How did you do it? Financial Success Thread

[NajdorfDefense]

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Are all the successful ppl in this thread doing stuff (ie: working, not if retired) they love, or, loved when they were young (ie: it was an aspiration)?

I'm only 21, so I have a lot to learn. This is a great thread for all the young guys, thanks. Keep the stories coming.

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This is pretty much the case with all the successful people I know, even those who got rich at something other than their 'dream job' got there doing something they really liked/with good friends, had a boss that let them be ultra-creative, etc.

I happen to love finance, always have, so while I agree never, NEVER shut any doors, if you know you want one thing above all else, it's foolish to waste time not going after that 110%.

[NajdorfDefense]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1179...lance_most_pop

well worth the read.

'To generate that $45,000, you will need a $1 million nest egg, calculated in today's dollars. This assumes that, in retirement, you use a 4.5% annual portfolio-withdrawal rate.

"People wonder how they will ever accumulate enough money," says Charles Farrell, a financial adviser with Denver's Northstar Investment Advisors. "But what many investors fail to understand is that, once they reach a certain level of assets, most of the savings should come from investment growth."

Mr. Farrell figures the breakthrough occurs at around two times income. Let's say your salary has hit that $80,000, you have amassed $160,000 in savings, you are socking away 12% of your pretax income each month and your investments earn 6% a year.

Over the next 12 months, your $160,000 portfolio would balloon to $179,518, or $19,518 more. Your monthly savings would account for $9,600 of that growth. But the other $9,918 would come from investment gains. In other words, you've got to the crossover point, where the biggest driver of your portfolio's growth is now investment earnings, not the actual dollars you're socking away.

You should, however, keep salting away money. That sacrifice will be handsomely rewarded, as things really start to snowball. Using the assumptions above, your portfolio would soar from $160,000 to more than $418,000 a decade later. True, part of this gain would be lost to inflation. But inflation should also drive up your salary, allowing you to squirrel away more money.

Getting started. That still leaves the initial task of accumulating two times income.

"It can take people 12 to 15 years," Mr. Farrell says. "The earlier you can start, the better. But if you're close to two times pay by your early 40s, you're probably in pretty good shape."

The simple concepts illustrated above are ultra-important.

[TheWorstPlayer]

wow, that just made me feel really good about my financial position pre-30. thanks!

[N 82 50 24]

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wow, that just made me feel really good about my financial position pre-30. thanks!

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[ekabe]

Wow, I actually read through every page in this thread and I have to say these stories are fascinating.

Currently, i'm 21 graduating with my masters in engineering and I signed on to start work bond trading for an ibank in London. I worked there over the summer and they made me an offer once my internship was up. I signed up cause I didnt really want the hassle of looking for a job etc. in my final year, and once they had made me an offer I only had 2 weeks to respond, not really enough time to apply everywhere. I sometimes regret not having tried to apply to other more prestigious bulge bracket banks but the team I worked with seemed to appreciate what I did and were really great on my evaluation.

My financial background is comfortable, boarding school, family trips etc. so I think I've always had a base to fall back on, making my life sort of boring compared to the internet success experienced by many young guys, or the financial ups and downs of some of the posters. Tbh I really respect the courage it takes to make it on your own and to take the road less travelled. One day perhaps I'll get that choice and I hope the info you guys have provided will help me make it!

[ImsaKidd]

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wow, that just made me feel really good about my financial position pre-20. thanks!

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I didnt know 160k at 40 was considered "good". It has to be higher for 2p2ers, right? Ill be disappointed if im not at that point @ 21.

[MatthewRyan]

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wow, that just made me feel really good about my financial position pre-20. thanks!

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I didnt know 160k at 40 was considered "good". It has to be higher for 2p2ers, right? Ill be disappointed if im not at that point @ 21.

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shortstacking FTW

[N 82 50 24]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow, I actually read through every page in this thread and I have to say these stories are fascinating.

Currently, i'm 21 graduating with my masters in engineering and I signed on to start work bond trading for an ibank in London. I worked there over the summer and they made me an offer once my internship was up. I signed up cause I didnt really want the hassle of looking for a job etc. in my final year, and once they had made me an offer I only had 2 weeks to respond, not really enough time to apply everywhere. I sometimes regret not having tried to apply to other more prestigious bulge bracket banks but the team I worked with seemed to appreciate what I did and were really great on my evaluation.

My financial background is comfortable, boarding school, family trips etc. so I think I've always had a base to fall back on, making my life sort of boring compared to the internet success experienced by many young guys, or the financial ups and downs of some of the posters. Tbh I really respect the courage it takes to make it on your own and to take the road less travelled. One day perhaps I'll get that choice and I hope the info you guys have provided will help me make it!

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Your story sounds a lot like mine. I went to a $15K/year private school then a $40K/year college. It was ridiculous how rigid the expectations were. It was just ASSUMED that everyone was going down the straight and narrow path.

Also, with regards to the job, I took mine for pretty much the same reason. It's a huge regret of mine. I got basically nothing out of that job with Deloitte and I KNEW at the time it was the retarded conservative thing to do. Even though I'm not a huge pit gambler or whatever, I am a gambler at heart. I think if you have something else you're passionate about, do it. Otherwise just grind it out until you figure out what you really want to do.

But I'm only 24, so I'm probably not the most qualified to be talking about this stuff.

[MDMA]

Hands down the most interesting and intriguing thread I have ever read on 2p2.

I'm proud to be a part of a community which hosts such great individuals as the names who have written their stories in this thread, showing intelligence, creativeness, and, perhaps most importantly, how belief in oneselves ability really CAN conquer all.

People with great foresight and with an optimistic view upon the future, who have made their dreams come true through hard work and by not letting their failures on the way there put them down.

This thread shows what spirit and a winner-mentality is all about.

[MissT74]

I'm a statistic, getting pregnant at 17 and becoming a single parent at age 18. I lived paycheck to paycheck for 8 LONG years always working in the medical field. My last "job" was for a million dollar billing service and I finally realized, "I can do this myself".

I moved out of the big city to a smaller community, where I was the first billing service to open. Being that I had always lived paycheck to paycheck, I did not have savings, no money to put into a business, but was willing to get a part time job while trying to start.

I ended up calling a Podiatrist in town who invited me in for an interview, while there we discovered that we knew each other and that I had actually worked for him at a huge podiatry practice in Phoenix 6 years previous. Talk about fate!

So instead of hiring me for front office work, he signed up and became my first client. I started my business with literally $50, there is a stationary store that would sell me envelopes and the neccessary forms for me individually and not by the box, so I would go in and buy 10 envelopes, 2 pens, 30 HCFA's (insurance forms), 10 stamps, etc.

My first check is hanging on my wall to this date and was for $187.03.

Since then I have gained clients, lost clients, hired employees, fired employees, sent a monthly invoice for $79.00, sent a monthly invoice for $16,700, etc. etc.

Lots of ups and downs, but VERY rewarding and I look back to where I was and where I am now and am very proud of myself. Proud that I was able to get the courage to open a business with a child to take care of, proud of the relationships I have made with my clients, both past and present, and with my employee relationships.

I currently have 4 clients, just hired my 3rd employee yesterday and gross low-mid 6 figures yearly. Going onto my 6th year and can finally say, "I did it!"

Now....onto the next business idea....tee hee.

T