10 years ago: near 0 networth, graduated university with a marketing degree into a recession. I then went on to do another degree, graduating in 2013 at age 27, with a 15 k student loan (I’m in NZ so uni is a little less pricey, I worked weekends in a cafe, and was lucky enough to have my parents pay my first degree). Worked in my chosen field for a year, hated it, did some more courses and went in to digital advertising (which I love love love!). Between 2015 and now I went from an entry level job to a senior role with significant pay increases along the way. I got very lucky. Met SO 9 years ago, and he was also a late bloomer, moving info software development from tourism, and climbing quickly from a junior role to a senior role.

In the last few years we saved hard and bought our dream home, got a dog, have traveled overseas regularly, have plenty of time off (6 weeks this year alone).

Now - age 33: Networth ~250k - mostly equity in home, with around 30k in retirement/investments and 30k in emergency funds. This excludes vehicles and all the other stuff we own. We have no non-mortgage debt. We’re frugal enough, have a plan to retire our early 50s, but also like to indulge just a little - my SO loves the outdoors and has paragliders, a dirtbike and a bunch of other not-so-frugal toys. we’ve really only just lifted our income game in the last few years and the lifestyle creep is real, but we’ve automated investments and have a buffer, ambition, but also enjoy a very balanced approach.

10 years from now - age 43: 750k - 1 mil net worth. 2 kiddos and hopefully still the same dog (+ 1 or 2 more if I get my way). We are both eager to maximize income and maximize time off. We’ll explore contract work or starting businesses (got a few ideas to set in motion), and plan to continue ~6 weeks of vacation per year or more.

Right, thanks for the motivation, have loved reading all the responses and am now off to review my budget spreadsheet and put in some lead measures for the next few years to hit our goals.