40s - 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.”

$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.

$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.

$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.

$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.

$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.

$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.