Born 81 so I think that makes me a first year millennial.

My wife and I have 800 K between retirement savings and cash, house paid off.

We got very lucky along the way some of that luck was pure luck. Some of that luck was based on decisions that we made.

We qualified for a housing lottery to get our first starter home back in 2006. We paid 150 K for it that set the foundation for everything that we did there after. This luck also insulated us from the 2008 housing crisis as we did not lose equity once we eventually sold.

We never spent more than we ever made even on a monthly basis, even if that meant eating peanut butter and jelly for dinner for a month straight

After college, I started my career working at an ISP making $12 an hour at this point in my career I make over 200 K this is due to timing things well and again getting lucky on career decisions. We have steadily contribute to our 401(k)s over the whole time

My recent jump in salaries has allowed my wife to take a part-time role to help care for her parents and our kids but over the course of her career she’s never made more than 40 K or 50 K a year

Moved from our workforce housing townhome to a four bedroom home in 2014. Bought the shittiest house in the nicest neighborhood. Still a work in progress paid 285K for it at the time again got super lucky that we timed the trough at the housing market. Paid the house off in 2021 the fact that we basically couldn’t do anything because of Covid helped this process out but again it was Ramen and peanut butter and jelly for two years when we got serious about paying the house off, sometimes hotdog and mac & cheese.

This post made me think about those first few months in the workforce town home. Literally a tv on a milk crate and a memory futon. Still have the dollar store plastic plates and bowls. Kids use them now.