26F. Living with roommates and driving a 10-year-old Civic helped me save 65% of my 55k salary. Just hit my first 100k. Never thought I'd make it. Thank you all.
Finally consolidated everything and crossed $100k:
- 401k: $45k
- Roth IRA: $28k
- Brokerage: $18k
- Cash: $9k
My journey: Started as a software developer in 2023 at $55k. Company got acquired last year and jumped to $85k. Been maxing 401k since day one despite the low starting salary - lived with 3 roommates and drove (still drive) a 2012 Civic to make it work.
Current strategy:
- $2.5k monthly investments
- 80% index funds (VTI/VXUS)
- 20% individual stocks
- Max all tax advantaged accounts
- Living like I still make $55k
Biggest lessons so far:
- Lifestyle creep is real - resist it
- Having roommates in your 20s isn't that bad
- Old Hondas really do run forever
- Consistency beats timing
- Track everything - you might be doing better than you think
Started tracking everything properly this year and it's wild seeing it all add up. Feels surreal hitting $100k considering I graduated with $20k in student loans (paid off last year).
Long way to 1M but first milestone down. Looking at all your posts for inspiration.