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Rising Star
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Yes, hit a million net worth a couple years ago because of my house value rapidly appreciating after COVID.
The vast majority of my net worth is in the house, other property, assets, investments.
Very little is liquid.
I’m thankful for what I have, especially for buying my house when I did, but I certainly don’t feel rich.
I also am trading/investing aggressively now as I still feel behind on achieving any sort of financial independence.
Of course it is.
I recommend anyone looking to build wealth read these 2 books “I will teach you to be rich by ramit sethi” and then “the millionaire next door.” These 2 books are great way to learn how to build wealth. Also check out the FIRE subreddit.
I have read all the FIRE favorites and highly recommend all of the above. The happenstance one day to listen to Dave Ramsey on the radio at 34 changed my life. Got into this stuff above after I got out of debt and realized that’s all Dave was good for. More advanced PF knowledge is needed to win the game.
I don’t think there’s a single CD out there who’s a millionaire from working in advertising.
This is very good advice. Thank you for sharing.
Not even close. But I also grew up poor and was the first person in my family to go to college. So a ton of student loans put me quite a bit behind.
Salaries are also dropping so it's not as high as you'd think it is. But gradually trying to build net worth.
Same, left school with a ton of student debt that took years to pay off. Also foolishly didn't take advantage of big agency 401k matches early in my career because why would I do that when that money could hit my checking account and get spent? (facepalm) But I wised up and have been steadily building in the past 10 years or so, one foot in front of the other.
Nope. (Outdated title on here btw) Myself and most people at the title levels you described have had their expenses scale along with their compensation over the years. Kids with their direct and indirect costs (this is the biggest one for most), medical expenses, parents needing care, mortgages, property taxes, student loans, etc. Obviously plenty of people have some or all of these expenses at lower levels, I think the majority of GCDs and above would call “comfortable” a win.
Bought a lot of bitcoin 7 years ago when it was worth $4,000 each (today’s value is $115,000 each)
One more note, I fully expect each bitcoin to reach about $1 million each within 20 years. Maybe even 10 years. It’s still not too late for you
GCD here. Haha no. I have two kids and rent. Far from being a millionaire
I also have two kids, my wife is a VP. In my city it's about $3,200/mo for child care for both of them. Add in food, clothes, etc...yeah, we'd way be there otherwise.
Wouldn't trade it for anything. But it's definitely not an investment with any kind of financial return.
Yes. NW is around 6.5-7M. But 2M of that is a house with about 175k left on the mortgage. 350k of that is kids’ college funds. The crazy part is while I know I’m rich on paper, I neither feel rich nor live a rich lifestyle. I live in a very expensive city on the west coast and I’m actually quite worried about how much work has dried up and I feel aged out a good decade before I want to be done.
Dude… I’m probably your age and have half that. Count your blessings and sleep well.
Yup, and plan to stay that way. Live a simple life, don’t get divorced. And don’t get caught up in materialism and it’s not that hard. In America you basically need to do the opposite of everything you were told to do.
My divorce was a wealth killer. Seeing $250k fly out of the bank account is no fun.
Yes. About 4.8m saved for retirement. About 850 in home equity. But we are a two income family. And I’m 50 now, so we’ve been saving a long time. Hoping to be able to hold on another 5 years to get the kids through college.
I'm a Creative Director millionaire from working in advertising, but I started my own agency in a niche and I'm 9 years in. I've saved and invested alongside scaling my agency. NW around 3 million, 1 mill liquid, in my 30's, not including the value of my company which I could likely sell for 3-4 million if I put it on the market today.
Can you DM me?
Around 34 if you include house value, 39 if you don’t. I know it’s not a particularly sensitive thing to say, but a million bucks isn’t what it used to be.
Totally. But a million bucks starts growing pretty quickly when it’s invented—that’s the real power.
Only if you count value of my home and 401k
Same here.
Rising Star
Millionaire and rich are two different things.
A millionaire is no longer ‘rich’ - very fortunate yes and can live a modest life if they don’t burn through their cash on kitchen upgrades and boats. If you want that Dom Perignon and Bugatti life you need several stacks of millions.
I'm on track to have over 3.5M in retirement before I hit 65, not including my house which is currently about 1.2M. 53 and have been freelance 1/3 of my time for the past 8 years. The other time is spent raising to kids and traveling. I've always saved hard, maxed out 401k and IRA contributions and lived within my means. Never hit the CD level working for an agency and will never work for an agency again. Life is good.
Yes, I have a few millions in my country’s currency.
Oh, you meant in US dollars? Then no.
I found it VERY easy to hit one million even before becoming a CD. It took me about 5 years from the moment I moved to NYC, and my salaries weren't crazy at all. Hitting the second million was even easier.
-> I had good cards: no debt, European standards (making sacrifices isn't as difficult for me), a good portfolio, no kids/dependents, and I can get obsessive when I want to achieve something.
-> ... and bad cards: no finance knowledge (401k, IRA, HSA, bonds, stocks, etc were foreign words to me), a lot of insecurity with visas, etc, the language/cultural barrier, and being a foreigner didn't help either.
The title (CD, GCD, ECD) isn't as important as what you do (or don't do!) with your money.
Definitely not lol
No. Granted, I became a CD a bit late (in my 40s), but the lack of bonuses, stocks and yearly increments other industries offer, makes it harder to get there – even with a big title. Plus the job uncertainty as you become an "older" creative is haunting.
My friends who went straight to tech company creative departments are light years ahead of the rest of us who went to agencies.
I’m 41 and only a senior creative but luckily I have a second income source. Otherwise I’d be in rough shape.
Worth a little over $3M all in. Most of it home and 401k. I’m over 50 so clock is ticking.