.com/investing ... allocation

I then assumed a starting value of $1,000,000 in 1981 and assumed an average annual return of 10% each year until the end of 2020, and the ending value was $45,259,256. If you lower the average return even further to 9.7% the ending value would be $40,575,614. Wedemeyer was correct when he/she said "...and $1M in the S&P 500 in 1981 would be worth over $40M today...."
+1, yes this is the approach I used when assigning the value of over $40m. Either way, a big number reinforcing a buy and hold strategy for total stock index funds / etfs as a method to beat inflation
smitcat
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by smitcat »

MrBobcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 11:16 am
goblue100 wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:34 pm
MrBobcat wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:24 pm
RadAudit wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:37 am IIRC, it took us about 30 years to get to 1m. It took about 10 years more to get the next 1m.

What bothers me is that when I started, 1m was considered enough to retire well, if you had a pension and SS. Now, numbers like 3m are thrown around, assuming no pension. Hard to get to retirement when "they" keep moving the goalposts.
If it were $3MM, there'd be very few retirees. I plan on pulling the plug around $1.5MM and fully expect not to have to cut my lifestyle ever, it very well may go up.
I'm in that boat. With a paid off house my monthly nut isn't that big. And I don't really desire a Ferrari, so my money goes farther.
I've always found it interesting how many people's happiness seems to be tied to one's perceived position in their peer group. I have no desire for "fancy" things or big houses, but then none of my friends or family (except one sister) does either. It certainly helps to keep costs down, lol.
Some things we like to do are free or nearly free.
Some things we like to do are moderate in costs.
Some things we like to do are more expensive.
I would not want to miss out on any of them....
smitcat
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by smitcat »

mptfan wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 10:20 am
smitcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 6:54 am I believe th S & P was at 133 on Jan 1st 1981 and 3793 on Jan 1st 2021.....28.5X.
And at present the S & P is about 4247 ....31.9X.
You are making the common mistake of ignoring dividends. I did my own calculation... I used an average annual return of 10% (rounded down from 10.3%) which I got from Vanguard's Model Portfolio of 100% stocks based on data from 1926 to 2020...

https://investor.vanguard.com/investing ... allocation

I then assumed a starting value of $1,000,000 in 1981 and assumed an average annual return of 10% each year until the end of 2020, and the ending value was $45,259,256. If you lower the average return even further to 9.7% the ending value would be $40,575,614. Wedemeyer was correct when he/she said "...and $1M in the S&P 500 in 1981 would be worth over $40M today...."
If the numbers are important to anyone there are calculators that will compute S & P return and total return with and without CPI adjustments over time.
For Jan 1st 1981 to Jan 1st 2021 (40 yrs) S & P 500, adjusted for inflation:
848% total return
5.78% average annual return
2,491% total return with all divs reinvested
8.48% average annual return with all divs reinvested
Example calculator is here:
https://dqydj.com/sp-500-return-calculator/
mptfan
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by mptfan »

I used the same calculater and came up with different numbers, here are the results that I copied and pasted from the calculator...

Starting Month
January
Starting Year
1981
Ending Month
January
Ending Year
2021

Calculate Reset
Total S&P 500 Return
2752.444%
Annualized S&P 500 Return
8.738%
Total S&P 500 Return (Dividends Reinvested)
7691.629%
Annualized S&P 500 Return (Dividends Reinvested)
11.504%

Note that these numbers are not adjusted for inflation whereas your numbers are adjusted for inflation. I suspect you may have checked the box "adjust for inflation (CPI)?" which would give different numbers.
Last edited by mptfan on Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
smitcat
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by smitcat »

mptfan wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 2:57 pm I used the same calculater and came up with different numbers, here are the results that I copied and pasted from the calculator...

Starting Month
January
Starting Year
1981
Ending Month
January
Ending Year
2021

Calculate Reset
Total S&P 500 Return
2752.444%
Annualized S&P 500 Return
8.738%
Total S&P 500 Return (Dividends Reinvested)
7691.629%
Annualized S&P 500 Return (Dividends Reinvested)
11.504%
As posted above - adjusted for inflation.
mptfan
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by mptfan »

smitcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 2:59 pm As posted above - adjusted for inflation.
The point is, it is true that if someone invested $1,000,000 in the SP500 in 1981, they would have over $40 million in 2021. You implied it wasn't true but the calculator you just referenced confirms that it is true if you look at the results that do not adjust for inflation. Previously you referenced the SP500 index values from 1981 to 2021 to imply that it wasn't true, but those values ignore reinvested dividends so they do not contradict this conclusion.
smitcat
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by smitcat »

mptfan wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:01 pm
smitcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 2:59 pm As posted above - adjusted for inflation.
The point is, it is true that if someone invested $1,000,000 in the SP500 in 1981, they would have over $40 million in 2021. You implied it wasn't true but the calculator you just referenced confirms that it is true if you look at the results that do not adjust for inflation. Previously you referenced the SP500 index values from 1981 to 2021 to imply that it wasn't true, but those values ignore reinvested dividends so they do not contradict this conclusion.
I have never implied anything , only supplying facts - please reread the posts they have not been edited.
mptfan
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by mptfan »

smitcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:07 pm I have never implied anything , only supplying facts - please reread the posts they have not been edited.
Do you agree that if someone invested $1 million in the SP 500 index in 1981 they would have over $40 million in 2021?
smitcat
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by smitcat »

mptfan wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:09 pm
smitcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:07 pm I have never implied anything , only supplying facts - please reread the posts they have not been edited.
Do you agree that if someone invested $1 million in the SP 500 index in 1981 they would have over $40 million in 2021?
If you take total returns with all divs reinvested and do not adjust for inflation it appears that the number would be about 7,690 %.
Which would be worth about 2,491% from the 1981 base after inflation adjustment.
mptfan
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by mptfan »

smitcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:17 pm
mptfan wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:09 pm
smitcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:07 pm I have never implied anything , only supplying facts - please reread the posts they have not been edited.
Do you agree that if someone invested $1 million in the SP 500 index in 1981 they would have over $40 million in 2021?
If you take total returns with all divs reinvested and do not adjust for inflation it appears that the number would be about 7,690 %.
Which would be worth about 2,491% from the 1981 base after inflation adjustment.
You didn't answer the question. I will assume from your non-answer that you do not agree, unless you tell me otherwise.
smitcat
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by smitcat »

mptfan wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:43 pm
smitcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:17 pm
mptfan wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:09 pm
smitcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:07 pm I have never implied anything , only supplying facts - please reread the posts they have not been edited.
Do you agree that if someone invested $1 million in the SP 500 index in 1981 they would have over $40 million in 2021?
If you take total returns with all divs reinvested and do not adjust for inflation it appears that the number would be about 7,690 %.
Which would be worth about 2,491% from the 1981 base after inflation adjustment.
You didn't answer the question. I will assume from your non-answer that you do not agree, unless you tell me otherwise.
If you take $1 million from Jan 1st 1981 to Jan 1st 2021 with all divs re-invested and do not adjust for inflation you would have about $76.9 million.
If you take $1 million from Jan 1st 1981 to Jan 1st 2012 with all divs re-invested and adjust for inflation you would have about $24.9 million.

If your looking for the 'value' or the 'worth' of those funds it would be $24.9 in 1981 dollars.
If your looking for the current dollar amount of those funds it would be $76.9 vs 1981 dollars.
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MrBobcat
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by MrBobcat »

smitcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 1:09 pm
MrBobcat wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 11:16 am
goblue100 wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:34 pm
MrBobcat wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:24 pm
RadAudit wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 9:37 am IIRC, it took us about 30 years to get to 1m. It took about 10 years more to get the next 1m.

What bothers me is that when I started, 1m was considered enough to retire well, if you had a pension and SS. Now, numbers like 3m are thrown around, assuming no pension. Hard to get to retirement when "they" keep moving the goalposts.
If it were $3MM, there'd be very few retirees. I plan on pulling the plug around $1.5MM and fully expect not to have to cut my lifestyle ever, it very well may go up.
I'm in that boat. With a paid off house my monthly nut isn't that big. And I don't really desire a Ferrari, so my money goes farther.
I've always found it interesting how many people's happiness seems to be tied to one's perceived position in their peer group. I have no desire for "fancy" things or big houses, but then none of my friends or family (except one sister) does either. It certainly helps to keep costs down, lol.
Some things we like to do are free or nearly free.
Some things we like to do are moderate in costs.
Some things we like to do are more expensive.
I would not want to miss out on any of them....
Absolutely, I would not want anyone to miss out on what they want. Some of us just don't know what we're missing and that's okay too.
RadAudit
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by RadAudit »

Wedemeyer wrote: Fri Jun 11, 2021 4:31 pm ...and $1M in the S&P 500 in 1981 would be worth over $40M today....
If I had $1M in '81, hopefully this conversation would be different. But, I heard you'd need about $1m to retire comfortably sometime in the 71 - 91 time frame. I didn't here about Jack Bogle on mutual funds until about early / mid-90's. So, things are different.
FI is the best revenge. LBYM. Invest the rest. Stay the course. Die anyway. - PS: The cavalry isn't coming, kids. You are on your own.
DeepinHeartofBogle
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by DeepinHeartofBogle »

It took me 18 long years to reach $1M. Then only 3 years to reach $2M! Then 1.5 years to reach $2.7M.

I would say the old adage that the first million is the hardest is definately true!
DeepinHeartofBogle
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by DeepinHeartofBogle »

herennow wrote: Sun Apr 30, 2017 12:45 am Great thread!

I notice a lot of folks going from 1m to 2m in abt 3-4 years. in the last four yrs, my portfolio has grown abt 30%. The mix is 75% US equities, 10% international, 10% bonds and 5% alternatives. I am curious what kind of portfolios got ppl from 1m to 2m in 3-4 years.

Someone also posted that after a point, either 500k or 1m, internal growth becomes the major driving force of portfolios. Was the growth from 1m to 2m a result of additional contributions or just market performance?
I also went from $1M to $2M in 3 years. I'm actually surprised that 3-4 years is so common. For me I would say additional contributions were more of a contributing factor because as the years went by I advanced in my career and start making a much higher salary/bonus. For example, I started at $39,500 but I'm now north of $300K per year plus my wife's salary. If I had to break it down I would say, additional contributions 70%, growth 30%. Or maybe additional contributions 60% and growth 40%.
Keenobserver
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Keenobserver »

$1 Million liquid invested about 12 years.. hope to double in next 4 to 5 years with returns and contributions..single income household.
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Vanguard User »

Keenobserver wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 11:59 am $1 Million liquid invested about 12 years.. hope to double in next 4 to 5 years with returns and contributions..single income household.
Assuming same contributions year by year?
Just_For_Jenna
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Just_For_Jenna »

I started tracking my net worth in 2012 and ended with $86k that year (I was 29). Started actually saving around 25 but had major expenses those first few years like engagement ring, wedding, first home purchase/down payment. So I kinda call 29 the beginning of my serious investing, also when I started following the Boglehead philosophy.

I rounded $1m 2 weeks before the pandemic hit in 2020, at age 36. Of course that went way down but rebounded and by the end of 2020 I was at $1.25m. Thankfully was in a position to contribute a lot while the market was down.

I’m about to round $1.5m next month when I turn 38. Who knows what will happen but I could easily hit $2m by 40.

So...
25 - $0
29 - $86k
36 - passed $1m
40 - will pass $2m hopefully

*Goal by 50 is to have no mortgage, kids’ college completely funded, and be in a position to retire very comfortably if I want to.
Keenobserver
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Keenobserver »

Vanguard User wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 7:01 pm
Keenobserver wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 11:59 am $1 Million liquid invested about 12 years.. hope to double in next 4 to 5 years with returns and contributions..single income household.
Assuming same contributions year by year?
Yes
CatchingDaggers
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by CatchingDaggers »

2001 I started working at age 23 - negative NW
2016 - passed 1 million
2017 - passed 1.2 million
2018 - got higher paying job then got divorced - NW fell below 1 million
2019 - Passed 1 million again
2020 - Covid crash - NW dropped below 1 million, backed up the truck
2021 - Passed 2 million

Biggest mistake was moving largely to cash in 2009. I didn't start saving diligently until I discovered bogleheads around 2012.
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familythriftmd
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by familythriftmd »

CatchingDaggers wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:17 pm 2001 I started working at age 23 - negative NW
2016 - passed 1 million
2017 - passed 1.2 million
2018 - got higher paying job then got divorced - NW fell below 1 million
2019 - Passed 1 million again
2020 - Covid crash - NW dropped below 1 million, backed up the truck
2021 - Passed 2 million

Biggest mistake was moving largely to cash in 2009. I didn't start saving diligently until I discovered bogleheads around 2012.
How did you stay around 1 million for 4 years in a bull market, but get from 1-2 MM in just one year?
CatchingDaggers
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by CatchingDaggers »

familythriftmd wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:19 pm How did you stay around 1 million for 4 years in a bull market, but get from 1-2 MM in just one year?
Divorce + alimony offset my higher pay and gains from bull market.
In 2020 I finished alimony payments, had highest income ever, moved cash+bonds into stocks and bitcoin during covid crash.
Money_Badger
Posts: 465
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Location: Raleigh NC

Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Money_Badger »

51 and not at a million yet, but at least passed the 500K mark. My wife has a pension, which I don't really track since it's a bit nebulous as to what it's present value is.

That said, the journey from 500K to 1 million is thankfully far easier than from 0 - 500K. At 7% return, I'm likely looking at 6 ish more years to get to 1 million. Plus, we've got her pension; I'm hoping we'll be secure enough that a substantial portion (or all) of which will be "fun money" in retirement.
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MrBobcat
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by MrBobcat »

Money_Badger wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:09 pm 51 and not at a million yet, but at least passed the 500K mark. My wife has a pension, which I don't really track since it's a bit nebulous as to what it's present value is.

That said, the journey from 500K to 1 million is thankfully far easier than from 0 - 500K. At 7% return, I'm likely looking at 6 ish more years to get to 1 million. Plus, we've got her pension; I'm hoping we'll be secure enough that a substantial portion (or all) of which will be "fun money" in retirement.
You're not alone, I was right around 52 when we got our 1st $500K. Last of 3 kids got out of college in 2015 snowballed that savings into paying off the house in 2017 and then started dumping all that extra cash flow into a taxable account. It goes way faster.
Money_Badger
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Money_Badger »

MrBobcat wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:19 pm
Money_Badger wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:09 pm 51 and not at a million yet, but at least passed the 500K mark. My wife has a pension, which I don't really track since it's a bit nebulous as to what it's present value is.

That said, the journey from 500K to 1 million is thankfully far easier than from 0 - 500K. At 7% return, I'm likely looking at 6 ish more years to get to 1 million. Plus, we've got her pension; I'm hoping we'll be secure enough that a substantial portion (or all) of which will be "fun money" in retirement.
You're not alone, I was right around 52 when we got our 1st $500K. Last of 3 kids got out of college in 2015 snowballed that savings into paying off the house in 2017 and then started dumping all that extra cash flow into a taxable account. It goes way faster.
Thanks Mr BC!

Sometimes reading through these posts is frustrating, everyone seems to have been super diligent savers and/or makes tremendous amounts of money. I especially hate the "review my portfolio" post wherein the OP appears to simply want to brag about how much money they've saved.

I'd speculate that I'm in the top 10% of people (general population) in terms of retirement savings, but the the bottom 10% in relation to the BH community. It's refreshing to be reminded that there are others in my shoes though!
Wedemeyer
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Wedemeyer »

Money_Badger wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 5:06 pm
MrBobcat wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:19 pm
Money_Badger wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:09 pm 51 and not at a million yet, but at least passed the 500K mark. My wife has a pension, which I don't really track since it's a bit nebulous as to what it's present value is.

That said, the journey from 500K to 1 million is thankfully far easier than from 0 - 500K. At 7% return, I'm likely looking at 6 ish more years to get to 1 million. Plus, we've got her pension; I'm hoping we'll be secure enough that a substantial portion (or all) of which will be "fun money" in retirement.
You're not alone, I was right around 52 when we got our 1st $500K. Last of 3 kids got out of college in 2015 snowballed that savings into paying off the house in 2017 and then started dumping all that extra cash flow into a taxable account. It goes way faster.
Thanks Mr BC!

Sometimes reading through these posts is frustrating, everyone seems to have been super diligent savers and/or makes tremendous amounts of money. I especially hate the "review my portfolio" post wherein the OP appears to simply want to brag about how much money they've saved.

I'd speculate that I'm in the top 10% of people (general population) in terms of retirement savings, but the the bottom 10% in relation to the BH community. It's refreshing to be reminded that there are others in my shoes though!
Perspective is important:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/11/just-39 ... pense.html

Bogleheads are indeed not representative of the whole population. If we're on this forum, we're a fortunate lot to say the least, by any measure.
Jaymover
Posts: 214
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Jaymover »

Hi

Going from 1M to 2M is my exact goal. The only trouble is that you get to the one million mark when you are older and so have less years left to accumulate. The portfolio visualiser is a great way to understand how to get there. If you have an aggressive portfolio then it might take anywhere between 2 and 14 years to get there. If you are conservatively invested it could be anywhere between 7 and 17 years to get there. The trouble is inflation, which compounds. The longer it takes to get there the less 2M is worth.

Good to understand that getting there could be easy or not easy. Timing is everything and the more so if time is not on your side, or bad luck TBH (disability, unemployment, unexpected lumpy cost, poor investment performance).

Looking at low future expected returns there is no alternative for me other than saving as much as I can, investing aggressively as I am able, keeping fees as low as possible, and not screwing up (eg selling out in despair after the market tanks). The random factors are luck - unexpected early inheritence, unexpected investment outperformance, getting together with a rich woman etc)
Last edited by Jaymover on Mon Jun 21, 2021 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Vanguard User »

Jaymover wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 7:22 pm Hi

Going from 1M to 2M is my exact goal. The only trouble is that you get to the one million mark when you are older and so have less years left to accumulate. The portfolio visualiser is a great way to understand how to get there. If you have an aggressive portfolio then it might take anywhere between 2 and 14 years to get there. If you are conservatively invested it could be anywhere between 7 and 17 years to get there. The trouble is inflation, which compounds. The longer it takes to get there the less 2M is worth.

Good to understand that getting there could be easy or not easy. Timing is everything and the more so if time is not on your side, or bad luck TBH (disability, unemployment, poor investing decisions).

Looking at low future expected returns there is no alternative for me other than saving as much as I can, investing aggressively as I am able, keeping fees as low as possible, and not screwing up (eg selling out in despair after the market tanks). The random factors are luck - unexpected early inheritence, unexpected investment outperformance, getting together with a rich woman etc)
When people talk about inflation. You mean the value of $USD or the cost of goods/services?
Jaymover
Posts: 214
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Jaymover »

Vanguard User wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 7:24 pm
Jaymover wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 7:22 pm Hi

Going from 1M to 2M is my exact goal. The only trouble is that you get to the one million mark when you are older and so have less years left to accumulate. The portfolio visualiser is a great way to understand how to get there. If you have an aggressive portfolio then it might take anywhere between 2 and 14 years to get there. If you are conservatively invested it could be anywhere between 7 and 17 years to get there. The trouble is inflation, which compounds. The longer it takes to get there the less 2M is worth.

Good to understand that getting there could be easy or not easy. Timing is everything and the more so if time is not on your side, or bad luck TBH (disability, unemployment, poor investing decisions).

Looking at low future expected returns there is no alternative for me other than saving as much as I can, investing aggressively as I am able, keeping fees as low as possible, and not screwing up (eg selling out in despair after the market tanks). The random factors are luck - unexpected early inheritence, unexpected investment outperformance, getting together with a rich woman etc)
When people talk about inflation. You mean the value of $USD or the cost of goods/services?
It is good to do a model to find out what you are actually aiming for which can be done in a spreadsheet in a few hours if you have a few skills. With a realistic rate of return (3% real) and managing to work until I'm 65, $2 million is only going to be worth $1.5 million in todays dollars in my local currency presuming an inflation rate of 2.5%. Pretty much the same goes everywhere no matter where you live in a low yield, low inflation future world. Local currency fluctuations are not really a factor unless you plan to travel overseas alot.
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CyclingDuo
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by CyclingDuo »

Wedemeyer wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 7:10 pmPerspective is important:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/11/just-39 ... pense.html

Bogleheads are indeed not representative of the whole population. If we're on this forum, we're a fortunate lot to say the least, by any measure.
Agree. Talking about M milestones such as 1M and 2M and beyond puts those in such circumstances in the top 1-10% of the US population according to this source:

https://dqydj.com/net-worth-by-age-calc ... ed-states/

CyclingDuo
"Save like a pessimist, invest like an optimist." - Morgan Housel | "Pick a bushel, save a peck!" - Grandpa
Keenobserver
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Keenobserver »

CatchingDaggers wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:17 pm 2001 I started working at age 23 - negative NW
2016 - passed 1 million
2017 - passed 1.2 million
2018 - got higher paying job then got divorced - NW fell below 1 million
2019 - Passed 1 million again
2020 - Covid crash - NW dropped below 1 million, backed up the truck
2021 - Passed 2 million

Biggest mistake was moving largely to cash in 2009. I didn't start saving diligently until I discovered bogleheads around 2012.
How id u save up $ 1 million from 2011 to 2016? What kind of job/ income/ expenses/ savings rate plz
Doc7
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by Doc7 »

randomguy wrote: Sun May 17, 2015 8:01 pm Contributions also cease to matter. Save 10k/yr and you can get to 100k in 10 years. On the other hand trying to save 1 million dollars at 10k/yr is pretty much impossible.

Saving $1M at $10k/yr takes exactly 30 years at 7% return. Far from impossible, that isn't even near normal retirement age for most non-FIREs.
sc9182
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by sc9182 »

Doc7 wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:34 pm
randomguy wrote: Sun May 17, 2015 8:01 pm Contributions also cease to matter. Save 10k/yr and you can get to 100k in 10 years. On the other hand trying to save 1 million dollars at 10k/yr is pretty much impossible.

Saving $1M at $10k/yr takes exactly 30 years at 7% return. Far from impossible, that isn't even near normal retirement age for most non-FIREs.
Didn’t read entire post ; Guess the emphasis here is: your $10k/year contribution matters less to your already $1 million which is now growing at 70k/year — than the dent/increase to portfolio due to own $10k annual contribution at that level — on the way to $2 million+ milestone.

A late 80a or 90s IRA or 401k saver had lot less than $10k annul max contribution limit. But if you are good with the saving (and investing) discipline— you are possibly into 1.2 - 2+ million ranges in TDA .. in 401k (with or without IRAs)
Last edited by sc9182 on Tue Jun 22, 2021 9:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
lostdog
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by lostdog »

Money_Badger wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 5:06 pm
MrBobcat wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:19 pm
Money_Badger wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:09 pm 51 and not at a million yet, but at least passed the 500K mark. My wife has a pension, which I don't really track since it's a bit nebulous as to what it's present value is.

That said, the journey from 500K to 1 million is thankfully far easier than from 0 - 500K. At 7% return, I'm likely looking at 6 ish more years to get to 1 million. Plus, we've got her pension; I'm hoping we'll be secure enough that a substantial portion (or all) of which will be "fun money" in retirement.
You're not alone, I was right around 52 when we got our 1st $500K. Last of 3 kids got out of college in 2015 snowballed that savings into paying off the house in 2017 and then started dumping all that extra cash flow into a taxable account. It goes way faster.
Thanks Mr BC!

Sometimes reading through these posts is frustrating, everyone seems to have been super diligent savers and/or makes tremendous amounts of money. I especially hate the "review my portfolio" post wherein the OP appears to simply want to brag about how much money they've saved.

I'd speculate that I'm in the top 10% of people (general population) in terms of retirement savings, but the the bottom 10% in relation to the BH community. It's refreshing to be reminded that there are others in my shoes though!
The most I've made was high $60's. My wife makes around the same. I stop reading posts when the income is $200k or more.
Stocks-80% || Bonds-20% || VTI/VXUS/AOR
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CyclingDuo
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Re: Time to reach 1M and 2M milestones

Post by CyclingDuo »

lostdog wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 4:56 pm
Money_Badger wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 5:06 pm
MrBobcat wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:19 pm
Money_Badger wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:09 pm 51 and not at a million yet, but at least passed the 500K mark. My wife has a pension, which I don't really track since it's a bit nebulous as to what it's present value is.

That said, the journey from 500K to 1 million is thankfully far easier than from 0 - 500K. At 7% return, I'm likely looking at 6 ish more years to get to 1 million. Plus, we've got her pension; I'm hoping we'll be secure enough that a substantial portion (or all) of which will be "fun money" in retirement.
You're not alone, I was right around 52 when we got our 1st $500K. Last of 3 kids got out of college in 2015 snowballed that savings into paying off the house in 2017 and then started dumping all that extra cash flow into a taxable account. It goes way faster.
Thanks Mr BC!

Sometimes reading through these posts is frustrating, everyone seems to have been super diligent savers and/or makes tremendous amounts of money. I especially hate the "review my portfolio" post wherein the OP appears to simply want to brag about how much money they've saved.

I'd speculate that I'm in the top 10% of people (general population) in terms of retirement savings, but the the bottom 10% in relation to the BH community. It's refreshing to be reminded that there are others in my shoes though!
The most I've made was high $60's. My wife makes around the same. I stop reading posts when the income is $200k or more.
Always factor in cost of living.

$200K in Princeton, New Jersey is the equivalent of $87K in Omaha, Nebraska.
$200K in Chicago, Illinois is the equivalent of $131K in Toledo, Ohio.
$200K in San Francisco, CA is the equivalent of $56K in Wichita, Kansas.
"Save like a pessimist, invest like an optimist." - Morgan Housel | "Pick a bushel, save a peck!" - Grandpa
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