Here’s our latest interview with a millionaire as we seek to learn from those who have grown their wealth to high heights.
If you’d like to be considered for an interview, drop me a note and we can chat about specifics.
My questions are in bold italics and his responses follow in black.
Let’s get started…
OVERVIEW
How old are you (and spouse if applicable, plus how long you’ve been married)?
I’m 33 and single (divorced).
Do you have kids/family (if so, how old are they)?
No kids of the two-legged variety but I have a beloved cat who claims first-born status.
I’m fortunate to have a wonderful family that lives nearby, and we’re all very close.
What area of the country do you live in (and urban or rural)?
I live in a metropolitan city in the Southeast (also my hometown) that’s rapidly growing.
What is your current net worth?
$1.2M
What are the main assets that make up your net worth (stocks, real estate, business, home, retirement accounts, etc.) and any debt that offsets part of these?
- Home – $600k
- Roth IRA – $120k
- 401k (Roth) – $60k
- HSA – $15k
- Rental Property – $240k
- Cash – $170k
- Liabilities/Debt – $0
EARN
What is your job?
I’m a management consultant and am close to becoming a Principal.
What is your annual income?
$175k plus 15%+ annual bonus potential.
Tell us about your income performance over time. What was the starting salary of your first job, how did it grow from there (and what you did to make it grow), and where are you now?
I definitely did not start at $175k+, and I’ve worked incredibly hard to get here!
I started my career in consulting at a large, well-known firm but quickly realized the specialty area I had chosen was not a good fit for me.
However, I learned that I loved the field of consulting. I was a great student in college and loved to learn (still do). Getting paid to become an expert at something, working with smart people, and partnering with clients to solve complex problems was very appealing to me. My starting salary was about $55k, plus an annual $5k bonus.
It turns out that I was laid off along with many others at the firm during the height of the Recession after being there for a little over a year. This was very hard but also a blessing in disguise. It forced me to look for a new position at a different firm, and I found an excellent opportunity where I really hit my stride.
Being laid off at such a young age despite being highly successful in college motivated me to try to maximize my income, save as much as possible, and invest the rest so that I could become financially independent. This way I would never have to worry about being laid off again.
This lit a fire under me (FIRE pun intended!). I became willing to work long hours when needed, go the extra mile for clients and colleagues, be kind to others, network even when I didn’t want to, and invest in my career development. ESI’s 7 Steps to Millions More are golden and absolutely apply to management consulting. [He didn’t pay me to say this!]
Importantly, I’ve also kept a close eye on market salaries for consultants with my skills, education, and professional credentials. I have negotiated to get a higher salary when it was warranted and was willing to leave for competitor firms (which I knew I could do relatively easily) if my current firm didn’t offer me a fair market value comp plan. Each time I have gotten what I requested.
Your boss is not your friend, even if s/he is nice to you. It’s essential to know your market value, negotiate for what you’re worth, and be willing to walk if they don’t give it to you. Otherwise, you will be underpaid.
What tips do you have for others who want to grow their career-related income?
1. Be the best you can be at what you do.
2. Get the training, experiences, and education you need to excel.
3. Know the market and make friends with people at your level both in your company and at competitors so that you can get a good sense of what the market rate is for your role. (I’ve found that Glassdoor has consistently understated the comp for my role, so be wary of online salary estimators.) Having first-hand salary data from people you respect will give you a great sense of what you’re worth. It will also give you additional confidence to negotiate your compensation.
4. Be kind. In addition to sharp skills, hard work, and being great at what you do, being nice to others goes a long way toward building strong relationships with others at work. In many fields, especially as you advance, relationships are key to career ladder progression into senior roles. Even if you’re great at what you do, if you’re a jerk, undercut others, and steal credit for work you didn’t do, this usually comes back to haunt you down the road when it comes to getting promoted and landing a raise. People want to work with nice people.
What’s your work-life balance look like?
Management consulting is not known for 40-hour weeks, and I’m no exception. However, even when I’m on projects in which the hours become lengthier than desired I still enjoy the majority of the work I do.
That said, I have a wonderful life and am genuinely very happy. I rarely work weekends. If I have something on my mind I might work on it Sunday afternoon, but otherwise I try to unplug from work email during the weekend.
Also, I’m not a believer in the term work-life “balance”. If you’re always keeping score on which side is ‘winning’ you’re going to be miserable. Work is a part of life. If you choose work you like doing and strive to be the best you can reasonably be at your job, your life as a whole will likely be much happier.
Outside of work, I’m in a doctorate program at a top school, exercise regularly, love to read and write for pleasure, am actively involved in my church, and have solid relationships with my family and friends. Even during seasons with more work than usual, I love my life and can make time for the activities and people I treasure.
Laura Vanderkam’s books, blog and podcasts on this topic are among my favorites. I encourage anyone interested in productivity and time management to check out her work.
Do you have any sources of income besides your career? If so, can you list them, give us a feel for how much you earn with each, and offer some insight into how you developed them?
Yes – I have a rental property that nets about $10k in cash flow annually (after taxes, HOA fees, maintenance costs). I take care of all property management and don’t outsource this.
SAVE
What is your annual spending?
I’m a very low spender – about $17k in living expenses annually. This includes sales tax and property tax but does not include income tax, FICA, saving/investing, or giving.
Taxes are by far my largest expense. Becoming a millionaire in my early 30s was a result of maximizing my earning potential and saving like crazy.
As Dave Ramsey says, “If you live like no one else, you can live like no one else.”
What are the main categories (expenses) this spending breaks into?
Do you have a budget? If so, how do you implement it?
I no longer have a budget. I used to when I was first starting out and learning how to manage my finances.
Although I keep an eye on my spending and make sure all charges are accurate, I haven’t kept a budget for at least 5 years. I like to keep my finances simple, and my goals are clear.
Having goals that motivate me makes it easier to avoid spending on things that will give temporary pleasure at the expense of progress on achieving longer-term success.
What percentage of your gross income do you save and how has that changed over time?
I saved about 60% of my gross income. Gotta love taxes…
The percentage has probably stayed about the same over time.
What is your favorite thing to spend money on/your secret splurge?
At this point in my life, I believe my house has been my biggest extravagance, but it’s also been a good investment. I have WAY more space than I need. But I love my neighborhood, and it’s centrally located between work, church, stores, library, and the houses of family and friends. It’s also a great neighborhood for running/walking, and this helps me stay healthy and happy.
A special treat is eating a pint of Halo Top ice cream for dinner. At $5 each it’s not cheap for ice cream, so I buy multiple cartons when it’s half off at the grocery store.
Some might consider my doctorate degree to be a splurge. I view it as an investment in my career (100% cash flowed). It will enable me to become a thought leader in my area of specialization and increase my income.
INVEST
What is your investment philosophy/plan?
Keep it simple. Large cap, low-fee, Vanguard index funds/ETFs.
What has been your best investment?
Probably real estate. Buying 2 nice homes by literally writing a check and not taking out a loan was a great feeling.
It also increased my leverage to negotiate a good deal in spite of a high-growth seller’s market.
What has been your worst investment?
Cash! Even though I have it in a high yield savings account.
I’m a bit cash-heavy right now.
What’s been your overall return?
For equities, it’s mirrored the S&P 500 and US Total Stock market since the 2010s.
How often do you monitor/review your portfolio?
Every 2 weeks.
I track the major categories in an Excel spreadsheet and see what’s working and not working. I rarely make any adjustments.
Not fancy, I know.
NET WORTH
How did you accumulate your net worth?
I did the following to become a millionaire:
- Worked hard to maximize my earning potential.
- Saved as much as I could (living like a college student much of the time).
- Avoided debt.
- Invested the rest.
- Haven’t inherited anything, except a strong work ethic from my parents.
Also critical – I graduated college in 3 years to avoid going into debt. I cash-flowed my MBA while working full-time (also to avoid debt).
None of my net worth was inherited. However, I did inherit good money management and giving practices from both of my parents.
What would you say is your greatest strength in the ESI wealth-building model (Earn, Save or Invest) and why would you say it’s tops?
Historically, I’ve saved my way to millionaire status. But the key was that I had an income that could exceed basic living costs, and I was very disciplined.
Looking forward, I anticipate that my earning power will drive the majority of my net worth growth.
Question for other millionaires who are further down the road of financial independence – Did the primary source of your net worth growth come from an increase in earning power after your first million?
What road bumps did you face along the way to becoming a millionaire and how did you handle them?
- Getting laid off
- Being underpaid and negotiating my salary
- Marrying the wrong person (see below)
What are you currently doing to maintain/grow your net worth?
Getting a doctorate degree, improving my career skills, and growing my network to increase my earning power.
I have not yet inflated my lifestyle spending and I don’t anticipate doing this until I’m further down the road toward financial freedom (Fat FIRE).
My investing strategy is to stay the course for now. The real estate market where I live is overvalued in my opinion, so I plan to invest more heavily in stocks, particularly once the market eventually pulls back a bit.
Do you have a target net worth you are trying to attain?
My nearest term financial goal is to have $1M in non-house assets.
Beyond that, a $120k annual drawdown at 4% of $3M sounds nice.
However, the reality that I try to keep in mind is that I’m extremely blessed already and I’m content. Feeling blessed with the wealth that you already have is one of the greatest riches.
How old were you when you made your first million and have you had any significant behavior shifts since then?
32 years old. No significant lifestyle changes, as I’m very happy with the way I live.
What money mistakes have you made along the way that others can learn from?
Marrying the Wrong Person – My hope in doing this interview is that others who have gone through incredibly difficult life circumstances can believe they can achieve their goals in spite of their past.
The biggest financial and life mistake that I made was getting married to my former husband. He started becoming abusive to me shortly after we returned from our honeymoon. I had never experienced anything like this before. I come from a great family and to my knowledge we haven’t had instances of domestic violence. My parents have been married over 35 years, and although no marriage is perfect, they have a happy and healthy relationship.
In retrospect, I was incredibly fortunate and blessed because in less than a year after the wedding I was able to figure out what was going on and get help from two Christian counselors, the local YWCA, my church, and the National Domestic Violence hotline. Together with my family and support team we were able to develop an escape plan that enabled me to get away safely (with my cat).
I left everything behind except for my clothes, Bible, and toothbrush. I signed a lease for a new place to live not knowing if I could pay the rent for the full year because of legal fees associated with the divorce and the reality that nearly all of my pre-marriage assets were tied up in joint accounts with my husband.
To say I was scared and devastated was an understatement. The abuse destroyed my self-confidence and self-worth.
However, I’m now proof that with incredibly hard work and the grace of God you can rise up from your hardest times. You can rebuild your life and achieve your dreams. No one ever does anything to merit being abused. And this is true for many of the great tragedies in life. But you can overcome them if you choose to do so.
The divorce process took two years due to my former husband’s behavior throughout the proceedings. However, I was fortunate to be able to recover my premarital assets. Not all abuse survivors are this fortunate. I paid a steep price but gained an incredible amount of wisdom through this whole experience.
Bottom Line – If you are in an abusive relationship, value yourself enough to get help. You deserve better and can overcome this!
What advice do you have for ESI Money readers on how to become wealthy?
- Know your financial goals, and keep them top of mind each day.
- Be willing to put in the hard work and discipline necessary to achieve your financial goals.
- Change your daily habits and make life decisions that support your financial goals. You can probably live on a lot less money than you think if you keep yourself focused and motivated.
- Don’t complain when things don’t go your way. Resolve to keep going to achieve your goals, and stay positive. Life isn’t always fair.
- Turn saving into a game. Challenge yourself to find ways to have fun and enjoy your life that don’t require spending.
- Stay grateful. By being thankful for the blessings in your life, you’re less likely to want to spend on things you don’t have and don’t need.
FUTURE
What are your plans for the future regarding lifestyle?
For now, I’m just continuing with what seems to be working. I’m happy.
Even though I really enjoy my job, probably someday a long time in the future I’ll want to retire or do something else. Someday I’ll want to spend more money on food and clothes. But for now, I’m quite content.
What are your retirement plans?
I honestly have no idea.
I like the idea of using my skills and life experience to assist other victims of domestic violence.
I also like the idea of having a place to live that’s warmer in the winter.
I also love to read and write.
Are there any issues in retirement that concern you? If so, how are you planning to address them?
Like many others, healthcare costs and the viability of Social Security are concerns.
Another way I invest in myself that has financial ramifications is daily exercise and healthy eating (minus the Halo Top ice cream!).
Although there are no guarantees, I’m confident that taking care of myself now will pay financial and quality of life dividends down the road.
MISCELLANEOUS
How did you learn about finances and at what age did it “click”?
I learned about basic financial management principles from my dad when I was in elementary school, and this sparked my interest in learning more. I began investing in high school and have been fascinated by finance ever since.
Who inspired you to excel in life? Who are your heroes?
- My parents
- The Suffragettes and women leaders who advocate for gender equality
- Christ
Do you have any favorite money books you like/recommend? If so, can you share with us your top three and why you like them?
Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen – An update on the classic that helps account for the gender pay gap disparity and includes great examples of financially savvy women (a rarity in many finance books).
The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness – Dave Ramsey gives easy to understand, no nonsense advice better than anyone.
Do you give to charity? Why or why not? If you do, what percent of time/money do you give?
Yes! I have been incredibly blessed throughout my life, even though I’ve had my fair share of obstacles along the way. Giving time, talent, and treasure are an important part of my faith and who I am.
I’m an active board member at a nonprofit and have served on numerous church committees in the past.
Last year I donated about 5%, which is lower than usual because I changed churches. I’m so excited about the work my new church is doing to help others and plan to increase giving to 10%+.
In the future, I hope to give a very large, intentional gift to help other domestic violence survivors.
Do you plan to leave an inheritance for your heirs (how do you plan to distribute your wealth at your death)? What are your reasons behind this plan?
Well, right now I don’t have any direct descendants (unless you include my cat!).
If that doesn’t change, I plan to leave it all to my church and nonprofits that support domestic violence recovery.
M says
Congratulations and thank you for such an inspiring profile. I’m
certain that your optimism and thoughtful approach to problems
is obvious to all of your management consulting clients.
There are only two things that I might suggest —
1) You may want to focus on savings in a taxable account. It
seems like you have tied up most of your money in the real estate
(except the cash) and having access to liquidity will be helpful
for flexibility going forward.
2) The spending on “yourself” seems low. Now (well, not “now”
due to COVID-19) is the time in your life to travel, explore, meet
people and continue to develop yourself (in addition to school).
You’re giving much to charities, work, and others….don’t forget
yourself!
Excellent, inspiring profile.
MI.183 says
Thank you so much for your encouragement and kind words!
I agree with both pieces of advice. With the market drop from COVID I bought more Vanguard SP500 ETF shares (VOO), so my cash position from February (when I wrote this) is much smaller now. Essentially I have an emergency fund in cash to cover a year or so of expenses (depending on health insurance costs), and I invested the rest.
I definitely think you’re right about needing to spend more to enjoy life a bit more. I’ve been diligent about saving but this can come at the expense of not savoring enough of the good things in life. I think I need to allocate ‘fun money’ for myself each month to counterbalance my savings tendency. If anyone has thoughts and advice on how much and the best way to do this, I’d appreciate it.
Thank you again!
Curious says
Congratulations!! I have a few questions:
1. You said you save 60% of your gross income. It seems to me your 401k would have more money than it does. Are you maxing out your 401k or putting that savings into cash?
2. You stated you only spent $600 in 2019 on clothing. How do you only spend $600 on clothing in such a high-profile position where you are client-facing? One good tailored suit can cost way more than $600.
MI.183 says
Thank you Curious! Great questions.
1. Unfortunately I was late to get into the 401k game. Definitely a mistake, but I’ve corrected that the past few years, maxing my contribution. Unfortunately my employer doesn’t have a great match rate, but I’ll take what I can get!
2. Clothes don’t make the consultant! You definitely have to look professional (sometimes wearing suits, sometimes business casual – depending on the client) but this definitely doesn’t require $600 suits. I love to shop at TJ Maxx, Ross, Nordstrom Rack, Kohls, and other stores where I can get high quality clothes that are in style at a discount. I also take good care of what I buy. Staying healthy and the same size (give or take) also means that I don’t have to buy new clothes due to weight gain/loss. Clothes outside of work are casual – jeans, t-shirts, ‘athleisure’ wear.
Retire@55 says
Great Story, thank you for sharing and congratulations in overcoming an abusive relationship.
I have to ask, how do you only spend $1,500 on food annually?
MI.183 says
Thank you Retire@55! Really appreciate your kind words.
Great question on food. I travel a good amount for work, and meals when traveling are covered by my clients. Outside of that I eat pretty simply, and being plant-based (no meat) definitely helps with the food costs. Oats, grains, homemade bread, fruits and vegetables, and the occasional ice cream are pretty inexpensive.
Maverick says
Good work. I’m also surprised your savings rate produced low investment assets to date, but you are still young. Congrats on figuring out relationship issues before it got too late. I’m “a few” years ahead of you and look back and reflect on the surprising number of people with mental health issues. I knew a young woman while I was in college who had many borderline personality disorder traits; intense relationship, habitual lying, blame others, and cheating. Thankfully it was only a few months and no marriage. She did marry a HS friend, had 2 kids, got divorced within 10 years. I got lucky and found another person, this time with a heart of gold. Both types of people walk around among us. You are a “veteran” now and know better what to look for. Good luck!
MI.183 says
Thank you Maverick! I think you raise a great point about mental health. There’s no doubt in my mind that someone can be intellectually bright yet mentally ill and abusive.
Cheers on learning this lesson early and dodging a bullet! So sorry to hear about your HS friend. I’ve gained so many insights about mental health issues, domestic violence, the legal system, and so many other things. I’m blessed that my family has never had to deal with this in the past. It’s hard to fathom that 1 in 4 American women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.
All the best to you too!
Joe says
Thank you for a great interview. Glad you were able to get out of that relationship.
I think some idea of a timeline may be helpful to understand your success. How long did it take you to get back on your feet and was it long ago? What age were you when you managed to buy your home in cash?
I’m an early retiree. To answer your question, after the 1st million, my net worth became increasingly dependent on investments. After 3 or so million it was almost entirely dependent on investments, that’s one of the main reasons I left the workforce.
I chuckled when I saw your question about how to spend fun money. No wonder you’ve saved so much. I spent a lot on travelling for years (around $20-80k for years, higher spending years were for long-term living expenses overseas) but not so much anymore. Nowadays I spend mostly on others. I’ve found that even though I can buy anything I want, there’s nothing I really want to buy.
MI.183 says
Thank you Joe – that’s very helpful insight re investments being an increasingly important source of wealth growth post the first $1M. Congrats on your success!
Love what you said, “Nowadays I spend mostly on others. I’ve found that even though I can buy anything I want, there’s nothing I really want to buy.” It sounds to me like you have solid values as your foundation.
It’s funny what you mention about travel. As someone who travels a fair amount for work, getting time to spend at home doing things I love with people I love is more valuable to me than traveling somewhere exotic. I figure I’ll save the travel for when I retire!
Paper Tiger (aka MI-27) says
MI 183, you have an impressive discipline around ESI. Your savings and expenses are really admirable and keeping your investing consistent and simple allows both your risk and your fees to remain pretty low. You’ve also carved out a nice career that supports a strong income which will continue to fuel your savings and investments.
You seem to have all of the right priorities in life figured out and a nice balance, maybe with the exception of taking a little more time for yourself as others have noted. However, you are young, energetic and driven to succeed so its OK to be a little more focused on career progression right now while you only have yourself to worry about.
I’m sorry you went through such a difficult relationship but glad to see you come out the other side stronger and wiser. It sure seems like you have an amazing path ahead and I wish you all the best!
MI.183 says
Thank you so much Paper Tiger. I was so impressed with your interview and highly value your feedback. Hope all is well with you, and thank you again!
Scott says
$1,500 a year on food? You must be real skinny:-)
Congrats on the millionaire milestone at such an early age!
Phillip says
It’s likely all her weekday meals are billed as expenses. I know/knew lots of management consultants and sales engineers who were constantly on the road and could practically pocket their entire paycheck if they wanted to.
MI.183 says
Ha, the food comments make me smile. You can make a lot of great, inexpensive, healthy meals with grains, beans, fruits/veg, oats, sugar, nuts, etc. But you do have to know how to cook, at least the basics.
Thinking I should write a cookbook called Millionaire Meals! 🙂
Paul says
Great story. I am glad that you have a strong will to come out of the mess and build again your successful life at very young age. You are an inspiring young lady for others. Cheers.
MI.183 says
Thank you Paul! Really appreciate the encouragement.
ET says
I love these interviews. They are great motivators. Although sometimes they make me feel very inadequate and quite behind! Excellent work.
MI.183 says
Thank you ET! I agree with you. I get so inspired from the other interviews, especially because they all seem like great, down to earth people I’d love to get to know.
MI-145 says
Hi MI-183
Great to see another fellow female management consultant amongst the ESI Millionaire stories!
Reading your story I see lots of similarities in terms of outlook and work ethic which I also strongly identify with.
To your question of “Does net worth growth increase come from earning power after the first million?” – if you stay in consulting like I did (and make partner) then the answer is “Yes, but net worth will increasingly be more dependent on your investments after that.”
The first million takes the longest to achieve (I hit US 1MM at 31, US 2MM at 33 and US 3MM at 34 – which were largely due to increases in earnings once I made partner at 32). Majority of the increases I’ve then invested in the stock market to generate monthly dividends – similar to your goal of 3M yielding 4% of 120K annually.
I’m sorry that you had to go through such a difficult relationship but as many of the others have said above – you have done amazingly well despite it all and sounds like you’re well set up for the path ahead!
Good luck and congrats again on being a millionaire at such a young age despite all the hardship!
ET says
What exactly is management consulting?
MI.183 says
Hi ET – There are a lot of different sub-specialties within management consulting, but I like to describe it as being a physician for businesses/organizations. We work with clients to solve difficult challenges and help them be as successful as possible.
That’s a huge simplification but hopefully it’s a bit helpful!
MI.183 says
Thank you MI-145! I loved your interview and was so impressed with what you’ve achieved with your career.
Really appreciate the insight on net worth growth following the first $1M. I think that makes a lot of sense and I’ve been surprised how quickly I’ve made traction on the next million (although that could definitely change with COVID).
I’m grateful for your encouragement, and all the best in your career! It’s not always easy being a female in our field and persistence pays off!
JeffB MI20 says
They always say making the first Million is the hardest.
MI.183 says
Yes, there’s definitely consensus around that point from the millionaires on this site. I hope that’s true for me too!
Phillip says
As and former management consultant, I agree this career is an excellent wealth building profession, if you can stomach the workload and travel. It’s a tough gig and I didn’t stick around long enough to even be on the radar to make Principal, much less junior partner/partner. Good luck going forward. The intellectual and financial rewards are certainly there.
MI.183 says
Thank you Phillip!
I concur and would add that finding the optimal firm and team is critical to satisfaction with consulting. Your partner(s) on projects can make a huge difference in your quality of life. Fortunately I think things are starting to improve. Hope you’ve found a great path post-consulting!
Mike says
Great story!
I’m a bit confused here by the numbers – how did you retain $1.2m over a course of 11 years (with 840k in non appreciating home assets)?
Even averaging $125k * 11 this totals out to $1.375m – before all the taxes and life expenses.
Can you elaborate?
Erin says
Also interested in seeing the details on this!
MI.183 says
Hi Mike and Erin – great questions!
It’s important to remember that I invested funds in equities (which appreciated greatly during this period) before purchasing real estate. Also, after I purchased the real estate the market in which I live took off. So I’ve benefited from strong stock and real estate markets during this time (in addition to high savings rates).
Hope this is helpful!
Erin says
Very nice! Home purchase price was around $400k and worth 600k now!? Wow
Colorado Sarah says
Loved reading this story about such a young millionaire.
I also delight that you’ve got your head screwed on right:
“I’m extremely blessed already and I’m content. Feeling blessed with the wealth that you already have is one of the greatest riches.”
Maintain the strength of your faith. The happiest, most content people I know practice their faith.
Enjoy the management consulting while you can. Based on personal experience, you may sit up one day on a delayed flight, landing in your home town, and realize you’re “done with this crap”. I never thought it would happen to me, but sometime in my mid-40s the “this used to be exciting but it’s no longer how I went to spend my days” thunderclap hit me suddenly.
Alas, the beauty of chasing FI: we have granted ourselves options when the comes to employment.
MI.183 says
Hi Colorado Sarah,
Thank you so much for your kind words. I’ve heard of that happening to other management consultants also! One of the greatest gifts of being debt free and financially secure is that it gives you flexibility if confronted with a negative workplace situation. I hope you have found a wonderful place to land!
Thank you again.
MI 162 says
Not very often I cant comment anything other than Good Job, cool to see!
I like seeing the other end of the spectrum where you have a heavy focus on income and career and organization when I compare it to my path of scatterbrained and figure it out as I go along.
MI.183 says
Thank you so much MI 162! I really enjoyed reading your interview, and it’s great that there are so many paths and opportunities to reach millionaire status. Congratulations on all of your success. I definitely wouldn’t call it scatterbrained!
Female30s says
As another women in business and in my 30’s with two little ones… just want to say congrats to you and your success, especially when you have done it completely on your own. I’ve had the help of a spouse that also makes good money but it feels really nice to be this young and in the millionaire club! Wouldn’t it be fun if everyone had a net worth bubble posted over their head?! That way we could snoop and really pick apart the smart ones much quicker. Too bad we don’t share as much as we should sometime, but glad you are here and are able to share your own success! Keep it up and break through those barriers.
MI.183 says
Thank you Female30s, and congrats to you and your family! It’s nice to see Millennials overcoming the sterotype of being lazy!
Tom from MD says
Great interview! When I read these interviews, I scan the age (32? My that’s young!), then the net worth ($1.2 M and a divorce – there’s an inheritance story here [yawn]), and the asset allocation.
I was prepared for the story of either an IPO millionaire or an inheritance. Instead, I read your story of grit, drive, and a truly great attitude. In your short adulthood, you have powered through more than most see by their 50s. I’m impressed at how you maintain a positive attitude, are focused on your long-term goals, and are making positive steps daily to achieve them.
I’ve thought about doing one of these interviews, but my story isn’t nearly as powerful as yours. What made you decide to tell it here?
Thank you for sharing this gem, and best wishes in all you do!