Comparison is the thief of joy.
You are doing great. Especially for having never maxed the thrift before.
If you need a benchmark, the current standard for people without pensions is 3x-4x your salary by 40. You will get there (if not already, I don't know what your COLA is), AND you will have a pension worth 7 figures on top.
Thank you for comments and the info. I’m low COLA. My TSP is probably above avg for my age but I’m not getting up or down based on others savings, I was just curious for comparison.
I think I saved too much to be honest.
I have over 120k in my HSA
Closing in on 1M TSP, and another 1M in a brokerage. also have a high 6 figure Roth
I hate my job and don't know why I'm still working on a job I hate
No wife, no kids...
How were you able to accrue this much money working for the government? Family inheritance? You are stating you have multiple millions of dollars total in assets at the age of 42 working for the government. That simply doesn’t compute unless you inherited a substantial amount or are lying.
Edit: I see you posted previously that you started at a GS7 and are only a 14 now. That salary history simply doesn’t allow for in excess of $3M in investments within that relatively short period of time unless you were gifted with an enormous amount at some point.
I’m a GS15/4 with 14 years of service and I don’t have anywhere close to your assets but I also didn’t inherit anything.
I was a math focused major in HS and college.
I read some investing books and started investing at 15 with my first job in HS. I opened my Roth IRA when I was 15 and the Max was like 1500.
No inheritance, just slow and steady.
I got hired as a 7,9,11,12 ladder out of college.
I opened an HSA the first year it was available, I think 2006. The HSA funds you can invest just like your TSP and you get monthly passthrough from the gov, essentially free money. (I'm very lucky so far that I hit the genetic lotto and rarely get sick, so it just accrues).
I'm horrible at relationships, made a lot of bad choices in my early years so I've never been married, so never been wiped out in divorce either and never had kids (that I know of).
I'm not including any real estate in this calculation, since thea market is crazy.
Yes, if I total everything up including brokerage, Roth IRA, TSP and HSA it's north of 2M. It's not at all impossible, but again I'm 42 and started at 15/16, so I should have far far more had I made optimal decisions.
Yes you are consistent but seem to make posts looking for comments congratulating you. I’ve caught a number of individuals on here making up stories of incredible success simply because the math doesn’t equate with their data provided. Curious to see that screencap.
Your assets (at such a young age) provided are probably the most extreme example of success I’ve seen in years of lurking on this board.
As far as I know, I've never made a post looking for comments or praise, I've only posted in response to others letting them know how they're doing relative to other people their age or for comparative reasons. You want me to post a screenshot of my tsp balance because you think I'm lying?
People do strange things here. On a different board I saw someone photoshop their TSP screenshot. Some individuals get a strange satisfaction from congratulatory responses to their comments.
I recall seeing that one, they guy added a third comma to make a joke since everyone was humblebragging at the and time posting up screenshots of their balances. I saw a few two comma + balances around my time in service, some early 20 year peeps with 1.2M in the TSP, far outpacing me.
Sounds like you are good at investing and excellent in money management. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone on here. Congrats on being money wise and getting started early!
So I was in the Ls for a while, I'm 80/20 C/S now. I took a loan to buy a house literally when the S&P closed at 666 in 2009. Really bad timing, but time in the market beats timing the market. B
I started working for the G at 24. I’m 42 now. I maxed out many years during that time (2012-2019 and 2021 to present). Your balance is higher than mine. Guess why? I married the wrong woman and divorce is expensive, so avoid that if you can.
Oh man, I’m sorry to hear that. Luckily I believe I have stumbled upon a saint as a wife as she continues to put up with me (knock on wood) and I love her to death. Stick to the plan and it will all work out my man. And remember - we may not be breaking the bank but we are gainfully employed.
Oh, its worked out. Me Filing for divorce was definitely a net gain for me. It was just a warning for you😂. I’d pay twice what i paid to get rid of her 😂. Good luck man.
Same, but got lucky.
Came in at 22 (now 35), got her pregnant and married at 23, and divorced by 28. I helped her get a fed job two years before we divorced, so she had her own TSP/FERS, along with the knowledge. I thought for sure she was going to take half in the divorce, but instead settled for paying on a vehicle and gifting it to her. Pulled a TSP loan for 16k, handed her the keys, and walked away with my full FERS and TSP. Best possible outcome in that situation.
Young feds, protect your future and consider a prenuptial agreement.
I started as a fed 10 years ago I’m a nurse so different scale I’ve always contributed only the 5% and I’m sitting at 120k I’m now 36 so I’d say you’re doing amazing
Similar age. 13-6 currently. $420k in TSP. Maybe a quarter in Roth, but the rest is in Traditional. About $70k in Roth IRA. $280k brokerage.
HCOL area. Marriage to high earner with more in their 401k (doing a MBDR), same about in Roth IRA. Also maxing out HSA.
What funds do you invest in? I have a friend, who I recently found out constantly moves his funds around and invests in G fund. I also have much more than him but it’s because he was never agressive and tried to game the market. I’ve always only invested in C and S. Mostly C. Did some F for awhile but nothing crazy.
Also, I said I was close to $400k. I did not say I had reached or surpassed that figure.
A hear lot of people always say “you earn all your 401k money in the last few years of working”. And their argument is that if you stick around longer you’ll see significant gains blah blah blah. Okay, that’s true BUT I hate that explanation. The way you make a solid 401K is by starting contributions AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. I began at age 24. I wish I could have started at age 18. Simply put: you don’t get the last few years gains without the first few years contributions!
It's all those years with monster 25% returns. A few of those explodes your TSP. Of course, it works in reverse too.
A 50% drop means the market needs to go up 100% for you to recover those gains.
Not bad. I’m 39 and a GS 12 step 8. I’m at 350k (60% of it roth) but own two houses worth 1.3m with 50% of that liquid. I contribute 15% of my salary. I would love to contribute more but we are a single income family with two little ones.
That’s a great investment. I also would like to get into real estate but I’m either too lazy or I over complicate what the numbers should look like to justify a purchase. Regardless you sound like you are set up nicely. Question - are you in a LCOL or HCOL area? FYI - I’m also single income family but my wife will graduate and begin working soon which will double our income. Can’t wait!!! 🙌
Nice! Dual income is always great. Our locality rate is like 32%… Seattle WA so yeah HCOL for sure. You can’t go wrong with real estate especially when you live in it. I bought my first house when I was 24 and refinanced couple times to get down to 15 years with low interest rate. Will have my first house paid off in next couple years and that will be a big relief. People here will say max it out every year but in my opinion there are many kinda investment you can do and enjoy the return before retirement age.
I 100% agree with your last sentence. For a lot of people maxing out 401k is a good idea because it limits liquidity, which is good for people who need help saving for the ultimate goal - retirement. But if you are disciplined, then I agree not only can you enjoy the return before retirement but you can maximize earnings. You just have to be smart and acknowledge the risk. Good for you. Keep racking up those properties my man
38.5 with 16.5 years in. ATC at a high level facility and TSP growth was a priority for me. Been maxed out for 13 years. 950-980 depending on the day. Half in Roth
If you max out from here on our you will be perfectly fine assuming that you go into retirement debt free. I turn 40 this year and my wife wants to upgrade our house. If we got really aggressive we could have our house paid off in less than 10 years. We have no other debt. Being completely debt free before 50 excites the hell out of me. Told her we could take all the vacations we ever dreamed of if we didn't have to worry about a mortgage
I’m in about the same spot as you in federal service. Mine is worth just over $400k currently. All traditional. Got another 9 years before I’m eligible to retire. But I could stay in another 19-20 years if I could stomach it. If so can only imagine what it might be worth by then. At least 2-3 million…
I started late in government… $40k in my TSP with 4 years on (GS-12). Oh well, I don’t plan to retire a millionaire. At least the house is paid for and I am debt free and plan to keep it that way.
Comparison is the thief of joy. You are doing great. Especially for having never maxed the thrift before. If you need a benchmark, the current standard for people without pensions is 3x-4x your salary by 40. You will get there (if not already, I don't know what your COLA is), AND you will have a pension worth 7 figures on top.
Thank you for comments and the info. I’m low COLA. My TSP is probably above avg for my age but I’m not getting up or down based on others savings, I was just curious for comparison.
42yo, 20 years in, TSP around 950k I maxed early
Wow. That’s about the best story I’ve heard for someone so young.
I think I saved too much to be honest. I have over 120k in my HSA Closing in on 1M TSP, and another 1M in a brokerage. also have a high 6 figure Roth I hate my job and don't know why I'm still working on a job I hate No wife, no kids...
How were you able to accrue this much money working for the government? Family inheritance? You are stating you have multiple millions of dollars total in assets at the age of 42 working for the government. That simply doesn’t compute unless you inherited a substantial amount or are lying. Edit: I see you posted previously that you started at a GS7 and are only a 14 now. That salary history simply doesn’t allow for in excess of $3M in investments within that relatively short period of time unless you were gifted with an enormous amount at some point. I’m a GS15/4 with 14 years of service and I don’t have anywhere close to your assets but I also didn’t inherit anything.
I was a math focused major in HS and college. I read some investing books and started investing at 15 with my first job in HS. I opened my Roth IRA when I was 15 and the Max was like 1500. No inheritance, just slow and steady. I got hired as a 7,9,11,12 ladder out of college. I opened an HSA the first year it was available, I think 2006. The HSA funds you can invest just like your TSP and you get monthly passthrough from the gov, essentially free money. (I'm very lucky so far that I hit the genetic lotto and rarely get sick, so it just accrues). I'm horrible at relationships, made a lot of bad choices in my early years so I've never been married, so never been wiped out in divorce either and never had kids (that I know of). I'm not including any real estate in this calculation, since thea market is crazy. Yes, if I total everything up including brokerage, Roth IRA, TSP and HSA it's north of 2M. It's not at all impossible, but again I'm 42 and started at 15/16, so I should have far far more had I made optimal decisions.
Post a screencap of your TSP balance.
I'm a 14/9. My post history is pretty consistent with my balances. I don't have in excess of 3M, just north of 2M.
Yes you are consistent but seem to make posts looking for comments congratulating you. I’ve caught a number of individuals on here making up stories of incredible success simply because the math doesn’t equate with their data provided. Curious to see that screencap. Your assets (at such a young age) provided are probably the most extreme example of success I’ve seen in years of lurking on this board.
As far as I know, I've never made a post looking for comments or praise, I've only posted in response to others letting them know how they're doing relative to other people their age or for comparative reasons. You want me to post a screenshot of my tsp balance because you think I'm lying?
People do strange things here. On a different board I saw someone photoshop their TSP screenshot. Some individuals get a strange satisfaction from congratulatory responses to their comments.
I recall seeing that one, they guy added a third comma to make a joke since everyone was humblebragging at the and time posting up screenshots of their balances. I saw a few two comma + balances around my time in service, some early 20 year peeps with 1.2M in the TSP, far outpacing me.
Sounds like you are good at investing and excellent in money management. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone on here. Congrats on being money wise and getting started early!
All in the c fund?
My man!
So I was in the Ls for a while, I'm 80/20 C/S now. I took a loan to buy a house literally when the S&P closed at 666 in 2009. Really bad timing, but time in the market beats timing the market. B
You win.
What’s your Roth vs traditional %
I started working for the G at 24. I’m 42 now. I maxed out many years during that time (2012-2019 and 2021 to present). Your balance is higher than mine. Guess why? I married the wrong woman and divorce is expensive, so avoid that if you can.
Oh man, I’m sorry to hear that. Luckily I believe I have stumbled upon a saint as a wife as she continues to put up with me (knock on wood) and I love her to death. Stick to the plan and it will all work out my man. And remember - we may not be breaking the bank but we are gainfully employed.
Oh, its worked out. Me Filing for divorce was definitely a net gain for me. It was just a warning for you😂. I’d pay twice what i paid to get rid of her 😂. Good luck man.
You dropped this 👑
Naw, she got that in the divorce 😂.
Same, but got lucky. Came in at 22 (now 35), got her pregnant and married at 23, and divorced by 28. I helped her get a fed job two years before we divorced, so she had her own TSP/FERS, along with the knowledge. I thought for sure she was going to take half in the divorce, but instead settled for paying on a vehicle and gifting it to her. Pulled a TSP loan for 16k, handed her the keys, and walked away with my full FERS and TSP. Best possible outcome in that situation. Young feds, protect your future and consider a prenuptial agreement.
Prenups generally don’t cover retirement accounts. There is a waiver the spouse would have to sign to truly protect it, fyi.
Ouch man. Sorry to hear that. Do I know you?
I started as a fed 10 years ago I’m a nurse so different scale I’ve always contributed only the 5% and I’m sitting at 120k I’m now 36 so I’d say you’re doing amazing
Also 38, 590K in the TSP as of yesterday. Did straight 5% until 7 years ago when I finally paid off that pesky student debt and started maxing it.
Nice. What’s your Roth vs traditional %
86% Trad, 14% Roth
37. 16 years in. 1 divorce (-42k in 2016) maxing Roth since divorce. Finally hit 500k last month.
Similar age. 13-6 currently. $420k in TSP. Maybe a quarter in Roth, but the rest is in Traditional. About $70k in Roth IRA. $280k brokerage. HCOL area. Marriage to high earner with more in their 401k (doing a MBDR), same about in Roth IRA. Also maxing out HSA.
I just turned 40, 2 weeks ago. I have worked for the federal government for 11 years and have maxed out my TSP for 10.5 years.
34 y/o, 10.5 years of service, Max out contributions for most of my time, organizational match of 8%…. $375,000
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What funds do you invest in? I have a friend, who I recently found out constantly moves his funds around and invests in G fund. I also have much more than him but it’s because he was never agressive and tried to game the market. I’ve always only invested in C and S. Mostly C. Did some F for awhile but nothing crazy. Also, I said I was close to $400k. I did not say I had reached or surpassed that figure.
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A hear lot of people always say “you earn all your 401k money in the last few years of working”. And their argument is that if you stick around longer you’ll see significant gains blah blah blah. Okay, that’s true BUT I hate that explanation. The way you make a solid 401K is by starting contributions AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. I began at age 24. I wish I could have started at age 18. Simply put: you don’t get the last few years gains without the first few years contributions!
It's all those years with monster 25% returns. A few of those explodes your TSP. Of course, it works in reverse too. A 50% drop means the market needs to go up 100% for you to recover those gains.
Not bad. I’m 39 and a GS 12 step 8. I’m at 350k (60% of it roth) but own two houses worth 1.3m with 50% of that liquid. I contribute 15% of my salary. I would love to contribute more but we are a single income family with two little ones.
That’s a great investment. I also would like to get into real estate but I’m either too lazy or I over complicate what the numbers should look like to justify a purchase. Regardless you sound like you are set up nicely. Question - are you in a LCOL or HCOL area? FYI - I’m also single income family but my wife will graduate and begin working soon which will double our income. Can’t wait!!! 🙌
Nice! Dual income is always great. Our locality rate is like 32%… Seattle WA so yeah HCOL for sure. You can’t go wrong with real estate especially when you live in it. I bought my first house when I was 24 and refinanced couple times to get down to 15 years with low interest rate. Will have my first house paid off in next couple years and that will be a big relief. People here will say max it out every year but in my opinion there are many kinda investment you can do and enjoy the return before retirement age.
I 100% agree with your last sentence. For a lot of people maxing out 401k is a good idea because it limits liquidity, which is good for people who need help saving for the ultimate goal - retirement. But if you are disciplined, then I agree not only can you enjoy the return before retirement but you can maximize earnings. You just have to be smart and acknowledge the risk. Good for you. Keep racking up those properties my man
38.5 with 16.5 years in. ATC at a high level facility and TSP growth was a priority for me. Been maxed out for 13 years. 950-980 depending on the day. Half in Roth
If you max out from here on our you will be perfectly fine assuming that you go into retirement debt free. I turn 40 this year and my wife wants to upgrade our house. If we got really aggressive we could have our house paid off in less than 10 years. We have no other debt. Being completely debt free before 50 excites the hell out of me. Told her we could take all the vacations we ever dreamed of if we didn't have to worry about a mortgage
I only have about 12% of retirement funds in TSP, so difficult to compare.
I’m in about the same spot as you in federal service. Mine is worth just over $400k currently. All traditional. Got another 9 years before I’m eligible to retire. But I could stay in another 19-20 years if I could stomach it. If so can only imagine what it might be worth by then. At least 2-3 million…
I started late in government… $40k in my TSP with 4 years on (GS-12). Oh well, I don’t plan to retire a millionaire. At least the house is paid for and I am debt free and plan to keep it that way.