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.
This interview took place in October.
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 am 41 years old. Wife is 35.
We have been married 7 years now
Do you have kids/family (if so, how old are they)?
Yes 3 children. Ages 6, 4 and 1.
What area of the country do you live in (and urban or rural)?
We live in the suburbs of a large city in Texas.
What is your current net worth?
Our current net worth is $5.5M
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?
Our main assets are:
- Cash $150K
- Brokerage Accounts $500K
- Retirement Accounts (IRAs & 401Ks) $1.3M
- Crypto currency $50K
- 5 Rental Properties $2M (this is the equity figure, there is about $800K in debit outstanding too with all properties cash flow positive)
- Pension $1.5M
Not included in my net worth calculation are the kid’s 529 plans. We have one setup for each of them working toward ~$100K each.
We have no debt. Credit cards are paid off monthly. Cars have been purchased outright.
EARN
What is your job?
Mid-level manager at a Fortune 500 Energy company who I have been with since college graduation.
What is your annual income?
My annual income is about $300K now.
Base salary is about $200K. Going forward total compensation won’t change much (maybe +$100K as a base salary) until I achieve Executive level within the company and stock based compensation kicks in.
The other $100K is from passive income sources.
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?
My first job at age 15 was as a sandwich maker at a fast food restaurant making $5.25 an hour.
I had various other jobs in high school and college, but an internship with an oil company my junior summer opened up my eyes to the income possibilities with Oil and Gas. I think I made an equivalent of $30 an hour that summer.
My starting salary out of college was $70K. That was almost 2 decades ago. At the time the energy industry was paying about double other industries I could have joined. I remember a lot of envy from my close friends when I was offered the job.
I was fortunate to join the industry during the early days of the most recent oil and gas boom. Salaries and opportunities continued to climb for the first ~15 years of my career. There have been lots of hiccups since, as is expected in a cyclical commodity based business, but my on the job performance has kept my job secure, for now.
What tips do you have for others who want to grow their career-related income?
The secret sauce of my net worth build has been saying yes to moving often (~every 2 years) and living over 10 years outside of the US as an Expat (3 different countries). I was able to save a substantial amount of my salary each year as an expat because the company paid for my housing, utilities and provided a cost of living adjustment.
Also, make sure to ask for a raise or promotion if you deserve it. It won’t always be granted, but you can level up much quicker if can keep pace with the executive development curves of your company.
Finally, take the long term view. Often the grass is not always greener on the other side. It never made sense to me to jump from employer to employer for a +$10K difference in salary. If your base salary is strong and you are good at saving and investing, focusing your efforts on being indispensable to your current employer and finding investment opportunities outside of work may be a better path. Has been for me.
What’s your work-life balance look like?
Comes in waves, but for the most part I get 8 to 9 hours of sleep a night and have breakfast with my family in the morning and dinner with them in evening.
I also am able to find time to exercise 4 or more times a week and eat right, so I can’t complain too much.
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?
Over the last 15 years I have built a nice portfolio of dividend paying stocks, which spin off about $2K a month. These are automatically re-invested.
My rental property income grows every year thanks to the power of depreciation and rent increases. I am able to manage the properties myself, with the help of my father, so that goes a long way to supporting positive cash flow.
SAVE
What is your annual spending?
Like most parents, our annual spend has become very dependent upon our children.
We have decided to go the private school route during COVID. No regrets thus far. But it was a tough decision, especially considering how frugal I lived to this stage in my life. Spending thousands of dollars a month on education instead of investments has been a tough transition for me to make. Kids are thrilled and wife is happy, so I think it is worth it for the time being.
We probably only spend about $6K a month, with the remainder going to private school, extracurricular for the kids and saving (401Ks, 529s, ROTH IRAs, Brokerage account…etc.).
What are the main categories (expenses) this spending breaks into?
Nothing too riveting here. Food, utilities, extracurriculars, various insurances. Prior to COVID we planned two big family vacations each year. Hope to continue this once travel restrictions ease.
I keep the real estate portfolio separate from our household budgeting. At this stage the real estate portfolio is self-sufficient and I don’t withdrawal any of the proceeds for our personal use. If there are extra monies available over and above our emergency fund then we use them to pay down loans or make improvements to the properties.
Do you have a budget? If so, how do you implement it?
Yes, we have a high level budget that we reference each month to ensure we are staying on track. It is especially important when we make “big” decisions, like private school, new car, vacation plans…etc.
Otherwise we use the budget to track our monthly expenses against our plan. If something doesn’t add up then we go and investigate why and make adjustments to our lifestyle if need be.
Almost all of our monthly expenditures are set for automatic payment. So we don’t sweat things too much.
What percentage of your gross income do you save and how has that changed over time?
I have always saved 20% of my income in my company 401K.
Some years while I was overseas I was able to save 100% of my income.
Right now we are probably closer to 35%. I am OK with that as we have a young family. I like spending money on my kids with the focus on education and enrichment.
What’s your best tip for saving (accumulating) money?
Pay yourself first is timeless advice.
When I first joined my company I recognized that I wouldn’t need all of my income each month so decided to max out my 401K. I never looked back as the deduction comes out of my check before I even see it.
Then I would look to put money into assets that will potentially gain or at least hold their value. If you want a nice car get one that is a few years old and avoid all of the wasteful deprecation that happens the first 3 to 5 years. I have bought many cars that I eventually sold for the same price I paid for them. Basically getting to enjoy them for “free”.
What’s your best tip for spending less money?
I think recognizing that the home you live in is consumption not investing is a big way to save. Getting a smaller, more energy efficient, cheaper to insure home that doesn’t sabotage your commute can pay big dividends.
What is your favorite thing to spend money on/your secret splurge?
Travel and technology.
As a family we like to go to exotic places and eat amazing food.
Personally, I like to keep up with the latest technology, especially in the health and wellness space. With a personal goal to become an active centenarian I want use all tools available to make it happen.
INVEST
What is your investment philosophy/plan?
We save as much as we can with the plan to enable a full retirement at age 55 or earlier.
I consider my company pension to be a bond equivalent, so all of our other savings is in stocks or real estate.
What has been your best investment?
My personal financial education, especially understanding investor physiology.
From a purely dollars and sense perspective, real estate in 2011, Microsoft stock at $20 a share in 2010.
What has been your worst investment?
I own a beautiful piece of mountain property. But vacant land brings in no cash flow and property taxes seem to go up every year. I wish I would have put the money in a REIT, more Microsoft stock, or at least a condo that generated cash-flow.
I also shorted Snap (SNAP) stock a quarter early in 2018 and lost about $10K in two days. That was an emotional scar for some time. I don’t short shares any longer, mostly just an EFT guy now.
What’s been your overall return?
I have kept up with or done better than the S&P 500 the last 18 years. No complaints.
How often do you monitor/review your portfolio?
I look at it often, but I don’t make changes very often. It is important to me to keep tabs on how the market is moving.
I like to predict where things are headed and then compare where they actually go. I am refining my market expertise this way. I want to make sure I am not surprised when big changes occur.
But even if I am I want my portfolio to be on autopilot so that I don’t make silly decisions in the face of a downturn.
NET WORTH
How did you accumulate your net worth?
I graduated college with a negative net worth. Truth is I didn’t even know what net worth meant back then.
I worked hard in school to get a good job, and I made the decision to move to where the best opportunity was. Not an easy decision at age 22 when your life revolves around your home town/friends.
Then I was lucky to find some likeminded colleagues, many of them older than me, who became mentors. They helped plant ideas. I was always focused on making my money work for me.
My net worth grew slowly, then all at once, ala the snowball analogy. I was a millionaire at 30. But I didn’t realize it until I was 31 when I started to track numbers.
Wealth building is relatively easy if you can save more than you earn. We have all seen the charts on the power of compound interest. Basically, if you can be patient you will win the race. Wealth building is not a sprint, but a marathon.
As I mentioned earlier, my saving super power has been moving often to increase my earning power. At this stage in my life I am hungry for more, but am content with a slower pace to my career growth and net worth as my focus has shifted to enjoying my beautiful family.
I have not received, nor expect to receive any inheritance.
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?
Invest, followed closely by Save.
Every time I get paid I am looking to find a way to put new dollars to work. I want my money to make money. It has always been my focus.
Of course you have to spend less than you earn (save) to be able to do that, but I have found it easier to forgo spending knowing that my hard earned dollars are being invested.
What road bumps did you face along the way to becoming a millionaire and how did you handle them?
Biggest challenges have been physiological when the stock market crashes (2002, 2008, 2018, 2020) or the real estate mess of 2009. Very good, and frequent, reminders to be diversified and not use leverage.
To get through these times I just focused on my investment thesis and continued to buy/invest. At some stage my investment thesis will need to be updated as I shift from accumulation phase to preservation phase.
What are you currently doing to maintain/grow your net worth?
Still contributing 20% to my 401K. Still focusing on paying down rental property loans with excess cash generation from the properties.
Looking into crypto currency as a hedge against fiat money with a small portion of my portfolio.
Do you have a target net worth you are trying to attain?
$10M.
All projections say I can get there by following my current path. My focus is to make it happen sooner than later so that I can forget about a 9 to 5.
How old were you when you made your first million and have you had any significant behavior shifts since then?
I was a millionaire as a single man at age 30.
But when I ran the numbers I realized that $1M split out across various liquid and non-liquid assets with various forms of tax liability tied to their basis was not a life changing amount of money unless I wanted to live like a hermit.
So I just keep focusing on my efforts to grow my asset base. And I am glad that I did, because today, even with a much higher net worth, I feel many times more responsibility with a wife and three young children and a very challenging and ever changing job and investment landscape.
What money mistakes have you made along the way that others can learn from?
If you don’t have to sell, don’t.
I have sold investment properties and stock positions too early. Has cost me at least another 6 figures of net worth.
What advice do you have for ESI Money readers on how to become wealthy?
Never stop learning. Read, read, read. There is so much free information out there to keep your mind growing in the area of investments, wealth management, asset protection…etc. There is really no excuse to not keep leveling up your knowledge and expertise.
Also, make sure you are protecting the downside. As your net worth grows make sure your insurance coverages follow suit. High levels of liability coverage are relatively cheap. There is no reason to risk your nest egg to some erroneous event outside of your control.
FUTURE
What are your plans for the future regarding lifestyle?
I think the biggest advantage of accomplishing our financial goals is being able to say no to work assignments / locations that don’t support our family preferences. I worked hard and moved a lot to get to where I am today. I am content focusing on my family and our overall happiness going forward.
I expect to retire by 55 or earlier. I believe I am financially independent now, but am looking to be FAT FIRE, not just FIRE.
I will probably start a business at some stage in something I am passionate about. Then it won’t be a job per say, more of a hobby that I manage on my own time.
We love to travel, so I see that continuing for many years. Maybe slow down at 70.
What are your retirement plans?
Half the year in Hawaii and half the year in Colorado has been my game plan for a long time now. Of course kids and the path they follow will dictate a lot.
I want to compete in triathlons and make bean to bar chocolate.
Are there any issues in retirement that concern you? If so, how are you planning to address them?
The cost and availability of health care is a big one. My company does not offer a Health Savings Account (HSA). If they did I would be contributing. At this stage I am doing all that I can to stay healthy and focus on the preventative side of things.
I would be interested in a Long Term Care insurance policy, but they have degraded so much in the last 10 years that coverages are likely not going to be worth anywhere near the exorbitant costs. I expect there will be evolution in this space too. So for now just focusing on not getting sick is key.
MISCELLANEOUS
How did you learn about finances and at what age did it “click”?
I was a state champion in a school sponsored stock picking game in 7th grade. Four friends and I bought as much BestBuy stock as we could on margin every day of the game (I think it lasted a month), and were nothing but lucky to catch a huge move in the stock over that time. We won a t-shirt, which I think I still have somewhere. That was the start of my interest in investing.
I subscribed to Money Magazine for middle school through college. Again, just helped me understand the basics.
Things “clicked” when I got out of college and started to prepare a monthly budget based on my salary. Seeing the time-value of money and compounding tables made me realize that living paycheck to paycheck was a choice. A choice I didn’t want to make.
Who inspired you to excel in life? Who are your heroes?
My dad had an amazing work ethic. I knew how much he sacrificed for the family. It was inspirational.
I grew up poor, but our home was full of love. My mom was a spiritual force of goodness.
I was an athlete growing up, so of course found inspiration in the sport stars at the time. Not the flashy lifestyle, but the work ethic that led to success on the court/field was inspirationally to me.
What’s the opposite of a hero? In my day to day life I think I have learned the most from seeing other people make bad decisions and then me learning from them by not making the same decision. A wise person told me once, show me your 5 closest friends and I will show you your future. I think there is a lot of truth to that.
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?
How to Get Rich – Felix Dennis, awesome story of how to think about the world of business.
The Happiness Hypothesis – Jonathan Haidt – this book blew my mind the first time I read it. It is a psychology book, but supports self-discovery related to money and investing.
Of course – Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki – the original financial literacy / wealth building how to guide.
The 4-Hour Workweek – Tim Ferris – You don’t have to do everything yourself. Delegation and leveraging skills allows you to focus on what matters in your wealth journey.
These days I mostly read books about stoicism and subscribe to blogs /podcasts about money, investing and Financial Independence. Happy to share recommendations if interested.
Do you give to charity? Why or why not? If you do, what percent of time/money do you give?
Our family does some charitable work from time to time, but it is not a focus for us at the moment. Kids are too young and command most of our time. But we will increase our efforts down the road.
My wife and I have large extended families and it seem that someone always needs help.
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?
We haven’t done a full estate plan yet, but I certainly expect to provide something for our children. The world is ultra-competitive now. Our focus is and will be on education.
So perhaps 529s for grandkids. Transfer of investment properties to kids. Something like that.
The Millennial Money Woman says
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and advice! First of all, congratulations on amassing such a substantial net worth number at such a young age! That’s impressive. I thought it was great how you mentioned that often the grass is not always greener on the other side, so it may not always be worth jumping ship to another employer, even if you see “just” a 10k increase. A lot of my young professional peers believe that every 2 years they should be moving from employer to employer for a higher salary. I’m not so sure I agree with that philosophy – and I’m relieved to hear that you also caution this philosophy.
One of my all-time favorite books (aside from the Millionaire Next Door) is the Happiness Advantage – there is so much valuable information. I haven’t read the Happiness Hypothesis yet, but I’ll certainly take a look at it.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and continued luck on your journey!
Cheers,
Fiona
MI#101 says
I am kinda on the fence with the changing employers regularly. On one hand I am in my 40th year with same employer yet I have friends who have regularly changed employers whom would be as successful or more even more financially so than myself.
I think it depends on you situation. Clearly I would not have stayed with the same employer for 40 years if there was not opportunity for growth and it was not an environment I generally enjoyed working in.
For others changing employers was a good thing. No right or wrong answer. Just depends on your situation and of course each people have different goals.
Also I do believe money should not be the only reason you do decide to change employers. Life to me is more than just what I earn and have
charlie @ doginvestor.com says
Super impressive! Am I correct in understanding that at certain point you were able to save 100% of your income ($200k) because of work subsidy and little to no taxes overseas?
MI-232 says
Hi Charlie,
Of course I was not always making $200K base salary, but most years overseas I was able to save about my fully salary due to various components of my expat package and a frugal lifestyle. Being single with no kids for most of my assignments was a big help too, as most of the expat packages were based on a family of 4 living a standard American lifestyle.
Each country is different as far as package goes, and they were more generous in the past than they are today. Many more folks are will to go expat for work these days and the world has become a lot easier to stay connected thanks to technology.
My company does tax equalization, so I did not benefit from lower taxes overseas, I also was not penalized if the overseas taxes were higher than back in the US.
MI-something says
Lots of similarities between MI232 and myself except I am 7 years younger. Can you talk about your real estate portfolio and it’s makeup and what how you boil it down to the properties you make have acquired over the years?
MI-232 says
I haven’t followed a specific formula or process with my real estate portfolio. Other than location / demographics and cashflow.
I know a lot of people who have bought 1 or 2 new properties each year in the $100K range and just keep accumulating and let a property manager run the show. These types of businesses are usually only in low cost of living locations and don’t see much appreciation.
I am always focused on location and basically will only buy a place if I could see my self living there. I like the idea of optionality down the road.
I have only purchased single family homes or townhomes in the markets that I know in the west.
I have not purchased anything new since 2016, but made smart buys back during in 2003 – 2012 and have seen tremendous valuation growth and consistent cash flow.
I would also note that I am not to focused on maximizing monthly cash flow, but rather keeping rents just below market. This has helped me keep long term tenants. Turnover cuts into your profits and destraction from your day to day.
ol1970 says
It’s time to sit down and create that estate plan young man! This is one task in 2021 that you could do for your family that could make a huge impact. It’s inexpensive, easy, and absolutely necessary for someone in your position. I created a revocable living trust at 40 and update it every 3-4 years as life evolves and the net worth grows.
Great job so far and you will undoubtedly achieve whatever goals you set for you and your family!
MI-232 says
Thanks for the comment ol1970 – I will look into an estate plan this year as you suggest.
Papa Jaypes (aka MI-254) says
What a great interview, thanks MI-232! We’re very similar in age (40) and life stage; I’m married with young kids (mine are 4 and 2), but your networth is multiples of mine, well done! You’ll be able to hear/read my full story via my upcoming millionaire interview in June I believe.
I’m a big fan of the FI movement myself, so I would love to hear your recommendations for FI blogs, podcasts and other resources.
A couple questions, you mentioned, “I like spending money on my kids with the focus on education and enrichment.” Besides the private education, what other lessons, events, experiences, or things you’d recommend spending on for enriching the lives of the young ones?
Also, you said “I like to keep up with the latest technology, especially in the health and wellness space.” I’d be interested to hear what kinds of things you’ve spent on in this space and what’s made some of the best impacts for your dollars invested. Thanks!
MI-232 says
Hello MI-254,
Thanks for the feedback. I look forward to your interview.
FI Blogs:
madfientist
MMM
ESI of course!
White Coat Investor
Physician on Fi
Clark Howard
Finace Blogs:
Howard Marks
PIMCO
Real Vision
John Mauldin
Jared Dillian
Fred Wilson
Kids education, my kids are young like yours, so most of our enrichment is via home schooling type activities or through organized sports / skills coaching:
– Sports (swimming, soccer, basketball, we also go for bike rides / runs, and visit at least 3 parks a week)
Gardening ( we have a mud kitchen in the back yard!
Art (we have an art room devoted to creation, there are also art classes offered in our area)
Reading (we read to our kids all of the time, we have at least 30 books checked out of from the library at all times it seems)
Cooking (like the mud kitchen in the backyard, but much more work for us parents to clean up)
Zoo / natural history museum, children’s museum
Our latest super find is a climbing gym. Kids love it and it is super fun to watch them conquer their fears and show resiliency as they struggle through some hard spots
Latest Tech:
Oura Ring (wear at night)
Read – why we sleep – Matt Walker, huge eye opener
Apple Watch (wear during day)
I take a lot of supplements too
Read – Lifespan: Why We Age, and Why We Don’t Have To
ATXLITE says
Wow! Reading about your journey has been so inspiring!
I’m in my early 30s, also in Texas! I wish you were my friend/mentor. I haven’t had the best luck meeting likeminded people.
Anyway, you asked…yes, I’d love recommendations for books about stoicism!
Which blogs /podcasts about money, investing and Financial Independence do you follow?
MI-232 says
Hi ATXLITE – we can be friends!
Stoicism:
Best resource I have found is Ryan Holiday. He has a number of great books out that basically digest ancient stocism into modern language. You can get them all at your local library.
He also does a Daily Stoic and Daily Dad email, free to sign up.
Check out my list above related to blogs I just published above to MI-254s question.
Podcasts:
madfientist
Real Vision
Deep Questions
Choose FI
The Economist
Choiceology
We Study Billionaires
Motley Fool Money
Planet Money
Clark Howard
Masters in Business
Invest Like the Best
Animal Spirits
Tim Ferrris
Mad Money
Tropical MBA
James Altucher
The Acquirers Podcast
Freakonomics Radio
Exponential View
Afford Anything
Knowledge Project
Hidden Brain
M-124 says
Great share. You make several sort of casual comments that are just spot on – particularly about discipline and also about minding taxes and liabilities.
Also about constant learning.
I see that the biggest piece of net worth is real estate – not to mention the tax efficiencies it provides.
Have you and your wife looked into the safe harbor that allows the qualified business income deduction ? “Rental real estate enterprise” definition deals with time spent managing the properties and has some great advantages if you qualify. It changed my tax world. You probably have.
Great share all around. I’d be curious if you have a net worth dollar goal , just for fun.
MI-232 says
Thanks for this M-124, I will look into rental real estate enterprise definition and see if it can help our situation.
I am shooting for a $10M new worth….
MMiguel says
MI-232,
Congrats on an impressive NW at only entering your 40’s. I noted that you included your pension (or a capitalized annuity value) in your NW… not to open up a debate on whether or not pensions, social security, etc. belong in NW figures, I’m curious to how you determined the value. That said, your stats are great even without.
I’ve heard from others just how extremely lucrative expat packages can be – wish I’d done that earlier in my career. Clearly your rental properties have also made a huge difference ion your NW. Like you, real estate has been the big driver of outsized performance on NW. Curious to know more about how you built up your r.e. portfolio… did you refi to provide capital for new properties, etc., single-fam vs multi-fam, etc.
Happy to see someone mention concern about taxes and friction costs… for myself I’m happy to see a nice NW figure, but also do an estimation of what happens if/when I sell and potentially take big tax hits on highly appreciated r.e. and securities. Always up for hearing how others intend to manage such issues.
MI-232 says
Hi Miguel,
I too look at my pension as a just outside of the inner circle of net worth. In fact for a long time I did not keep much tabs on it. But when I ran the numbers a couple of years ago I was surprised at the “value” it was going to provide my family in the future. Thus I have started to keep track of it.
My pension is also advantageous because I can take a lump sum if I retire at 55 or older. That will probably equate to +$4M check that can be directly deposited into my traditional IRA.
As far as valuation goes, I used this article as the basis for my NPV calculation:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/baldwin/2016/01/10/maximize-your-pension-with-this-calculator/?sh=45f6d6f748d5
Regarding real-estate, I have never done much financial engineering with my real estate portfolio. Just 20% down and then accumulate for the next property. I only want to have a max of 5 rentals with a mortgage at one time, so like to take extra cash flow and pay down notes.
My biggest tax strategy is to do a mega back door roth in plan conversion in my 401K every year since 2010. Following this has brought my roth 401K balance to be about 50% after tax. Unless congress changes the rules down the road I am confident my tax responsibilities will be manageable, but remain ever vigilant.
Accidentally Retired says
Congrats. I love this story, because you said “yes” to every opportunity that came your way, and the expat years seem to have been great for your finances and career!
The 401 (k) is a powerful tool. You are optimizing it and crushing it. Great job. I like your chocolate bean to bar idea. It’s great you know your retirement plan now. You will have Fat FIRE no doubt about it. Cheers!
Love for finance says
Great interview! Found so much value in this so thank you! My husband has an expat option with his employer that would allow us to save a lot…just curious if you had children while an expat? Ours are 1 and 3 so makes moving a little more challenging. Mind sharing what countries you were in?
Also curious about how you select your dividend stocks? Just getting into dividend investing.
Thanks and congrats on your accomplishments!
MI-232 says
Hi,
Expat assignments have been amazing for my family. Transformational in fact.
Traveling with little kids is not joke. The first couple of months are intense as you find your feet, but they it is a ton of fun.
A typical assignment follows a typical bell curve, first 6 months are honeymoon phase, second 6 you miss home, next 6 months you find your groove, and last 6 months you are sad you time is coming to an end.
Just about anywhere a US company would send a family for a long term assignment is safe and is going to have amazing international school options. We have spent the bulk of our time in AsiaPacific, but I would easily move to the middle east or Europe. I would have a harder time saying yes to Africa, but wouldn’t say no right away.
I think if you can look at the school options and the size of the expat community in the various countries that are on offer for your husband you can find comfort in the option. Facebook is great for expat groups in the various places too, and I would assume your husbands employer has a lot of resources available.
The world is very small these days. Zoom/facetime make things feel much closer to home / normal. When I first went overseas I had to buy a calling card to call my family once per week. Now we are all contactable 24-7-365.
Regarding dividend paying stocks. I like to follow the Chowder Rule, which basically looks at current dividend yield and last 5 years of dividend growth. An easy place to start on your dividend growth investing journey is Seeking Alpha. You can sign up to receive daily email / articles on dividend growth investing. The forum has changed in recent years, a lot of folks are trying to sell services via the platform, but you can still find value. I would suggest that you follow Justin Law, who provides a update list of all the dividend paying companies, and use that list to start to build our your plan.
Brian says
Great interview! Very inspiring. I liked this quote “Wealth building is relatively easy if you can save more than you earn.”
Success Triangles says
Great interview and thanks for sharing! I particularly like this comment:
“Never stop learning. Read, read, read. There is so much free information out there to keep your mind growing in the area of investments, wealth management, asset protection…etc. There is really no excuse to not keep leveling up your knowledge and expertise.”
One of the best places for free information is your local library. I read about 75 books a year for free. I take pics of the pages containing content that I want to reference (or blog about) later. I upload them to Google Photos, then create an album for each book. This way I can go back and easily access the information later.
You read all the time about how high school (and college) graduates never read another book after graduating. They don’t realize the real education starts AFTER graduation.
ProfPayne says
Thanks for a great interview. I relate to your desire to split your time between Hawaii and Colorado. I’d like to do the same, but I also have a young kid and I’m not sure how that would work unless we home school. Have you thought about those details? If so, I’d love to hear your ideas! Thanks again.
MI-232 says
Right now Home Schooling is the only way to enable the travel anywhere lifestyle. Not feasible for my family right now, but could be so later or may have to wait until the youngest goes to college.
But the pandemic has also shown how education needs to be more fluid. Who knows what the future will hold….
MI-249 says
“bean to bar chocolate”
Wow, I really felt this. Thanks for sharing this highly specific type of goal to aim for. Retirement has always felt abstract and a bit intimidating to me, but thinking about a super niche goal makes it feel more approachable.
Looking forward to your retirement interview!
MI-232 says
Cheers MI-249!
MI-192 says
MI-232, thanks for sharing your great story. Would love to k ow more about your real estate portfolio. Thx
MI-232 says
Hi MI-192,
I just posted some real estate specific content in my replys above. Let me know if you have other questions.
Jeff says
Just found this site and these interviews are super motivating. It makes me want to work even harder to reach my goals. Great content hope to see more interviews in the near future and who knows, possibly be on one soon!