Net Worth Comparison

proud2bfrugal's Profile

Currency
United States Dollar - USD
Date Joined
9/19/2018
Salary Range
40,000 - 49,999
Occupation
Retired
Age Range
60-64
Cost Of Living
High Cost Of Living (HCOL)
About Me
Brought up middle class by a family that avoided debt and always had money in the bank, never a financial crisis. Encouraged saving and planning for the future (grandfather opened an IRA for me when most people didn't know what they were). These lessons rubbed off on me evidently.

After 34 years in the corporate world, I was laid off (I was willing and ready, no tears shed), and I'm in my encore career phase as a part-time self-employed writing and editing consultant, freelance journalist, and educator.
Why I Joined
Benchmark myself against others, keep track of my own progress.
Best Financial Decision
Selling a house in 2007 at a good profit that I bought in 1999. Living beneath my means but still enjoying the things I like, such as traveling. Marrying someone with similar financial values. Buying a modest house for our next home, with over 50% down, and paying off the mortgage in 4 years.
Worst Financial Decision
Rolling a pension plan distribution over into a "hot" tech mutual fund at the peak of the dot-com craze. We all know what happened soon after. I finally gave up the hope it would return to its original value after many years, and transferred it to an index fund. It was a pretty cheap lesson to learn in retrospect.
Current Investing Strategy
Live way below our means. I hold a large cash position right now, may invest some of it in the future, but I want liquidity and safety for the time being. It helps me sleep at night.
How do you manage your finances?
Setting and holding to annual targets for spending. We met with a financial planner about six times who charged by the hour and we reviewed various things like net worth, annual spending, and asset allocation. It gave us good assurance that we were in good shape and that my wife could fully retire, and I didn't have to work at all any more, though I choose to work part-time as a consultant, writer, and educator.
What tools do you use?
Scraps of paper, literally. A calculator. Some web sites, Excel spreadsheets on occasion. I don't like a lot of fancy tools obviously! My wife is the exact opposite and deep into using Excel, Mint.com, and other software tools.
I need financial help with...
Generating sufficient retirement income with manageable risk. I am semi-retired, work part-time and have minimal income from it (I don't plan to stop working completely for quite some time), wife retired in January 2020.
Favorite Authors
Your Money Or Your Life was the book that was my game changer. I follow a few frugality/financial independence blogs like Mr. Money Moustache.
Last Login
11/19/2023
Budget
This user has not created a budget
Net Worth Entries
All values shown in USD ($)
2022 - April $4,005,865 $0 $4,005,865
2020 - December $3,671,000 $0 $3,671,000
2020 - July $3,262,000 $0 $3,262,000
2019 - April $3,063,000 $0 $3,063,000
2018 - October $2,911,000 $0 $2,911,000
2017 - December $2,642,000 $0 $2,642,000
2017 - March $2,377,000 $0 $2,377,000
2016 - October $2,130,000 $0 $2,130,000
2016 - June $2,085,000 $0 $2,085,000
2015 - December $1,951,000 $0 $1,951,000
2015 - June $1,946,000 $0 $1,946,000
2014 - August $1,833,000 $0 $1,833,000
2014 - June $1,823,000 $0 $1,823,000
2014 - March $1,750,000 $0 $1,750,000
2013 - December $1,687,000 $0 $1,687,000
2013 - August $1,605,000 $0 $1,605,000
2013 - June $1,588,000 $0 $1,588,000
2013 - March $1,449,000 $0 $1,449,000
2013 - January $1,421,000 $0 $1,421,000
2012 - September $1,322,000 $0 $1,322,000
2012 - March $1,281,000 $0 $1,281,000
2012 - January $1,230,000 $0 $1,230,000
2011 - August $1,204,000 $0 $1,204,000
2011 - June $1,253,000 $48,000 $1,205,000
2011 - March $1,208,000 $55,000 $1,153,000
2011 - February $1,193,000 $55,000 $1,138,000
2010 - October $1,157,000 $64,000 $1,093,000
2010 - July $1,131,000 $67,000 $1,064,000