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Me during my KPMG India interview
Hit 100k after tax savings 2 years out of college. Slept on couches and stuff for those years.
I didn’t really notice since it was weekends and I sometimes traveled Sunday to Friday or Monday to Friday.
Currently at $225K Net Worth, age 26, single, in LA. Plan on hitting $500K by 29 so 7 years out of UG. I’ll caveat that I had no student loans due to financial aid (grew up with nothing).
What helped me was:
(1) Living at home first two years out of college (paid my parents rent, but much cheaper vs getting my own place). Worked out with consulting since we travel during the week anyways.
(2) Invested in a multi-unit property, which has appreciated significantly (my initial investment has doubled in 2.5 years) and has saved me money in housing since I live in one of my units with roommates.
(3) Max my 401K and Roth IRA
(4) Started budgeting / tracking expenses and monitor how I track against my cash savings goal ($3.5K/mo).
(5) Live below your means. My spending has actually decreased despite being promoted twice, which means I can save / invest more. I also bought a cheap used car vs buying new or luxury.
@D1 - I use Personal Capital. I also have Mint, but Personal Capita is easier to use and tags transactions more accurately than Mint. PC let’s you see how your cash flow is tracking MTD vs the prior month.
At the start of each quarter, I set monthly budgets across all categories and export to excel at the end of each month to track variances.
Rising Star
I’m 39, still don’t have 500k saved (was negative net worth until a few years ago) and make 7 figures. Life happens. Stuff costs money.
Focus on the income side, and the money will come. Living with 500k in the bank while you rent a shoebox and eat ramen is no kind of life. Money is for living life. Spend responsibly, but go ahead and spend some.
Rising Star
10 years ago I was making 18k as a grad student. I got divorced and remarried (before consulting, FWIW, just ended up having to pay for all the lawyers once I started in consulting — there and ent $200k). My dad got cancer and needed hospice care. I have 3 kids, and one of them is in college already. Like I said, life happens. When I say “stuff” is expensive I don’t mean iPhones or cars, I mean life stuff.
I’m a whole lot closer to having 500k now (made partner last year) than I would be living in my parents’ basement. Never would have made partner with that mentality. My income tripled when I made partner and my lifestyle didn’t change. But before that, I had maybe a year’s income saved and beyond that yeah, I was spending most of what I made supporting my family.
So what? I’ll save 300k this year and 300k next year and my kids won’t have to graduate with debt. With any luck by the time my younger kids are in college I’ll be able to save a million a year.
You gotta look at both sides of the coin.
(Also, FYI: my take home is a bit less than 500k, so that’s not half a year’s earnings it’s a year’s net. Being a partner in a national K1 is not tax efficient at all, my effective tax rate is very high. I pay income taxes in every state that has them.)
About to hit 100k at 25, estimate 500k by 30 at PwC (not Strategy&). Started net zero out of college, never lived at home, shop at aldi (one step above ramen)
Data Scientist - I kind of explained above, about 40k per year for 5 years is 200k, plus 100k right now, the rest would come from promotions/raises and stock growth (10% a year would be minimum $50k starting now). 30 is a stretch goal but with okay market performance 31-32 is quite probable
Not quite at 500k yet but I expect to hit it within two years. I’m 24 years old, 2 years out of college. Net worth growth is in the picture.
1. I paid for college with scholarships and also lived with parents for two of the four years
2. I have held some form of a job since high school and have had internships or work experience full time every summer
3. I left my first job out of college in less than a year for a 50% pay increase and 20k signing bonus
4. My total comp now is about $140k (including base, bonus, 401k March, ESPP discount) and I save about $75k of that annually (maximizing tax advantaged savings accounts) and living cheaply
5. I cook my own food for 90% of meals. Trader Joe’s is my go to grocery store
6. I have a roommate. My half of the rent is $1125 per month
Wow following - been working for 7 years and I’m not even at 100K. Didn’t live at home or eat ramen though.
I’m curious - what’s the motivation to save that much money? Just have it sit there?
Rising Star
Unless you plan on living off that 50k, so what? A million that you can’t replace is still not enough to go chasing risky investments that double. You could lose it all in the blink of an eye.
Around 8 years of professional experience with 5 at PwC. Have around 150k across 401k, rollover, and wealth builder. Have another 100k invested in the market and in Hysa. Live in T1 city and aggressively paying down home mortgage. Immigrant and did not have student debt.
P
At 440k now, assuming no major market collapse, I should hit 500k this year. But I saved up to 60% of my income and invested after graduating undergrad in 2013. I also had relatively cheap rent for a few years, but that's a distant memory now in DC suburb.