"Hey, by the way - we hit a net worth of $300,000 today."
That's what I told my husband last night when I called from my hotel room. I was about to say goodnight and I remembered that after updating my spreadsheet with my paycheck from the day, that we had hit a threshold I had long been looking forward to.
$300,000 will produce $1000 in investment gains a month if you assume a very reasonable return of 4%. A thousand dollars a month is more than my rent payment and I thought I would feel like we had crossed a major hurdle when we hit that milestone. I've been thinking about 300 for awhile now and what it would feel like. I've been calculating projections on when we'll get there, and the day arrived sooner than I thought. But it was also much quieter than I anticipated.
It turns out that I feel no different at all. In fact, I would say that having a net worth of $50,000 and $300,000 feel almost exactly the same. Conceptually I know that we are closer to financial independence, but at $50,000 (heck perhaps even $20,000) I felt that we had a really solid backstop and I felt I had broken from the grips of debt and took my first breaths of freedom.
Now I'm used to my freedom though. I no longer marvel at how little I worry about paying bills, but instead I worry that my dream of feeling this hallelujah moment of independence when I hit a certain net worth was just a fairytale. I worry that I will never feel like I have enough since if you had asked me at $50,000 what it would feel like to be at $300,000 I would have said "life changing, total freedom, and amazing accomplishment" and it turns out it just feels like more of the same.
So I set my sights on new heights. $500,000. That's when I'll feel awesome, and maybe even rich. That's half a million dollars! Crazy! But when if I get to $500,000 and I'm right back here, dreaming of $750,000?
When will I finally get that feeling of independence that I've been striving towards?
Phoebe
That is an amazing accomplishment! But I can understand where you're coming from. Not necessarily with finances, but when you look forward to something so much sometimes it feels like the build up was more exciting than the actual event.. Either way, you are an inspiration! I've started keeping track of my net worth. It's pitiful compared to yours, but I'm starting to watch it and I'm excited for February 1st when I can compare and see if it's grown.
ReplyDeleteYou are exactly right - thinking about getting to $300K was way more fun then actually getting there! Thanks for the encouragement and good luck on your journey!! Tracking your money and planning for your future are such huge accomplishments and you should be really proud. I'm looking forward to your February update as well!
ReplyDeleteI can very much relate to the part of your post regarding how good it feels to not worry about how to pay the bills. As a recent graduate I still can't believe that I have enough Money in the bank to not ever worry about how to pay for stuff during the month while still saving. However after a year of saving I (already!) feel like the benefit I get from ever more in my bank account is shrinking and watching the money pile up is by far not as rewarding as I imagined. I keep myself motivated with goals though and will start investing in a few months (currently abroad which makes the process more complicated).
ReplyDeleteAnd this comment ended up a lot longer than I planned for ;)
Yes, the transition from stressing about bills to feeling calm is huge!! And I suppose it's the lack of differentiation between "I have enough to pay my bills" and "I have more than enough to pay my bills" that makes it less exciting. Good for you for getting your money in order as a recent graduate - I was still racking up debt at your age! :)
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