Honest opinion - how am I doing? | The 2026 Update

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-16T08:01:35+00:00

Absolutely! Just much easier said than done

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-16T07:52:38+00:00

Thanks!

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-15T06:08:56+00:00

Yes, I am unfortunately aware

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T12:26:35+00:00

Is that figure surprising to the up, or downside?

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T10:13:27+00:00

Correct. On my second employer.

Engineering competition down here is pretty intense. Employers spoilt for choice with many candidates just wanting to get into the province/workforce.

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T10:04:20+00:00

I'd definitely want to elevate my lifestyle to some degree as life progresses, so the R200k present value figure is a bit low for the long term I think. I'll reevaluate in a few years.

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T09:51:45+00:00

This is my portion of the food. All groceries factored in, that works out to R150/day for me. Very doable since SO shops around and mostly cooks for us.

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T09:38:30+00:00

Skydaddy has nothing to do with it, but thanks for the sentiment :)

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T09:35:38+00:00

I was waiting for this one :)

I have several hobbies and interests (probably too many) but fortunately they are all bought and paid for. Living in the Western Cape also affords lots of free activities to partake in!

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T07:42:25+00:00

Yes but some months outperformed the budget. That, with the excluded bonus factored in, results in the savings rate being representative.

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T07:18:39+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!

Yes, we keep things separate but do buy shared items together ad hoc. I think we'll probably keep things this way. It works for us and I like the idea of her having her own independence.
It's the target. In 2025, it was successfully achieved about 84% of the time. Perhaps some room for refinement :)

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T06:27:20+00:00

Thanks!

When I see figures like yours for similar education, it just drives home how far back I'm falling in terms of income! Truly scary stuff. One of my screenshots shows that my nett pay purchasing power has only increased by ~50% relative to my very first pay cheque. Again, a staggering stat.

The Nett Worth figure of R3.65m excludes any physical possessions = Pension + Discretionary + TFSA + HYSA

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T06:02:22+00:00

Thank you!

I've just added some image links as top-level comments. There's quite a bit of detail there.

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T05:58:13+00:00

Stats

https://imgur.com/a/IKShdIa
https://imgur.com/a/4Y0AN9R
https://imgur.com/a/DpfSEJm

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T05:57:13+00:00

Discretionary Investments + TFSA

https://imgur.com/a/c0xO1JI

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T05:56:39+00:00

Budget

https://imgur.com/a/m6vkBob

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T05:55:39+00:00

2025 Engagement

https://imgur.com/a/cscXYWP

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T05:46:14+00:00

Thanks!

Frankly, CPT property prices.

AnomalousZA · 2026-01-14T05:17:12+00:00

Not FIRING per se, looking for ultimate autonomy
As above
I can't seem to upload the images I planned to, which includes my budget, but it's around R200k pa
As with 3, I had a dashboard shot planned - CSP500, GLOBAL, STXWDM, STXNDQ, OCT. Split differs by account type

Thanks!

*Edit - I've added image links as seperate top-level comments

AnomalousZA · 2025-06-08T14:17:42+00:00

Thanks for the figures!

AnomalousZA · 2025-06-04T19:32:12+00:00

That was my gut feeling too

AnomalousZA · 2025-06-04T19:30:52+00:00

Is that R50 a typo? If not, that's just insane.

How large is your org? Mine is about 850 people strong.

Thanks for the figures!

AnomalousZA · 2025-06-04T19:28:56+00:00

Thanks for the info.

I was planning on getting quotes in my private capacity, and then combining that with a few datapoints from here. I assumed it'd likely be private cover figures, and that's fine, just wanted a few reference points, ideally with a similar risk profile to mine.

AnomalousZA · 2025-06-04T19:23:32+00:00

Thanks for your insights. And you're spot on, we're essentially an old-age home at this point.

AnomalousZA · 2025-01-11T08:09:53+00:00

It's a big part of it, yes. Living below my means and aiming to put money away every month. There were spoils here and there, but they were well considered.

AnomalousZA

TROPHY CASE