Anyone else find the gap between their net worth on paper and how their actual day feels completely surreal sometimes?
I'm 36, been at this about eight years, NW just crossed $580k between 401k, Roth, and taxable. By the numbers I'm maybe six or seven years from a point where work becomes optional. That's real progress and I know it.
But then I'll have a week like this one where the dishwasher breaks, I need new tires, my cat has a vet appointment that's going to cost more than I want to think about, and the whole thing just feels like I'm treading water. Not financially actually, the numbers are fine, but emotionally or something. Like there's this version of me that has $580k invested and there's this other version of me that's just a person whose dishwasher broke and it's Tuesday.
I talked to a coworker today who mentioned she's stressed about rent going up and I just kind of nodded along. Which I do genuinely understand because I was there not long ago and it was real. But there's this weird thing where I'm also sitting on a number she probably doesn't have and I feel vaguely guilty about it while also knowing that my n umber doesn't actually change my Tuesday very much.
I think the thing I wasn't prepared for is that reaching these intermediate milestones doesn't feel like anything in the moment. I remember thinking if I ever hit 500k I'd feel meaningfully different. I didn't. I checked the account, thought "huh", and made dinner.
Is this just how it goes until you actually pull the trigger and retire? Does it click into place at some point or is the psychological part just always running a few years behind the spreadsheet?