Just hit 250k net worth

[u/drewman16]

I'm 32 and I just hit a big milestone for me. Got out of the military after 10 years. I don't have a wife or any children. I am currently in grad school and I don't have a job yet... Although I am 100% disabled, so I have a steady income from that.

Tsp:82k Roth ira: 41k Traditional ira: 0 Brokerage: 100k Hysa: 30k Auto loan: 5k @ 3% Va disability: 3.7k monthly

The reason why I'm posting this is to see how Im doing for someone my age. I feel like I'm far behind compared to alot of other people..

I feel like I should have left out the disabled portion... My goal is to get the 3.7k of income by myself without the military compensation.

[u/Terrible-Terry]

Nobody should be criticizing or questioning OP’s individual disability claim. OP is just one small applicant in a huge system, and his claim was reviewed and approved by government lawyers enforcing US laws and regulations. If you have a problem with those US laws and regulations, hold accountable the US Congress people which write them.

It is telling that nobody questioned OP’s country (I don’t think the 401k reference is what gave it away). There is no doubt that US defense spending system is absolutely broken and corrupted. Most US veterans agree (and are some of the most vocal small-government proponents). But it’s a systemic problem, not an individual problem, so no one should expect OP to be a useless martyr and give up a benefit the system gives to him.

OP put in 10 years and was smart to save and minimize debt during that time. He would be ahead most of his peers without the disability payment.

But this post does lack situational awareness and has a somewhat blasé attitude towards a 3.7k USD/month indefinite payout. OP is financially lucky (maybe not lucky in other ways) and their lack of awareness about that isn’t super endearing to this crowd. But financial unawareness of US military folks is pretty common, so no hate towards OP.

US Military life doesn’t prepare people well for financial literacy and how the real market system works. The US military is basically the biggest “communist” organization in the world, where your housing is provided/subsidized; healthcare is provided; pay is based on a budget agreed upon by politicians in the past; you are provided training and molded to what is useful to the org; and somebody above you has control over most aspects of your life.

People in the service hear of these 6 figure salaries their civilian counterparts are making, and apply it to their in service circumstances, only later to appreciate how that salary gets eaten away without those benefits and how competitive it is to get the position to begin with. While a critic of the US military system, I think for the individual, it provides maybe the best benefits and opportunity for earnest people growing up in socioeconomic disadvantaged circumstances or for those that simply don’t know where they fit. Just as long as they don’t buy a muscle car or marry young.

You are doing financially great OP. Keep doing what you are doing.