Personal Finance

We're in our mid-30s and our family has saved $1 million for retirement - here's what it's invested in

Marc Guberti

Published: March 1, 2025 8:42 am

The HENRY Finance group is a great resource for advice and inspiring success stories. A 36-year-old Redditor recently posted in the group to share his progress with building his net worth.

He has a wife and one child, along with a $1 million net worth. They live in a VHCOL area, and the couple makes a combined $320k in annual income. The husband also has a pending bonus that can be up to 50% on top of his $240k salary, plus some RSUs.

We’ll explore where the money is invested and break down the post. While you’ll learn valuable insights from this deep dive, it’s always good to speak with a financial advisor if you can.

How The Cash Is Split Up

The 36-year-old Redditor provides a breakdown of how the money is allocated across assets:

• Cash: $50k
• Brokerage: $350k
• Retirement: $425k
• Rental real estate equity: $180k
• Car equity: $15k

The Redditor is mostly invested in ETFs like VOO that mirror key benchmarks instead of putting cash into individual stocks. The Redditor only has loans on the rental real estate and car loan, but both of those loans are at 3% APR, so there’s no need to pay them off.

The Redditor’s Inspiring Background

While it’s fine to come from money and end up making money as long as you are a good person, the Redditor’s background is more inspiring for people who didn’t come from wealth. His parents were immigrants and didn’t have a good financial education. He had a negative net worth at 27 due to student loans and credit cards but managed to secure a decent Fortune 500 job at this time.

That’s where the Redditor started, and he turned it into a $1 million net worth within 10 years. He’s now aiming to give himself the option to retire at 55. That doesn’t mean he has to retire at 55, but it’s nice to give yourself that option if you want to use it.

Suggestions for Improvement

The Redditor shared his detailed expenses, and some of the comments were quick to make suggestions. The first suggestion was maxing out the wife’s 401(k) plan. While the couple has agreed to keep their finances separate, having the husband contribute extra to the wife’s retirement account will reduce their overall tax burden. 

Furthermore, eating out presents a great opportunity for cost reductions since that expense came to $20,927 last year. That’s $1,743.92 per month for a couple and one child, and that does not include groceries. The couple spent $16,103 on groceries, which makes more sense. They can save a lot of money by spending more on groceries while reducing how many times they eat out.

Commenters encouraged the Redditor to not sacrifice date nights. While the expenses for eating out can be trimmed, they shouldn’t be cut completely. One commenter explained that it’s worth it to work an extra year if it gives you the finances to support weekly date nights.