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18 months ago I was 59 years old and facing a very bleak life in retirement. After watching one of your videos, I was motivated to change my financial life. I now have $30K in my Roth IRA and company 401k combined. I also have an $8K emergency fund. Thanks for lighting a fire under me Erin!

I hit my first 100k in 6 years. Only took 2.5 years after that to get the next 100k.

I didn’t start investing seriously until age 30 (1998). It took nearly 10 years to break $100k, and another 6 to get to $300k. Today, I’m at $1.2M. My only regret was not starting earlier, say at 25. Those 5 years would’ve made a big difference.

Unfortunately I didn’t really start investing until my early 40’s. I hit $100,000 at 50 and now at age 53 it’s already grown to $180,000!

I was so excited when my 401k Roth hit 10,000. It was a huge milestone for me because I was just out of college and starting my 401k with my new company. It took me forever to finish college so it's wonderful to finally have the opportunity to invest more. Now on to hitting 100,000 !!! 💖💖💖

In 2017, my net worth was -51K. I broke even in 2019, and currently have a net worth of 112K. I have no magic formula, no real estate deals, and certainly never had anything handed to me. It was just a matter of soaking up as much overtime as I could, and living well below my means.

So many over achievers! It took me 30 years to save $100,000. During this period I paid off my house, a debts, put my child through college, traveled to wonderful places, and earned a pension. I should have saved more but am not sure which of these things I’d give up. It’s all about choices and your videos make the long term implications of those choices clear. Keep them coming.

It took me 15 years to hit $100,000. Low pay in the military, zero financial literacy upbringing, and having kids young made it tough. But we got there, and even in the downturn are trucking harder toward the next milestone. What took us 9 years to get to has now taken less than 2. Stick with it. It’s hard. Sometimes very hard. But oh so worth it.

I put $3k in a custodial account when each of my 4 kids were born. Nothing after that. My oldest daughter started college last year and got to start with $195k. My son is next and will turn 18 next year and even with the down market has $180k waiting for him. My son that is just starting high school has $120k and my youngest going into 7th grade has $85k. Time made this possible. Putting together $3k when the kids were born was hard but it was a one time thing for me and all saving since went into my wife and I retirement savings, now well over a couple million. I feel fortunate that I followed my instincts when I was young because what Erin says here is so true and time is your most valuable resource.

I am happy to say I am just below my goal of 100K. I am at 97K

Having a stable marriage with dual income is another critical factor to accumulate wealth fast for an ordinary family.

We're immigrants here in the US and it took us almost 3years to Hit 100k. 3yrs later we're a little over 400k.😀 what has been working for us is contributions to 401k, ROTH IRA, no consumer debt, Budgetting and Living Below our Means.

At age 43 I was negative $50,000. Changing jobs. No idea what I was gonna do for money work. I’m 47 now. I saved and bought a detached 4 bedroom house all on my own. Starting to build my stock portfolio. Picking up speed fasssssst !!!!

It took my wife and I 4-5 years to save our first $100,000, and we have never made a combined income of more than $90,000

I hit it at the age of 35. I didn't go to college. I just went to work. I worked in a warehouse during the week and a restaurant on friday, saturday and sunday evenings. I din't have a girlfriend, my girlfriend was money. It is a huge accomplishment and the 2nd hundred was just as hard to save.

The scariest numbers are the percentages you shared. Crazy only that many near retirement age have $100k in retirement.

Took my wife and I 5 years to hit our first $100k. The first 5 years we were together was more about finishing college and getting well paying jobs. We then bought a house that dropped us in the negative, but quickly jumped back up. The next elusive goal post is $1M; which hopefully we can get to soon. :)

Starting from $0 at 35 in 2019 and now I’m 38 with $65k… I’m hoping within the next 2 years to hit that $100k.

I do remember celebrating the $100K mark (at 31), so you are not the only one. 🙂 As you explained so well, it is a major milestone from a psychological perspective.

You're going back to basics with the last few videos, eh? It's your sweet spot. Down to earth, simple, clear, achievable advice that MAKES A DIFFERENCE. The best part is you explain WHY in detail, what you end up with if you do save, or what you're missing out on if you don't. Same with new car purchases. Suck it up early folks, develop good habits, build momentum. Your old self will be eternally grateful. BTW, when you build up a big enough nest egg and the compounding starts doing some heavy lifting, you can have lifestyle creep (very enjoyable) AND a growing nest egg simultaneously!

I hit my first 100k after 22 years because I wasn't actively engaged. Since I started getting focused on my finances 4 years ago, I'm now knocking on 200k invested.

I should hit 100k at 35/36. I started invest late at age 29 so hitting that milestone will be awesome :).

My wife and I have been able to save 68k in 7 months. We basically live off one income. This helps because we just had our first baby, and we've had to put a pause to saving, but we are still able to live on one income. I can't wait until we hit 100k!

The wife and I started late I'm 52yrs old she is turning 41yrs old this weekend. We will be debt free at the end of this year and currently putting $1600 a month in her 401k which we started last year its at about $20k now and my work just started a roth 401k and I am going to be putting 10% into that to start. Plus we are saving for a down payment on our first house at the moment.

Erin, that Charlie Munger quote was from the 90s so in inflation-adjusted terms, it’s probably now more like, “The first $250,000 is the hardest.“

I spent too long treating retirement as an afterthought. I did contribute to a 401(k) plan beginning in my mid-20’s but I only contributed $75 of my own money biweekly ($125 with employer match). I didn’t raise that contribution until 2021 when I was 36 years old. Now I’m contributing much more, as well as having opened a Roth IRA for myself as well as my wife. Between the two of us right now we have a little over $80,000 in retirement accounts and my wife has a pension plan on top of that. We did have to pay off $70,000 in student loan debt for my wife which we also did in 2021 so I remind myself of that before beating myself up about not investing more. I’m hoping we’ll be at the $100,000 mark in 1 1/2 to 2 years which puts me right at the threshold of 40. Do I wish I was 10 years younger? Absolutely. But I’m grateful for whatever financial security we’ve given ourselves. Love your video, as usual. Keep up the great work.

I've been saving aggressively for 8 months now. I'm 32 years old. Im working full time and am putting away roughly 50% of my take home. I've noticed every month that my interest payments from my investments and high yield accounts has already increased and continues to increase every month. Each month I document in a budget exactly what I've got in each account. It helps keep me motivated if I'm documenting it because I can look back on prior months and see how far I've come.

It took me ~7 yrs (25~32) to get to the first 100K... and then, the next 100K only took 2 years (due to the COVID market rise & my income rising). I'm still at 200K due to correction in 22 but covered that amount with my savings. Hoping the following 100Ks take only 1~2 yrs on average for me to become a millionaire within the next decade (45 yrs old)

I tend not to worry too much about the capital value as I’m more motivated by dividends. For me it was £100 a month dividends which was the toughest goal. Now bringing in almost £1200 ($1500) a month in dividend income and all tax free. I just follow the Buffett principle of investing in companies which have economic moats and I hold for the long term reinvesting the dividends and allowing them to compound over time.

This isn't just theory. Each 100k gets easier and easier.

I didn't start investing until I was 27, when I got my first actual career job. That was in November 2015. Fast forward to September 2021, and my 401k had finally hit 100k. Fast forward again to today, I'm 35 and my 401k has ~130k and I now have an HSA, taxable account, real estate account and a high yield savings account. All slowly working towards hitting that 100k goal in each account while the 401k just snowballs (same contributions as always)

Wife and I started seriously saving/investing 3 years ago when we were still engaged. We also have gotten married, had two children, adopted a dog, and gone down to one income in that time. We have about 60K right now, expecting to get to 100k in the next 6-12 months. Once we hit 200k we plan to buy a cash flow positive small business.

15 years to reach 100,000. it was a long process. But well worth it!!!!

I will be completely honest, I hit 100k in my 401k when the rest of my financial life was a completely disaster. I had over 25k in consumer debt most high interest credit card debt. No emergency fund. Only reason I had that amount of money is because at least I was smart enough to not pass on free money my company generous match was (I put in 5% they put 9%). I am extremely lucky. So for me the first 100k wasn't hard, it was getting my husband on board and changing our ways. The hardest was when we hit another big milestone and immediately hit a downturn, took 1 year and 3months to hit the milestone again even though I was investing thousands each month all that time. Hoping to hit FIRE in 7 to 8 years.

It took us a little longer to get to 100K-about 12 years. We didn’t fall down the financial rabbit hole until a few years ago, so we weren’t saving like we could have. I think we were saving 6-7% to our Roth 401K with an employer match up to 4%. We then hit 200K in just 4 years. But that was 1.5 years ago, so we’re still at 200K even though we’ve cranked our saving up to 15%. Someday all this stock we’ve been buying will go up and we’ll get to 300K pretty quickly.

I started in the stock market in Mar 2020 w/zero. Needless to say, my goal is to be very aggressive to have $500k of my own money invested in 6-7 yrs. Currently, I’m at $88k invested and will hit $100k before end of this yr. I’m not backing off! All in w/90% SCHD, 10% to VOO. I’m keep the pedal to metal b/c I hoping the snowball will be huge!

By the time I left high school, I had saved $800. So, I thought it was a big deal when I got my first $1,000 shortly after, when I got my first full-time job.

Preach it Erin. The $100k is mostly your money. But after you get that it really starts producing noticeable returns which inspires one to keep going. Agree the $100 is key.

Hit it in 8 years this winter. For not contributing to a 401K until I was 27, I'm pretty proud of that. Though I also realize the market has been doing amazing during that time period.

I crossed $100k saved by 30 and at 30 my income crossed over $100k. I use a excel spreadsheet to keep track of my income each year, savings amount in each category (401k, employer match, IRA, Brokerage account, Savings account HSA, etc). I also put notes to the side if something happens like buying a house, car, Roth conversions, etc. It is cool to look back and see how much you put in each year and how much total you put in vs how much you have now.

I'm feeling really overwhelmed by all there information out there on investing. Can anyone recommend some trustworthy resources for beginners?

I reached my goal of saving my first $100k by 30. I gave up my car, walked to work, and didn’t go on vacations until I achieved it. What kept me going was the fact that $100k invested at 30 would likely turn into $1 million by 65 with a reasonable return. So I could go into my 30s with a retirement safety net for the future even if I couldn’t invest anymore over my life. But of course, I just keep investing to reach higher goals :) Reaching $100k is a good motivator

What helped me save more is the auto increase on my 401k. When I would get a raise, I split it with my retirement account. Then there wasn’t any self negotiation. It happened in the background.

I think this is one of the best subjects you have talked about. I’m shooting for early retirement in three years - by age 59, and am on track for that. What I am really working on is getting my 5 kids who are in their 20s and 30s to get started investing early. A few are maxing out their Roth IRAs every year and funding taxable investment accounts. A couple of them are still figuring out life and saving money isn’t a priority for them - yet. I will keep pushing them because I want them all to be comfortable in retirement and not mostly dependent on Social Security like so many others. Keep up the great videos Erin!

Nobody can become financially successful over night. They put in background work but we tend to see the finished part. Fear is a dangerous component, hindering us from taking bold steps we need in other to reach our goals.

You've really got great videos that are really helping people. I started around 30, but put maybe 3% in so not good for a while. One year I maxed everything out and my portfolio went up about 50k. It was really hard, but absolutely worth it. All in it will take me about 7 years. If I would have maxed everything out from the start it wouldn't have taken nearly that long. I hope to max everything out annually for the rest of my career. Regret not starting sooner, but glad to know I should be stable once retirement time comes. Anyway you're one of my favorite financial channels and look forward to seeing your new videos. Thanks for the info you provide!

Started late at 35 years old with $0. Saved 35% and maxed out 401k, Roth IRA, and HSA per year for 3 years and broke the 100k mark. Salary 105-119k during that time. Live under your means and SAVE!!!

Started at 20. Stopped 3 years in my late twenties. Broke 100k at 34. Now 37 at 150k. No big regrets, I did what I could with the income I had at the time. Putting away over 20k per year now that I can.

About age 35 for my first 100k in my 401k. I was saving in a Roth IRA also though and a brokerage account. I worked a lot of overtime also and invested 10 to 25% all along. I also inherited some money so that helped me speed progress along. I think it's important to be consistent saving and investing, dollar cost averaging and contributing 15% or more of income to have enough in retirement.

I didn't start my 401k until 2022. I maxed out , 22,23 and will hit 100k in 24. I'm 59, home paid for in 2014. I got bored being retired and went back to work for 20 bucks an hour. I make 26 an hour now. Yes my take home checks where small but with out debts it can be done. Cheers and good luck to all.

Hit 100k in retirement savings just before the age of 26. Split between 401k, IRA, HSA and non-retirement brokerage accounts. Helps that I work in Finance and am in a dual-income household… Excited for the years of compounding ahead!! Being diligent and intentional with saving is the most important thing!

Timely topic. Just reached my 100k in my equity portfolio less than a month ago. It took me 3 years of living with parents and eating air but I did it in my early 30s.

I know for me its been fun cruising past many "Firsts" like 1st Roth IRA contribution, first time hitting 10k, 50k, etc etc. Finally feel rounded into form and better educated on this money game 😅

I hit 100k at age 39 in the first quarter of 2021 (so 2 years ago), my wife who is 6 years younger than I am hit it at the same time. It was during the time when we were steadily increasing retirement contributions as we got raises, a process we started in late 2019 and completed maxing last month.

Im 27 and just hit 100k after 4 years into my career. Excited to see that number jump over the next decade🎉

Im almost there! I have almost $100,000 in dividend stocks! Took so much sacrifice. I came up from homeless so it was painful. But oh my lord I am right on the threshold! Im so flipping excited every time I see the growth! Heck I remember a time I was getting literally pennies in dividends. Now I get thousands! I hope everyone realizes the power of investing!

ETM, I am not certain when we hit 100K, but I know it was painful hard. We had our kids early and I had some IRS tax issues with my 100% commission sales job. I think it was mid 30’s. I would suggest for folks to try to find a company that matches some 401k deposits to help get you to your first 100K. Charlie Munger is sooo right. Attending a Berkshire Shareholder meeting is an awesome adventure. Love buying stocks on sale!

I reached my fist 100K after 42 and I passed 500K at the age of 50, dunno if I have enough time to reach my first million, I wish I had started saving earlier.

I think it was about 3 years out of college. At about 7 years out, there were good years in the market where I saw an appreciation of more than my salary. I've now had a few years like that. I've been able to double it almost every 2 years since that 3 year mark. I'm not sure I can keep it up at that crazy rate, but even if it averages 8%, I can hit my approximate end goal in my mid 40's. It's so hard to impress upon people how import this topic is since things really take off once you get that first 100k down (seeing $10k+ each year of growth, which all makes it feel worth it). When things hit 50% or 100% of your salary, you can really start to feel good about it and go enjoy life with very few worries.

I have drilled this message into my kids heads. They started saving in Roth IRAs at age 17. Can't wait to celebrate with them when they finally reach this goal.

This was a really great video. I loved how you showed the examples between different amounts invested over the same time. Super useful, thanks heaps!

It took me 2.5 years to hit $100k, I’m 23 and looking for insight on where to go from here. What I’ve gotten out of researching, sounds like investing in index funds might be the first step!

I made my first $10k in 8 months. First $20k in 14 months. First $50k in 24 months. Still working on the first $100k, but remaining driven to stay the course by witnessing the increasing value of a 1% daily gain in the market, and by the relative affordability of shares when the market is down. Great topic indeed!

I have become very financially savvy over the last year or so. I have been blessed with lucrative financial opportunities due to working in healthcare and have invested my first 100K in roughly 14 months. I definitely feel this incredible responsibility to continue to be wise with money as I realize this opportunity that many don't get to experience.

Such a great topic, especially with the market being well off ATHs and people mentally struggling with staying the course! Hopefully, they don't let the "noise" take them away from their goal. Right now is when millionaires are made! Admittedly, I was surprised on the % that have $100k invested. Wow! This why I always push people to get the most they can out of the job they have. If they can't - move on! Income is your greatest asset - you need to make the needle move there first! It just crossed April and we already have $40k invested and are working rapidly to our goal of $100k annually. It is a long road, but It's such a great feeling when you know your investment growth grows more annually than your income!

Reached first 100k investment at the age of 28. Now I am 35 and reached around 600k

We made a goal to have 100k by age 30. We had 100k invested in retirement accounts at 27/28. 10 years later our net worth is 750k. It amazes me how it's grown. Consistent saving seems to be working so far. Maybe everyone else should give it a try. Thanks for the videos Erin.

Such a great video! Pro tip: the math works the same from $1M to $10M! 😉 Build high value skills, get that income up, house hack, and drive that Corolla until you get your first $1M invested!

Your videos are a great resource. Thank you.

Took 2.5 years to get to 100k. Got serious,during pandemic. Still had an income and with nowhere to go and everything closed I just kept banking. October 2023 hit 100k and immediately bought highest CD I could find. Love watching that interest come in every month. And saved and opened an add on CD. Mind you I started very late at 59 but having that working for me feels great.

I was older than 32. I wasted all of my time as a 2nd Lt and a 1st Lt without investing and then I got smart. You can be fearless if you have years worth of income saved up.

My family is very poor, I'm probably the smartest person in my whole family, and the youngest. I'll reach 100k within 4 years, 'cause when they are having a good time throughout the whole weekend I'm getting my ass beaten, learning as much as I can 'cause SOMEBODY gotta do it, and I guess that person is me, I'll buy my mother a house and teach my nieces everything I learned about economics.

I’m at $80k after 6 years. That was basically saving half my paycheck. This year I’m backing off a little but still getting my employer 401k match. I didn’t start saving until I was in my 40s. I was a SAHM in my 20-30s and saving wasn’t on my radar.

I don't recall when we hit $100,000 but I do remember having to juggle being married, raising children, paying for a newer home early in the marriage, paying for a used car to get to work while my wife had a car while I was working, paying for health care, paying for vacations and other expenses while raising a family. I realized that is life, one has to juggle doing all those things while also investing/saving money for the future. We are an average family and we made it to retirement, so can everybody else.

I really enjoued this video! I am not at 100k yet ($94k and counting the days, well months, till I hit it). Technically I started 9 years ago, with a state pension account, but only opened a 403b about 5 years ago and a Roth almost 2 years ago. Now im saving almost 40 % of my income and hope to increase it to 50% eventually. Its tough, vut so exciting to watch the balances grow.

Started at zero November of 2013. Hit $100k estimated around September of 2021. I didn't take it completely seriously until late 2016 and have stumbled since. Summer 2018 saw a loss of $10k+ due to a poor investment decision and late 2019-mid 2020 included 8 months unemployed, but the decisions made have all been mostly intentional. Today, I am technically CoastFI, but want a little more flexibility to travel as I see fit during my youth, which seems to be fading faster than expected, but I'm still on pace to afford my trip around the world before 40!

Took about two years, we saved about 65% of take home pay. We were able to do this by continuing to rent vs buy for those couple years, buy inexpensive high mileage Toyota's with cash, and watch our expenses extremely closely. After that, as you put it so well, one can let off the gas a little and reallocate some of those funds to other priorities, while still retaining good habits.

I was hoping to get to my first million by age 72 but todays economy has crushed that. Lucky I have a pension along with Social Security.

It took me just under 9 years to hit $100K. That was such an awesome milestone for me. What a feeling of accomplishment, Sacrifice, and self worth all at one time! I think $200K took around 4 years. I’m at $276,000K now as I write in mid March. If all goes well I will hit $310-$315,000K by the end of the year. That will have take 4 years also. But sadly, that’s because I took a $50K loan out to squander it on a “sure thing!” What else but crypto. Don’t be a fool like this guy. Never ever borrow from yourself…ever. Good luck

I had 10k in 2015 and started to near max my contribution. Hit 100k to start 2019. Started 2020 with 146k, 2021 with 198k, 2022 with 256k, 2023 with 301k, 2024 with 388k. Current is $457k. Wife is with the same company and is at $640k. We just hit $1 million! Snowballing fast now!

Tracking device for the wallet or the husband? Clever!!!

Thanks Erin, great information.

It did take me with my wife about 3 to 4 years , we are in our mid 50’s and both of us got a bump in pay 2 years a go , my goal now is 250,000 . Half way there

Agreed! Don't remember how long it took but the portfolio seemed to take on a life of its own afterward!

I have 130,000 now with 7 years to retirement. But also social security and pension. Won't need savings at all so waiting until required distributions at 72 to take any out. Should have 200,000 by then. Cash flow is important too.

The first $100k took me 8-years after my university degree (I paid off my student loan of $40k, saved $85k, had a car and a few other small assets). I was 29yo at the first $100k. I am now 44 and approaching $1.5m net worth. Its all in property so I need to diversify but the point is the first $100k is the hardest, and then the hockey stick starts to go up.

Took a good while for my 401k to hit 100k. It's been pretty stagnant the past 2 years, everything that's getting put in isn't quite enough to cover what it has dropped, but isn't far off. This wouldn't be Erin approved, but I want to get 100k in investments + emergency fund that I can touch if needed before upping the retirement rate. Really, the tax advantage accounts are the best idea, but want to give myself room for opportunities if they arise. Like maybe a good rental property.

So true! The first $100K are hard to get to! We had to be very disciplined. Today, I am 29 and our net worth is $1.1M without home equity, without debt and without kids. And we are still quite disciplined and careful! It's a great life habit!

I started measuring my total net worth in 2017. It was -16k including my mortgage. Took me 4 years to reach 100k. And 1.5 years to reach 200k. Mortgage was paid off when I hit that 100k mark. Net worth does not include value of home. Stick to your plan everyone!

I just hit it in February putting me there in 8.5 yrs. Now I’m really motivated and have been saving aggressively to see how fast that next 100k gets here

Hi Erin: I totally agree with the logic of your presentation, but am concerned about the assumption of an 8% compounded return. My wife and I worked hard to always save and avoid spending distractions. We were blessed with periods of good returns. However as you age it’s good to be more conservative. (You have less time to correct for bad years.) I think using a lower rate avoids disappointment, but also shows the need to save as much as possible. Thanks for educating people about money. From your statistics most people are awful with it. God Bless!

I hit $100,000 at 33. Started saving at 22 but didn’t start paying attention until 30.

My wife always talks about adding another comma. That is always her goal. She was really excited when she got her second comma. 🙂 Edit: early in the morning on this west coast watching. Thank you John. 🙄

Saving early helped me too. Avoiding stupid investment mistakes would have been nice but hopefully we learn from our mistakes.

Just turned 29 and broke through that 100k wall. Healthy 6 months of safety net in a separate account as well. Goal is at least 5 million by time of retirement. Love to see the money going to work already.

Took almost 9 years for my wife and I to hit $100K. Only took about 3 years to get the 2nd $100K. Our income and the amount we save/invest has increased since then, but most of our increase in balance since 2016 has come in the form of growth. Pretty awesome considering we endured the 2008 real estate induced crash, saw negative returns in 2018, and managed to stay the course through the pandemic.

I am 41 now and have exceeded these goals and then some a long time ago... The thing is, like everyone else I wish I started sooner. I spent too many years saving in a bank account earning too little in the way of interest. It probably took me 15 years of full time work to get here, but part of that was moving around the world for work.

I hit 100k net worth for ONE SINGLE DAY in March of last year. Markets downturned and even with my heaviest contributions my net worth didn't hit 100k once for another 4 months and even started THIS YEAR with a sub 100k net worth. About at 130k now so it eventually will break through. Might earn more in capital gains than my actual job this year.

Thanks for the video! I hit 100k in my early 20s.... I blew most of it in my early 20s and it took until my mid-30s to regain the same amount. I had to figure out ways to make my money unspendable without heavy penalties or less liquid overall. It worked out, I'm not at $1 million yet, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 😅