At what age did you really start "getting ahead" in terms of your finances?

[chiquen81]

I just turned 28, and I think I am doing just so-so. I was talking to a coworker and she said that it's tough at first but once you get over the "hump" it gets better. Not really sure what she meant, but maybe she meant getting raises at work or something. I need to keep in mind that she has no kids. I am also childless.

[redney]

25, after a nice promotion at work.

[~Fabulousity~]

I'd say around my mid twenties I'm 29 now

[Gimmethebag]

I'm still waiting. Though I've been taking on some freelance work. If I could build up where I'm making my rate at full-time hours, I would be earning 4 times what I am earning now.

I am just getting inpatient for SO to graduate from law school... I need to know where I'll be living permanently.

[plain jane doe]

I'm not "ahead" necessarily but started moving in that direction at 23, lucked out on job salary and have a dual income with SO.

[floridasun8]

We started doing really well about 35, however it then took another nose dive due to the economy, so now we're back trying to climb that ladder again.

[Rockst@r]

In my mid twenties I started making decent money in a commission based industry. Since I tend to be frugal, I have squirreled away a lot of money in the last 10yrs. I am sure that if something drastic happened, like if dh were to lose his job, we’d be fine for a long time. Knowing which expenses are needs versus wants helps a lot. It’s not what you make, but what you spend. Making a million dollars per year means nothing if you spend all of it; the person making minimum wage and living within their means would actually be financially ahead of the millionaire. My dad taught me that when I got my first job as a teen, and it's a lesson that stuck with me. So I guess I haven't really been behind. The increase in salary 10yrs ago helped me to save a lot very quickly.

[~Fabulousity~]

Originally Posted by rockst@r

in my mid twenties i started making decent money in a commission based industry. Since i tend to be frugal, i have squirreled away a lot of money in the last 10yrs. I am sure that if something drastic happened, like if dh were to lose his job, we’d be fine for a long time. knowing which expenses are needs versus wants helps a lot. It’s not what you make, but what you spend. Making a million dollars per year means nothing if you spend all of it; the person making minimum wage and living within their means would actually be financially ahead of the millionaire. My dad taught me that when i got my first job as a teen, and it's a lesson that stuck with me. So i guess i haven't really been behind. The increase in salary 10yrs ago helped me to save a lot very quickly.

ita!

[Allisonfaye]

I inherited a little money around 30 and even though I spent some, I always made sure that I invested some, too. For a long time, my investments were doing great. The market crashed in 1995 and again in 2000 and again last year so a lot of the gains were wiped out. I got married 7 years ago and became a SAHM 5.5 years ago so I don't work anymore. I guess things got easier for me at 30 because that's when I wasn't living paycheck to paycheck anymore.

[chiquen81]

Thanks everyone! Hopefully I'll get more responses.

[Little Tiger]

Honestly, I think we're doing ok now (we're getting on for mid-thirties, eeek) but I don't think we're 'ahead' as such as yet.

We have a lovely (small!) house and have paid off a lot of the mortgage, but don't have much in disposable cash terms.

I would hope in a year's time we would be a lot richer in terms of savings, but we also hope to have a baby from then on. So we might be feeling financially ok and them BOOM we'd go back to being relatively poor! :-)

I don't want an awful lot in monetary terms though, I have some lovely friends and to create a lovely family, and have a few nice possessions which give me pleasure, would be more than enough. A lot of the things I want e.g. going back to uni and learning so much more and doing more professional exams are also important.

I think it's important to look at what you want from life in realistic terms, and not compare yourself to others.

[plumaplomb]

It depends a lot on how much your parents factored into your education expenses. It's really hard to catch up, let alone to get ahead when there are thousands of dollars of college and/or graduate school loans hovering over your head. I'm not in this position myself as I qualified for non-loan grants, but I sympathize with many of my friends who are making loan payments while spending money on application fees, flights to interviews, etc for grad school or jobs.

Personally, I think I started getting ahead from birth. My parents were so frugal and financially adept that they were never in debt, and I never have to financially worry about them to this day. I realized how important this was when I graduated from college and got a job. First day on the job, I started getting ahead.

[Little Tiger]

Originally Posted by plumaplomb

Personally, I think I started getting ahead from birth. My parents were so frugal and financially adept that they were never in debt, and I never have to financially worry about them to this day. I realized how important this was when I graduated from college and got a job. First day on the job, I started getting ahead.

See, that's brilliant!

My parents were rich when I was growing up and never focussed on money, in fact, my dad always instilled in me to buy for other people (he's VERY gregarious and generous).

His business went bust when I was in my late twenties and it was a huge shock to see the family home go. Not bad business acumen, we had a lot of family deaths which hit him hard and he let it wind down and retired to a small holiday home.

Still, they're very comfortable and it has been a learning curve for me, and I'm grateful for my mine and my boyfriend's little home (it's a bijoux residence, in the centre of the city! Or at least it will be when we've finished doing it up...), but I suppose it was a shock that they couldn't help us out when we decided to buy.

I really admire people who make their own way and are canny with their own money from an early age, as I certainly never was :-)

In fact looking back I wonder how I was as clueless as I was *blushes*

[Cheetah7]

Originally Posted by Rockst@r

Making a million dollars per year means nothing if you spend all of it; the person making minimum wage and living within their means would actually be financially ahead of the millionaire. My dad taught me that when I got my first job as a teen, and it's a lesson that stuck with me. So I guess I haven't really been behind. The increase in salary 10yrs ago helped me to save a lot very quickly.

This is the same value system my parents instilled in me. Both of them are well to do financially but I was never handed things by them. Instead they taught me to work for something I want and to live within my means. I did this throughout high school and college, working part time while funding my way to college. It wasn't until very recently (a yr and a half) when I landed my career that I started getting ahead financially.

[Cornflower Blue]

I was in my mid-thirties before I was breaking even and in my late thirties before I actually had any 'extra' money and that was only due to a series of unforeseen events resulting in no mortgage anymore. That improved finances no end.