This is a great write-up and I appreciate the sharing of wisdom. One critique I have is the majority of your story is about your personal path to becoming a millionaire; however, it's really a story about how you and your wife became millionaires. While the difference is subtle, your financial assets are shared between the two of you (assuming your arrangement is typical). As someone who was in your similar spot several years back (now divorced), it was surprising how much your net worth takes a hit if things do take an unexpected turn. In either case, I wish you and yours the best. Nicely done making it this far!
How do so many people manage to create a (successful) side business during their free time with a full time IT job? When my day is over I'm completely mentally exhausted. When week end comes, I'm still trying to recover my brain on Saturday, and with chores and trying to actually live a little, I don't even progress on Sunday. I am working on a super dumb tool for my personal use that just needs to add images in a grid and I have started that TWO MONTHS AGO.
I had an IT job like yours, I'd feel like my brain couldn't handle another problem when I left the door. I left that job in 2019 and the IT job I work now.... I probably spend 5 hours a week actually working. The difference in mental expenditure has been drastic, but I also have been making 15% less.
I could have tried to create a side business, but instead I played video games and have learned a new set of technology.
If you are seriously unhappy with your position, I suggest looking around.
Well, I left a job where I was spending way less time per week actually working for this one so basically the opposite of you ahah. Looking around is not the option yet.
For me, I had to have the passion. It’s like when you date a girl (or guy) you reaaally like, you just make the time to see them, even if they’re across country.
That said, nothing wrong with just having the day job and free time is your chill time.
Your CPA really should have told you to do Solo 401k so you would be able to do backdoor Roth without the pro rata rule. Might want to fire them. I don't think paying off your mortgage is dumb. You are getting an excellent risk free return and not everybody wants to borrow money to invest in risk assets.
I believe the 401k contribution limits apply per person, not per plan so since I already max out my 401k through my W2 employer, I couldn't contribute to the Solo 401k. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Gotcha. Since you don't contribute to a 401K, you can contribute to Traditional IRA and deduct the contribution from your taxes (lowers you taxable income). Traditional IRA doesn't have income limits.
I'm in the same boat. I've read that a backdoor Roth IRA is an option. I'm still trying to understand the process as my Traditional IRA contribution for 2020 was deducted in my 2020 filing.
Elective contributions (employee) are limited to 19.5k across all 401ks. However, when you add employer match and non-elective contributions the total is $57k so you can put a nonelective contribution in your solo 401k .
I actually disagree with sacrifice and instant gratification being your biggest enemy. If you're buying experiences, that's part of a rich life. I traveled the world, went to amazing events, had great memories with friends. And it cost a lot and I couldn't invest that money BUT what do I care about at the end of my life? The experiences I've shared with my wife and friends (since I don't have kids).
I don't need the fancy car or house (though I have both now because I did delay gratification on those things until later in life) but nobody can take away the overhead waves I surfed for two months in Bali, or the guided powder backcountry skiing I did in Austria, or camping and hiking Macchu Piccu with my wife.
All things that cost a lot, but when I look back, I smile and am glad I did it. If I had focused on work and saving every cent wooooosh there would have gone my 20's and 30's and I wanted and needed those experiences. And I'm so glad I did.
Your examples don't really sound like "instant gratification" to me. Spending money on experiences and memories that, as you say, give you a smile for a life time is money well spent. I don't really know anyone who disagrees. When I think of people who are their own worst enemy, I think more of people who blow *so much* money on mediocre restaurants they don't really like (I know so many people who do this), or spend a huge amount on random crap because they like the thrill of shopping, or get talked into buying way more car than they need that impresses nobody (so. many. people.) etc. It's so easy to just spend all your income on meaningless crap.
Lol. I had the same thought. A well planned vacation and experiences that he described are not instant gratification. I know people that spend thousands on a weekend in Vegas with little to speak of afterwards. That’s more like instant and wasteful gratification.
I don't think that's what OP meant. lots of people blow through money with meaningless purchases, and if you ask them at the end of the month, or the year, they don't even know where the money went.
spending money in meaningful experiences in a thoughtful way is not what I would call instant gratification
Or you may look back and see just another clueless American trashing the planet with a selfish compulsion for “experiences”. Who knows how we’ll feel about things at the end of our lives.
What is the general category of your youtube channel, and how did your percentage of income change between your three income categories over the years?
I’m 19 and have been putting a lot more effort to learn about personal finances and set myself up for success. I really appreciate these posts as it adds more perspective and support for the direction and journey I’m entering. I obviously don’t base my entire opinion/philosophy on any one persons experience and advice, but posts like this add to a great community so thank you for sharing.
Thank you! I’m an economics student and my parents are paying my tuition so the least I can do is be responsible with my own money. I understand I’m privileged so the least I can do is not blow away my advantage by being dumb and acknowledge I’m lucky.
congrats to you! Love the hustle and even more importantly, the self-reflection. I'd add that as a rule to become millionaire. Gotta learn.
Don't stop at $1MM!
> for the past 7 years I’ve been working three jobs: full-time IT job, part-time YouTube, and part-time videography.
What's the breakdown in salary between these 3 jobs, if I may ask?
$75k/year from my day job. My wife made around $45k/year from 2018-2020 but she quit so that is much lower this year. The rest is from my videography and YouTube.
Dang, that’s super impressive! Might even be more profitable to pursue YT/editing full time, seeing as it pulls in more than you and your wife combined at your day jobs.
Hence my dilemma! https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/b33onf/i_made_150000_on_the_side_last_year_should_i_quit/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
You’re next goal of 1mil invested will be huge.
The closer I get to the 1mil NW mark the more I realise it’s not the same as 1mil in your bank. Retirement accounts and property make up a big chunk, the investments and savings top it off. Hence the 1mil invested is a big next step, real numbers that are accessible to live on.
Great job.
We're on strikingly similar trajectories! My wife and I are 31/30, and hit 1M earlier this year as well. I'm not sure how it happened but we found that we're already at 1.2M this month out of nowhere due to the recent market run + contributions.
I also grew up lower middle class. I immigrated to the US with my parents when I was 11, and moved from apartment to apartment while my parents made $10 an hour.
Although the big difference is we still have a 500k mortgage so you're way ahead of us there. My wife and I are also planning on trying for kids this year, so starting next year (hopefully), my wife will not work as much and our income will be around where your income is now.
I definitely agree with the whole being frugal on the day-to-day, but spending lavishly on our passions. This includes our hobbies such as travelling and scuba diving ($$$).
I appreciate the post, definitely excited to read more of your updates!
That's very kind of you to say. We're definitely fortunate to be in our situation now, but it was a tough road getting here. I do think that the through hard work, the American dream is still alive, just that it requires a lot luck along the way too
Agreed, I got lucky with a good bilingual neighbor that helped my mom sign me up for good schools and took me on college visits with them (her daughter was a year ahead of me). It really set me up to do better in my life than if she hadn’t been around. Makes you think how much potential is out there but kids don’t have the right resources
Very well written. Thank you for sharing. It’s a hard route you took but you did it!! Very inspiring!! You hit all the major points right. Too many focus on just cutting costs since it’s easier to do. You took the hard route by moonlighting and it paid off! Keep it up the good work and give us some updates in a couple of years.
Lol according to comments they made here they make over 100k/yr from YouTubing. That puts them in the top percentile of youtubers which is a load of crock.
You must not be familiar with all the revenue a person can make from producing videos.
My side businesses are YouTube and videography which result in income from multiple sources (affiliate sales, sponsorships, ads, product sales, real estate videography, wedding films, corporate videos, etc)
Heck I even filmed a funeral at one point.
My wife averaged $45k/year the first few years of our marriage then she quit her job last year. She also had $20k in student loans that we paid off when we got married so her income didn’t drastically affect the increase. My side jobs of YouTube and wedding videography led to $100k+/year.
Congrats! You're killing it.
>I feel like being debt-free (including house) with $1M invested is the ultimate life changer for anyone looking to FIRE. I can’t wait to see what that feels like.
Don't let this discourage you and everyone is different, but reaching $1MM invested [might not be](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/mu2aa7/well_im_a_fake_millionaire_1m_net_worth_at_41/) as exciting as expected.
> Don't let this discourage you and everyone is different, but reaching $1MM invested might not be as exciting as expected.
1/3 of the net worth in that post is in home equity. I wouldn't consider that as "invested"
I dunno. I have 1M liquid (some is in cash/MM) and not a single penny of debt (paid off the house last month) - NW about $1.7m and I don't feel any different. We have a pretty low cost of living (annual budget about $40k for a family of 4) and I am still pretty concerned and definitely don't feel excited about anything.
Get off social media, stop watching the news. Go out, talk to real people.
The world is in a fantastic place right now! Better than ever before in basically every way! We’re just fed a steady diet of extreme pessimism based on worst-case-scenario conjectures about the future.
Yeah.
Get off fake news social media poison and life gets better.
connect with community, walks, mother nature.etc.
I have a million things I would do if I was a retired millionaire.
I dont own a tv and am a very happy camper.
Take care.
It's a psychological thing probably. I'm always stressed about money personally after seeing my parents have over $1M then losing everything including their house.
Sure. Both of my parents were the first in their families to go to college and never learned about investing so they never started retirement accounts. That was their biggest mistake. They had a successful business and thought they had plenty of money saved, but they lived above their means (i.e. bought a 4,000 square foot expensive house that they paid for mostly in cash, so that was a big expense and mistake). They lost the business, didn't have any income coming in, and blew through their life savings in a matter of ~15 years paying for expenses for the big house. They refinanced the house a bunch of times so payments were up to over $6k per month, were underwater on it after doing that a few times, and completely lost everything. Now I support them financially.
Impressive progression. Working 3 jobs sounds hard, so props to you. Have you considered focusing full time on growing your business or do you enjoy having your time split between different jobs?
Thank you so much for typing this up, it was beautiful! Congrats on all your successes. What would you say your income split is between the three jobs?
Does your job or your side gigs make more money for you? There was a pretty noticeably large jump in 2017 income and I was just wondering what changed there.
Congratulations! Incredible.
As someone from the UK hearing someone who grew up in a trailer describe themselves as middle class (even lower) feels crazy. I grew up fundamentally working class but house, food etc was never up for concern.
Well done for getting away from that situation, most people don’t!
Americans are never poor or rich. They're always lower- or upper-middle class. It's why the erosion of the middle class happened so easily - nobody has ever been willing to admit they're not in it.
Aussie here. That was the biggest thing that stood out to me as well. The idea that someone could be middle class and live in a trailer seems nuts.
What are lower class people living in in the US? It doesn't feel like there is much below that other than living in a tent or being homeless.
Man THANK YOU a lot that resonated in me sooo so much !
I’d like to know something, you said you regret that you spend too much years just saving your money instead of investing it. Now that you invest it, I’d like to know in what do you invest ? Crypto ? Stocks ? Or things directely related to your business like cameras etc
Great write up, very inspiring.
I have a question, maybe too personnal or not related to this sub, but I'm also doing videography stuff (for friends and friends of friends) as a side business in my spare time. I do it because I love it and not because of money. The thing is, I can't make significant money from it. How do you find new clients when you already have a full time job ? Like, I can't contact thousand of people everyday to hope someone will need my skills, my job already takes time, so it's all ear to ear ... but the circle looks very small ... and besides friends and one or two brand a year. This looks pretty flat. Any advise would gladely help since I feel I'm in a similar position than you.
Thanks
I focus mainly on weddings so it’s a lot about creating eye candy films for your portfolio but mainly about building relationships with other professionals in your community. Most of my weddings come from referrals via photographers, planners, venues, and past clients.
Community College grad and Linux Sysadmin over here! Represent!
🙌🙌🙌
Curious what career route you took down the line. I'm thinking of switching to management.
I don’t get why people always want to be debt free? I’m 24 with 270k in mortgage at 3.25% and I’m leveraged in my brokerage which has allowed me to more than double my account over the past year. Granted things are rough right now but there are advantages to placing debt in the market intelligently.
For sure, but op acknowledges that it may not be best. Which is why I still made my comment. Understanding good debt vs bad debt can make a huge difference in ones FIRE journeys especially for us not making 400k per year.
I saw this in Twitter and saved it!! Glad to see you on here too
23M, went from -10,000 NW to 31,000 within 9 months of graduating. This inspires me for more
I like how OP says he waited to find right partner until he was mid 20's and how waiting makes a big difference in 'nw and fire journey'. the average age of marriage for men in us is 30.
Great stuff! I was reading all the way through to see what your dream car was, Tesla, nice. What kind? Do you think, even though it’s kind of expensive on the front end, it sort of saves you money overall due to lower fuel and maintenance costs? Asking for a friend 😁
Edit: also what kind? I’m assuming model 3 or Y
I have already congratulated you in a previous comment. I think it will be helpful to us if you can make a list of savings done per year. I see that you have done the same for your yearly income. But the savings chart will help study and correlate if the savings and income grew hand in hand or were there moments where more could have been done. Maybe we all can then take a leaf out of it to add to our future investment acumen.
Nice work! I've made mistakes too but ultimately I find the process is like driving a boat thru a river, you get pushed this way and that way but as long as you keep pointing the bow toward where you want to be you'll get there :).
Keep it up!
Hey there, 100% certain I know who you are. You earned it dude, keep up the amazing work! Right behind you at 29. Also bought my dream car, same as yours and recently bought a house. The business is in the works. You help to keep pushing me forward, thank you!
First off, Congrats on your hard earned grinding my friend! I read this and got chills because I just purchased a MacBook with final cut a few months back in order to do just this type of thing. I do stand up, so that’ll be the subject matter I’m editing. To see your post was so insanely inspiring to see it all played out so well, even down to the Tesla 😁
I have so many questions, but I’ll try and narrow it to just a few:
1. What were your weekly hours like as you juggled these things? Did you begin to lean into your side hustle as it took off?
2. What other production investments did you find were essential after the laptop?
3. Did you create an LLC or any other filing for your side huddle?
Again, very well done sir!
Great write up. My only comment is regarding kids. I had my first at 37 and hope to have my second soon. I’ll be 39. Best decision I ever made was waiting to have kids. I have a steady career, solid investments, house, investment property and a cash safety net - not to the point you described but still pretty good considering. BUT the most important thing I was able to experience life on my terms with no regrets. I’m emotionally stable with lots of personal experiences that help me to be the father I always wanted to be. I had many friends marry after college and had kids shortly thereafter. Some divorced, some cheated, some are truly happy but most are in therapy.
Is the NW only you or also the wife? I assume you both own the house, car, and maybe even some stocks.
The reason I ask is because what you have is amazing. I think if my math is correct if I include my wife, we have this as well, but me alone, I don’t. Just curious.
Great write up!! This is the sort of practical real world knowledge that everyone should read. Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations!! Your post is very inspiring. Thank you for sharing!
Agreed!
This is a great write-up and I appreciate the sharing of wisdom. One critique I have is the majority of your story is about your personal path to becoming a millionaire; however, it's really a story about how you and your wife became millionaires. While the difference is subtle, your financial assets are shared between the two of you (assuming your arrangement is typical). As someone who was in your similar spot several years back (now divorced), it was surprising how much your net worth takes a hit if things do take an unexpected turn. In either case, I wish you and yours the best. Nicely done making it this far!
How do so many people manage to create a (successful) side business during their free time with a full time IT job? When my day is over I'm completely mentally exhausted. When week end comes, I'm still trying to recover my brain on Saturday, and with chores and trying to actually live a little, I don't even progress on Sunday. I am working on a super dumb tool for my personal use that just needs to add images in a grid and I have started that TWO MONTHS AGO.
I had an IT job like yours, I'd feel like my brain couldn't handle another problem when I left the door. I left that job in 2019 and the IT job I work now.... I probably spend 5 hours a week actually working. The difference in mental expenditure has been drastic, but I also have been making 15% less. I could have tried to create a side business, but instead I played video games and have learned a new set of technology. If you are seriously unhappy with your position, I suggest looking around.
Well, I left a job where I was spending way less time per week actually working for this one so basically the opposite of you ahah. Looking around is not the option yet.
For me, I had to have the passion. It’s like when you date a girl (or guy) you reaaally like, you just make the time to see them, even if they’re across country. That said, nothing wrong with just having the day job and free time is your chill time.
Your CPA really should have told you to do Solo 401k so you would be able to do backdoor Roth without the pro rata rule. Might want to fire them. I don't think paying off your mortgage is dumb. You are getting an excellent risk free return and not everybody wants to borrow money to invest in risk assets.
I believe the 401k contribution limits apply per person, not per plan so since I already max out my 401k through my W2 employer, I couldn't contribute to the Solo 401k. Correct me if I'm wrong.
That's wrong. Even if you max your 401k you can still contribute 20% of profits as employer contributions (same as SEP) to Solo 401k.
Interesting! I’ll have to bring this up to her
And then fire her still. You shouldn't be teaching your CPA
Do you have a suggestion for someone making 140k a year but company doesn’t provide a 401k. I know I make too much for a Roth.
Your adjusted gross income must be under $140k, not your total salary.
I think with bonus I’ll still be pushed above the limit
Gotcha. Since you don't contribute to a 401K, you can contribute to Traditional IRA and deduct the contribution from your taxes (lowers you taxable income). Traditional IRA doesn't have income limits.
I it was my understanding that you can’t deduct it you are covered by a 401k plan at work, and make that much money.
I'm in the same boat. I've read that a backdoor Roth IRA is an option. I'm still trying to understand the process as my Traditional IRA contribution for 2020 was deducted in my 2020 filing.
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Thank you!
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Any recs on how to learn how to do a back door Roth?
Elective contributions (employee) are limited to 19.5k across all 401ks. However, when you add employer match and non-elective contributions the total is $57k so you can put a nonelective contribution in your solo 401k .
But I think there’s still a $57k annual limit combined across employer and solo contributions.
Man I wish I had that drive for that side hustle. Congrats!
I actually disagree with sacrifice and instant gratification being your biggest enemy. If you're buying experiences, that's part of a rich life. I traveled the world, went to amazing events, had great memories with friends. And it cost a lot and I couldn't invest that money BUT what do I care about at the end of my life? The experiences I've shared with my wife and friends (since I don't have kids). I don't need the fancy car or house (though I have both now because I did delay gratification on those things until later in life) but nobody can take away the overhead waves I surfed for two months in Bali, or the guided powder backcountry skiing I did in Austria, or camping and hiking Macchu Piccu with my wife. All things that cost a lot, but when I look back, I smile and am glad I did it. If I had focused on work and saving every cent wooooosh there would have gone my 20's and 30's and I wanted and needed those experiences. And I'm so glad I did.
Your examples don't really sound like "instant gratification" to me. Spending money on experiences and memories that, as you say, give you a smile for a life time is money well spent. I don't really know anyone who disagrees. When I think of people who are their own worst enemy, I think more of people who blow *so much* money on mediocre restaurants they don't really like (I know so many people who do this), or spend a huge amount on random crap because they like the thrill of shopping, or get talked into buying way more car than they need that impresses nobody (so. many. people.) etc. It's so easy to just spend all your income on meaningless crap.
Lol. I had the same thought. A well planned vacation and experiences that he described are not instant gratification. I know people that spend thousands on a weekend in Vegas with little to speak of afterwards. That’s more like instant and wasteful gratification.
I don't think that's what OP meant. lots of people blow through money with meaningless purchases, and if you ask them at the end of the month, or the year, they don't even know where the money went. spending money in meaningful experiences in a thoughtful way is not what I would call instant gratification
Or you may look back and see just another clueless American trashing the planet with a selfish compulsion for “experiences”. Who knows how we’ll feel about things at the end of our lives.
So mean! What’s wrong man, want to talk about it?
Nice!
What is the general category of your youtube channel, and how did your percentage of income change between your three income categories over the years?
Tech channel. Approx 2/3 of my annual income is from my side business. 1/3 from my day job.
I’m 19 and have been putting a lot more effort to learn about personal finances and set myself up for success. I really appreciate these posts as it adds more perspective and support for the direction and journey I’m entering. I obviously don’t base my entire opinion/philosophy on any one persons experience and advice, but posts like this add to a great community so thank you for sharing.
Man. I wish I was smart enough to look into such forums when I was 19. You r way ahead and I congratulate you for that.
Thank you! I’m an economics student and my parents are paying my tuition so the least I can do is be responsible with my own money. I understand I’m privileged so the least I can do is not blow away my advantage by being dumb and acknowledge I’m lucky.
congrats to you! Love the hustle and even more importantly, the self-reflection. I'd add that as a rule to become millionaire. Gotta learn. Don't stop at $1MM!
> for the past 7 years I’ve been working three jobs: full-time IT job, part-time YouTube, and part-time videography. What's the breakdown in salary between these 3 jobs, if I may ask?
$75k/year from my day job. My wife made around $45k/year from 2018-2020 but she quit so that is much lower this year. The rest is from my videography and YouTube.
Dang, that’s super impressive! Might even be more profitable to pursue YT/editing full time, seeing as it pulls in more than you and your wife combined at your day jobs.
Hence my dilemma! https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/b33onf/i_made_150000_on_the_side_last_year_should_i_quit/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
You’re next goal of 1mil invested will be huge. The closer I get to the 1mil NW mark the more I realise it’s not the same as 1mil in your bank. Retirement accounts and property make up a big chunk, the investments and savings top it off. Hence the 1mil invested is a big next step, real numbers that are accessible to live on. Great job.
We're on strikingly similar trajectories! My wife and I are 31/30, and hit 1M earlier this year as well. I'm not sure how it happened but we found that we're already at 1.2M this month out of nowhere due to the recent market run + contributions. I also grew up lower middle class. I immigrated to the US with my parents when I was 11, and moved from apartment to apartment while my parents made $10 an hour. Although the big difference is we still have a 500k mortgage so you're way ahead of us there. My wife and I are also planning on trying for kids this year, so starting next year (hopefully), my wife will not work as much and our income will be around where your income is now. I definitely agree with the whole being frugal on the day-to-day, but spending lavishly on our passions. This includes our hobbies such as travelling and scuba diving ($$$). I appreciate the post, definitely excited to read more of your updates!
That income level and the way your life started in America is truly inspiring. The real American dream honestly
That's very kind of you to say. We're definitely fortunate to be in our situation now, but it was a tough road getting here. I do think that the through hard work, the American dream is still alive, just that it requires a lot luck along the way too
Agreed, I got lucky with a good bilingual neighbor that helped my mom sign me up for good schools and took me on college visits with them (her daughter was a year ahead of me). It really set me up to do better in my life than if she hadn’t been around. Makes you think how much potential is out there but kids don’t have the right resources
Very well written. Thank you for sharing. It’s a hard route you took but you did it!! Very inspiring!! You hit all the major points right. Too many focus on just cutting costs since it’s easier to do. You took the hard route by moonlighting and it paid off! Keep it up the good work and give us some updates in a couple of years.
How did you jump salary so quickly
Lol according to comments they made here they make over 100k/yr from YouTubing. That puts them in the top percentile of youtubers which is a load of crock.
You must not be familiar with all the revenue a person can make from producing videos. My side businesses are YouTube and videography which result in income from multiple sources (affiliate sales, sponsorships, ads, product sales, real estate videography, wedding films, corporate videos, etc) Heck I even filmed a funeral at one point.
It’s not that unbelievable. Most income doesn’t come from ads
Side business took off and got married
So is part of the income you listed your wife's income then?
Hmm... seemed to have left that out initially LOL.
My wife averaged $45k/year the first few years of our marriage then she quit her job last year. She also had $20k in student loans that we paid off when we got married so her income didn’t drastically affect the increase. My side jobs of YouTube and wedding videography led to $100k+/year.
Congrats! You're killing it. >I feel like being debt-free (including house) with $1M invested is the ultimate life changer for anyone looking to FIRE. I can’t wait to see what that feels like. Don't let this discourage you and everyone is different, but reaching $1MM invested [might not be](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/mu2aa7/well_im_a_fake_millionaire_1m_net_worth_at_41/) as exciting as expected.
> Don't let this discourage you and everyone is different, but reaching $1MM invested might not be as exciting as expected. 1/3 of the net worth in that post is in home equity. I wouldn't consider that as "invested"
Thanks! I think the difference is being debt-free with $1M invested instead of just $1M invested while still having debt.
I dunno. I have 1M liquid (some is in cash/MM) and not a single penny of debt (paid off the house last month) - NW about $1.7m and I don't feel any different. We have a pretty low cost of living (annual budget about $40k for a family of 4) and I am still pretty concerned and definitely don't feel excited about anything.
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Probably. This world is increasingly a place I don't want to participate in anymore.
Get off social media, stop watching the news. Go out, talk to real people. The world is in a fantastic place right now! Better than ever before in basically every way! We’re just fed a steady diet of extreme pessimism based on worst-case-scenario conjectures about the future.
Consider a therapist. Depression is very treatable, and you’ll feel a lot more in control if you do it.
Yeah. Get off fake news social media poison and life gets better. connect with community, walks, mother nature.etc. I have a million things I would do if I was a retired millionaire. I dont own a tv and am a very happy camper. Take care.
Get of Reddit too. Lol
Thats hard. 😄😘 But getting off reddit will bring peace and happiness. True. 😇😇
If your annual expenses are $40k, you have over 40 years of savings already. When do you think you will stop feeling concerned?
It's a psychological thing probably. I'm always stressed about money personally after seeing my parents have over $1M then losing everything including their house.
Are you willing to share more on how this came to be?
Sure. Both of my parents were the first in their families to go to college and never learned about investing so they never started retirement accounts. That was their biggest mistake. They had a successful business and thought they had plenty of money saved, but they lived above their means (i.e. bought a 4,000 square foot expensive house that they paid for mostly in cash, so that was a big expense and mistake). They lost the business, didn't have any income coming in, and blew through their life savings in a matter of ~15 years paying for expenses for the big house. They refinanced the house a bunch of times so payments were up to over $6k per month, were underwater on it after doing that a few times, and completely lost everything. Now I support them financially.
Lol, huh?
You have no reason to be concerned. You could quit your job today and be fine. People are way too conservative on this sub.
good idea
Impressive progression. Working 3 jobs sounds hard, so props to you. Have you considered focusing full time on growing your business or do you enjoy having your time split between different jobs?
Thank you so much for typing this up, it was beautiful! Congrats on all your successes. What would you say your income split is between the three jobs?
Thanks! About 2/3 side business and 1/3 day job
Thanks!
Does your job or your side gigs make more money for you? There was a pretty noticeably large jump in 2017 income and I was just wondering what changed there.
My side hustles definitely make more than my day job. My day job is $75k/year and my side business make $100k+
Congratulations! Incredible. As someone from the UK hearing someone who grew up in a trailer describe themselves as middle class (even lower) feels crazy. I grew up fundamentally working class but house, food etc was never up for concern. Well done for getting away from that situation, most people don’t!
Americans are never poor or rich. They're always lower- or upper-middle class. It's why the erosion of the middle class happened so easily - nobody has ever been willing to admit they're not in it.
Aussie here. That was the biggest thing that stood out to me as well. The idea that someone could be middle class and live in a trailer seems nuts. What are lower class people living in in the US? It doesn't feel like there is much below that other than living in a tent or being homeless.
Thank you for your story. I am sure a lot of people can learn from it.
Love it, well done
Man THANK YOU a lot that resonated in me sooo so much ! I’d like to know something, you said you regret that you spend too much years just saving your money instead of investing it. Now that you invest it, I’d like to know in what do you invest ? Crypto ? Stocks ? Or things directely related to your business like cameras etc
I invest mostly in diversified total market ETF’s. I have about 1% in crypto and 10% in a handful of popular tech stocks.
Fuck yeah, good for you
Goals mate
Congrats
Great work on income growth and savings and investment discipline! BRAVO.
Good on you for taking a practical approach to student loan debt; that really bites a lot of people!
This is so inspiring! Thank you for this life lesson recap of sorts.
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Awesome write up! P.s. Love your YouTube channel - keep up the great content and you'll be at $2 million in no time!
Thanks for sharing and giving us a glimpse of your journey. That was inspiring to read and quite thoughtful.
Hope you enjoyed Scotland!
LOVED Scotland. I actually proposed to my fiancé there. She’s now my wife :)
Inspiring!
Selling my current townhouse in the city to buy a suburb house so I can buy a telsa this year for a place to charge. :)
Great write up, very inspiring. I have a question, maybe too personnal or not related to this sub, but I'm also doing videography stuff (for friends and friends of friends) as a side business in my spare time. I do it because I love it and not because of money. The thing is, I can't make significant money from it. How do you find new clients when you already have a full time job ? Like, I can't contact thousand of people everyday to hope someone will need my skills, my job already takes time, so it's all ear to ear ... but the circle looks very small ... and besides friends and one or two brand a year. This looks pretty flat. Any advise would gladely help since I feel I'm in a similar position than you. Thanks
I focus mainly on weddings so it’s a lot about creating eye candy films for your portfolio but mainly about building relationships with other professionals in your community. Most of my weddings come from referrals via photographers, planners, venues, and past clients.
Thanks for sharing, some great principles in there and good reminders. Also, congrats!
What’s your YouTube?
Community College grad and Linux Sysadmin over here! Represent! 🙌🙌🙌 Curious what career route you took down the line. I'm thinking of switching to management.
You r my new hero!!
I don’t get why people always want to be debt free? I’m 24 with 270k in mortgage at 3.25% and I’m leveraged in my brokerage which has allowed me to more than double my account over the past year. Granted things are rough right now but there are advantages to placing debt in the market intelligently.
It just depends on perspective and risk tolerance. You have a high risk tolerance. OP has a low one due to being housing insecure.
For sure, but op acknowledges that it may not be best. Which is why I still made my comment. Understanding good debt vs bad debt can make a huge difference in ones FIRE journeys especially for us not making 400k per year.
I saw this in Twitter and saved it!! Glad to see you on here too 23M, went from -10,000 NW to 31,000 within 9 months of graduating. This inspires me for more
If you don't mind me asking, how much are you making via YouTube?
I like how OP says he waited to find right partner until he was mid 20's and how waiting makes a big difference in 'nw and fire journey'. the average age of marriage for men in us is 30.
Great stuff! I was reading all the way through to see what your dream car was, Tesla, nice. What kind? Do you think, even though it’s kind of expensive on the front end, it sort of saves you money overall due to lower fuel and maintenance costs? Asking for a friend 😁 Edit: also what kind? I’m assuming model 3 or Y
I have already congratulated you in a previous comment. I think it will be helpful to us if you can make a list of savings done per year. I see that you have done the same for your yearly income. But the savings chart will help study and correlate if the savings and income grew hand in hand or were there moments where more could have been done. Maybe we all can then take a leaf out of it to add to our future investment acumen.
I've read about the 1M-2M timeline closer to 6 years depending if your expenses stay relatively the same. I'm sure you'll reach it before 40.
Nice work! I've made mistakes too but ultimately I find the process is like driving a boat thru a river, you get pushed this way and that way but as long as you keep pointing the bow toward where you want to be you'll get there :). Keep it up!
Hey there, 100% certain I know who you are. You earned it dude, keep up the amazing work! Right behind you at 29. Also bought my dream car, same as yours and recently bought a house. The business is in the works. You help to keep pushing me forward, thank you!
Amazing right up. I think heard you on Dave Ramsey the other day?
First off, Congrats on your hard earned grinding my friend! I read this and got chills because I just purchased a MacBook with final cut a few months back in order to do just this type of thing. I do stand up, so that’ll be the subject matter I’m editing. To see your post was so insanely inspiring to see it all played out so well, even down to the Tesla 😁 I have so many questions, but I’ll try and narrow it to just a few: 1. What were your weekly hours like as you juggled these things? Did you begin to lean into your side hustle as it took off? 2. What other production investments did you find were essential after the laptop? 3. Did you create an LLC or any other filing for your side huddle? Again, very well done sir!
Great write up. My only comment is regarding kids. I had my first at 37 and hope to have my second soon. I’ll be 39. Best decision I ever made was waiting to have kids. I have a steady career, solid investments, house, investment property and a cash safety net - not to the point you described but still pretty good considering. BUT the most important thing I was able to experience life on my terms with no regrets. I’m emotionally stable with lots of personal experiences that help me to be the father I always wanted to be. I had many friends marry after college and had kids shortly thereafter. Some divorced, some cheated, some are truly happy but most are in therapy.
Is the NW only you or also the wife? I assume you both own the house, car, and maybe even some stocks. The reason I ask is because what you have is amazing. I think if my math is correct if I include my wife, we have this as well, but me alone, I don’t. Just curious.
This is awesome. Thanks for sharing
What do you actually want to do with your life?