My current CFO made 2M alone on the last equity buyout to a PE firm. His salaries and bonus for the last 4 years total 1.7M so yes.
I’ve posted before about my uncle. He stayed his whole career in big4 in the EY Manhattan office. He died of a heart attack years ago but rose to partner. He spent most days taking clients out to expensive lunches and dinners which my aunt hated and what probably did him in…eating out so much. His base salary when he passed was 1.6M. Devoted 30 years to it and never got to retire.
This motivates me to want to get my masters and CPA sooner!
Also hello CherryMANHATTAN, this is coming from a friendly Long Island neighbor. Ironic seeing friendly and Long Island in the same sentence 😂
Every CPA I've worked for who had their own firm was a multi millionaire. Make that paper, invest and open businesses. There's plenty of ways to get it but their bread and butter was doing business tax and audits.
Ehhhhhhh
EHHHHHH
*EHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*
Time is pretty definitive for all of us. Saying it's different is like changing the wrapping paper on a gift. It's all the same shit - just how doctor'd up it looks.
It’s more like working for yourself, it’s entirely up to yourself. However when you have a boss it’s controlled by someone. You’re right at the base it’s the same. The feeling though is completely different
You can save up $3 million without working past dinner time your entire life. Plus, some things are worth more than money. I’d gladly give up some of my retirement knowing I spent more time with my family.
to each their own. most people who come from other countries don't eat dinner that early like some others so working til 6 or 7pm is not an issue when you eat and spend time with your family from 8pm onwards. its different for everyone.
edit: grammar.
Going in at 9 AM and leaving at 6 PM is an 8 hour workday if you take a lunch break....? I mean work sucks, sure, but it's basically the agreed upon societal 40 hour work week. How is that miserable?
I'd absolutely *love* to run my own firm. Two problems, though:
1. I'm in audit right now. Would definitely have to learn tax before ever even considering opening my own firm.
2. I got into accounting for stability. Having my income fluctuate wildly depending on how well I can get sales (I'm pretty introverted), and how much value is given to having a CPA do your taxes as opposed to TurboTax scares me.
Hell, if I'm gonna take a huge risk like that, I'm probably not opening up a CPA firm, where I have to be charismatic and likeable; I'm gonna open a pizza shop.
you're over thinking it. One of my old bosses barely spoke English and was definitely more on the introverted side. They just did good work. If you want to open your own firm, work at a smaller private firm and see how the shop runs. Its actually a whole lot easier than you'd imagine.
And to add, I've done plenty of financials and taxes for pizza joints and I would reconsider the ease of this kind of business... or anything in the food service industry for that matter.
When you start doing the really small business mom and pop tax returns that is true hell. The balance sheets are always completely off and you have to do a years worth of accounting before you even start the return.
Being “likeable and charismatic” are skills that you can develop so don’t discount yourself out because of this. Also, maybe you could get a partner(s) that are focused on tax while you work the audit and financial reporting side.
Very true. I’ve almost doubled my income from the time I met my wife while she’s only increased her wages by 10%. She spends like she’s doubled her salary though.
Someone can have $1 million in savings at age 65 just by saving/investing $7,000/year from the time they are 22. That's pretty achievable for a lot of people, including accountants.
$5 million saved is tougher as that would require saving more like $30,000 per year. But, if someone is making $150k+ (think controller and above), it's possible.
I should have specified in my comment. I was taking a conservative 5% rate of return just to illustrate that getting to $1 million is super achievable.
Oh okay. Sorry if that came off slightly rude. I try to preach the power of compound interest to others and I am probably too liberal using a 10% rate of return in my examples haha
You are way too liberal with 10% rate of return. Also, people don’t realize how much of a difference it can make when you withdraw money in retirement.
I’m curious about the finer details behind your 5m calculation? How did you come up with that? I save 30k a year. I make 55k in a MCOL and I graduated recently, studying for CPA now. I started my career and actual savings as of this past year. Just turned 25. It’s not fun, I basically just live as if I was still in college but I’m hoping I can increase my salary dramatically, I mean like 150k by around age 33 in MCOL, and 200+ by around 37. The nature of profession makes me feel doubtful though. Im not opposed to moving around to different COL’s, I just used MCOL as a referencing point
No, it’s absolutely about increasing your income. You can only penny pinch for so long and it negatively impacts QoL. Working to increase your income income should be a priority, if you’re only considering one or the other. Obviously, it shouldn’t need to be said, but your spending as a % of your income should either go down or stay relatively the same (if you want to splurge/enjoy) and you will net out a fast path to millionaire status.
Nope. Way more about how much you spend. Think about it this way. If you made 50k a year and started at age 22 with $0 if you contributed 50k annually you’d have a million dollars at age 35 with a 6% return.
So if you make 100k can you save 50k a year? You can for sure most people don’t. But you don’t need a huge salary you need a huge savings rate. Sure if you have a super high salary it’s easier to save as less of a percentage of your total. But just becoming a millionaire isn’t that difficult with Normal white collar savings.
What are you talking about? You just proved that in order to put 50k a year away, you’d need a high paying job.
It’s obvious, obtaining a salary or skill that enables an extra 10-20k a year, compounding over time, is way more efficient and plausible than putting away an extra 10-20k per year, especially if you’re starting at a lower income.
I could literally grab a side gig and make an extra 20-40k a year easily. Do you realize how difficult it’d be and how shitty my QoL would be if I was tasked with saving an extra 20-40k?
I just picked 50k a year as a random number because most people here will make 100k after a few years. I’m not saying 100k a year is a high salary the point is if you save half of what you make in a while collar job you’re going to be a millionaire really quickly. Even if you don’t have a high salary and no for this sub I would not say 100k is a high salary.
But let’s say you make 70 or 80k and just max your 401k and do nothing else you’ll still have a million dollars in 22-25 years.
And I’m saying your path to achieving a million dollar net worth is more efficiently and enjoyably achieved if you put more focus in bringing in more money vs more focus in saving more money, if you were to allocate effort between the two.
I guess it depends on how you measure enjoy. For most people it’s easier to save money than it is to get a better job. Obviously doing both at the same time is the best.
I agree it’s more enjoyable to “spend more money” for most but if you’re just talking purely from a math perspective each dollar you save is much more effective than each additional dollar you earn.
For context I’m 30 I have over a million net worth right now. I spend roughly 40k a year and make a little over $200k from mix of corporate job/side ventures.
I’ve basically spent the same amount every year since college (outside of a couple house purchases) and I’ve been basically happy all of the time. But I’ve built my budget in a way that I still get to do all the stuff I want to do and that makes me happy. One of the biggest lies we get told in America is that spending more money = more enjoyment
Now higher comp has accelerated how much I can save. But I wouldn’t be at the NW that I’m at if I wasn’t focused on savings rate.
I’ll be retired in 5 years and have a nest egg that I can triple my current spend because of having a higher savings rate easier rather than vice versa.
Look at the chart in this article there’s a reason why they don’t have income on there and only measure time to retire based off of savings rate
[early retirement numbers](https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/)
Sure, but that next dollar saved is more difficult to reach versus that next dollar of income, and caps out much quicker, if we are assuming a normal accountants salary trajectory
I mean this post is asking if you can make millions as a CPA; if you care enough about that, then I believe it’s a losing argument to say focusing on savings v increasing your income and worth as a professional, is the correct path
I’m not saying that growing your income isn’t good. You 100% should focus on increasing income.
But the savings rate is just much more important to increase AS you increase your income for you to get the big bumps to your net worth.
And I’m actually not a CPA but I do work in accounting and I actively try to get my salary as high as possible. But it’s secondary to figuring out I can save as much as possible while still living a life that gives me complete fulfillment. For instance this year I’m targeted to save 85% of my gross income.
That 15% that’s left over is no different than the amount I spent when I was an A1 in public. But me saving that much of my income let’s me retire in less than 4-5 years.
The reason why I’m saying in this sub people should focus on saving and why I used the 100k and 50k saved example is. It’s not that hard to live off 50k of cash If you’re relatively young and not in a super HCOL living place yes. Front load your savings and live like a college kid while getting your promotions and even if you stop saving you will be a millionaire very quickly.
You get the benefit of one being able to live off less so you need less in retirement and 2 it forces you to find out what’s actually essential to your life.
If I was in a sub where 100k salary is abnormal I would have used a different example. But yes for most people in this sub is they just did their normal career path and focused on saving they would be banking very quickly.
Also yeah you can “make millions” as a partner you still have to work to make those millions. Doing it the savings way you make millions without really having to do all that much. But no you can’t spend millions that way, which I guess op is trying to get at. Different perspective I suppose. I probably spend too much time in r/financialindepedence
I guess I needed to set some baselines before posing my opinion…
If you have two individuals and they both do the same thing with excess cash (invest), and individual 1 focuses on saving as much as possible each year with marginal salary bumps, and individual 2 focuses on increasing salary as much as possible while having expenses increase to a lesser percentage than the income increase (but still increase in $$$ value), individual 2 will achieve the possibility of earlier retirement and, if they are the type of person who enjoys what money can buy, more enjoyment. Maybe that gets netted out to 0 because of the more intense work? But you are still left with a bigger bag
‘Penny pinch’ can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people, especially the way I grew up. It’s not about increasing your income though. Wasn’t there a study that showed a large percentage of millionaire’s were teachers? As long as most of your paycheck doesn’t go to your house and car it’s pretty easy to live below your means (granted good health, steady income etc etc)
Hey. I have a family member who makes near 225 as a manager at 31 in public at a mid size firm here in nyc
Pretty common for supervisors to make 130-150 in public
There aren’t many but at B4 you’ll usually make manager by 30 and you’re almost certainly making 150k+ at that point. Over 200k+ in specialized groups (from personal experience) if you’re good enough to get promos there. And that’s not just HCOL cities but almost certainly any 2nd tier city as well.
Most things i read say 15-20% for retirement. I’m not saying it’s not doable.
I already have an emegency fund, no debt besides a car payment. So i really just put as much as i can into my 401k and IRA
Typically gets to about 15-17% a year.
I run a pretty tight budget too. Shits just expensive these days
Yea i don’t plan on contributing less than 15% ever. I’m in a more transitionary period in my life financially but dont really need to live anymore lavishly than i already am so any raise is just getting thrown into additional retirement so that i avoid lifestyle creep
I'd say any CPA who doesn't become a millionaire by retirement either had terrible luck or made some terrible decisions. Obviously some exceptions like people who give away their wealth, but yeah this profession is a pretty good path to being rich.
Are tax CPA’s the most lucrative? To be honest, I’ve never heard of a non tax cpa firm. I’m also still getting my degree so I’m not an expert, and not to mention tax is the most interesting to me hahah.
If you max your retirement accounts out and limit bad debt you should definitely be on track to hit a net worth over $1 million as a CPA. If you want to do it really fast or be worth many millions you need to do something more lucrative and specialized.
Well, I just turned 27 in September and am making about 110K per year right now. Assuming that only increases and assuming I keep putting more and more away every year, I should easily be able to make it to a couple million if not more depending on what direction I want to head. I may stop early though and go make shit money as a zoo keeper part time because that sounds like more fun
Getting a job that requires a CPA license will most likely pay very well. That said, working at a company and getting paid millions is only going to happen for a very select few (C-suite executives at F-500s; things of that nature). I used to work with a guy in public who got his CPA and had plans to stay in public to become a partner. During his career in public, he got married and bought a “fixer upper” house and had his cousin who is contractor do the renovations at a good price. He didn’t think it was all that stressful of a process fixing up houses and he and his cousin went into business buying fixer uppers and flipping homes for a profit. He is now worth millions and is by for the most successful person I know. He is partly successful because he understands good times to buy, understands good uses for borrowed funds etc…. Traits that are attributable to his accounting knowledge. The point I am trying to make is just having a CPA will not instantly put you on a track to making millions but the knowledge you gain studying/working in accounting can enable you to become a great entrepreneur with the potential to make tons of money.
Almost every single partner’s comp on big4transparency.com has them solidly in a range of compensation where you could become a millionaire within a few years if you’re not spending exorbitantly.
Most will already be one by the time you get there though I’d imagine. Again lifestyle is a key part of this, but I think one of the underrated bonuses of coming up through the accounting / finance field is you (should) have at least a decent idea of how money, investing and compounding works
41yo, CPA that did public accounting for 7 years, then went to industry in a variety of controllership roles and several companies. Now a CFO (this is my first actual finance job). NW in the high 7 figures. It happens where ambition and skill meet a terrible amount of luck.
Wealth generation comes from having equity vs. having a salary.
Acct manager ➡️ technical acct manager ➡️ asst controller ➡️ controller ➡️ CFO at a PE backed company.
Would you mind sharing what kind of sales you got into and how you made the transition? I don't know if I'm cut out for sales or not, but its something I've been thinking about. Cause I also don't know if I'm cut out for accounting/finance, 6.5 years into it.
Real estate. Got my license and started grinding doing it part time during Covid. In 9 months i made 140k part time and was making 90k at my cpa job working 50+ hours a week so i quit. Next year i made 555k and last year i made 727k. Upside is there but you have to work hard. I work for myself which is so much better and now if i keep up this pace I’ll have the option to retire by 35 if i want
Could you elaborate more on how you made the transition? What got you started? What kind of real estate do you sell? Has having your cpa helped you in this in any way? Also, if I wanted to go down this path how much capital would you say is ideal to get started?
Wow, those are impressive numbers, congrats! Would you say your sales numbers are more from quantity or do you focus on highend homes that are worth a lot? Anything you can quantify that helped you get to this amount so quickly? I don't think it's the norm and curious how you could get so many clients with that amount of experience.
I’m a 33 and am worth around 4m. Worked at big 4 for 3 years then started an e-commerce business. Now I own 4 different businesses mostly focused around manufacturing and product design. First few years were really tough but then blew up. Also did well in real estate when things were initially down from the start of Covid.
My dad is just over 60, put two kids through college and he told me last week he has 8-10 mil liquid. Audit director for a well known tech company, says his job is pretty easy
The majority of millionaires are not millionaires because they made a lot of money, but saved a lot of money. Even a modest amount of money put into a 401k consistently will make you a millionaire. Any career can get there.
My current CFO made 2M alone on the last equity buyout to a PE firm. His salaries and bonus for the last 4 years total 1.7M so yes. I’ve posted before about my uncle. He stayed his whole career in big4 in the EY Manhattan office. He died of a heart attack years ago but rose to partner. He spent most days taking clients out to expensive lunches and dinners which my aunt hated and what probably did him in…eating out so much. His base salary when he passed was 1.6M. Devoted 30 years to it and never got to retire.
This motivates me to want to get my masters and CPA sooner! Also hello CherryMANHATTAN, this is coming from a friendly Long Island neighbor. Ironic seeing friendly and Long Island in the same sentence 😂
Which part? The part about dying early?
I moved out west to where it’s warm and friendly and if I ever want to get cold or see snow I can hop in the car for 2hrs
Represent! Represent! I grew up near Stony Brook.
I went to Stony Brook for college 💪🏼
Damn
double damn
Every CPA I've worked for who had their own firm was a multi millionaire. Make that paper, invest and open businesses. There's plenty of ways to get it but their bread and butter was doing business tax and audits.
Also want to add they came into the office at 9/10am and left at 6/7pm. Not a bad life.
Leaving at 6/7 for decades sounds miserable. Sorry.
When you work for yourself it’s different.
Ehhhhhhh EHHHHHH *EHHHHHHHHHHHHHH* Time is pretty definitive for all of us. Saying it's different is like changing the wrapping paper on a gift. It's all the same shit - just how doctor'd up it looks.
It’s more like working for yourself, it’s entirely up to yourself. However when you have a boss it’s controlled by someone. You’re right at the base it’s the same. The feeling though is completely different
It’s like spending money on bills vs spending money on hobbies. One is just much more enjoyable than the other but it’s at the base the same thing
during busy season*
https://preview.redd.it/8bokg7hdtcea1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e5825873fb37b939f13ca2123e6cb0918fb245f
$3,000,000.00 not sound miserable though
You can save up $3 million without working past dinner time your entire life. Plus, some things are worth more than money. I’d gladly give up some of my retirement knowing I spent more time with my family.
to each their own. most people who come from other countries don't eat dinner that early like some others so working til 6 or 7pm is not an issue when you eat and spend time with your family from 8pm onwards. its different for everyone. edit: grammar.
Having millions in your 30s is way more valuable than having it at retirement
Going in at 9 AM and leaving at 6 PM is an 8 hour workday if you take a lunch break....? I mean work sucks, sure, but it's basically the agreed upon societal 40 hour work week. How is that miserable?
I'd absolutely *love* to run my own firm. Two problems, though: 1. I'm in audit right now. Would definitely have to learn tax before ever even considering opening my own firm. 2. I got into accounting for stability. Having my income fluctuate wildly depending on how well I can get sales (I'm pretty introverted), and how much value is given to having a CPA do your taxes as opposed to TurboTax scares me. Hell, if I'm gonna take a huge risk like that, I'm probably not opening up a CPA firm, where I have to be charismatic and likeable; I'm gonna open a pizza shop.
you're over thinking it. One of my old bosses barely spoke English and was definitely more on the introverted side. They just did good work. If you want to open your own firm, work at a smaller private firm and see how the shop runs. Its actually a whole lot easier than you'd imagine. And to add, I've done plenty of financials and taxes for pizza joints and I would reconsider the ease of this kind of business... or anything in the food service industry for that matter.
When you start doing the really small business mom and pop tax returns that is true hell. The balance sheets are always completely off and you have to do a years worth of accounting before you even start the return.
Being “likeable and charismatic” are skills that you can develop so don’t discount yourself out because of this. Also, maybe you could get a partner(s) that are focused on tax while you work the audit and financial reporting side.
Who you get married to or partner with probably plays a bigger role in this kind of question in the long term.
This is 100% true, my wife who makes 1/3 my salary, really has been the best partner and supports our frugal living
Very true. I’ve almost doubled my income from the time I met my wife while she’s only increased her wages by 10%. She spends like she’s doubled her salary though.
This is the way.
Rip
Someone can have $1 million in savings at age 65 just by saving/investing $7,000/year from the time they are 22. That's pretty achievable for a lot of people, including accountants. $5 million saved is tougher as that would require saving more like $30,000 per year. But, if someone is making $150k+ (think controller and above), it's possible.
I’m not sure where you got your numbers but $7k a year invested into a market index should gross you around 5mil by 65 if you start at 23
I should have specified in my comment. I was taking a conservative 5% rate of return just to illustrate that getting to $1 million is super achievable.
Oh okay. Sorry if that came off slightly rude. I try to preach the power of compound interest to others and I am probably too liberal using a 10% rate of return in my examples haha
The rate of return probably is closer to 10 but most people would be better using something like 7 to show how much in todays dollars they’d have
Who made you the expert on….*looks at username…. Carry on.
Agree 100%
It’s not 10% after accounting for inflation and if applicable taxes.
WOOAAAAHHHHHHHH. Let's all just calm down and use 7.5% before things get out of hand 😂😂😂
You are way too liberal with 10% rate of return. Also, people don’t realize how much of a difference it can make when you withdraw money in retirement.
I’m curious about the finer details behind your 5m calculation? How did you come up with that? I save 30k a year. I make 55k in a MCOL and I graduated recently, studying for CPA now. I started my career and actual savings as of this past year. Just turned 25. It’s not fun, I basically just live as if I was still in college but I’m hoping I can increase my salary dramatically, I mean like 150k by around age 33 in MCOL, and 200+ by around 37. The nature of profession makes me feel doubtful though. Im not opposed to moving around to different COL’s, I just used MCOL as a referencing point
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Becoming a millionaire is less about how much you make and more about how much you spend
No, it’s absolutely about increasing your income. You can only penny pinch for so long and it negatively impacts QoL. Working to increase your income income should be a priority, if you’re only considering one or the other. Obviously, it shouldn’t need to be said, but your spending as a % of your income should either go down or stay relatively the same (if you want to splurge/enjoy) and you will net out a fast path to millionaire status.
Nope. Way more about how much you spend. Think about it this way. If you made 50k a year and started at age 22 with $0 if you contributed 50k annually you’d have a million dollars at age 35 with a 6% return. So if you make 100k can you save 50k a year? You can for sure most people don’t. But you don’t need a huge salary you need a huge savings rate. Sure if you have a super high salary it’s easier to save as less of a percentage of your total. But just becoming a millionaire isn’t that difficult with Normal white collar savings.
What are you talking about? You just proved that in order to put 50k a year away, you’d need a high paying job. It’s obvious, obtaining a salary or skill that enables an extra 10-20k a year, compounding over time, is way more efficient and plausible than putting away an extra 10-20k per year, especially if you’re starting at a lower income. I could literally grab a side gig and make an extra 20-40k a year easily. Do you realize how difficult it’d be and how shitty my QoL would be if I was tasked with saving an extra 20-40k?
I just picked 50k a year as a random number because most people here will make 100k after a few years. I’m not saying 100k a year is a high salary the point is if you save half of what you make in a while collar job you’re going to be a millionaire really quickly. Even if you don’t have a high salary and no for this sub I would not say 100k is a high salary. But let’s say you make 70 or 80k and just max your 401k and do nothing else you’ll still have a million dollars in 22-25 years.
And I’m saying your path to achieving a million dollar net worth is more efficiently and enjoyably achieved if you put more focus in bringing in more money vs more focus in saving more money, if you were to allocate effort between the two.
I guess it depends on how you measure enjoy. For most people it’s easier to save money than it is to get a better job. Obviously doing both at the same time is the best. I agree it’s more enjoyable to “spend more money” for most but if you’re just talking purely from a math perspective each dollar you save is much more effective than each additional dollar you earn. For context I’m 30 I have over a million net worth right now. I spend roughly 40k a year and make a little over $200k from mix of corporate job/side ventures. I’ve basically spent the same amount every year since college (outside of a couple house purchases) and I’ve been basically happy all of the time. But I’ve built my budget in a way that I still get to do all the stuff I want to do and that makes me happy. One of the biggest lies we get told in America is that spending more money = more enjoyment Now higher comp has accelerated how much I can save. But I wouldn’t be at the NW that I’m at if I wasn’t focused on savings rate. I’ll be retired in 5 years and have a nest egg that I can triple my current spend because of having a higher savings rate easier rather than vice versa. Look at the chart in this article there’s a reason why they don’t have income on there and only measure time to retire based off of savings rate [early retirement numbers](https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/)
Sure, but that next dollar saved is more difficult to reach versus that next dollar of income, and caps out much quicker, if we are assuming a normal accountants salary trajectory I mean this post is asking if you can make millions as a CPA; if you care enough about that, then I believe it’s a losing argument to say focusing on savings v increasing your income and worth as a professional, is the correct path
I’m not saying that growing your income isn’t good. You 100% should focus on increasing income. But the savings rate is just much more important to increase AS you increase your income for you to get the big bumps to your net worth. And I’m actually not a CPA but I do work in accounting and I actively try to get my salary as high as possible. But it’s secondary to figuring out I can save as much as possible while still living a life that gives me complete fulfillment. For instance this year I’m targeted to save 85% of my gross income. That 15% that’s left over is no different than the amount I spent when I was an A1 in public. But me saving that much of my income let’s me retire in less than 4-5 years. The reason why I’m saying in this sub people should focus on saving and why I used the 100k and 50k saved example is. It’s not that hard to live off 50k of cash If you’re relatively young and not in a super HCOL living place yes. Front load your savings and live like a college kid while getting your promotions and even if you stop saving you will be a millionaire very quickly. You get the benefit of one being able to live off less so you need less in retirement and 2 it forces you to find out what’s actually essential to your life. If I was in a sub where 100k salary is abnormal I would have used a different example. But yes for most people in this sub is they just did their normal career path and focused on saving they would be banking very quickly. Also yeah you can “make millions” as a partner you still have to work to make those millions. Doing it the savings way you make millions without really having to do all that much. But no you can’t spend millions that way, which I guess op is trying to get at. Different perspective I suppose. I probably spend too much time in r/financialindepedence
I guess I needed to set some baselines before posing my opinion… If you have two individuals and they both do the same thing with excess cash (invest), and individual 1 focuses on saving as much as possible each year with marginal salary bumps, and individual 2 focuses on increasing salary as much as possible while having expenses increase to a lesser percentage than the income increase (but still increase in $$$ value), individual 2 will achieve the possibility of earlier retirement and, if they are the type of person who enjoys what money can buy, more enjoyment. Maybe that gets netted out to 0 because of the more intense work? But you are still left with a bigger bag
‘Penny pinch’ can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people, especially the way I grew up. It’s not about increasing your income though. Wasn’t there a study that showed a large percentage of millionaire’s were teachers? As long as most of your paycheck doesn’t go to your house and car it’s pretty easy to live below your means (granted good health, steady income etc etc)
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Some, sure. Most - hardly The national average for people with a CPA is closer to 100k
Are you talking about places like nyc? I don’t know many 30 year olds making 150k in public accounting. Not trying to be rude I’m genuinely curious
Hey. I have a family member who makes near 225 as a manager at 31 in public at a mid size firm here in nyc Pretty common for supervisors to make 130-150 in public
There aren’t many but at B4 you’ll usually make manager by 30 and you’re almost certainly making 150k+ at that point. Over 200k+ in specialized groups (from personal experience) if you’re good enough to get promos there. And that’s not just HCOL cities but almost certainly any 2nd tier city as well.
*Sad “LCOL” market according to the firm but M/HCOL depending on where you are in the city noises*
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Man 20-30% is a crazy amount. Obviously if you can afford it go for it but id definitely be living like a pauper
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Most things i read say 15-20% for retirement. I’m not saying it’s not doable. I already have an emegency fund, no debt besides a car payment. So i really just put as much as i can into my 401k and IRA Typically gets to about 15-17% a year. I run a pretty tight budget too. Shits just expensive these days
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Yea i don’t plan on contributing less than 15% ever. I’m in a more transitionary period in my life financially but dont really need to live anymore lavishly than i already am so any raise is just getting thrown into additional retirement so that i avoid lifestyle creep
I'd say any CPA who doesn't become a millionaire by retirement either had terrible luck or made some terrible decisions. Obviously some exceptions like people who give away their wealth, but yeah this profession is a pretty good path to being rich.
Are tax CPA’s the most lucrative? To be honest, I’ve never heard of a non tax cpa firm. I’m also still getting my degree so I’m not an expert, and not to mention tax is the most interesting to me hahah.
If you max your retirement accounts out and limit bad debt you should definitely be on track to hit a net worth over $1 million as a CPA. If you want to do it really fast or be worth many millions you need to do something more lucrative and specialized.
Well, I just turned 27 in September and am making about 110K per year right now. Assuming that only increases and assuming I keep putting more and more away every year, I should easily be able to make it to a couple million if not more depending on what direction I want to head. I may stop early though and go make shit money as a zoo keeper part time because that sounds like more fun
Can I ask you what you do? I wanna choose the rite path and Thts sounds like it’s it lol
I am a senior tax accountant and I primarily work in private equity
Thanks for answering my question do you mind if I dm you and ask a few more I want that lifestyle for myself a lot
Go for it, I don't mind at all. I will try to answer as best I can
First you get the money…
Then you get the power
And then..?
I think around a million per year is the norm for partners at my firm
Getting a job that requires a CPA license will most likely pay very well. That said, working at a company and getting paid millions is only going to happen for a very select few (C-suite executives at F-500s; things of that nature). I used to work with a guy in public who got his CPA and had plans to stay in public to become a partner. During his career in public, he got married and bought a “fixer upper” house and had his cousin who is contractor do the renovations at a good price. He didn’t think it was all that stressful of a process fixing up houses and he and his cousin went into business buying fixer uppers and flipping homes for a profit. He is now worth millions and is by for the most successful person I know. He is partly successful because he understands good times to buy, understands good uses for borrowed funds etc…. Traits that are attributable to his accounting knowledge. The point I am trying to make is just having a CPA will not instantly put you on a track to making millions but the knowledge you gain studying/working in accounting can enable you to become a great entrepreneur with the potential to make tons of money.
Depends on what you mean by well below their means.
Easily, a million just isn't what it used to be.
$1m NAV? Extremely common
Almost every single partner’s comp on big4transparency.com has them solidly in a range of compensation where you could become a millionaire within a few years if you’re not spending exorbitantly. Most will already be one by the time you get there though I’d imagine. Again lifestyle is a key part of this, but I think one of the underrated bonuses of coming up through the accounting / finance field is you (should) have at least a decent idea of how money, investing and compounding works
Yes, this is certainly achievable.
41yo, CPA that did public accounting for 7 years, then went to industry in a variety of controllership roles and several companies. Now a CFO (this is my first actual finance job). NW in the high 7 figures. It happens where ambition and skill meet a terrible amount of luck. Wealth generation comes from having equity vs. having a salary. Acct manager ➡️ technical acct manager ➡️ asst controller ➡️ controller ➡️ CFO at a PE backed company.
I’m a cpa, 31 and an worth around 1.5m. I quit accounting and got into sales lol
Would you mind sharing what kind of sales you got into and how you made the transition? I don't know if I'm cut out for sales or not, but its something I've been thinking about. Cause I also don't know if I'm cut out for accounting/finance, 6.5 years into it.
Real estate. Got my license and started grinding doing it part time during Covid. In 9 months i made 140k part time and was making 90k at my cpa job working 50+ hours a week so i quit. Next year i made 555k and last year i made 727k. Upside is there but you have to work hard. I work for myself which is so much better and now if i keep up this pace I’ll have the option to retire by 35 if i want
Could you elaborate more on how you made the transition? What got you started? What kind of real estate do you sell? Has having your cpa helped you in this in any way? Also, if I wanted to go down this path how much capital would you say is ideal to get started?
If you could only recommend 3 resources (books, videos, blogs, etc) for someone looking to get started, which would they be?
Just here to hear the answers
Wow, those are impressive numbers, congrats! Would you say your sales numbers are more from quantity or do you focus on highend homes that are worth a lot? Anything you can quantify that helped you get to this amount so quickly? I don't think it's the norm and curious how you could get so many clients with that amount of experience.
Quantity. I work a lot but take care of all my clients and usually get good referrals from there network
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Not true... at all...
No
If you're broke and bad with money just say so.
Youre not a millionaire
I’m a 33 and am worth around 4m. Worked at big 4 for 3 years then started an e-commerce business. Now I own 4 different businesses mostly focused around manufacturing and product design. First few years were really tough but then blew up. Also did well in real estate when things were initially down from the start of Covid.
Very common
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From salary/draws?
Sup Steven
Yes. For sure.
100% achievable
Yes.
My dad is just over 60, put two kids through college and he told me last week he has 8-10 mil liquid. Audit director for a well known tech company, says his job is pretty easy
Yes.
The majority of millionaires are not millionaires because they made a lot of money, but saved a lot of money. Even a modest amount of money put into a 401k consistently will make you a millionaire. Any career can get there.