Many impressive stories, both long and short-term.
Here is a snapshot of our journey:
Financial Assets (not including real estate)
1978 Got first job, age 15, worked continuously until age 58.
1991 Got married at age 28, DW age 33
1993 Kid #1
1994 $66,929 Paid off DW small student loan
1995 $95,298 Kid #2
1996 $139,549
1997 $187,733
1998 $276,937
1999 $376,494
2000 $454,997
2001 $465,312
2002 $502,806
2003 $540,097
2004 $740,350
2005 $903,209 Bought first new car (still wouldn’t recommend that)
2006 $1,009,540
2007 $1,317,124 Paid off house
2008 $1,420,585 Eased up on the very frugal lifestyle somewhat, but old habits are hard to break.
2009 $1,245,108
2010 $1,190,511
2011 $1,394,306
2012 $1,369,440
2013 $1,514,714
2014 $2,016,255
2015 $2,209,872
2016 $2,290,657 (Discovered Bogleheads)
2017 $2,373,370
2018 $2,631,577
2019 $3,008,509 Retired, went part-time (75%) with a contractor.
2020 $3,216,525 Fully retired (age 58), DW retired (age 62j
2021 $3,567,918
My parents were not able to fund college for me, but they taught me many other valuable life lessons including living below your means, value of hard work, and do-it-yourself skills. Dad was a blue collar construction guy. Late in high school while working with him during nearly all my time off from my job I became fascinated with finance (wait, there is a way to make money without have to toil in the hot sun or work hourly in some other profession? Tell me more. Listened to Bob Brinker starting in 1981, read 1000s of books, Triumph of the Optimists, etc.
We both put ourselves through engineering school by working nearly full time, continuously (not as possible these days due to higher tuition costs). Helped my dad build future rental houses (parent’s retirement plan) with most of my free time from school and my job.
Dual income.
Frugal lifestyle. DIY’d home and car stuff.
40 years of sleep deprivation, as most of you all are/have experienced.
Fully funded retirement plans with a 3% employer match.
When kids got jobs, funded max allowable to their Roth IRAs, to help with their compounding timelines.
No employer stock or large bonus opportunities, or the trials & tribulations & risk of owning a small business, but had steady employment.
Stock market gods smiled favorably.
We feel very fortunate and lucky and am very happy with our path.
Thanks to everybody on this forum for your advice and experiences!
“Doing well with money has little to do with how smart you are and a lot to do with how you behave.” - Morgan Housel