Ten Wilsons

$903,747 net worth (age 44)

“Threshold” – 44, married, DINKs, West Coast tech job with Midwest lifestyle. Senior Software Engineer, $210k household income. Assets: $609k in retirement accounts, $253k between collectibles and a paid-off home, $40k in cash. In 2015 his net worth was basically zero after debt, and he has been grinding ever since, hitting each $100k step on the way to $900k. A careful saver who moved from QA into senior engineering, he has kept a 66% savings rate while still allowing for a few splurges, like a fancy stove after getting married. With an average net worth increase of about $15k a month, he expects to cross $1M by spring 2026, and this last stretch feels like crossing a line between “doing well” and “actually wealthy.”

$1,518,000 net worth (age 48)

“Anxiety” – 48, married (spouse 44 and working), one child (10), MCOL area. Former senior professional, currently at $0 income with a layoff and severance coming. Assets: $951k in a 401(k), $367k in taxable investments, $66k in a Roth IRA, $71k in an HSA, $32k in I-Bonds, $31k in Bitcoin, plus a home with $450k in equity and a $135k mortgage at 2.5%. He has been aiming for $3–3.5M by 55 to feel “truly done,” but the layoff hits right as the numbers suggest he might already be close enough. Current spending is about $110k a year, but they could trim to $65–75k if needed, and many people tell him he is more secure than he thinks. The spreadsheet says he is in a strong spot; his nerves say otherwise, and that gap is driving most of the stress.

$2,300,000 net worth (age 43)

“Recalibration” – 43, single, MCOL city. In-house counsel, about $300k household income. Assets: $2.3M in investments, still renting with no home equity. Growing up just above the poverty line as a child of immigrants, he left law school in 2009 with roughly $150k in student loans and walked straight into a bad job market. Over time he pushed through harsh firm environments and difficult managers to hit an original “freedom number” of $1M, then burned out and took a mini-retirement abroad. Now in a much calmer corporate role he actually likes, his thinking has shifted: instead of the old $1M target, he is eyeing $3.5M to allow for a future dream home and a more padded retirement.

$5,400,000 net worth (age 44)

“Crossroads” – 44, married, two kids (4 and 7), HCOL area. Tech executive/founder on sabbatical, currently no income. Assets: $4M in investments plus a fully paid-off home worth about $1.4M. After years of intense work that ended in serious burnout, he has what many would call “done”: a safe withdrawal of around 3.5% would generate roughly $140k a year, which easily supports their life. Just as he starts to settle into the idea of early retirement, a former colleague presents a startup offer that could be worth $10M+ personally if it succeeds, but requires four more years of long weeks and high stress. He now sits between a calm, well-funded life and the temptation of one last big swing.

$7,600,000 net worth (age 47)

“Compounding”– 47, married with kids, Midwest, with a spread of real estate. Former engineer, fully retired with no earned income. Assets: about $2.66M in investment accounts, $2.66M in real estate, and $2.27M in stock from a former employer, with low overall debt. Starting with a negative net worth in the mid-1990s, he stayed invested through the dot-com bust, Y2K panic, the Great Recession, and the pandemic, steadily building over nearly three decades. He retired at 45 with around $6.5M and, two years later, sits at $7.6M (after peaking near $7.8M), all without adding fresh work income. Annual spending is roughly $75k, shaped by a frugal, blue-collar upbringing, and his days now revolve around hiking, cooking, volunteer home repair, and teaching his kids about long-term investing.

$890,000 net worth (age 46)

“Escape” – 46, single, no kids, California (HCOL). Senior professional, $170k income. Assets: $750k in a 401(k), $140k cash, $0 debt (house is paid off). A longtime high earner in a high-cost state, he watched raises disappear into rent, taxes, and lifestyle, and now wants out. With $890k and no clear path to $1M in the U.S., he’s looking at Vietnam or Thailand instead. He plans to live on roughly $1,000 a month from cash, let the 401(k) keep compounding, build a Roth ladder later, and possibly inherit around $1.5M from his parents. On paper, the margin is thin; emotionally, it feels like the first real off-ramp he has seen in years.

$2,400,000 net worth (age 53)

“Crossroads” - An almost-53-year-old, single with no dependents, is being laid off at year-end with a couple months of severance and a lean-but-solid $2.4M portfolio (88th percentile): $1.4M in a 401(k), nearly $1M in brokerage, some HYSA cash, and a small slice in RSUs. Annual spending runs about $95K (pressured by ACA premiums), and multiple simulations show a dynamic withdrawal plan could comfortably support $100K–$120K per year with a 95–100% success rate. Also, they are planning for six months of low-cost slow travel in Asia in 2026, likely only ~$30K for that period vs $100K. Yet the real anxiety isn’t math: they’re tired of corporate life but unsure what comes after travel, worried about ageism in a tough job market, and intimidated by simply “going” even though it’s cheaper than staying home. Most replies urge treating this as a sabbatical with optional work later, reminding them that at 53, the bigger risk is overthinking away some of their best remaining years.

$1,185,000 net worth (age 56)

“Structured” - A 56-year-old and his 58-year-old wife plan to retire in two years with about $1.19M net worth (75th percentile): $500K home equity on a $600K house (2.5% mortgage, 8 years left), $575K in a Vanguard 2030 401(k), plus a $50K bonus and $60K in cash. Their foundation has unusually strong guaranteed income: a $67K private-sector union pension for her, a $43K state pension for him (no COLAs), and subsidized family health insurance under $10K/year for the first five years. Their plan: live mostly on the $110K in pensions at first, use $18K/year from the after-tax bonus, add her Social Security at 62 (~$26K), later eliminate the mortgage (freeing ~$14K/yr), transition from employer coverage to Medicare/ACA, and finally add his Social Security at 70 (~$65K), for roughly $201K guaranteed income by 2039 with an expected ~$750K still in the 401(k) they may barely need.

$3,000,000+ net worth (age 51)

“Drift” - A 51-year-old in a high-paying role, earning $650K–$750K a year, has “just over $3M” invested (excluding home equity) and sits firmly in the chubbyFIRE zone with kids in middle school, 529s nearly funded, spouse working, and no urgent health or insurance pressure. On paper, they could likely step away in a few years (and Fidelity’s executive team projection says retiring at 56 with < $5M is fine), but emotionally they’re stuck in the “boring middle”: not energized by work, not quite ready to walk away from comp this high, and unsure whether chasing a $5M+ or “level 5” target is about real risk management or just fear and inertia. To inject meaning, they’re experimenting with small “rich life” moments like stealth-camping in a minivan with their kid at Manhattan Beach to create a memory they’ll probably never repeat while the community points out they’re already financially free enough to choose, even if they keep drifting for now.

$9,200,000 net worth (age 52)

“Enough” - A 52-year-old woman and her 58-year-old spouse have a ~$9.2M net worth (97th percentile) in a MCOL area. $7.4M liquid and $1.8M in two homes/land with current household income around $515K and a $91K pension starting for him in two years. She wants a “soft luxury” fatFIRE: about $250K per year (roughly $100K travel plus $150K living/healthcare), frequent trips, a nicer $2M home, and modest help like a part-time chef and trainer for roughly $25K/year. Even though Monte Carlo runs and her planner both say they’re more than fine even with higher spending and a big remodel, she’s still hesitating because she compares herself to $20M net-worth posters. She is feeling guilty about business-class flights, spooked by big one-off costs like a $200K renovation, and acutely aware that she may only have about a decade of truly active travel left while grinding in a less-fulfilling, long-commute job paying ~$360K with RSUs. Commenters largely tell her the money is enough; the real work now is psychological and that additional earnings likely won’t change her life, and choosing whether to trade irreplaceable “good years” for incremental net worth growth.

$7,500,000 net worth (age 52)

“Turning” - A long-time corporate employee in their early 50s, married with one child, originally posted four years ago asking whether to “retire now or grind six more years” for a bigger pension and extra equity. Back then, the choice was $4M + $40K pension if they quit, versus an eventual $5M–$6M + $70K pension if they stuck it out. Two updates later, everything has shifted: markets rebounded hard, company stock options took off, the previously laid-off husband found a stable new job, and a new manager made day-to-day work less miserable even though the corporate environment is still draining. Now their net worth is about $7.5M (97th percentile) with a nearly paid-off mortgage, and the “six more years” has shrunk to just two: stay to age 55 for a $70K pension plus ~$300K more equity, or walk earlier and accept a ~$55K pension if laid off next year. The math says they’re already solidly fatFIRE, but emotionally they’re torn between maximizing a not-huge marginal gain, fear of losing job security, and the desire to leave on their own terms rather than being pushed.

$2,378,000 net worth (age 62)

Flexibility - A couple, both in their early 60s, retired with $2.38M (86th percentile) built steadily over decades through dual professional incomes, consistent saving, and investing primarily in a 401(k) (now IRA), home equity, and other assets. They left high-demand, stressful jobs while still in their early 50s and moved to a comfortable, moderate-cost locale. Their annual spending is about $100K, but the luxury is truly in their flexibility: travel, hobbies, and plenty of time with friends, grandkids, and each other. Health insurance, taxes, and recalibrating identity post-work were hurdles, but flexibility adjusting spending or location as needed has been the most valuable asset in both their financial and personal planning.

$3,050,000 net worth (age 53)

Shift - A 53-year-old on Oahu, after decades of working and building up real estate, holds about $2,600,000 equity in seven Hawaii rental properties, plus $450,000 in a 401(k). Despite breaking even on cash flow, the real estate portfolio appreciates ~$200K/yr and steadily builds wealth. Faced with a tax problem and too much hands-on management, he’s considering a 1031 exchange or liquidation to move capital into a more passive, income-focused structure like a dividend fund, 60/40 portfolio, or less-leveraged property. The big question: how do you turn slow capital appreciation and equity into stable retirement income, and make your wealth actually work for you?

$6,600,000 net worth (age 50)

Alignment - A single 50-year-old woman, recently financially independent with $6.6M net worth (97th percentile), is recalibrating her next chapter. Her assets are spread across index funds, bond funds, a rental property, cash, and some private investments, while she budgets conservatively for medical costs and travel. Even with her secure position, she’s seeking advice on tax-efficient decumulation and wonders how to align her spending, giving, and future plans with her values. The forum gently nudges her to design her drawdown strategy intentionally and use her wealth to create greater happiness and impact.

$1,200,000 net worth (age 50)

Recalibration - A 50-year-old with $1.2M in net worth (79th percentile based upon their age) is weighing the classic coastFIRE tradeoff: keep grinding for a bigger number, or downshift, relocate to a lower-cost area, and let compounding do the rest? With a paid-off home, modest retirement accounts, and enough to cover a lean lifestyle, the math says they could coast but the emotional side is harder. Family, identity, fear of running out, and the pull of “just a few more years” complicate what should be a simple decision. Community advice centers on clarifying annual spending, modeling various scenarios, and giving themselves permission to step back if the numbers check out.

$22,000,000 net worth (age 45)

Reflection - A 40-something former tech executive shares a one-year check-in after hitting fatFIRE with $18M last year with nearly all in index funds and a paid-off home. His net worth is 99th percentile based upon his age. The first year out brought a whirlwind of world travel, more family time, and real introspection: the absence of work stress was a relief, but unstructured days and a subtle loss of “achievement” identity lingered. Dividend income covered spending, but the biggest wins were regaining time and realizing that purposeful, structured pursuits are needed to replace the sense of challenge and growth once provided by work. Upcoming plans? Lean into global volunteering, hobbies, and a more intentional routine.

$9,200,000 net worth (age 49)

Transition - A 49-year-old AI professional, after three decades of grinding and family responsibilities, is facing an unplanned exit. With $5.4M in equities, $1.7M in rental properties, $2M in their primary home, and historic earnings as high as $620K (plus $400K from their spouse), they find themselves unexpectedly weighing a layoff package and RE at a VHCOL lifestyle (~$300K spend). Despite having dreamt of this day, the emotion is bittersweet: relief at escaping a toxic career but unexpected sadness and loss of identity now that the reality of “being unwanted” by a company has hit. Support from family helps, but there’s a sense of needing to process feelings and design the next phase of life with intention.

$1,775,000 net worth (age 43)

Choice - A 43-year-old woman in teaching (retirement/cash: ~$495K) and her engineer husband (~$750K), both in a DINK household earning $215K, have built just under $1.8M net worth (94th percentile) in a mid-high cost-of-living area. Assets include two paid-off properties (one rental), strong cash reserves, and a focus on index investing and frugal-but-comfortable living. She meticulously tracks expenses, budgets for travel and pets, but also wrestles with “enough,” guilt around luxury, and their unique path of having chosen not to have children. With financial independence achieved, their biggest reward is the flexibility and freedom to live life on their own terms whether that’s work, play, or travel.

$1,120,000 net worth (age 33)

A 33-year-old finally crossed the $1.12M threshold after years of grind, volatile job markets, and several failed side hustles. Their net worth is 96th percentile based upon their age. The journey featured frugal living, stacking promotions, aggressive saving, and cycling through lots of “get rich quick” ideas before fully embracing simple, all-index-fund investing. With no windfalls, no real estate, and no secret hacks just steady progress and habit. He keeps his spending low, tracks every dollar, and credits consistency and relentless focus as the drivers amid the chaos of job switches and market noise.

$1,004,000 net worth (age 36)

Consistency - A 36-year-old active-duty O-4 military officer and his 34-year-old federal employee wife, both from lower-middle class backgrounds, reached $1M net worth after nine years of intentional saving. Their net worth is 92nd percentile based upon their ages. Thanks to military benefits (housing, healthcare, childcare), carefully avoiding lifestyle creep, and regular promotions, they maintained a projected 42% saving rate for 2025 while raising two kids. Core investments include TSP, Roth IRAs, brokerage, a touch of crypto, and a $65K bump from good real estate timing. Their journey was disciplined, consistent teamwork, two incomes, and compounding.

Show more