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$2,838,823 net worth (Age 38)

$2,838,823 net worth (Age 38)

Moving Goalposts - A 38-year-old, not married (“no home, no wife”), with one infant and nearly $2.8M in net worth (97th percentile based upon his age) built primarily through stocks ($2.34M), some real estate ($350K), and a mix of cash and other assets. His path climbed from just $32K in 2010 to almost $3M in 2025. After a shift from a lucrative “FAANG-adjacent” job to a stressful pre-IPO startup, career regret now mingles with worry about the market, inflation, and whether his FIRE number is ever enough. The original goal was $3M but anxiety and “scarcity mindset” are pushing the target to $3.5M or more. A recent cash car purchase made their wealth feel “real” for the first time, but uncertainty about the future lingers as the assets pile up.
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“I’m about to hit my FIRE number… but I’m feeling more financial anxiety the closer it becomes. Fear of the unknown, fear I screwed up my financial/spending models... My decision will be to increase my FIRE number (yeah, I know, slippery slope)... I hope this will reduce my anxiety, but have a feeling that my scarcity mindset will kick in 12 months later and I’ll yet again increase my FIRE number.”

 

TAKE-AWAY:
Financial independence doesn’t eliminate financial anxiety and sometimes it heightens it as the stakes get bigger. The closer you get to your “number,” the more you may find yourself moving the goalposts or doubting your models. The psychological challenge is learning when enough is enough, and not letting fear take the wheel just as you reach the finish line.

 

More Net Worth Stories: 

https://tenwilsons.substack.com/

 

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