No. of Recommendations: 15
... get from a seven figure to 10 figure net worth!! I'm hoping someone here can tell me how to get there. I haven't attained that wealth for lack of trying though!
Let me share how I got to where I am, and then maybe some folks who have a 10 figure net worth can tell me what I've done wrong.
- Worked since I was 11. Started working on a farm at .85/hour. Mom and Dad made me bank half of my weekly paycheck.
- Worked full time out of high school as I was a dreamer in high school didn't care about my grades so much and my parents refused to pay for me to attend college.
- While working full time, I also played in a rock and roll band. Those gigs were paid all 'under the table' and I banked most of that money.
- Bought my first brand new Buick Skyhawk at the age of 19 - spent a fair amount of cash customizing it with paint, wheels and front & rear spoilers.
- Owned a number of new cars in my early 20's while I worked and played in a band. Should have bought used, but what did I know back then? It was all about getting girls!!
- Started a night job in the 'IBM Computer' field at 20. Took advantage of their tuition reimbursement program and attended a local Community College during the day.
- Left the IBM Computer job in my local community to work for The Gillette Co in Boston (the big city!) at 23. Got a big raise in pay, shared an apartment with a friend.
- Transferred my CC credits to Northeastern University and attended classes in the evening - taking advantage of Gillette's tuition reimbursement program.
- Bought first rental property (shared ownership of 50% with roommate) at a time when our former local community was getting some state/Fed funding and the local economy was beginning to boom (1983).
- Bought another duplex in the local community when my future wife and I decided to get married and have a family back in the local community. (My wife = best decision I ever made).
- Started my own IT consulting firm in 1985. At first, doing work on the side, then in 1987 did it full-time with a gift from my employer who wanted to lay me off, but have me continue a lucrative contract for them.
- Sold original duplex for double the price paid after three years of ownership. Lived in one half of other duplex and rented out the other side - which covered lots of costs.
- Have always tried to do most light carpentry, painting, small electrical and plumbing work and all yard work for the past 40 years - saving lots in contractor costs.
- Have always done our best to LBYM - went from new cars to buying used cars, never took really expensive vacations - but nice ones - kids had most of what they wanted growing up.
- After having our first child (1988) we went on a search for a nicer place to live. We hunted for quite a while until we purchased the home that we still live in at a significantly discounted price. (Seller taking a 53K loss in just 2 years of ownership). This was when the housing market was tanking (1990) and we were able to rent both sides of the second duplex and move into our beautiful home.
- Sold the second duplex in 1993 and purchased an office condo for the growing business.
- Grew my business from 1987 - 1999 as IT Systems Integration firm - high paying clients such as JNJ, CP, Gillette and many others. Had 20 employees when I decided to sell the company in 1999 for a hefty cash payment plus revenue sharing for the customers that transitioned for 2 years.
- Had a great Independent Consulting gig from 1999 - 2002 when I took an IT Management position at Gillette - getting all of my 5 previous years of service reinstated. (Today I qualify for a P&G Pension because of that)
- Sold the office condo for a nice profit after I decided to sell the consulting business.
- Progressed through the management ranks at Gillette, through the P&G acquisition and progressed through P&G management - on executive compensation program (bonuses and stock options).
- Further progressed through higher levels of IT management at National Grid (global position) and TJX (global HQ) retiring from an Executive VP position in 2014 at 57 to get out of the rat race and a 100 mile/day commute.
- Did some IT consulting gigs at Biogen, and other top notch companies in the Boston area from 2014 - 2017 when I finally retired at 60. Those gigs paid a very high billable rate.
- I've been a Quicken user since about 2000 - prior to that, a Managing Your Money user since at least 1985. I've always been a 'manage those numbers' kind of guy.
- I worked with a CPA to help me be strategic about my finances, tax strategies, property investments and other investments for the past 30 years.
- Have been a Fidelity discount broker customer since 1986 and have always have done my own financial management and investing. Oh yeah, I do my own Fed and State taxes too.
- I've been a Fool since 1999 and between then and now have had some success and some major losses in my investing career. I can honestly say that I am probably a poor investor as I seem to lose my objectivity when I see red in my portfolio and decide to sell - thereby locking in those losses.
- Knowing my weaknesses as an investor, I have held mainly cash and cash equivalents since cashing out of the S&P 500 ETF fund back in 2020.
- I am still sitting in 90% cash today - and looking to re-deploy into an S&P 500 ETF and possibly into BRK.A (which I've held and sold previously) as this upcoming recession takes hold.
Now, how do I go from seven figures to 10 figures? I can't right any wrongs from the past, so what do I do now?
I'm mostly only kidding. We're very comfortable where we in life right now. I think me becoming a billionaire would put me over the edge :-)
'38Packard
==> Happy Holidays!!!
