On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to be a millionaire?

[bjl584]

10

I'm on the cusp of breaking 1MM

[LivingAlmostLarge]

10 we hit that. It took a long time with cash

[crazyliblady]

The net worth my husband and I have together is $257,641.85. That is counting all savings, checking, market value of our house, and my retirement. I still have a lot of road to cover there, but thankfully have about 16 years or so to do it. I am a little fuzzy on figuring out if $1M is my magic number, as none of us really knows exactly how the future will turn out. I would like to work some during retirement, but like about 10 hours or so per week. I would also like to do some volunteer work. I know I don't want to retire where I am living now. I want to be somewhere that has a good public transportation system, health food stores, and in a state that does not tax social security. That is all I have figured out, though.

[rennigade]

Ive also come to the sad realization that being a millionaire isnt what it used to be.

[disneysteve]

Ive also come to the sad realization that being a millionaire isnt what it used to be.

Very true, but it’s a really good start. Thanks to compounding, money grows faster the more of it you have. Going from $1M to $2M was way faster than going from zero to $1M.

[MonkeyMama]

10. Already there.

[Petunia 100]

The net worth my husband and I have together is $257,641.85. That is counting all savings, checking, market value of our house, and my retirement. I still have a lot of road to cover there, but thankfully have about 16 years or so to do it. I am a little fuzzy on figuring out if $1M is my magic number, as none of us really knows exactly how the future will turn out. I would like to work some during retirement, but like about 10 hours or so per week. I would also like to do some volunteer work. I know I don't want to retire where I am living now. I want to be somewhere that has a good public transportation system, health food stores, and in a state that does not tax social security. That is all I have figured out, though.

I wish you would post more often. I always enjoy your contributions.

[Petunia 100]

I don't think I am likely to ever hit a 1 million net worth. I'm right around 500k now, but of course that isn't all invested. I will likely retire before I get there. If SB and I got married we'd be there now, but we don't plan on doing that. I'm pretty sure he's a millionaire by himself, but it's all in property with expenses and not much income. It's not how I would want my net worth tied up, that's for sure.

[crazyliblady]

I wish you would post more often. I always enjoy your contributions.

Thank you! That is so great to hear. Mostly, I just wonder if, in terms of being a millionaire, whether I have anything to offer. Other than acquiring more in my retirement account and savings, I am not sure how to get there. I have very little debt - ~$200 on 1 credit card and ~$51,000 on my house. My other credit card is one that I keep paid off and I am working on the one with the balance. If we keep paying the minimum on our house, I won't have it paid off by the time I retire, so I guess I should step that up at some point. My savings is a bit depleted due to my car accident in September. Even though my insurance company paid out on the car, the price of used cars has gone up, so I had to take some funds from savings (~$7,000) to make up the difference when I bought a different car. My plan with my lawyer is to ask for enough of a settlement that I am reimbursed for all bills paid and my savings is replenished to what it was before. I keep hearing about diversifying my income, but I don't have time for a second job. I do collect aluminum cans and other metal and sell it to a recycling place that pays pretty good. I made $17 the last time I went there selling brass, aluminum, steel, and copper. I don't have extra funds available to start a brokerage account. Is it possible to open a Roth IRA with a small amount of money, like less than $100, and send them a small amount monthly?

[Petunia 100]

Thank you! That is so great to hear. Mostly, I just wonder if, in terms of being a millionaire, whether I have anything to offer. Other than acquiring more in my retirement account and savings, I am not sure how to get there. I have very little debt - ~$200 on 1 credit card and ~$51,000 on my house. My other credit card is one that I keep paid off and I am working on the one with the balance. If we keep paying the minimum on our house, I won't have it paid off by the time I retire, so I guess I should step that up at some point. My savings is a bit depleted due to my car accident in September. Even though my insurance company paid out on the car, the price of used cars has gone up, so I had to take some funds from savings (~$7,000) to make up the difference when I bought a different car. My plan with my lawyer is to ask for enough of a settlement that I am reimbursed for all bills paid and my savings is replenished to what it was before. I keep hearing about diversifying my income, but I don't have time for a second job. I do collect aluminum cans and other metal and sell it to a recycling place that pays pretty good. I made $17 the last time I went there selling brass, aluminum, steel, and copper. I don't have extra funds available to start a brokerage account. Is it possible to open a Roth IRA with a small amount of money, like less than $100, and send them a small amount monthly?

Yes, it is possible. Charles Schwab allows you to buy fractional shares with as little as $5. They call it "stock slices", and you can choose any stock in the S&P 500.

If you want to buy ETFs or mutual funds instead of individual stocks, you can do that too. You can open a brokerage account with any amount of money at Schwab or Vanguard. Your money goes into a "settlement fund" which is a money market fund and it earns a little interest. If you want to invest in a particular ETF and don't yet have enough for 1 share, you just keep adding money to your settlement fund until you do. Similar for a mutual fund, you can save up in the settlement fund until you have enough for the minimum of the mutual fund you want.

There are probably lots of other brokers who will do the same, those are the two with which I am familiar and that I would recommend to anyone.

At the time you open your account, you check the box for Roth IRA. Any broker you pick should be happy to help you with the paperwork.

I think that you manage your money very well, which is trickier on a modest income than on a more generous one.

[disneysteve]

I just wonder if, in terms of being a millionaire, whether I have anything to offer.

Not everyone will, or needs to, become a millionaire. Most people don't get there and they do just fine. It all depends on your needs and your resources. For example, if someone has a decent pension and social security, that might cover all of their expenses and then some. Personally, we have no pensions so retirement is fully on us until we collect SS, and that will only cover a small portion of our expenses, so we need a big nest egg of our own.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Good point disneysteve. This is my big gobment pension which allows retirment w/10 yrs of service as early as 50 yrs old. I'm 56 w/19 yrs, so today if forced to retire I'd get 29%. I'm aiming for 62 at 52% but may push it to 65 at 68% of my final salary, God willing.

[disneysteve]

Good point disneysteve. This is my big gobment pension which allows retirment w/10 yrs of service as early as 50 yrs old. I'm 56 w/19 yrs, so today if forced to retire I'd get 29%. I'm aiming for 62 at 52% but may push it to 65 at 68% of my final salary

Will you also be eligible for SS?

Even if you're not, if your pension covers 68% of your income, your savings only needs to fill in at most 32% and likely less because I'm sure you don't live on 100% of your income. Let's say you save 15%. Then your savings would only need to cover 17% which is not hard at all.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Will you also be eligible for SS?

Even if you're not, if your pension covers 68% of your income, your savings only needs to fill in at most 32% and likely less because I'm sure you don't live on 100% of your income. Let's say you save 15%. Then your savings would only need to cover 17% which is not hard at all.

Yes this is my SS estimation upon retirement. In my net worth calculation of $850,000, I've never factored in my pension, nor my SS amounts. Maybe I am a millionaire with those 2 factored in as well.

[Petunia 100]

Yes this is my SS estimation upon retirement. In my net worth calculation of $850,000, I've never factored in my pension, nor my SS amounts. Maybe I am a millionaire with those 2 factored in as well.

Are you subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)? I am, which is a real drag. I have a CalPERS pension, but only started with a government job at the age of 50.5. I'm vested but my pension is tiny at the moment. It's growing, though.