In January 2010 I was single and woefully underemployed. I was working for minimum wage at a small local health club - I'd started the job over a year earlier, a few months before being laid off from my oil and gas job. I was renting a room in a lady's home - loved her pets! She was jealous I think of the attention her pets gave me (sorry, but dogs tend to gravitate to those who consistently walk and play with them ...)

I was also taking classes towards my Master's in Library science, and mostly living on savings. My networth was approximately $45k.

Fast Forward ten years.

I bought a used car, had three different main jobs (plus the tutoring in 2010/11), earned my Master's, moved to two different states, lost my dad, got married, and bought a house! (Mom got divorced, married, divorced, married and finally widowed.) Oh, I am again taking classes towards another degree.

Our networth is approximately (not including house or cars) $350k. A good portion of that though comes from the stocks I inherited from my dad. (Go figure, they are up nearly $100 from when I sold them a few years ago. Could've gone the other way.)