Total Savings/Net Worth Forum

[thisismytlsuername]

Net worth ~$2M.
- ~90% assets in real estate. The rest 10% in stocks. Total assets ~$6M
- Mortgage ~$4M
- Total comps (salary+bonus) ~450K/year. Biglaw

You have $1.8 million in real estate equity, $200k in stocks, and $4 million in mortgage debt?

[Anonymous User]

$1.7mil net worth
$250k cash
$1.35mil equities (incl. 401k/IRA)
$100k crypto

Graduated with ~$65k debt. NYC biglaw 9/10th year.

This is kinda crazy, especially in NYC. I'm guessing it's the result of taking full advantage of the bull market or having a spouse that has contributed positively.

OP here. No spouse. Paid off my loans quickly, lived relatively cheaply for NYC, and dumped all my excess money into the market (kept a reasonable emergency fund). In my experience, lifestyle creep does most people in. I have plenty of friends who pay $4k+ for a studio in a doorman building, only stay at Rosewoods on vacation, buy a new Gucci purse every other month, spend $600+/month on wine, etc. I know first years who pay more in rent than I do.

They pay us a shitload of money. If you can control your spending and invest it, it adds up very fast. And yes, the best bull market in history was certainly very helpful.

What's crazy is that you've managed to well while unnecessarily carrying an absurd amount of cash. Well done.

[Anonymous User]

$1.7mil net worth
$250k cash
$1.35mil equities (incl. 401k/IRA)
$100k crypto

Graduated with ~$65k debt. NYC biglaw 9/10th year.

This is kinda crazy, especially in NYC. I'm guessing it's the result of taking full advantage of the bull market or having a spouse that has contributed positively.

OP here. No spouse. Paid off my loans quickly, lived relatively cheaply for NYC, and dumped all my excess money into the market (kept a reasonable emergency fund). In my experience, lifestyle creep does most people in. I have plenty of friends who pay $4k+ for a studio in a doorman building, only stay at Rosewoods on vacation, buy a new Gucci purse every other month, spend $600+/month on wine, etc. I know first years who pay more in rent than I do.

They pay us a shitload of money. If you can control your spending and invest it, it adds up very fast. And yes, the best bull market in history was certainly very helpful.

What's crazy is that you've managed to well while unnecessarily carrying an absurd amount of cash. Well done.

Most of that cash was from this year's bonus. I put another $150k into index funds last month, after that post.

[Anonymous User]

NYC, class of 2018 making market salary and bonuses. For context, lifestyle is kept reasonable, but certainly not bare bones for NYC. Money is spent on a nice apartment with amenities baked in to the price (3k/month) and travel (6-8k annually). Maybe $650 a month goes to food for two people. The remainder of spending is very modest.

+50k retirement
+10k brokerage account
+75k chilling in a HYSA that is going toward loans when forbearance ends
+20k cash emergency fund
-180k student loans left (assuming market bonus and current savings rate stays the same this year, can be done in a year!)
=25k net worth

[AllpainNogain]

Interesting thread. I'm not an attorney, but the responses are super biglaw-heavy. It seems that biglaw is a reliable path to the upper middle class, but not a great way to become "properly" rich. Most other youngish lawyers probably have very sad balance sheets.
One [biglaw associate] with minimal debt and strong saving/investing inclinations could easily be worth $1-2 million after 6-10 years of practice. I guess rainmaking shareholders could be worth high 7 figures and maybe low 8 figures if they continue the same saving/investing habits, but that would be in their 60s and 70s.
Law looks like a lot of work for the money!

What is a realistic median profit/partner figure for V100 shareholders?

[Anonymous User]

Just wanted to celebrate a little because my net worth officially hit 100k with this paycheck! I'm new to personal finance, so I could probably handle the money better (trying to learn). I'm from a low SES background -- it feels so good to be able to take care of myself and my family.

Biglaw, 3rd year in NYC, but lateralling to a smaller market soon (market pay). I'll likely be able to save more in the new market. Not counting on full bonus this year, but hoping to do 2 more years of biglaw.

+38k retirement [started 401k 2nd year of biglaw. I'm early 30s, so I feel a bit behind]
+100k in a HYSA [probably too much, but I intend to use this for loans and down payment on a house]
+20k cash emergency fund
-55k federal student loans [started at 120k]
=101k net worth

My goal is to start investing more, including in real estate if I can make that work.

[AllAboutTheBasis]

NYC, class of 2018 making market salary and bonuses. For context, lifestyle is kept reasonable, but certainly not bare bones for NYC. Money is spent on a nice apartment with amenities baked in to the price (3k/month) and travel (6-8k annually). Maybe $650 a month goes to food for two people. The remainder of spending is very modest.

+50k retirement
+10k brokerage account
+75k chilling in a HYSA that is going toward loans when forbearance ends
+20k cash emergency fund
-180k student loans left (assuming market bonus and current savings rate stays the same this year, can be done in a year!)
=25k net worth

Would you mind sharing what your budget looks like? I'm going to a HCOL area as well, anticipating roughly the same expenses you are and would like to see a breakdown of how much you are saving each month. I'll have no student loans, fortunately, but we are identical otherwise.

Is your $650 budget grocery + eating out?

[Anonymous User]

Interesting thread. I'm not an attorney, but the responses are super biglaw-heavy. It seems that biglaw is a reliable path to the upper middle class, but not a great way to become "properly" rich. Most other youngish lawyers probably have very sad balance sheets.
One [biglaw associate] with minimal debt and strong saving/investing inclinations could easily be worth $1-2 million after 6-10 years of practice. I guess rainmaking shareholders could be worth high 7 figures and maybe low 8 figures if they continue the same saving/investing habits, but that would be in their 60s and 70s.
Law looks like a lot of work for the money!

What is a realistic median profit/partner figure for V100 shareholders?

With all due respect, what do you want to prove? Reading from your previous posts, i guess you're a T50 law school dropout. Are you now trying to justify your situation by nagging the personal finance status of big law attorneys?

[Anonymous User]

Accidental double post

[Anonymous User]

Class of 2019 BL associate. Parent paid for most of law school and worked for a few years between law school and undergrad in finance so recognize these numbers might be a bit higher than what one would normally expect for a 2nd year.

Net worth is roughly ~280k: 30k in 401k, 230k in non-retirement investments, 40k cash (30k checking and 10k HY savings). Roughly 20k of law school debt but no other debt (am planning on paying down a chunk from my current cash balance in the near term, hence the high checking balance).

[Anonymous User]

30 year-old 4th year at a large firm in a low-medium cost of living midwestern city. DINK whose wife worked during law school.

$1 mil net worth
$50k cash
$500k equities
$300k 401(k), IRA, HSA
$160 home equity

My wife and I both graduated with no debt and savings of ~300k. Bought a house that has increased significantly in value and made some (in-hindsight) well-timed investments. We certainly started out in a better place than most, but are good savers and live frugally. No interest in making partner or staying at a firm long-term. Just trying to build a nice nest-egg before taking a less demanding job.

[Anonymous User]

4th year in BL in HCOL city. No parent money. Graduated with more than $200k in education debt. Net worth is currently around $150k. Targeting $500k NW by end of 5th year and $1 million by end of 7th year if I make it.

[nixy]

Interesting thread. I'm not an attorney, but the responses are super biglaw-heavy. It seems that biglaw is a reliable path to the upper middle class, but not a great way to become "properly" rich. Most other youngish lawyers probably have very sad balance sheets.
One [biglaw associate] with minimal debt and strong saving/investing inclinations could easily be worth $1-2 million after 6-10 years of practice. I guess rainmaking shareholders could be worth high 7 figures and maybe low 8 figures if they continue the same saving/investing habits, but that would be in their 60s and 70s.
Law looks like a lot of work for the money!

What is a realistic median profit/partner figure for V100 shareholders?

The bolded is probably pretty fair, but if you know of great ways to become "properly" rich, especially those that involve less work than big law, I'd love to hear them.

[Anonymous User]

Interesting thread. I'm not an attorney, but the responses are super biglaw-heavy. It seems that biglaw is a reliable path to the upper middle class, but not a great way to become "properly" rich. Most other youngish lawyers probably have very sad balance sheets.
One [biglaw associate] with minimal debt and strong saving/investing inclinations could easily be worth $1-2 million after 6-10 years of practice. I guess rainmaking shareholders could be worth high 7 figures and maybe low 8 figures if they continue the same saving/investing habits, but that would be in their 60s and 70s.
Law looks like a lot of work for the money!

What is a realistic median profit/partner figure for V100 shareholders?

The bolded is probably pretty fair, but if you know of great ways to become "properly" rich, especially those that involve less work than big law, I'd love to hear them.

Working in finance (trade off being potentially worse hours). Starting your own company (trade off being added risk). Re the latter, as the boss of a company, there’s at least potential for scaling back your hours considerably as more work gets delegated to employees.

[Neff]

Class of 2015. $700k NW. Austin, TX. Married with 1 kid. Non-working spouse. $260K in the market (401(k), IRA, 529, Robin Hood). $100K cash (about to buy a second property for speculation/investment). $600K house (main source of NW growth over the last 2 years) w/ $300K mortgage. Small car loan. Started with $90K student debt.

TX is good.

[Anonymous User]

Interesting thread. I'm not an attorney, but the responses are super biglaw-heavy. It seems that biglaw is a reliable path to the upper middle class, but not a great way to become "properly" rich. Most other youngish lawyers probably have very sad balance sheets.
One [biglaw associate] with minimal debt and strong saving/investing inclinations could easily be worth $1-2 million after 6-10 years of practice. I guess rainmaking shareholders could be worth high 7 figures and maybe low 8 figures if they continue the same saving/investing habits, but that would be in their 60s and 70s.
Law looks like a lot of work for the money!

What is a realistic median profit/partner figure for V100 shareholders?

$1.1mm invested a year for 20 years at 8% return is $55mm. This generation of big-law partners with $2-4mm PPP are going to be worth close to $100mm at retirement. Still would not choose that lifestyle but it's definitely starting to become closer to properly rich status.

[nixy]

Interesting thread. I'm not an attorney, but the responses are super biglaw-heavy. It seems that biglaw is a reliable path to the upper middle class, but not a great way to become "properly" rich. Most other youngish lawyers probably have very sad balance sheets.
One [biglaw associate] with minimal debt and strong saving/investing inclinations could easily be worth $1-2 million after 6-10 years of practice. I guess rainmaking shareholders could be worth high 7 figures and maybe low 8 figures if they continue the same saving/investing habits, but that would be in their 60s and 70s.
Law looks like a lot of work for the money!

What is a realistic median profit/partner figure for V100 shareholders?

The bolded is probably pretty fair, but if you know of great ways to become "properly" rich, especially those that involve less work than big law, I'd love to hear them.

Working in finance (trade off being potentially worse hours). Starting your own company (trade off being added risk). Re the latter, as the boss of a company, there’s at least potential for scaling back your hours considerably as more work gets delegated to employees.

What percentage of people who take these paths do you think actually become properly rich, compared with the likelihood of making some decent money (but not getting properly rich) in biglaw? Because it seems like if these alternate paths were that straightforward, more people would be following them.

[Anonymous User]

$1.1mm invested a year for 20 years at 8% return is $55mm. This generation of big-law partners with $2-4mm PPP are going to be worth close to $100mm at retirement. Still would not choose that lifestyle but it's definitely starting to become closer to properly rich status.

Where do I get 8% consistent annual return?

[Anonymous User]

$1.1mm invested a year for 20 years at 8% return is $55mm. This generation of big-law partners with $2-4mm PPP are going to be worth close to $100mm at retirement. Still would not choose that lifestyle but it's definitely starting to become closer to properly rich status.

Where do I get 8% consistent annual return?

The stock market on average when the period in question spans decades.

[Anonymous User]

Ah finally, a thread like this on TLS. Shoutout to all my people who are on bogleheads.

Class of 2017 - so would be a 4th year associate now? I left biglaw two years ago though to go in-house and my pay is similar to a 3rd year (but the gap will continue to grow as I fear my income is stagnating). Also didn't get a covid special bonus like yall!

Total NW: $720k, single, NYC

Asset allocation: Equities 85%, all in indexfunds (in retirement and taxable brokerage accounts), the rest is in cash (about $105k). Stopped investing in bonds.

I missed a huge opportunity during the March 2020 crash by getting cold feet and stopped investing new money for like two-three months (luckily I didn't sell anything). As a result, my cash position kept increasing until it was a whopping 25% of my net worth at one point. I've been slowly investing more over the last 6 months and hope to bring my cash position down to 10%. Feels bad buying at the top of the market, but i guess the old adage is true, time in the market beats trying to time it.

Goals: Hit $1mm networth in the next 1.5 years and quit practicing law to do something more fun. Move to a LOCL city somewhere like Texas.

Notes: Went to college and lawschool for free fortunately. Never had debt. Networth ranged from $0-40k from 2011-2017, so all of this increase has been since I started big law. Now the part that'll blow your minds. My annual expenses are $25-30k/yr on average for the last 3 years.

[Jchance]

Ah finally, a thread like this on TLS. Shoutout to all my people who are on bogleheads.
...
Total NW: $720k, single, NYC
...
Goals: Hit $1mm networth in the next 1.5 years and quit practicing law to do something more fun. Move to a LOCL city somewhere like Texas.
...
My annual expenses are $25-30k/yr on average for the last 3 years.

*thumb up*

[Anonymous User]

[...] Now the part that'll blow your minds. My annual expenses are $25-30k/yr on average for the last 3 years.

What is your rent and where approximately do you live (Manhattan or outer borough)? I’m assuming you have a roommate?

[Lukky]

Ah finally, a thread like this on TLS. Shoutout to all my people who are on bogleheads.

Class of 2017 - so would be a 4th year associate now? I left biglaw two years ago though to go in-house and my pay is similar to a 3rd year (but the gap will continue to grow as I fear my income is stagnating). Also didn't get a covid special bonus like yall!

Total NW: $720k, single, NYC

Asset allocation: Equities 85%, all in indexfunds (in retirement and taxable brokerage accounts), the rest is in cash (about $105k). Stopped investing in bonds.

I missed a huge opportunity during the March 2020 crash by getting cold feet and stopped investing new money for like two-three months (luckily I didn't sell anything). As a result, my cash position kept increasing until it was a whopping 25% of my net worth at one point. I've been slowly investing more over the last 6 months and hope to bring my cash position down to 10%. Feels bad buying at the top of the market, but i guess the old adage is true, time in the market beats trying to time it.

Goals: Hit $1mm networth in the next 1.5 years and quit practicing law to do something more fun. Move to a LOCL city somewhere like Texas.

Notes: Went to college and lawschool for free fortunately. Never had debt. Networth ranged from $0-40k from 2011-2017, so all of this increase has been since I started big law. Now the part that'll blow your minds. My annual expenses are $25-30k/yr on average for the last 3 years.

I keep browsing this thread as I find stories like this really motivating. So I'm guessing you went in-house after one year in biglaw? Did your in-house job pay better than biglaw at the time you switched? Can I ask what type of in-house gig you're doing? Curious how it's possible in three years, after taxes, to hit 720k. Even with that insanely low cost of living, I don't get how the math adds up (although I get that you probably made a fair amount off your investments).

[Anonymous User]

Class of 2019 at t14. Current net worth = -70k

From California big law to federal clerkship (also in California). I'll be returning to BL post-clerkship (unless something goes terribly wrong).

Graduated with 190k debt and no assets.

Currently have 165k debt and 95k cash.

I know it's big time dumb dumb for me to hold this much cash, but it's all earmarked for my loans. Had I known that the interest/payment freeze would be pushed out through September, I would have put some portion of this into the market. But at this point, my time horizon is too short for that to feel like a good idea.

[Anonymous User]

Pretty embarrassed to post this but CO 2022 (current 2L), 23 years old. Net worth about $1m, 0 debt, almost 100% of my money in index funds. Just accepted a SA position at a BL firm in my home market that will pay market. For me, I’m doing big law because I’m embarrassed to already have so much money (and I will be getting a LOT more at some point, hopefully way in the future), so I want to grind to somewhat be able to justify already having so much money. When I graduate, assuming I get an offer back, I want to drop like $300k on a down payment on a condo and hopefully take advantage of low interest rates. I like the idea of the forced savings that come with a mortgage. Despite my wealth, I live very frugally and no one I surround myself with at school knows my circumstances.