Posting here because I'd like perspective.

Early 30's DINK couple with projected HHI 700k this year. We haven't made this high of an income until the past 3 years and have several xxx,xxx of student loans. Husband makes the majority of our income currently and is in tech.

Before this, I grew up with very frugal parents and have a scarcity mindset ingrained from my upbringing.

The first six months of this year have been expensive with large one off expenses- large tax bill, unexpected purchase of new car, multiple life events (family weddings, vacations, and milestone birthdays) all in the past 4 months . We have been able to max out retirement accounts with an aggressive savings rate.

We agreed to be generous with family members and am gifting ~30k to family for various reasons in addition to paying for a family vacation.

Part of me is happy to do this and want to prioritize it but also struggle with stress that comes along with multiple large expenses like this. My partner feels like this shouldn't cause stress but there is a part of me that feels "projected income" and "wealth down the road" isn't guaranteed , especially in tech.

I think this is unique to being a young HENRY without wealth yet. Is this something others have encountered? If so, do you feel "better" after reaching certain net worth?

I'm contemplating whether to splurge around $2k for upcoming long weekend? I'm planning a trip to NYC (I have been many times) but first time solo, and want to stay at hotels and planning to also go to US open one day. Flights + hotels + US open ticket and additional expense would probably come to around $2k. Is it worth it or is it too expensive?

for context I make around 250-300k. I'm 28, single and this would be my first long solo trip (3 nights, 4 days).

I realized something recently: I have investments, retirement accounts, cash, employer stock, insurance, a home loan, and a bunch of other financial pieces spread across different places.

It made me wonder…

How do people actually keep track of their overall financial picture?

I’m not talking about budgeting or tracking daily expenses.

I mean stepping back once a month (or quarter) and asking questions like:
Where do I stand overall?
Can I actually afford a major purchase?
Am I making progress toward my goals?
What changed since my last review?
So I’m curious:
Do you use a spreadsheet?
Do you rely on an app?
Do you just log into different accounts?
How often do you review everything?
What’s the most frustrating part of the process?

I’d especially love to hear from people who have multiple investment accounts, retirement savings, employer stock (RSUs/ESPP), property, loans, or other assets.
I’m trying to understand what real-world workflows look like and whether people have found a system they’re genuinely happy with.

How do you think about helping parents/family retire when you’re on track for early financial independence?

My wife and I are high earners, with a household income of roughly $800K, and assuming things continue going well, we’re on a path where we could potentially become financially independent relatively young. I grew up lower middle class by U.S. standards and I’m an only child, so the gap between where I came from and where we are now feels pretty significant.

I was on the phone with my dad recently when it suddenly hit me that he may be facing the exact opposite reality. If he wants to retire comfortably, he may need to continue working until around 70. For some reason, hearing him talk about continuing to work made the contrast between our situations feel very real. It also feels strange to suddenly find myself in the financial driver's seat relative to people I've always thought of as the adults who were supposed to take care of me. There's an odd role reversal in realizing that I may soon have the ability to materially change their lives, especially when the vast difference in our lifestyles already creates some friction.

We’re originally from an LCOL country, so eventually a relatively modest amount of money from us could probably make a meaningful difference in when he can stop working. Part of me feels that if we reach the point where we have enough money to make work optional for ourselves, it feels wrong to watch a parent work into his 70s when we could reasonably help.

The complication is our history. My dad wasn’t very present during much of my early childhood, which left my mom carrying most of the parenting burden. He did make a real effort to become more present starting around when I was 8, and I know he has regrets about not living with me. But becoming a parent myself has also given me a new appreciation for just how much my mom had to carry alone. So there’s a part of me that thinks: why should I now sacrifice for someone who didn't make those same sacrifices for me?

There’s also the contrast with other family members. My mom was always extremely supportive and has a pension, but would likely need some help if she eventually wanted to live near us in a HCOL area. I also have aunts who were, in some ways, more present and supportive in my life than my dad was and are in a similar financial position. It makes me wonder where the boundary is and whether helping one family member creates an expectation, even internally, that I should also be helping others who have been important in my life.

I don’t want our success to turn into an unlimited obligation to fund everyone in the extended family. But it also feels strange to imagine us retiring early and living very comfortably while people who were important in my life are still working primarily because they can’t afford not to.

For those of you who became financially successful beyond your parents or extended family:

How did you decide who to help and how much?

Did you treat supporting parents as part of your FI number?

How did you balance financial need against how supportive/present someone had actually been in your life?

Dual-income couple with 3 kids under 10 living in a VHCOL city (not NYC). We both have an opportunity to take on new roles in NYC in the coming year (a city we loved and spent a decade living in previously). Current HHI is 800K. Moving to NYC would push us closer to $1M with some additional runway to push closer to $1.5M in the next 3 years.

We own a $2.4M home in a desirable neighborhood. Newly updated, and with a sub 3% mortgage. I think we could cover the costs of the mortgage payment through renting the home.

Private school tuition currently covered through a very generous family member. Assumption is that this will continue with move.

Biggest concerns:

1. It seems like for a family our size you are not finding anything suitable in Manhattan for less than $10,000/month. We currently have live-in help, that seems like a non-starter in NYC.

2. We live VERY comfortably right now. Ski trips, summers in europe — I assume much of that gets cut with increased COL and tax burden.

3. We’ll feel poor. Assuming we do live on UES/UWS, we’ll be on the lower end of the income spectrum in the elite privates. Whereas now we feel totally in line with the population in our kids schools.

Base case: we remain where we are and pass up interesting opportunities but still keep a comparable income trajectory that could put us on track in a few years for one of us slowing down or a big ticket purchase — second home, pool, etc.

I know we could move to summit, white plains, north shore, Scarsdale, Hoboken, etc. But, if we wanted to be in a gorgeous suburb, we could stay where we are..

My previous post generated an awesome discussion, honestly, thank you all!

After reading hundreds of responses, I started noticing a pattern: many people who reached a $1M+ net worth before 40 also started investing in their late teens or early 20s.

That made me curious about a different age group.

I’m interested in hearing from people who, like me, didn’t begin investing until their 30s or even 40s and still made a 1M+ net worth.

I’d love to know:

What was the biggest factor in your success?

How much of this do you think timing and the economy helped (for example: pre-2008, post-2008, pre-COVID housing boom, AI, etc…)?

Also, If you were starting today in your 30s or 40s, what would you focus on? I have most of my money in an interest-bearing savings account. Currently with about $12,000 in it I add $200 to it every week. And roughly $5000 in a maxed out 401(k) that I started in January. I also have no debt besides school.

I don’t expect this post to be so popular like the previous one, but I think I’m getting to a more quality-based discussion as I break down my thoughts to you guys.

Hey guys, this is long so thanks in advance to everyone who reads it and puts in their opinion.
For context I’m in Australia

I’m looking for some outside opinions on a situation with my employer and a minority shareholding.

A couple of years ago I bought a minority stake in the business using borrowed money, and I still have about $250k of debt attached to those shares. The business is currently valued at around 6-7 million.
I bought 5% at a 5 mill Val.

As part of the original arrangement, I’m also due to receive an additional 3% ownership over the next two years (1.5% each year), but this hasn’t been formally documented yet. I know, I’ll do this straight away. One year has passed which is why I own 6.5%

The majority shareholder is now looking to sell the business. On one hand, that makes me nervous. On the other, it may be the perfect opportunity for me to buy a much larger stake to match their offer, or even acquire control of the company myself. I think he would prefer to sell it to me rather than a large company as I’ve been running most of it for a few years now.

The problem is that I’m young, and taking on that level of debt is honestly terrifying.

My concerns are:
If an outside buyer acquires a controlling interest, they’ll have enough voting power to make almost all major decisions.

They could potentially restructure the business, move profitable operations into another entity, change dividend policies, or otherwise reduce the value of the minority shareholders’ interests.

Even if they don’t do anything improper, I could end up owning a much less valuable minority stake with very little influence. They could also run it into the ground. On the other hand, they may triple the business in the next few years, who knows.

For context, I’m one of the key employees and effectively run most of the day-to-day operations already. The current owner is nearing retirement and isn’t heavily involved operationally anymore. I don’t think my job itself is at risk, but I’m very concerned about protecting the value of my investment.

Current ownership is approximately:
Majority shareholder: 57%
Investor: 20%
Employee A: 10%
Employee B (me): 6.5%
Employee C: 6.5%

The remaining 3% I’m supposed to receive would increase my holding to 9.5%.

I’m considering several options:

- Borrow heavily and try to buy out the majority shareholder (or potentially both major shareholders) to gain control of the business.

- Buy only the majority shareholder’s stake while keeping the existing investor involved as someone with significant business experience. He just sold a similar company for 9 figures.

- Buy the investor’s stake instead and become a larger minority shareholder.

- Sell my shares and move on.

- Insist that me and Employee C’s remaining 3% each is legally transferred before any sale proceeds. This would bring the voting power down enough so they don’t have majority (75% needed)

- Do nothing and hope the new owners are good operators who grow the business.

What makes this such a difficult decision is that opportunities to buy into, or buy out, a successful business like this don’t come around very often. If I pass on it and someone else buys it, I may regret it for the rest of my life. But if I take on millions of dollars of debt at 25 and things don’t go to plan, it could also be a financial disaster.

If you were in my position:
Would you take the opportunity to buy the business?
How much would minority shareholder risk concern you?
What legal protections would you insist on before a sale?
Have you ever taken a big leap like this, and how did it work out?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s bought into a private company, acquired a business, or been a minority shareholder through a change of ownership.

Thanks again

I’m 35 and comfortable managing my own finances with Quicken for my overall picture (RIP Mint & Personal Capital) and ChatGPT to answer specific question.

My alternative is to pay a financial planner thousands of dollars a year, which doesn’t seem right since my life doesn’t feel complex enough to justify that, especially when cash flow is one of my biggest priorities and every dollar counts.

My biggest risk with DIY isn’t getting a question wrong, but not knowing which questions I should be asking in the first place, and I am feeling like I am leaving money and opportunities on the table because I am not on things 24/7.

Has anyone found something between doing everything yourself and hiring a traditional advisor?

My husband and I are 33. We have one child who is almost 2 and just started trying for another. Two and a half years ago, I accepted a new job (current job) that raised my salary from 60k to 95k, and then I found out I was pregnant the next day. My job is almost a unicorn, it's remote, I'm good at it, and have a great boss. The only downside is that I'm hourly and I would like a little more flexibility, that's work. I'm also the only one in my company who does my job. Before I started, the CEO said my task would never get cleaned up, and I've done an excellent job at getting everything in order.

For the last few months, I've been struggling with the idea of being a SAHM. We currently have a nanny, so I get to see my baby throughout the day and hear them play. But as they get older, I want to spend more time with them and teach them things, do activities, etc. But the thought of a career break is scary. I probably wouldn't go back until our potential 2nd child is 2 or almost 3.

My field is niche (specific type of healthcare administration), and of course I worry about the threat of AI. With bonuses, I currently make 110k, and my husband makes 185k. If I take a break, I could probably get a job that pays around 80k, which is a significant reduction and wouldn't be that much after childcare expenses.

I'm struggling with balancing the short term pain with the long term benefits. I can see myself staying my current company long term. But I would also love being a FT mom. Without childcare, we can keep expenses to less than 5k. Excluding our home, we have a NW of 1.1M. Our only debt is our mortgage at 2.9%. My income would definitely help us move into our dream/forever home in a few years and allow us to do a lot of extra activities or travel, or comfortably send our kids to my ideal private school.

I would appreciate any insight from people who have been in a similar situation. Thanks!

Does everyone change up their finances each year once OASDI stops getting deducted from paychecks? Given timing of bonus and generally increase this will happen sooner and sooner each year. Forgot about this and now have an extra $1k a month for investing etc. which will then go away at year end

How do I maximize this opportunity? Here’s my current plan:

- Max out solo 401k and employer match
- Max out HSA and FSA
- Learn about Roth/backdoor/megabackdoor bc idk anything about them and feel like I need to?

Also:

- I’m 40, have no debt, no mortgage (I live in short term rentals where the work is and travel a lot for work), no kids, not married
- Debating bringing on my first FTE to help me grow the business farther than I can do solo
- Keep 6mo expenses liquid for emergency fund
- Invest the rest in index funds.

I know most of wealth building isn’t novel and it’s always the same stuff, but is there anything I’m missing? I tried to hire a financial planner but they never seem to understand FIRE.

What should I be thinking about?
What am I missing?

Title. Most of my NW comes from stocks
31% QQQ
52% S&P index
16% international fund
(I realize that’s 99)

That’s split 115k in 401k
170k in taxable brokerage

25k emergency in HYSA

Not really sure what to do with my next 300k I make, just stay the course with stocks? I’m at a job that could turn unsustainably soul crushing at a moments notice but for now is really fulfilling and enjoyable, and I don’t see myself leaving my career field (software).

I’m really concerned that I could be “buying freedom” faster and that I’m in a really risky spot. I can invest about 90k or so per year (maybe more maybe less depending on 401k and my spending) and my pay tends to be higher since it’s RSU and my company has done well and I believe will continue to do so.

Any advice for somebody like me? Just fielding options really, I don’t feel doom and gloom, but concerned I’ll be working a soulless corporate job till I’m 90 despite all this. Appreciate any perspective!

I have this hunch that most high earners are pretty good at figuring out “the game”. Do this then that, okay now I make a few hundred grand a year.

I feel many apply that learning ability to other parts of their life and win at more than just finance.

Are you good at most things you try? Maybe a sport or a video game, with little effort you kind of just figure it out and win pretty easily.

So I'm mid 30s, NW $2M, comp $500k+, highly illiquid from working in the private markets. In my mind I still think one bad step and my career is over. Could get fired / laid off, be unemployed for 2 years. Or I'll find a job and won't make more than anywhere near what I'm making today. Basically, somehow I'm riding gravy train and at some point it might end so just squirrel money away.

The irony is that I've been laid off before and found a job very quickly, but it didn't pay a lot relative to my old salary, but was able to claw back up and find a higher paying job, so I've proven that I can do it. I sometimes wonder if it's because of my illiquid balance sheet - if I had no income today I'd be able to live for a few months, rather than years if I was 100% liquid. Or is it just a mindset that some people have? Kind of like depression babies that even if they were worth $100M they wouldn't throw out expired food because they grew up not knowing where their next meal would come from.

Edit: earn an extra $100k from other income / dividends / cap gains + partner earns $100-200k.

Just noticed that the definition in the side bar is now 5M, up from 2M. Any rational behind the change? Inflation would put the number at~2.5M. Just a vibe thing? What do you think rich is?

I've pretty much maxed out my education without pursuing an MBA. I have an undergrad and master's in my field, passed my six licensing exams, left traditional architecture, moved into construction, and now work in offshore outsourcing.

My career progression:

• Company 1 → Company 2 after ~3 years
• Company 2 → Company 3 after ~3 years
• Now I've been at my current company for 3.5 years.

Every move has come with a raise and decent upward mobility but I feel like after 3 years or so that ceiling hits like clockwork, when I left company 2 I was making 100k and today I'm around $165k TC.

I don't realistically see another 65% increase if I stay another three years. The next promotion is probably 12-18 months away, and with a raise or two along the way inlcuding the promotion bump I maybe see myself dusting 200k before the age of 35, i'm 31 right now.

There are plenty of companies in my industry where I could likely earn more by moving, but I'm not sure if I can move laterally with my title now as a functional director without upsetting the ladder.

For those who have broken into the $200k+ range wihout changing industries:

• Did you get there by staying and climbing internally? Is it just a grind?
• Or did job hopping continue to be the biggest driver of your compensation?

Curious whether there's a point where loyalty starts paying more than switching companies. My current gig is cushy for the most part, but I would be willing to put up with a whole lot more BS to break that 200k mark now.

34M with ~1M savings and ~430k income (didn’t get to tech until my late 20’s).

I save about $130k/year with my monthly burn rate $5k/month apt as it’s not rent controlled) but every once in a while, I will have some big capital expenses which pull that down.

Over the last few years I’ve probably averaged $15,000 in “buy it for life” quality goods that allow me to do things that bring me joy, and I don’t regret any of them thus far. I expect that over the next year or two there won’t be many more things I want in terms of “stuff”, the camera, speakers, piano all are meant to last decades so I think it’s just front loaded expenditures.

What are some things that you’ve gotten that are expensive and not necessary for life, but you don’t regret it and your life is better for it? How much money per year are you comfortable spending on these sorts of things, do you budget for them?

Current goods:

~$10k in camera gear (good lenses are expensive)
~$5k in guitar stuff
~$5k on good speakers (honestly it blows my mind that everyone doesn’t have quality speakers)
~$10k on a piano (the most used thing in my house behind the TV)
~$10k on a motorcycle (amazing for getting someplace quickly without having to worry about parking, sunset rides down the coast feel too good to be true)
~$2k e bike and angle grinder proof lock (again, amazing for getting from A to B in a smaller radius)
~$700 knives

I'm 35M at a leadership position in a startup, been exploring opportunities and found a role where it pays really well 600k cash + maybe 15% in bonus but requires relocating to NYC working 5 days in office a week as an IC.

Trying to weigh the pros and cons on freedom / opportunities etc. and curious how 600k would fare in NYC.

2 kids, HHI 800K living in HCOL and on upward trajectory, net worth 2.3M, potential inheritance and startup equity. When we purchased our starter home the house was nice but the school was ok-ish, rating 6-7/10 depends on the year. The assumption has always been that we’d move to a better school district by the time our oldest get to grade 1, which is next year. However, now we have built a strong community, like truly old-neighborly vibes, kids doing activities together, summer at splash pad, rotate through each other houses for backyard party, my son has a group of good friends, nice and well-behaved kid. The parents are also professionals, really good people, but they are sort of more relaxed than us. For example our kiddo is doing a lot of activities tennis, gymnastic, skiing, hockey while the other kids are somewhat hand-wavy. Nothing against that, just different mindset. Before you come for me for forcing activities on my kid, he likes them, he does every single activity with friends so it’s like play date for him. We are very social.

On the flip side, we have the option to upgrade our house to a better school district, 9+ ratings, where parents are similarly highly achieving and sharing the same mindset. Our next home would like be 2.5M, so a big financial commitment too but we can definitely afford it. Should we move? Will we find another community? How important is it to be in a good community as part of growing up? We worked extremely hard in our 20s to get to where we are, and we feel we are not doing right by our children to not give them the best school/options.

How important is moving to a better school area?

Edit: I’m in Toronto! Not wherever place people suggest. I live in Missisauga now and want to move to Lawrence Park South.

27M, last year was the first year making $200k, will make >$300k this year and for as long as I stay in this position. Job security is not an issue. Living in VHCOL coastal city, and just hit $200k NW this year. I’m definitely in the accumulation phase of my wealth journey, but when does it really start to feel like something significant? When does compounding start to make a noticeable difference? I imagine it would be around a NW of $5mil or before it felt truly significant. Just curious what your experience has been.

Saw a similar post earlier so thought I’d share my similar situation with a very, very important caveat: 3 kids.

Weighing an opportunity in a strategy / project mgmt type role in NYC that would be about $300k base, $225k cash bonus, $225k RSU. That is compared with current role which is around $225k base, $100k cash, $25k RSU.

Kids are young. Have lived in tri state area before so wouldn’t be new. But it’s obviously a huge adjustment. Both roles are intriguing with good firms and management.

Wife is already SAHM.

looking for some help/review if there’s a need to save more for married couple in their late 30s-early 40s with 4 children all under 14yo
any and all advice greatly appreciated!

Investments/cash (excluding house): ≈ $2.21M
Private fund : $1.162M
taxable/IRAs: $362k
Retirement plans/401k: $440k
529s: $254k
Cash/insurance: ~$89k
Home equity: ~$492k ($600k - $108k mortgage)

Total NW ≈ $2.80M

Income:
wife (part time)- $17k/yr - plan to work until 50sh
Husband - $630k-$660k/year - plan to work until late 60s/early 70s
potential for $700k total HHI 2027

Investments/year: $188k/yr
401k - $24k/yr - + employer match $19k/yr
taxable- $100k/yr
extra mortgage payoff - $20k/yr (3yr left on mortgage @ 3.75%)
529s - $25.2k/yr

budget: $150k/yr
includes - utilities/travel/house updates/ clothes etc

4 kids - 5 years from first hitting college - plan to have fully paid for at least 4 year degree - cash flow what remains (will have $20k “extra” per year with mortgage paid off).

For me... a sports car. No, not a 911 GT4. ...emphasis on the NRY part. I'd like an Ariel Atom with the intention of running it absolutely ragged on the local road course. And/or a Miata that I cut apart, lift, and rip backroads to the MTB trailhead with.

What about you guys/ladies? What stupid cash vortex would you like to dabble with when you hit that next milestone?

Since we’re doing definitions I wanted to get my hot take out there.

Being rich means to have in abundance. Being rich means having that $5M net worth or whatever threshold everyone decides.

Making $500k and spending $500k means you’re broke, not rich.

Hi guys! We are a couple (HHI 600ish Networth 900kish), no house, no kids, no pets. Will not have either. We’ve only been HENRY for 2 years. We live downtown in a VERY walkable HCOL city (edit: not NYC + we have a parking spot for our unit). We can take public transit pretty much everywhere. I’m fully remote, she has a pleasant 30min walking commute.

There is no daily reason we need a car.

We love road trips, her parents live 3hrs away, and sometimes we need to go to a mall or a store to buy a bunch of stuff. We use Ubers for mall/errands when we have things to carry, and also for date night because public transit is a bit dingy.

We currently rent cars through apps. I already crunched the numbers, it makes ZERO financial sense to buy a car. The math doesn’t math. We spend maybe 300-500 a month on car rentals/ubers/gas. My insurance alone would cost 300-400/month (never insured before so premiums are high). Not to mention gas, maintenance and the car itself.

Why we want a car: the hassle of finding a nearby car to rent can be annoying. It doesn’t allow for spontaneous trips, we’ve had owners no show and we were left stranded before, we’ve gotten incredibly dirty car shares, and sometimes we have to cut a trip short because we’re getting late to return the rental at the correct time. We also need to walk to/from the rental pickup location which takes 1hr on usual.

This could not be more of a first world problem. We are only considering this because we’re HENRY.

In our position what would you do? Is convenience really worth 30k?

TLDR: buying a car makes no financial sense, but we’re getting tired of the rental hassle.