Total Savings/Net Worth Forum

[Anonymous User]

There comes a point of seniority in some firms where you will start getting some opportunities to basically invest in client funds at lower investment levels. It's a good way to diversify from pure stock market equity, but even once that option opens up most people that I know continue to invest heavily in market index funds as well. There are some people who get super aggressive and basically put everything into the funds, because they tend to overperform the market historically, but it's mostly after they already have enough money saved that it's just kind of gravy from there (i.e., they could very easily retire comfortably if they wanted to). Those investments are super-illiquid as well.

[Anonymous User]

I see a lot of people holding crypto. What crypto are you holding? Mostly Bitcoin? Also, what did you hold it in, Coinbase?

Also interested in this

[Anonymous User]

I see a lot of people holding crypto. What crypto are you holding? Mostly Bitcoin? Also, what did you hold it in, Coinbase?

Also interested in this

Ditto. Are any of these platforms insured? Or is it best (i.e. safest & lowest-fee) to hold it in your own wallet?

I’ve thought about diversifying a smidge into crypto (like max 5% NW), but the OpSec stuff freaks me out and TBH I am too lazy and dumb to understand from a technical angle what the best holding methods are.

[Anonymous User]

I see a lot of people holding crypto. What crypto are you holding? Mostly Bitcoin? Also, what did you hold it in, Coinbase?

Also interested in this

Ditto. Are any of these platforms insured? Or is it best (i.e. safest & lowest-fee) to hold it in your own wallet?

I’ve thought about diversifying a smidge into crypto (like max 5% NW), but the OpSec stuff freaks me out and TBH I am too lazy and dumb to understand from a technical angle what the best holding methods are.

I had a friend (not in law) tell me about his crypto investments when I was looking to put my bonus $$ somewhere. He told me about staking tokens using Convex. It's a foreign language. Totally impenetrable.

[Anonymous User]

2015 Grad, Biglaw
Cash: $35k
Stock: $370k
Retirement: $200k
House equity (multiple homes): $400k
Crypto: $700k

Total - $1.7mm

To the questions about crypto - yes, it is very easy. Create a coinbase or ftx.us account, buy some mix of BTC/ETH/SOL weekly or monthly and just forget about it. No, crypto is not insured, but you don't have to worry about the exchanges getting hacked. Your only risk is the underlying price falling, which is no small risk.

[Anonymous User]

2017 grad, biglaw. Clerked 1 year so the biglaw money has been coming in for 3.5 years now.

*$170k debt from college and undergrad now down to $60k (on an insanely low rate so I'm not rushing to extinguish)
*$250k in stocks, almost all VTI
*$80k in 401k
*$70k in cash, yes I know this is too much, I should draw down my emergency fund a bit
*$20k in HSA

No car, I rent my 1 bed apartment, single with no kids/dependents. I'm not an extravagant spender but I do not budget or think twice about spending; my food budget is pretty insane, and I splurge when I travel without thinking twice.

[Anonymous User]

2019 grad, biglaw since then:

*$110k debt from school, interest rate at 6%
*$130k in stocks, 40% VTSAX, 40% VTIAX, 20% BND
*$50k in 401k
*$210k in cash, (way too much, but I was saving to pay off my debt in one go in February and had half a mind to save for a home. Am investing more these days, as I reached my savings goal and I figured it would not be the right time to buy a home any time soon, but still keeping the $110k in the bank so I can pay off my debt in one go when that finally starts accumulating interest again)
*$25k in crypto

Net worth: $305k.

[Anonymous User]

I see a lot of people holding crypto. What crypto are you holding? Mostly Bitcoin? Also, what did you hold it in, Coinbase?

Also interested in this

Bitcoin and Ethereum mostly. All in Coinbase. It's a crapshoot so I have some other coins that I'll buy $50-100 worth every so often. Otherwise I invest $25/week into BT and ETH. Figure it's cash I'm willing to lose so why not take a risk.

[Anonymous User]

I see a lot of people holding crypto. What crypto are you holding? Mostly Bitcoin? Also, what did you hold it in, Coinbase?

Also interested in this

Friends don't let friends use Coinbase. I would use FTX, Gemini or Kraken. If you are holding a significant amount, it would also be worth looking into a cold storage wallet from Trezor or Ledger (I think these are around 150-200 now).

[Anonymous User]

I see a lot of people holding crypto. What crypto are you holding? Mostly Bitcoin? Also, what did you hold it in, Coinbase?

Roughly 45% Bitcoin, 45% Etherium, 10% mix of other non-shit alt-coins (BNB, ADA, SOL, XRP, XLM, Etc.), holding mainly in a Ledger hardware wallet, but toying with the idea of moving some to Crypto.com to take advantage of their "Earn" feature (e.g., 5.5% APY on Etherium).

[Sad248]

I see a lot of people holding crypto. What crypto are you holding? Mostly Bitcoin? Also, what did you hold it in, Coinbase?

Also interested in this

Friends don't let friends use Coinbase. I would use FTX, Gemini or Kraken. If you are holding a significant amount, it would also be worth looking into a cold storage wallet from Trezor or Ledger (I think these are around 150-200 now).

What's so bad about Coinbase?

[Anonymous User]

I see a lot of people holding crypto. What crypto are you holding? Mostly Bitcoin? Also, what did you hold it in, Coinbase?

Also interested in this

Friends don't let friends use Coinbase. I would use FTX, Gemini or Kraken. If you are holding a significant amount, it would also be worth looking into a cold storage wallet from Trezor or Ledger (I think these are around 150-200 now).

What's so bad about Coinbase?

It’s fine. Just perceived as having overly high fees on transactions and a place that newbs use. It makes things simple and has kept the crypto held there safe.

[Anonymous User]

I see a lot of people holding crypto. What crypto are you holding? Mostly Bitcoin? Also, what did you hold it in, Coinbase?

Roughly 45% Bitcoin, 45% Etherium, 10% mix of other non-shit alt-coins (BNB, ADA, SOL, XRP, XLM, Etc.), holding mainly in a Ledger hardware wallet, but toying with the idea of moving some to Crypto.com to take advantage of their "Earn" feature (e.g., 5.5% APY on Etherium).

What are your (and other people's) thoughts on Gemini "Earn"? If you swap USD -> Gemini Dollar you can get a crazy 8+% APY. Aside from not being FDIC insured, it seems too good to be true?

[nealric]

I see a lot of people holding crypto. What crypto are you holding? Mostly Bitcoin? Also, what did you hold it in, Coinbase?

Roughly 45% Bitcoin, 45% Etherium, 10% mix of other non-shit alt-coins (BNB, ADA, SOL, XRP, XLM, Etc.), holding mainly in a Ledger hardware wallet, but toying with the idea of moving some to Crypto.com to take advantage of their "Earn" feature (e.g., 5.5% APY on Etherium).

What are your (and other people's) thoughts on Gemini "Earn"? If you swap USD -> Gemini Dollar you can get a crazy 8+% APY. Aside from not being FDIC insured, it seems too good to be true?

You hit the nail on the head. You are taking a regulatory and default risk when you put money in a stablecoin instead of a regulated/insured bank account. Yes, they say they have backed it with USD, but several stablecoins have been investigated for lying or misleading about their reserves. If they truly have $1 in reserves for every $1 deposited, they are relying on risk returns to pay that 8% interest. You don't get 8% returns + enough for overhead without risk in today's investment environment.

[Anonymous User]

For those who funnel into index funds: do you guys just take X% of each paycheck and buy into VTSAX (or whichever) every other week or is there a better way to go about this (for tax or other reasons)?

[Anonymous User]

For those who funnel into index funds: do you guys just take X% of each paycheck and buy into VTSAX (or whichever) every other week or is there a better way to go about this (for tax or other reasons)?

That’s what I do. Earlier is better because the only tax advantage is waiting one year from purchase before selling in order to make the gains long term (although I am not selling anyway).

I just pay all of my bills and then put everything that’s left into Vanguard

[Anonymous User]

Really appreciate all the info here, but there is a high degree of self-selection bias in this thread. Think about your typical new NYC associate -- big bar trip, average debt of over $150K, expensive apartment lease, shopping and going out because they aren't busy... A lot of of folks have negative net worth well into their mid-level years.

[Anonymous User]

Really appreciate all the info here, but there is a high degree of self-selection bias in this thread. Think about your typical new NYC associate -- big bar trip, average debt of over $150K, expensive apartment lease, shopping and going out because they aren't busy... A lot of of folks have negative net worth well into their mid-level years.

Huh? Explain.

[Anonymous User]

Really appreciate all the info here, but there is a high degree of self-selection bias in this thread. Think about your typical new NYC associate -- big bar trip, average debt of over $150K, expensive apartment lease, shopping and going out because they aren't busy... A lot of of folks have negative net worth well into their mid-level years.

Huh? Explain.

Not the original anon you're quoting, but speaking as a first-year, I see fellow first-years going out and even traveling way more than I would have expected (on weekends and during the week). And when I say "traveling," I don't mean like a day trip upstate. I mean ski trips to Jackson Hole, etc. Things like that. Obviously "first-year associates in NYC that I know" is not a representative sample, but it doesn't seem like many of them are so busy that it would prevent them from blowing a good amount of money on drinks, food, traveling, etc.

[Anonymous User]

Really appreciate all the info here, but there is a high degree of self-selection bias in this thread. Think about your typical new NYC associate -- big bar trip, average debt of over $150K, expensive apartment lease, shopping and going out because they aren't busy... A lot of of folks have negative net worth well into their mid-level years.

I mean, it is hardly surprising that a thread devoted to savings/NW/personal finances is going to attract people interested in saving/wealth building.

I think this thread is more to show what is possible. But pretty much every midlevel with a negative net worth is in that position completely voluntarily.

[Anonymous User]

But pretty much every midlevel with a negative net worth is in that position completely voluntarily.

The golden handcuff is real. I know a biglaw lawyer who is deep in debt because he always flies first-class and likes watches (with several Rolexes and saving for a Patek). He's just another insecure middle-class lawyer trying to looking the part.

[Anonymous User]

But pretty much every midlevel with a negative net worth is in that position completely voluntarily.

The golden handcuff is real. I know a biglaw lawyer who is deep in debt because he always flies first-class and likes watches (with several Rolexes and saving for a Patek). He's just another insecure middle-class lawyer trying to looking the part.

I feel sorry for the fella, but saying a midlevel in biglaw is middle-class is quite ignorant/insensitive.

[Anonymous User]

But pretty much every midlevel with a negative net worth is in that position completely voluntarily.

The golden handcuff is real. I know a biglaw lawyer who is deep in debt because he always flies first-class and likes watches (with several Rolexes and saving for a Patek). He's just another insecure middle-class lawyer trying to looking the part.

With a medium amount of effort (on credit cards and mileage programs) and flexibility (on dates and locations - for biglaw attorneys, mostly on locations), every biglawyer can fly first/business regularly and not come close to breaking the bank.

[Anonymous User]

But pretty much every midlevel with a negative net worth is in that position completely voluntarily.

The golden handcuff is real. I know a biglaw lawyer who is deep in debt because he always flies first-class and likes watches (with several Rolexes and saving for a Patek). He's just another insecure middle-class lawyer trying to looking the part.

With a medium amount of effort (on credit cards and mileage programs) and flexibility (on dates and locations - for biglaw attorneys, mostly on locations), every biglawyer can fly first/business regularly and not come close to breaking the bank.

With a medium amount of effort (walking around the Park for the guy with watches in his suit jacket) and flexibility (on particular models and colors - for biglaw attorneys, mostly on models), every biglawyer can wear Patek/Rolex regularly and not come close to breaking the bank.

[Anonymous User]

While I 100% agree that you should invest into the market as much as you can, I have taken that approach (C/O 2020) and have actually lost money by investing (admittedly a slight growth tilt). This is not meant to discourage anyone from investing in the market, but I think people are overly critical about holding cash positions. Yes, the market has historically trended upwards, but past performance is not indicative of future performance. Additionally, not everyone can stomach the volatility that comes with a crash. I bet that there would be a lot fewer bulls in 2001 / 2008. You should only invest what you are willing to lose, and that's a subjective judgment. Not everyone is strictly happier optimizing for expected value.


Also, while investing is a big factor in building wealth, don't lose sight of the primary builder of wealth - your income. Decisions like sticking it out in biglaw instead of taking that in-house job, gunning for partner, deciding to hold off retirement for a couple years, and etc. are likely to play a much bigger factor in your overall NW.