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Thursday Anti-Rant: Life Ain’t Bad

September 11, 2014 by Mr. 1500 Days 19 Comments

Life has been pretty great lately. I’m too happy to wrap my mind around a whiny post today.

Yep.
Yep.

I’m amazed that I’ve almost reached the $1,000,000 mark. I pinch myself daily.

For my first 25 years of life, money was a huge struggle. We weren’t poor growing up, but we weren’t far from it. Sometimes, life was a bit miserable as my family made poor financial decisions (“We bought a timeshare!!!”).

I turned the tide in my war with money 15 year ago when I graduated college. I finished up college with $60,000 in debt, but going from making $4.25/hour in the college computer lab to a job where I was well compensated as a programmer was amazing. Still, I never thought I’d have anything close to what I do now. It is strange. Deep down inside, I still feel like that struggling college kid eating almost nothing but spaghetti because it was cheap.

But I digress.


Last weekend, I went to the MMM meetup with a group of friends (shout out to L from Longmont and B and L from Loveland). I love being around this type of crowd. I’m an introvert, but I have a hard time shutting up in a group of MMM aficionados. It was wonderful to meet with E from Denver, D and S from Boulder and E from Fort Collins. I look forward to spending time with all of you in the very near future.

Over Labor Day weekend, we went camping near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The weather was perfect, the conversation was good and the beer was cold. Trifecta!

Oblgatory mountain picture
Obligatory mountain picture

IMG_20140831_175711590

Marshmallows! (I have the girls convinced that they grow on trees!)
Marshmallows! I have the girls convinced that they grow on trees.
No matter how old I get, this still makes me giggle. My sense of humor stopped maturing in the 7th grade.
No matter how old I get, this still makes me giggle. My sense of humor stopped maturing in the 7th grade.

Don’t worry Rant Fans, Mrs. 1500 and I are working on something extra whiney for next week!

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Filed Under: Something Completely Different Tagged With: anti-rant, camping, marshmallows, MMM

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gretchen says

    September 11, 2014 at 5:28 am

    Congratulations again! Love that you’re stepping back to look at what you’ve accomplished 😉
    Gretchen recently posted…Traffic & Income Report – August 2014My Profile

    Reply
    • 1500 says

      September 11, 2014 at 7:18 pm

      Thank you! It is easy to adjust to your place in life and want more. I think the key is realizing when you’re in a good place and being happy with it. No more “more.”

      Reply
  2. Mrs. Frugalwoods says

    September 11, 2014 at 5:33 am

    Woo hoo! Congrats on being so close to $1M!! You should feel so proud! That camping spot looks ideal. And, I always wondered where marshmallows came from… We used to roast them in the fireplace of our DC home because we’re extremely classy folks.
    Mrs. Frugalwoods recently posted…Great Trash Finds: The Sister EditionMy Profile

    Reply
    • 1500 says

      September 11, 2014 at 7:17 pm

      Yes, the marshmallows do grow on trees. You have probably driven past the groves, but were asleep. Think cotton plants, but trees instead. I’ve heard that in California, they have “U-Pick” marshmallow farms. Pretty cool if you ask me!

      Reply
      • Refinerr says

        September 12, 2014 at 4:18 pm

        As a resident of So Cal I’d like to confirm this is true. It’s the main reason for our housing market bubble but, as you know, worth every penny.

        Reply
  3. Old School says

    September 11, 2014 at 7:09 am

    No Thursday rant!!!??? *Gets up and storms off ranting…Jk. Congrats on almost hitting a mill…I also need to remind myself of how blessed and fortunate I am to be living in a country that allows us to prosper sooooooo much. I think that even though I’m still in the struggling stage, by taking a step back every once in a while and enjoying the process and where I am at I can remain content and positive…and remaining content under any circumstances leads to true enjoyment just like the Thoreau quote.
    Old School recently posted…Old School’s (negative) NET WORTH!!! September EditionMy Profile

    Reply
    • 1500 says

      September 11, 2014 at 7:15 pm

      Ha, nice one!!

      “I also need to remind myself of how blessed and fortunate I am to be living in a country that allows us to prosper sooooooo much.”

      Yes, I think about this frequently too. Can you imagine being born in a place like Somalia or Afghanistan? Ugggh. If you’re born in a good first world place, have good parents and a solid work ethic, success is almost guaranteed.

      Reply
  4. SavvyFinancialLatina says

    September 11, 2014 at 7:37 am

    Yes, I need to be more positive. And it’s awesome you almost hit the $1M mark. I’m a tad jealous (not the bad kind). Hopefully one day I hit this mark too. And CO looks lovely! Well, I know it’s lovely. Been there, and was amazed!
    SavvyFinancialLatina recently posted…Buying Contacts & Paint like A ProMy Profile

    Reply
    • 1500 says

      September 11, 2014 at 7:14 pm

      SFL, your neck of the woods is pretty good too. Austin is a fabulous place. I want to visit the gulf region as well…

      Reply
  5. Jen @ Jen Spends says

    September 11, 2014 at 9:12 am

    I’m an introvert too, but good conversation with like-minded people leaves me positively giddy. Very cool that you had a chance to go to the MMM get-together! It seems Colorado has a disproportionate share of awesome personal finance people.

    And, wow, you are *thisclose* to being a millionaire! Amazing! I am nowhere near that (yet), but just knowing that other regular people get there is what keeps me going.
    Jen @ Jen Spends recently posted…Who owns your child’s toys?My Profile

    Reply
    • 1500 says

      September 11, 2014 at 7:13 pm

      I know, right? Colorado does have a lot of great people and you and yours should make it out some day. As an incentive, you have free lodging at the 1500 household! Also, a free tour guide in me.

      “I am nowhere near that (yet), but just knowing that other regular people get there is what keeps me going.”

      Thanks! Our high school was decided between to rich and the poor. I was on the latter. Now, I have the money like the former, but still (and always will) act like the latter. Life is good.

      Reply
  6. Prudence Debtfree says

    September 11, 2014 at 10:58 am

    I look forward to reading the post you write once you’ve hit that $1,000.000 mark. Congratulations! And I’m jealous about the MMM meetup : )
    Prudence Debtfree recently posted…Small Miracle for Debt-ReductionMy Profile

    Reply
    • 1500 says

      September 11, 2014 at 7:11 pm

      Ha, it’s already done. Maybe you’ll see it next month, maybe it will be 2 years. Don’t count your dollars before they compound!

      Reply
  7. Nicola says

    September 11, 2014 at 12:39 pm

    Congrats on being so close to the $1 mil mark! I can’t imagine what that must feel like 🙂
    Nicola recently posted…5 Things That Make Me Stressed.My Profile

    Reply
    • 1500 says

      September 11, 2014 at 7:09 pm

      Thank you!

      Life. Is. Good. Great!

      Reply
  8. Aldo @ Million Dollar Ninja says

    September 11, 2014 at 1:09 pm

    Wow that’s great, almost there. I too have to step back and realize that life is good.

    Again, Congrats!
    Aldo @ Million Dollar Ninja recently posted…50th Blog Post!!!My Profile

    Reply
    • 1500 says

      September 11, 2014 at 7:08 pm

      I know, that is the flaw of humans. We get too comfortable, too fast.

      Thanks!

      Reply
  9. No More Waffles says

    September 13, 2014 at 2:42 am

    Almost one million! Must feel awesome, especially considering where you’ve come from!

    Congrats and keep it up,
    NMW
    No More Waffles recently posted…Stuff Our Parents Never Taught Us, Part V: InvestingMy Profile

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Weekly Wrap-Up, September 13 | No More Waffles says:
    September 13, 2014 at 6:44 am

    […] Folks who might want to check out Jason’s article soon are Mr. and Mrs. 1500 days since  they are at the threshold of the $1,000,000 mark. Huge […]

    Reply

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Freedom!

My goal was to build a portfolio of $1,000,000 by February of 2017; 1500 days from the birth of this blog (January 1, 2013). And hey look, I’ve since retired!

Investments only (primary home excluded)
1/1/13 (The Start): $586,043
1/1/14 (1 Yr Later): $869,635
1/1/15 (2 Yrs Later): $987,351
1/1/16 (3 Yrs Later): $1,057,961
1/1/17 (4 Yrs Later): $1,257,128
1/1/18 (5 Yrs Later): $1,527,701
1/1/19 (6 Yrs Later): $1,549,440
1/1/20 (7 Yrs Later): $2,035,040*
1/1/21 (8 Yrs Later): $3,379,746**
1/1/22 (9 Yrs Later): $4,762,642
1/1/23 (10 Yrs Later): $3,112,821

2023: Investments only
1/1: $3,112,821

Overall
2023 investment gains: $0
Investment gains since 1/1/2013: $2,526,778
Net worth***: $3,342,821

* The big jump between 2019 and 2020 was partly because we bought another home, but kept the previous (much more expensive) one as a rental. We have since sold it.

** Tesla.

*** Includes our primary home equity in addition to our investment portfolio.

Finally, we still have about $290,000 in mortgage debt (which I love!). No regrets about the debts!

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