How We Set Our Million-Dollar Wealth Goals for 2023

Make peace with failure; it’s unavoidable on your million-dollar wealth journey.

Pay down over $50,000 in debt expenses while contributing $100,000 in savings and investments

My wife and I are on a mission.

We are setting the tone early by beginning with the end in mind. Those are wild numbers for people who started their careers making $50,000 and $23,000 before taxes (respectively). But that’s a long story but one that paid off in dividends and long-term education.

If you are new here, you are in the right place. We are likely some of the most transparent people when it comes to personal finance.

Why?

Mainly because too many are afraid to talk about their money issue. Secondly, too many think that being wealthy equals driving fancy cars, living in expensive homes, and spending a ridiculous amount on experiences and luxuries.

In contrast, we wanted to show that everyday people can become wealthy in one lifetime. We believe in this vision so much that we share the Net Max Financial Plan for Free. It’s a definitive plan that boosts debt payments, maximizes benefits, and grows assets in a short amount of time.

This path ultimately leads to true happiness.

So How Did Our Million-Dollar Journey Start?

We started off with over $155,000 in debts which included my $120,000 in student loan debt, her $30,000 in undergraduate debt, and $5,000 in credit card debt. That’s a whole lot of automatic debits. At the apex, I was paying over $750 per month on student loans. That amount has since increased to $1,000 per month.

Still working toward my Public Student Loan Forgiveness date of August 2025. Happy that the student loan moratorium is still in effect until September 2023. Three years of non-payments were worth $36,000 to my household. Definitely not a small chunk of change.

Yep, we still have to account for all the money coming in and out. Budgeting works.

Our combined household income is closer to $210,000. Since more money brings more taxes, we opt to be more efficient by investing in our 401ks, ROTH IRAs, and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). In totality, the max contributions end up being $65,750. This amount doesn’t include our matching contribution which comes in at around $11,000.

If I had to be honest, it’s a pipe dream but it’s worth a shot to take our time and efforts. Our end goal is to retire early and do more of what we love ie. Travel. Just so you know, the US added 675,000 new millionaires since 2018-2020.

They exist and they are more average than you know. Their success proves that no obstacle is insurmountable or impossible.

Where will all our money go in 2023?

With all the home repairs on our primary 2/2 condo and an estimated $22,500 in travel. Hopefully, we still come under $70,000 in expenses this year. Along with principal payments on the mortgages, that brings us up to $63,000 in debt payments in 12 months!

Almost 32.70% of our after-tax will be funneled through credit card payments. Yeah, it’s a lot but it will make it so much easy to move all that to mortgage payments starting in 2024-2025.

Is travel necessary?

Nope, but it’s what we love to do. I used to judge people on what they love. From shoes to fashion and entertainment; now, I understand that it’s just what they love. I would still warn people to invest before throwing too much money into the “wants” category.

You have to be honest about the difference between a want and a need. After that, if investing to do more of what you want is your goal, make a choice and set the amount.

Where will all the savings and investments come from in 2023?⁣

According to CNN Money, the average 30-year-old has a net worth of around $𝟕,𝟎𝟎𝟎. We have to save $65,750 automatically which would have put us way above average. How?

We follow the Net Max Financial Plan for Couples. Out here making F.I.R.E moves, otherwise known as Financial Independence and Retire Early.

It ends up being $45,000 in both our 401ks, $13,000 in our ROTH IRAs with Fidelity, and about $4,000 in my HSA. That’s a total of $62,000 so far. The rest is a group investment account with our annual contributions set at $250/month for $3,000 a year. Our 401k provides us with matching contributions of 6% and 5% respectively so that’s another $11,000.

Note – While we do contribute the max to the HSA of $7,750 for 2023; we are only allocating $4,000 to the investment portfolio.

All of that puts us at $76,000 per year. The rest is all about how much we can push and pull from every month to toss in our after-tax brokerage account with M1 Finance. This means we need to invest $9,000. We anticipate about 38.06% of our investments taking up where our money is going.

The real goal is to get to $100,000 per year by 2025.

After 15 years, even at our current rate of $84,000 invested annually at the historical average of 8% would have grown to around $2,363,244. It’s easier to become a millionaire these days with the right strategy. Especially with portfolios netting over 250%.

How about the math with what we already have invested?⁣

The starting amount as of January 2023 is $500,000. After 15 years, with $84,000 invested annually at the historical average of 8% would have grown to over $3,949,329.

Boom, instant multi-millionaire status achieved.

All we need now is a bit of patience while people chase Crypto, NFTs, AI, and/or Meme Stock investments. There are no free meals folks. Long-term investments are how the average millionaire gets there.

With the path laid out what’s next to tackle on the Million-Dollar Path?

In 2024, we are pushing forward with our “pay-down Home mortgages faster” strategy. The end goal is to be debt free by the time we retire early at age 55. This gives us 16 years to invest (Circa 2036-2038).

This personal finance game has rules. If something has rules, there is a way to learn and beat the game over time. That’s all we are doing. No deep secrets that we don’t share.

It’s all available on the website, www.theneighborhoodfinanceguy.com

If you want me to do deeper dives into specific aspects of personal finance, say something in the comments. Because Silence keeps more people poorer for longer.

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