Saved $0 in the last 2 years, NW is up by $1M
Nothing necessarily new here that you don't already know, just another anecdote about the value of "time in market beats timing the market." But what did catch my eye was how we hit $2M household net worth in 2024 and just now hit $3M without any contributions since then. The snowball effect is real.
Quick summary:$500k in cash/brokerage and $2.5M in me and my wife's 401ks. Pretty much all index funds.
We moved to a VHCOL city and I've been beating myself up for stopping contributions for the past few years. But, the crazy stock market these last few years really made up for that. I don't think this is sustainable and I fully believe there will be a correction. So, I still need to get back to regularly contributing to investments.
My biggest regret is that I wish I had contributed more to the brokerage accounts. Most of our money is generally locked away unless we consider any of the various approaches (Roth ladder, SEPP, etc.) For so long I was focused on lowering taxable income that I didn't really value having money in the brokerages. Need to really take a hard look at the finances and figure out how I can restart contributing to brokerage and cash accounts.
It's taken 23 years to get to this point. Time really flies. So for anyone reading, please start socking away as much as you can early on. I know it's easier said than done considering the cost of living compared to 20+ years ago, but you get old before you know it. If you're savings/investments have been on autopilot - not matter the amount - you'll have done yourself a solid.