For context, I’m 31, single, and I work in corporate strategy.
Sharing real numbers can be genuinely helpful—especially when you’re not selling a course or pretending the path to financial independence is exciting every day.
As of December 2025, my net worth is about $700,000. I make roughly $150k per year, and my loose target for financial independence is around $1.5M (give or take).
This post is simply a snapshot of where I am today—and what I’m invested in.
Net Worth Breakdown
Here’s the simple breakdown, rounded:
Checking cash: $7k
Brokerage cash & money market: $144k
Traditional IRA: $156k
401(k): $142k
Roth IRA: $122k
Real estate bond: $79k
HSA (combined): $39k
Truck (paid off, estimated value): $19k
I currently rent and do not own a home. I effectively have no debt at the moment.
My Timeline (The Milestones Do Speed Up)
Here’s when I crossed each $100k milestone, plus how long it took to reach the next one:
$100k: October 2019 → ~17 months to $200k
$200k: March 2021 → ~22 months to $300k
$300k: January 2023 → ~10 months to $400k
$400k: November 2023 → ~6 months to $500k
$500k: May 2024 → ~12 months to $600k
$600k: May 2025 → ~7 months to $700k
$700k: December 2025
The early milestones feel slow. Later on, compounding (and higher income) starts to do more of the work.
What Drove the Growth
1) My income went up
My salary path looked like this:
2017: $65k
2018: $75k
2019: $95k
2020: $100k
2021: $110k
2022: $120k
2023: $125k
2024: $140k
2025: $150k
This isn’t a secret: higher income made investing much easier.
2) I invested consistently
My philosophy follows the Bogleheads approach: low-cost, diversified index ETFs, and fewer decisions.
I invest when the market is calm. I invest when the market is annoying. I try hard not to overreact.
3) Real estate helped a bit
I’ve owned two properties—lived in both and fixed up both:
Duplex (2022–2024): Lived in one unit, rented the other Sold for roughly $20k–$30k profit
Single-family home (2023–2025): Lived in it, fixed it up, sold for about $20k profit
Not life-changing, but meaningful.
What I’m Invested In
My invested assets (about $690k) are roughly:
~70% large-cap U.S. equities (VOO)
~5% small-cap U.S. equities (VBK)
~5–10% international equities (VXUS)
~15% real estate exposure (VNQ + a real estate bond)
I’ll do a deeper portfolio breakdown in a future post.
Steady Wealth Project was created for people in the “boring middle” of their financial independence journey.
The boring middle is when the basics are done (you’re saving, investing, avoiding dumb debt), but the finish line is still years away. The early milestones don’t hit the same anymore, and progress becomes less about big breakthroughs and more about steady execution: keep investing through market swings, keep lifestyle creep in check, and stay motivated when the timeline feels slow.
That’s what this blog is here for: practical posts on investing, saving, and spending—plus the psychology of sticking with it. Building simple systems, making smart tradeoffs, staying consistent without burning out, and thinking through what you want life to look like on the other side of financial independence.
If you’re somewhere in that middle stretch, you’re in good company.
Steady Wealth Project 