I recently separated from the military after 4 years of service. After a year of being an E-3, I realized the enlisted life was not good for my health, relationships, or my wallet. So, I decided to start tracking my net worth and prioritizing good personal finance and investing habits with the eventual goal of leaving the service. I am married, but the figures below are my personal assets. This is my timeline.
JUNE 2021
- Rank: E-3
- Net Worth: $41,694
JUNE 2022
- Rank: E-4
- Net Worth: $58,491
JUNE 2023
- Rank: E-5
- Net Worth: $96,663
JUNE 2024
- Rank: E-5 (recently separated)
- Net Worth: $170,991
- HYSA: $28,384
- TSP: $17,968
- ROTH IRA: $15,518
- Taxable Brokerage: $72,901
- Crypto: $25,393
- Individual Stocks: $10,825
Big takeaways
- Choosing the right partner is important. My wife came into our marriage with $60,000 of student loan debt. She worked hard to completely wipe out the debt and she now boasts a net worth of $70,000. You have to find a partner who is on the same financial page as you.
- Kids are expensive. My wife and I would not have been able to build up our portfolios if we had kids. While we do want kids, we determined we would have to push this off for a few years while we got our footing.
- Set up automatic investments. I have my investments set up to automatically contribute a set amount every week. This way I never feel as if I'm making a big purchase. I see it more as a "bill" that I have to pay each week. This takes the stress and anxiety of investing off my mind and forces me to live below my means.
While I did not enjoy being enlisted, I am pleased with how to military set me up financially!
Posted by USNeverEnlist
3 Comments
This is amazing!
Great job! Why did you choose to prioritize taxable accounts over tax advantaged accounts?
My NW really skyrocketed after separating. In part because I had $60k of debt to pay off when I joined, so most of my early pay went to that. I went from -$60k to about $70k (positive) through my enlistment. Since then (separated about 2.5 years ago) I’ve gotten up to over $200k and on track to hit $300k this year.
It does take discipline and having an interest in your financial health, but yeah kids are expensive so I avoid them.