My [34M] journey to $250k invested

As mentioned in my last post, I'm posting this mostly for myself, but hopefully it will provide some encouragement to others. You may notice my last post was net worth and this one is invested. I'll touch on that later in the post.

Income

• 2013-2020: <$28k – This was the most I ever made in a year, most years were lower
• May 2021: $85k – Starting salary out of college
• 2022: $100k
• 2023: $105k
• 2024: $112.5k
• 2025: $119.5k
• 2026: $126.5k
  • 2021-2026 is all with the same company. Increases in income are due to raises.

Assets

• $190,434 – 401k
• $51,482 – Roth IRA
• $7,106 – HYSA
• $8,133 – Crypto
• $286 – Cash

Liabilities

• $3,192 – Student loans @ 2.75%
• $1,397 – Credit card (paid off in full every month)

Invested (End of year)

• 2021: $15,600
• 2022: $64,172
  • I pulled this number from my spreadsheet. I don't know why it's larger than the number in my last post.
• 2023: $128,952
• 2024: $187,162
• 2025: $245,561
• 2026 (today): $251,995

What's new since 2023?

I've experienced some major life milestones in the last few years. My partner and I got married and had a wonderful wedding with all of our friends and family. The wedding cost ~$35k, which was more than originally planned ($20k 😅), but it was a wonderful day and we'd do it again in a heartbeat. We were very fortunate that our parents pitched in ($9k), so our actual costs were lower. We would do a few things differently if we had the chance to do it again, but we have no regrets.

In addition to getting married, we also purchased our first home! We weren't quite financially ready to buy, but a townhouse became available in our favorite neighborhood, and we felt the need to jump on it. We raided the wedding fund to cover the down payment and closing costs ($18k). The total cost of the house was $375k, and we are aggressively paying it down, with an extra $1000/mo payment to the principal. Our interest rate is 6.375%.

To clear up any confusion about us pulling wedding fund money: yes, we bought the house before we the wedding. However, prior to all of this we were married in a courthouse. The wedding was more of a celebration than a ceremony.

Between the wedding and the house, it's felt like a ton of money has been flying out the window, but I'm happy to see my number is still inching up.

For additional clarity, I say "my number", because my partner and I have separate finances. They are financially responsible and on pace for an early retirement as well, but we've found it so much simpler to manage things individually. I know this can be a controversial topic, but it's worked for us in the several years we've been together.

Why not include the house in your assets?

Earlier in the post I mentioned that my old post covers my net worth while this one is just my invested assets. The main reason for that is I didn't have a house when I made that post and now I do. I don't want to include the value of my house because it's not something I can live off of. I think that's pretty common in the FIRE community.

In addition, the house is one of our few joint assets, so I find it easier to leave it off.

What's next?

With both the house and the wedding, I've been feeling financially strained. My goal for 2026 is to get back on track. I plan to beef up my emergency fund to $15k and continue maxing my 401k and Roth. If I have anything left over, I'd like to start investing in a taxable account. It's always interesting to me how I was able to save so much when I started this job in 2021 and now I'm making $40k more and still saving roughly the same amount. Lifestyle inflation is real.

As far as my career, I'm happy with where I am. I like the people I work with, and I feel like I'm valued and respected. I've received a raise every year I've been there, so that's a nice bonus. Maybe I could make more at another company, but my current job offers a ton of benefits I wouldn't be able to get elsewhere (mainly the very flexible PTO policy).

For things outside of work, there are plenty of house projects I'm excited to tackle! We've been saving money each month into a "house maintenance" bucket and a "house fun" bucket. I'll let you all decide which one I'm looking forward to more.

My partner and I also have several trips planned, as well as a few solo trips of my own, so I have plenty to keep my busy during the "boring middle".

That's pretty much it. Again, I wanted to post this mainly for myself, but I'm happy to answer any questions.