If you’ve been making $500,000 a year for a decade as a 40 year old but only have a $1 million net worth, you’re probably a donkey with some serious financial issues. If you’re making $80,000 as a 30 year old but have a $500,000 net worth I’d classify you as a hero who is on their way to bubbles and unicorns!
I’ve written about The Average Net Worth For The Above Average Person that provides charts on where highly motivated people who want to achieve financial independence should be. The only problem with my analysis is that it doesn’t tie income levels specifically in the charts. This post will bind the inextricably important link between income and wealth to ensure as high a chance of financial freedom as possible.
To create a good net worth guide based on income can be very tricky based on variables such as how long someone has been making X income, the return on investment, and the state of the economy. Hence, a more conservative assumption is to replace net worth with savings. Let’s first understand the current state of the world and break down our assumptions.
FINANCIAL ASSUMPTIONS FOR NET WORTH / SAVINGS TO INCOME RATIO
* Low interest rate environment. Interest rates have been coming down since the 1980s and have reached a level where it’s harder to get much lower. The effective Fed Funds rate is at 0.15% and the 10-year yield hit a low of around 1.4% in 2012 and is still under 2.5% in 2H2015. The Fed has already telegraphed they will begin to raise the Fed Funds rate if the national unemployment level gets under 6.5%. After all, the Fed’s job is to keep inflation in check and maximize employment.
Low interest rates mean low risk free returns. This is terrible for savers who are conservative in their investment strategy, but conservative is what we should all be once we’ve built up a large enough financial nut that spits out a perpetuity of income. The S&P 500 is yielding roughly 2% and a basket of dividend focused stocks will probably get you around 3%. As a result, please eliminate the commonly held 4% withdrawal rule and choose something closer to 2%. Remember, the ideal withdrawal rate in retirement does not touch principal.
* Life expectancy extends to 85 for men, 90 for women. We don’t know whether we’ll live longer, but we should conservatively assume than the median life expectancy of 78 currently is too low. The longer we assume we’ll live, the more money we need to have in retirement. It’s better to end up with too much than too little because we can always live a will to give our money away to those in need.
* Retirement age no later than 65. It would be a crying shame to work for 43 years after college and only live until age 78 wouldn’t it? Age 65 is the maximum age for work in my net worth by income model. Ideally, we all reach financial independence much sooner and experience the luxury of the “one more year syndrome.”
* Savings rate is at least 20% with the ultimate goal of saving 50%. You can’t grow your savings and investments aggressively without having a commensurate savings percentage. The goal is to build your financial nut so large that it starts saving more for you than you can save on your own. Ideally everybody should strive to save 50% of their after tax income or more by age 50. The easiest way for most people is to see if they can just save one of their bi-weekly paychecks every month while maximizing their pre-tax retirement plans. Here is a great chart on how much savings you should aim for by age using the expense coverage ratio concept.
* There are no income producing breaks. This is a difficult assumption because so many of us will take time off between jobs to go travel, spend time with family, or start a business. I’m a prime example who has extricated himself out of the work force to give a go at online entrepreneurship. My absolute savings amount per year is much lower, but my savings percentage continues to be high as I adjust my lifestyle and spending habits. Only a small minority of people take work breaks for longer than two years.
* The trend is up and to the right for economic growth. There have always been gains in any 20 year period. With a more collaborative world and the advent of the internet, productivity gains and economic growth should continue. Surely we will see multi-year bear markets again as that is the nature of a cyclical economy. But structurally, the long term trajectory is higher thanks to demographics, inflation, technology, and productivity. All this said, I don’t assume any returns except for end where I allow for +/- 25% changes to the final ratio.
NET WORTH OR SAVINGS BY INCOME RATIO CHART
I was originally going to make this chart very complicated by including an after tax savings rate column, growth rate percentages, effective tax rate assumptions and so forth. Instead, I’ve decided to simplify the chart to highlight a net worth multiple of income goal by age in five year increments. You will also see hypothetical net worth (savings) amounts by age based on $50,000, $100,000, $150,00 and $200,000 income levels.
Some Takeaways:
1) Focus On The Multiples: The chart is designed to work on any income level above the poverty line. The examples of $50,000, $100,000, $150,000 and $200,000 income levels and their respective amounts are there to provide visual guidance of what could be. If you’re used to making $50,000 a year for your working career, then you should be use to making a similar or less amount during retirement. Same goes for those who make more.
2) Calculate Your Own Multiples First. It’s better to be conservative and calculate your individual target net worth in case something happens to your relationship or in the event you never find anybody. If you are married, then simply calculate your net worth targets based on your combined income.
3) Each Persons Lifestyle Expenses Are Different: This chart isn’t a one size fits all net worth to income chart. Some people are happy to live very spartanly in the middle of nowhere making it unnecessary for them to have such high multiples. My chart is intended for folks who want to live above average lifestyles without having to worry much about running out of money living in more expensive cities. You may shoot for a higher multiples as well.
4) You Can Expedite Your Net Worth: By simply increasing your savings amounts, making more money, and investing in profitable assets you have the power to increase your net worth faster and retire earlier if you choose. Let’s say you make $50,000 a year and have a target of $1 million in net worth by age 60. According to the chart, if you can find some way to increase your income to $200,000 through multiple side hustles and maintain your savings/investing habits, you will save 20 years of work and retire by 40. Easier said than done of course, but the possibilities are there.
5) The Exit Multiple Target: Once you hit about 20X your annual gross income as your net worth or savings figure, you can seriously start thinking about retiring or doing something else more enjoyable. You will have to contend with various other assumptions including whether you include your primary residence in your net worth, whether you still have a mortgage, and if you have alternative streams of income. My hope is that everybody works on passive income streams during their wealth accumulation phase so they don’t need as much or any income in retirement.
CONCLUSION
It’s very important to have some idea of target net worth figures because it’s not so much what you earn, but what you save. There are countless stories of people making huge salaries only to piss it away on frivolous things and end up with very little to nothing. This is why I highly encourage everyone to have around 10% – 30% of their net worth in risk free assets just in case everything goes to hell.
Continue to actively track your net worth progress a couple times a year. Targets will help you adjust your finances accordingly and increase your chances of reaching your goals much faster than others who do not bother. You should also consider calculating your net worth by your realistic living expenses to come full circle.
While I was working I had a target of reaching a net worth equal to 20X my average income by age 40. Instead, I left the workforce with a 15X multiple at 34 because I figured out how to raise my multiple to 18X in a matter of months by negotiating a severance package after 11 consecutive years at one company. Four years later, my severance package is still paying out.
My current net worth is currently about 20 – 22X my average income in 2016. I can tell you without a doubt that I feel financially independent and free at this multiple. If you can find a way to happily live on less. You can easily boost your multiple as well!
Recommendation To Build Your Net Worth
The best way to build wealth is to get a handle on your finances by signing up with Personal Capital. They are a free online tool which aggregates all your financial accounts on their Dashboard so you can see where you can optimize. Before Personal Capital, I had to log into eight different systems to track 28 different accounts (brokerage, multiple banks, 401K, etc) to track my finances. Now, I can just log into Personal Capital to see how my stock accounts are doing, how my net worth is progressing, and where my spending is going.
One of their best tools is the 401K Fee Analyzer which has helped me save over $1,700 in annual portfolio fees I had no idea I was paying. You just click on the Investment Tab and run your portfolio through their fee analyzer with one click of the button.
Finally, check out their newly launched Retirement Planning Calculator for 2017! The calculator uses real data you’ve inputted to calculate using a Monte Carlo simulation model what your retirement future might look like. I highly suggest you run your calculations yourself with realistic expense and income variables. It’s all free after all.
Sample retirement planning calculator results
There is no better free online tool that has helped me stay on top of my finances more than Personal Capital. It’s important to aggregate all your accounts to get an entire overview of your net worth to make proper changes. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Updated for 2018 and beyond. Those who’ve been disciplined to constantly invest since 2009 have been handsomely rewarded with the S&P 500 up ~300% and real estate prices surpassing their 2006 peak levels all across the country.
I like basing it off income, it makes it far more applicable across the income range. Personally I was always found the reccomended net worth chart hard to relate to without income included.
Over the last 6 years since graduating, my household income has roughly tripled (mine has doubled plus I married someone who makes up the other third). The majority of the income increase has been in the last 2 years. Net worth is around 1.3x current yearly salary, or about 2x salary were it the same as it was 12 months ago. Savings rate is around 50% so that multiplier should climb fairly quick.
Definitely my goal to provide an alternative way for users to track net worth progress.
Congrats on the doubling of income! Now it’s about figuring out what the sustainable ideal income is and use that as a variable in the multiple. Fun with numbers!
I’ve always thought about it based more on savings/investments than income. I’m a saver and debt free, so my extremely low income isn’t a good indicator of my net worth.
Actually, being a saver and having no consumer debt are core values in this table.
Net worth subtracts out debt anyway, so even if you have a low salary, it means you are able to live on less so the chart should be applicable.
I have always liked to think about these types of numbers in terms of expenses rather than income. How far is this savings going to get me at this rate of spending? We won’t start considering ourselves FI until we hit non-primary residence (ie consumable) net worth of about 1.5mm or so. Though if we find ourselves happily living on a lot less, or needing a lot more $, that could definitely change
Looking at things in terms of a multiple of expenses is the more aggressive way since expenses are lower than income as we make more than we spend. I encourage folks to look at a multiple of income for NW targets to be more conservative.
$1.5 Mik definitely sounds nice, but it depends on the income.
I like looking at the multiple of expense too. It’s just more realistic. If we look at multiple of income, then it’s much harder for people who save a large % of their income to hit 24x.
We had about 25x expense when I left my job. We live a bit more frugally, but we can adjust if I make more money later on.
I like your multiple in general.
Another reason to look at income is b/c expenses is a derivative of income i.e. income is more certain than expenses, which can be easily adjusted up or down.
It’s much more conservative to target income multiples and THEN adjust your expenses. There’s a higher chance you’ll end up with more, rather than less.
I would encourage folks to calculate both.
“…Once you hit about 15X your annual gross income as your net worth or savings figure, you can seriously start thinking about retiring or doing something else more enjoyable…”
I used FireCALC to help determine if I had enough to retire. I think it is a great tool to create lost of “what if” scenarios.
What does the FireCALC multiple recommend and what is your target?
Sam,
Love the blog but why discuss gross salary ever? Taxes vary so much it makes application of many tables/discussions difficult. I live in CA and after taxes, overhead, 401k and benefits my net is 40% of my gross. 20x gross to seriously consider retirement isn’t achievable. Keep up the good work
Because exactly as you said. So many tax and deduction variables. The top line, gross income figure is a consistent, apples to apples comparison.
What people do to figure out their operating profit before tax is something entirely different. So much upside and variability, which is why starting a business is often a good move.
I also wanted to add a note about gross vs. net income as it relates to investments. I think it is important to make sure authors of financial advice blogs make a distinction between the two. I tend to create my financial goals in terms of dollars that have already been taxed. I suggest this for two reasons. 1. It is useful in the mental models that I personally use to manage my financial life. 2. It would add clarity for your readers (I notice other financial blogs don’t make these distinctions and I expect the audience is simply unaware)
Just think about the difference in $2M in a Roth IRA or Roth 401k as compared to $2M in a traditional IRA or 401k.
Just a small criticism. Generally I like the approach you take with respect to planning a financial future.
~Freedom is great! Stuff isn’t!
FYI – the table is pretty hard to read. viewed from Chrome on Win 7 directly and through feedly reader and both were difficult. I agree that the multiples way of tracking networth is much better measure of financial choices then raw numbers.
Personal i think these three numbers give you a pretty good idea of where someone is at without having to know actual salary or networth.
1) Networth/Annual Income – tells you how effecitve they are at savings
2) Networth/Annual Expenses (after Tax) – tells you how efficiently they live when compared to the networth/income. Also tells you whether they are early retirement candidates :-)
3) Debt/Networth – tells you how comfortable they are using debt to either finance lifestyle or invest with (when compared with above numbers).
Personal numbers for me (30) are:
Networth/Income = 5
Networth/Expenses = 17
Debt/Networth = 0.06 (almost 0 )
Good ratios! Might have to write more detailed posts to address.
The table has been updated and fixed for those who have a hard time seeing. Hope it’s more clear!
Personal numbers for me (30) are:
Networth/Income = 1.3
Networth/Expenses = 86
Debt/Networth = 0.003 (almost 0 )
I am so far from where I should be it’s pathetic. But thanks for the kick in the keester of a reminder that it’s time to buckle down.
No time like the present to get going!
Although I do not think about savings this way, it is not a bad guide. My savings rate is roughly 35%, but my children are grown and I already accumulated my magic number. If I were right out of college I would use this as a guide to accumulate wealth. I find a 50% savings rate as a little extreme unless you are earning a lot more than the typical salaries, but not for very long. It is too extreme!
Larry, I really don’t think you should be saving so much anymore given you mentioned you are findeoendent and in your mid 60s. Why not spend 100% of all income and live it up since you still have your financial but and real estate assets?
I don’t feel deprived at all! Saving is definitely a habit which is difficult to break. I think I will be forced to change in retirement. I am starting to think seriously about changing my retirement date to either June 2016 or December 2018. In other words, retire a year earlier than planned. I think I will get a little bit more serious/specific about what I will do when I retire.
Love to read some specifics. June 2016 and Dec 2018 seems like a randomly wide margin no?
It is too generic to come up with a figure that make sense…
It just depend too much on where you are living.
For example, if you have 1 mil $ and decide to live in Philippines then you probably can live comfortably for the rest of your life.
1 mil $ in NY does not take you very far.
I have 4x my income as net worth at 40ish but at this rate of savings I will have 8 to 10 X by 50.
This puts me at the low end of your calculation on this post but way above the above average net worth of the old post you did. I think on this post you might be a bit over aggressive.
BTW all I did in my life has been saving or putting money in homes and home renovations…
Good luck to all
Each Persons Lifestyle Expenses Are Different: This chart isn’t a one size fits all net worth to income chart. Some people are happy to live very spartanly in the middle of nowhere making it unnecessary for them to have such high multiples. My chart is intended for folks who want to live above average lifestyles without having to worry much about running out of money living in more expensive cities. You may shoot for a higher multiples as well.
Folks looking for answers need to start somewhere. You can play with the different variables to arrive to a combo of desired retirement age or wealth amount using my table.
I am late to the working game – 27 years old with zero years experience… So if I can hit 1x my annual salary by 30 I think I will be doing okay in the multiples game. Just need to get this debt stuff straightened out first.
If you started at 27, then follow the years worked column. Saving 1 year of income in 3-4 years is spot on track.
This is a very insightful post. I don’t really know where I fall in terms of my true net worth, but this has given me some food for thought. Thanks.
This chart is so much better than those fidelity charts that tell you to have 1X income by 35, 3X at 45 and 8X at 65. I also believe people should not include their car, and jewelry in NW calculations.
I would be very afraid to retire if at age 65 I only had 8x my income as net worth! In fact, I might paradoxically hope I don’t live too long so I don’t run out of money. By then, I would also be logically voting for bigger and bigger government to fleece the young to take care of us older folks as we are doing so now. The cycle continues! Hands off our Social Security!
Ha! As a recent college graduate, you can’t be far behind because you just started!
I always plan to keep a stream of income coming in, so my multiple will be lower than the chart may indicate.
The problem is I don’t know what income streams will be available to me at that time.
When it comes down to being financially prepared for retirement, I’ll know when I know.
Having a stream of income (money strength) is definitely the way to go as a buffer for one’s savings/investments.
I think you’ll know what the streams of income will be well before you finally retire. They will become as clear as day, and you might get surprised with more.
I feel this is really an ideal chart of the optimal scenario and very unreachable by many, either by choice or circumstances. For example, the assumption of an immediate job post graduation (I graduated into a tough regional economy and didn’t get a full time job for over a year), the ability to eventually save 50% towards the single goal of financial independance (what about college, a home, other life goals), and finally it assumes that I want to die with my savings principal intact so it can be passed onto my heirs. Heirs, who by the way, will be in their 50-60’s when I croak in my 80’s and really should not be counting on the old fart to pass on for their own retirements.
That said, it never hurts to have something to strive for as long as you understand your own circumstances in comparison and focus on what you’re doing, not what some chart or formula says you ought to have or have done.
Things always seem unreachable until they are thoroughly achieved. If one doesn’t want to follow the age column, they can follow the years of work column. They can also adjust based on income levels to see what might be.
As I’ve written in the post, each person’s lifestyle expenses are different. Adjust accordingly. Only you will know what’s best.
Just curious why you chose the multiples that you did? How did you derive them, or was it simply a very nice way to roughly see where you should try to aim for in NW?
I guess you have to give some kind of target but I was just thinking what if the person goes from an income of $60k when they’re 35, to having an income of $100k when they’re 40 and thinking they’re incredibly far away from the $600k when they wer only having to target $240k just a year or so before.
By the assumptions in the post. Namely 20-50% savings rates and the ideal withdrawal rate of 0%, with room up to 3%.
For your question, the person has to figure out what is the average sustainable income level they are comfortable earning and then multiply by the corresponding multiple to see if they are on track. Perhaps in your example the average income is therefore $80,000, and therefore s/he should shoot for $1.6 million if they want to retire by age 60, or around $960,000 if they want to retire at age 50. Dynamic!
Finally, a chart where I’m ahead of the game! On a sad note, most of our progress has been over the past few years. If I’d been aggressive throughout, we could be retired by now, but live and learn.
Well done Kim! At least you had fun while not savings as much earlier on. I’m kind of course correcting right now and trying to live things up until I have to settle down again.
I’m shooting for 100-100-30. $100k net worth, $100k gross bye age 30. I’d be about $20k behind your chart shown above.
I love tracking this stuff, though. You should pitch this to the SS administration to show people where they SHOULD be at to ease the burned on taxpayer assistance :)
Sounds like a good goal to me Jacob. Simple and catchy. Start a movement!
I’m doing pretty well based on your chart. But I have a lonht way to go to get to 15X in order to retire and kick back! I just gotta keep on truckin and I’ll get there someday. I would like to step away from my primary job in a few years but still work to have income coming in. It would just be nice to work a more flexible schedule on my own terms.
If I add in the value of our paid for house in our net worth, then my wife and I are at the correct point for 55 year olds. No telling where the house value will be in 10 years. Can’t control investment earnings, either. We can only control our savings and asset allocation and hope things go in the direction we want.
Perhaps focus on networth or savings to expense ratio then?
How do you decide how much is enough after all these years working? Thx
Luckily my wife and I are doing quite well according to your table. We’re doing especially well since we’re also living a more “spartan lifestyle”. We hope to be FI in just a few short years!
Nice, congrats! It will be well worth it.
Using a factor of income is definitely a solid way of calculating net worth however there will always be exceptions. My gross income increased dramatically around 3 months ago when I changed jobs – based on this my net worth should have instantly increased dramatically. Perhaps using a 3 or 5 year moving average of income is more suitable? Additionally I like to then look at how long my net worth would cover my living expenses – $1m of net worth for someone spending 100k per year isn’t as good as someone with a net worth of 500k only spending 30k per year – their money will last them longer.
I recommend folks use an income level that they think they can comfortably sustain and be happy with. Up to everyone to decide on their own.
So maybe I missed it, you mention that one assumption is retirement no later than 65 years old, but at what point on the chart are you saying a person is able to actually retire? My assumption is if you are the $200k year camp you are on track for a comfortable retirement at 65 if you’ve got a $1.2 net worth? Is there some point prior to that 65 year age were you feel the hypothetical person has gone over the hump and can retire at anytime?
That’s the beauty of personal finance. It depends on what you want to retire with! Right now, I’m happy to live off about $85,000 – $100,000 a year. Anything more is gravy. So folks need to calculate their passive income streams and their financial nut based off their desired income stream or vice versa.
O.k. gotcha, that is what I thought you were saying. I honestly think life is pretty damn cheap to live a pretty amazing lifestyle if you have some common sense. I do think though that some people do a net worth calculation and see it $1m + then allow their lifestyle to inflate…it is just human nature. Great article though, I like how you are willing to throw out real #’s instead of arbitrarily dancing around with percentages & not afraid to make people say “whoa, I better get serious about saving”.
Thanks.
I would like readers to focus on multiples since everybody earns a different amount and has different ideas of what a comfortable retirement lifestyle entails.
However, it helps to provide real income numbers with real corresponding net worth figures. Folks shouldn’t be intimidated with numbers as these numbers are quite achievable!
My husband and I cannot agree on a savings plan. At ages 46 and 51, we have two pensions that exceed the six figure mark, plus he works and earns a very nice living. We have additional investment funds and a couple houses, one of which is rented. His thought is that we should enjoy our money and stop focusing so much on saving, and my thought is that I’d like to find a happy medium. If you consider our pensions as part of our net worth and add that amount to our current net worth (investments, house, etc), I believe we are at the top of your chart. Do you have any advice/thoughts about a savings plan that will make us both happy (perhaps a reasonable percentage?) and also help us secure a strong financial future?
If you have lifelong pensions already at your younge age that are combined or each over six figures, I would surely spend the large majority of it every single month. Instead of worrying about saving, I would worry about health and do things to try and live as long and healthy a life as possible!
Well darn! I guess I just needed to hear another opinion from someone who knows. Thank you.
Totally agree… particularly about the donkeys and unicorns…
Your chart makes sense. I seem to be a little bit ahead of where I should be, which is good. But nowhere here 15x yet. I’ll get there…. the question is only when. OK – off to save some more money! :)
Thanks for the chart Sam! I was one of those kids that made the very poor decision to go to grad school, and graduated right as the recession hit, so I was a couple years behind in starting, but I’m pleased to say I’ve caught up pretty quickly and made some really decent progress! My wife and I don’t have huge salaries, but wemanage to save aabout 60% of our income between long and short term savings. I appreciate the ability to see how the exit strategy multiple works in action.
Nice job catching up! Saving 60% of your income is huge and will pay massive dividends 10 years from now.
Hi. I am at the 13 years worked mark (a little bit older than 35, but still). Based on cash savings, and current values for home equity and investment stocks, I have a net worth of about $310K (average income of $100K). I am saving about 40% of my income currently.
That amount excludes my pension fund entitlements. I am not sure how to account for that since it is preserved until I am 60.
I would simply deduct the NPV (Net Present Value) of your future yearly pension amount from your current Gross income, then use that for your current multiplier. Example:
Gross Income: 100k
Future Pension: expected to be 20% of Gross at retirement
Gross Income to use for Multiplier = 80K (assuming scenario #1 below)
Trick is how to calculate NPV of your pension:
#1: If you will continue to work at the company, I think a conservative estimate is simply to use anticipated % pension (20%) against your current income. That way you ignore future raises, but also do not have to do a NPV calc on a future unknown Salary to derive an estimate of todays dollar pension amount
#2: If you do not work there anymore, and you have a better understanding of the exact $ benefit in the future, simply do a NPV calculation on that amount and deduct that from your current Gross.
Not sure what others think of this….
Dear Samurai: 2013 was quite a year for me: Turned 60, eligible to retire, last kid’s college tuition paid off, home mortgage paid off. My net worth is well above the norms for my age. Now that I have absolutely no debt, I feel empowered and liberated! I’m working just for me and intend to keep doing so until I’m at least 65 (I’m always placed a premium on health and my doctor assures me I can do it). Thanks for reminding us that debt and the inability to plan for one’s financial future can enslave a person just as much as sex, drugs, gambling or pornography.
Fantastic Carl! Now if you want to go be a porn star, go for it! Enjoy the freedom.
You may like this post:
How Does It Feel To Be Financially Independent?
Very incomplete analysis. The whole concept of net worth in retirement is based on how much in assets you need to generate the income for your desired lifestyle. Not all income is derived from return on current investment.
If you are one of the fortunate that have a defined pension plan the present net worth of your pension should be included in the chart above. Any Social Security you receive must be also be included.
Could you please share a link to a table that combines net worth to expenses – rather than net worth to income?
I enjoyed your table because it’s nice to see quantifiable goals (even if they are heavily subjective) to have aims to strive for, but I’d love to see a revised version done as a sort of “goals for starting out” with objectives for your 20s with a column incorporating paying off student loan debt and one that doesn’t and with salaries such that reflect like the kid who went right into a decent law firm as a low level associate (granted, possibly with a lot more debt from law school) to the kid who flipped fries and did other entry level jobs because they couldn’t find one in their chosen career path to the person who straddled both worlds and managed to get on track by their mid/late 20s, but started out rocky.
Interesting read and comments. I always wonder about these things on both an absolute and relative scale. In evaluating your ratios I think you need to measure the different elements differently. Simply put, your net worth multiple should be based on a multiple of your expenses to help you evaluate when you can feel comfortable making a change. However, you should also monitor your savings rate as a percent of income because that helps you establish if you are doing a good job with saving your income or not.
A third thing would be net worth growth rate. That will help you establish a combined measure of your savings rate, and the performance of how you are distributing your savings. Between those three things you should have all you need to know where you stand on a relative scale.
Actually doing well still takes discipline.
I’m 29. Living in Los Angeles, CA. Liquid cash of $730,000 (I’m hoping to reach the $800k mark at the end of this year). Hopefully on a positive track here. Net worth of around $1,000,000. Unfortunately, I don’t think this is the right way to go, and would like to start investing and diversifying. I have a sigfig and Personal Capital account but have never utilized their financial advisor. Any advise on where to start?
MJ,
That’s a lot of money. Is it all in liquid cash? No 401k investments or anything?
If you are with PC already, might as well get a free consult. Tell them Sam Dogen from Financial Samurai sent you.
Had net worth $50k in 2003, finishing training. Now net worth is $2.5M. Married, and our Medicare wages have averaged $225k over the last eleven years. Now our income is higher, $325k. We save 40% every year and are good investors. Our goal is $3.5M by age 45 and partial retirement at that time. We spend about $100k per year. Are we on track?
Sounds good to me. I’d figure out how long it would take you to get to $5 million based on your savings and wages due to inflation.
At that point we wouldn’t draw down but we wouldn’t save any more, just work enough to pay for current expenses and health care, and bump up my social security earnings a little more to definitely clear the second bend point in pia. So if we got a 3-5% real return on $3.5 million from age 40 to 60 we’d have $7 million real. Then from 60-70 we’d defer taking social security and convert to Roth accounts some of our pretax accounts til RMDs kicked in at age 70.5.
One can always work more but at some point the whole point of being an early and aggressive saver was to be able to cut the strings a little earlier.
Good website, nice take on the financial world.
FS. Thanks for all of your fantastic articles. I have just recently developed an interest in investments and planning for retirement since I have gotten married and now have a little kiddo. We got married 4 years ago (I was 26, she was 20). Up until about a year and a half ago I was only making approximately 25k/year while going to school. My wife was making minimal income as a math tutor while going to school as well. I just got a fairly decent job making 52k/year now and she earns 46k/year at her new job. In the last 4 years we have accumulated 38k through our 401k’s and Roth IRA. We also have two houses, one with about 10k in equity and another with approx. 50k in equity. We only have about 7k in liquid cash. I want to begin CD laddering at some point because it seems like a great investment method; however, even someone with limited experience such as myself can draw the conclusion that this would be foolish at this time due to the pathetically low rates, so that option is on the backburner for now. I am contributing 15% of my income to my 401k (match of 100% up to 4%) and my wife contributes 6% with a 50% match up to 6%). She is planning on leaving her job next April to take care of our baby and work on her own blog as well as tutor for math again. I honestly don’t really know what I’m doing when it comes to investments but I know I am way behind when comparing where we are at currently to your various tables. How do you catch up? Is the CD option a good one now or should I wait? Do I contribute more to my 401k or max my Roth IRA? Also, is the PC consultation still free at this time? Thanks Sam.
Thanks for always making us examine something as basic as net worth from different angles: hadn’t thought about doing both income and expense comparisons.
It bothers me when I can’t come to absolutely accurate numbers, especially in a net worth calculation. The DB pensions really annoy and throw me off. You’d recommended taking the annual pension total and dividing it by 3~5%. I can’t get myself to use the numbers, as even though they are fairly good rule of thumb values, they aren’t precisely accurate. I’d go with a number calculated by an actuary but I’m not going to waste money on an actuary to do the calculations. I suppose I’ll just continue using purely contributions when calculating in net worth month to month.
We’ve been tracking and growing our net worth aggressively for the past 4 years. It’s amazing how it keeps growing on its own, even if you have a month with low income. We’re projecting to get it x25 our projected expenses and become financially indepedent in less than 4 years. Thanks for sharing the chart.
Here is a simple way to track the total net worth as a percentage of varying income through the years. It’s based on very simple discounting of present value to future value.
Assume your income in a specific year was X. Now count how many years have passed until now. Call it n. Discount your income by 3% (average rate of inflation). So the future value of your income for that year was X * (1.03)^n.
Do this for all years. If you don’t remember the income, subscribe to the social security website and start from there. Do not forget to add any 401K match etc., because it’s part of the income.
Add all the flows. For the current year, n is essentially 0 so you are adding the current years income as it is.
Now, get your net worth (call it Y) and divide it by all the income flows through the years. This fraction (it could be > 1 for massive investment gains, but it’s very unlikely) truly represents how much of your income you have been able to save and grow (in investment gains) as a percent of your income through your life.
Mine came up at about 26%. Not too great, but not too shabby. I haven’t really aggressively invested (my mistake) but have been fairly frugal, was debt free (except mortgages and car loans) and did not make any major financial mistakes. Since my investment gains were almost nonexistent, 26% is kind of my true savings over the years.
To put it in a pie chart:
– 26% savings
– 30% taxes (approximate estimate)
– 44% expenses and debt service.
As years progress, I hope the expenses and debt services number goes down and savings increases. For the current year only, our net worth rose almost 50% compared to our gross income, so the trend is definitely changing.
Why not keep things simple and just link up all your accounts with Personal Capital, and have them track your net worth for you automatically? Money needs to get out of the way, so we can spend time enjoying our lives!
I do link up all my accounts in mint and track the NW. However what I was interested in knowing was “how much was I really able to save” as a percentage of my income. That’s what this post was about.
Yes, a guideline like “your saving should be 3X your income by age 40” is great…only the incomes are not static. Mine certainly is not and has been increasing rapidly. 35-45 in general would be an income growth phase in someone’s life. Hence to track how the net worth is comparing in proportion to the income, I would like to use a strategy like the above.
At the end of the day, the NW is income – taxes – expenses +- investment gains. If I can picture this equation clearly, it can tell me how frugal/savvy investor I am.
I don’t know if I read about something like this on your site or somewhere else, where they were talking about UAW/AAW/PAW (Under/Average/Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth) using an archaic formula (income * age/10). It will be interesting to replace that with a similar method as above.
That sounds like formulas from the Millionaire Next Door book.
Just wanted to say thank you very much for sharing this Multiple Theory!
As a 27 year old who has been out of college for 6 years, I’ve come to find that life is rarely constant. From moving to a new city, to changing companies, getting a promotion, buying a condo below my means, and having a fair obsession with frugality and minimalism to achieve FI independence at an early age, I’m always trying to compare and gauge where I stand. My annual salary has fluctuated every single year for my 6 years in this working world and now that I’ve found success in a sales career, I know this will always be the case. Unfortunately many of the resources I’ve found offer advice based on annual income.
However using the Multiple Theory, I was able to find the average annual income over the last 6 years and set an assumption for the next 3 to at least have an idea what number I should be aiming for at 30 – thank you!
The woman I worship,I will ask her for enough just to buy myself a burger and a coke because I know the rest of the finance’s are in her hands as I want it to be.she is my queen and I know she will use the best judgment.
Just another observation this time from an (embarrassed) high income guy: the tables don’t take into account the extra tax burdenof high earners. At 50k you get to keep almost all of it. At 880k I get to keep only 520 or so. So my income is 17x more but my after tax is only 10x. This is the redistribution part.
I’m 23 years in(started working at 34) with only 2x. What happened? College for 6 kids(950k), cars for 6 kids, a divorce(1000k, 200k lawyers), having to sell a house at a big loss(300k), caring for elderly parents, poor investment choices. Still 13 x on the table would place me with an 11 million dollar fortune. I’ve brought home 12 million total, after tax.I guess the power of compounding, but still.
What I can say is, people that can get to a million on 50k a year are very rare: frugal and great investors, and perhaps with above average luck.
Enjoy your posts!
I agree with striving, why don’t the tables discuss percentages/multiples of take home pay. In California after taxes and benefits I keep less than 50% of my gross income. It makes applying the samurai’s tables mighty difficult
On the surface that’s a valid point; however, they are unbiased metrics and you will always be subject to those taxes and costs as long as you live in California (or other high cost areas) so while it may be difficult, it is a reality to consider.
Once retired, if you live in a high tax area, your costs will sill be high. It’s sort of the same principle as not including your primary residence in your net worth, you have to live somewhere.
On the flip side, I personally believe that it is important to plan your retirement around your annual costs instead of one’s gross income. Someone that makes $200k, but lives on $100k and saves the rest will likely have an easier time retiring than someone that lives on $150k or whatever your post tax income for two reasons 1) they are growing their net worth faster through higher savings 2) they have lower cost expectations.
This is confusing to say the least. The other day I read that the Majority of Americans have virtually nothing in their savings accounts and now I see this chart which states that my net worth should by over $1Million at age 42 if I make 100k a year. I don’t know a single person who has that net worth that high making less than $300k at the age of 40 so this chart is a head scratcher. I have a net worth around $300-330k depending on what my homes are worth, I have $115k I checking and savings, 60k in paid for vehicles, 70k in an IRA am I a total loser for having 1/3 of what I’m supposed to have based on your chart?
Hi Chris,
Thanks for reading my post. First of all, you aren’t a “total loser.” Financial Samurai is a place where readers are very focused on their finances compared to the average citizen, and therefore take more action to make more, save more, and invest more.
It’s hard to fathom the power of compounding returns, but that’s exactly how someone who makes $100,000 a year but maxes out their 401k and invests an additional 20% of their after 401k/after-tax income in the S&P 500 can get to $1M by age 42.
See: The Inflation Interest Rate Paradox: Why You Must Continuously Invest for an example of how 4.85% a year turns into an 81% return in 11 years.
Besides aggressive savings, a proper asset allocation, and taking advantage of various asset classes like real estate investing, alternatives, venture debt, private equity, and working the gig economy, there’s also side hustling by building online income as well.
Do not rely only on your day job to make money. Build passive income to have multiple rocket boosters to achieve financial freedom sooner, rather than later!
Sam
I don’t think it’s unreasonable if you’re committed to FI. I’m a 28 year old with a $130K Net worth due to a Savings Rate of over 50% and have made an average of $65K/year for the last 5 working years (starting at $30K and now cresting $100K). 5 years ago, I had a negative Net Worth.
With an average an Net Worth increase of $5K/mo. currently, I expect to be near $230K by 30. By age 40, I should be right around $830K. This doesn’t take into consideration the increased dividends/compounded interest and side-Real Estate Hustle.
Ultimately it depends on lifestyle and avoiding lifestyle inflation. I don’t own a vehicle – and will delay adding that in to my life as long as possible – I prefer riding my bicycle anyway. I do own a small condo – one that’s just 8% of my income. My highest lifestyle expense is Travel and Food (foodie here, which I really should cut back on but I live in a city with fantastic restaurants!).
I don’t keep up with the Joneses and people around me (co-workers, neighbors, friends) have no idea what is my Net Worth.
My comment isn’t really one of the math but more of the level of comfort one wishes to live and does it make sense to quit a job you like just because you can.
I retired from the Army after 22 years 18 months ago I was 43 years old. I took a post retirement job and my income doubled. Since I retired I have never spent more than my military retirement on my living expenses. I save 35% of my post retirement jobs income. I spend about another 40% on of it on paying for my sons college he is currently a freshman. I have spent the remaining amount on various small investments.
I have about $300,000 in cash and stocks and another $150,000 in free and clear property. I have two rentals that net about $900 a month as well.
My goal is to get to get to around 1 million by age 56 as I would then be eligible for another retirement. If I happen to make it to 65 I would get SS and my wife would also get half of my SS amount as well.
So if you made it this far here are my questions.
I could save 50% of my income now and 70% once my son graduates college.
But what is the point if I plan on working until age 56 anyway?
Does it make sense to quit a job because you can?
If you genuinely liked your job would you quit because you don’t need the money?
Question about this chart. Is the income what we currently earn? Or what we need to have to cover expenses when we leave the workforce?
I got a late start to savings. I am 50 and my income has increased dramatically in the last few years to $200,000+. I have done a good job of not increases expenses as my income rose. My net worth (not including my house) is $700k. Since my income has risen, I’ve been saving 30-40%.
According to this, I’d need $3mm, and I’m really behind. But with a more frugal lifestyle, I could stay in my current home and be happy living on $50 – $75k, which would put me toward a goal much closer to what I currently have.
One of the challenges I have with basing retirement living on a percentage of current income is presumably once I get to “retirement,” I’ll have my nest egg and won’t need to plow so much money into savings. Does that make sense? Or am I off base?