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 August.
My questions are in bold italics and their 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 59, my husband is 52, and we have been married 29.75 years.
My husband and I first saw each other at church. The first day I saw him I told my friend with me he was my husband.
I smiled, waved, and stared at him for five months. On Good Friday we went on our first date. 48 hours later, on Easter Sunday he asked me to marry him. On one knee he gave me a gift basket. I said yes, and 30 years later here we are.
Do you have kids/family (if so, how old are they)?
We have one daughter that is 24 years old.
She lives on her own, is still finishing her first degree, and works.
What area of the country do you live in (and urban or rural)?
Southeast region in the suburbs.
What is your current net worth?
$3,788,051.54 as of August 11, 2022
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?
- Index Funds – $1,489,686.86
- Money Market – $74,952.02
- Retirement Accounts – $431,212.66
- Health Savings Account – $57,200.95
- Checking/Savings – $2,200.00
- Real Estate – $990,000 (Market value of Primary: $325,000 and Second Home: $665,000 – Purchased April 2022 for $400K)
- Consulting Business – $800,000 (Valuation)
We live totally debt free. We do not owe on a mortgage, car, credit card, department, or student loan payments. Our business is 100% debt free as well.
I am in charge of investing, growing our money, and our estate.
My husband is in charge of tracking income, expenses, and tracking our investments in QuickBooks. My husband also generates monthly and year end reports for both personal and business spending.
EARN
What is your job?
My husband and I run a consulting business together. I run the front end of the business and he runs the back end of the business.
I started this particular consulting business in January 2019. I am the senior consultant.
What is your annual income?
In 2021, our combined income from the business was $258,190 and income from dividends and interest was around $30,000 in 2021.
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 started working at age seven by doing small projects for elderly neighbors in our neighborhood. I would do yard work, sweep their porch, and other projects for payment in the form of a piece of cake, glass of 7 Up, or given pop bottles to cash in for money.
The jigsaw puzzle of my employment and business ventures:
- 12 – I babysat for neighbors and made $1.00/hour.
- 15 – Worked at a daycare and made $1.45/hour.
- 16 – Worked at a McDonald’s and made $1.97/hour.
- 16 – Worked for a U.S. Government agency until I was 20 years old as a clerk level 4, and made $2.97/hour to $3.47/hour when I left. (worked while in college and hated the job. It seemed everyone was waiting to die or retire.)
- 20 – Moved to a different state on the west coast and started working for a temporary agency as a secretary and made $7.50/hour.
- 23 – Moved to a different state in the southeast, and worked numerous jobs making $10.50/hour, mainly as a secretary.
- 27 – Moved to Puerto Rico to learn Spanish. The Kuwait war started, and I couldn’t find a job. I didn’t want to use up all my savings, so I moved to Florida. Found out Florida was a good place to visit, but hated living there. Moved back to the state I left at 23, and went right back to the job I had left, and started making $11.50/hour as a secretary.
- 29 – Made $12.50/hour as an administrative assistant, and met and married my husband at age 29. At 34, I left the Fortune 500 company, because they didn’t value my potential. I was making $31,000 when I left the company.
- 35 – Made $18/hour as a software trainer and then a career services consultant (I went from a secretary to software instructor to a consultant because I believed I could). This is the year I had our daughter.
- 37 – My husband and I both quit our jobs and started an in-home daycare together, both of us could be with our daughter full-time. I also became a personal finance coach, writer, speaker, we did marketing research for a company to generate multiple streams of income, and my husband was in school. Our combined and total income varied between $17,000 – $43,000 a year. During this time we moved from the southeast to the pacific northwest to be closer to my parents. We did not have jobs, but we purchased a house. After 2.5 years, we sold our home and moved back to the southeast. Home is where the heart is, was a lesson we learned.
- 41 – Made $32/hour working as the sales and marketing coordinator for a company (didn’t like or trust the owners so I quit).
- 42 – Made $25/hour working as a grant writer for a non-profit (Loved owner, but there were integrity issues there, so I left).
- 44 – Made $50/hour working for myself as a grant writer, personal finance writer, and consultant for small businesses.
- 45 – Made $25/hour – economy collapsed and I worked in business development for an image consulting company. Had a cancer scare, started thinking about what made me happy, and I realized it wasn’t the place I was working, so I quit.
- 48 – My husband and I started a new business together, and this is the year I also started my first consulting business. I made $18,918.43 in the first 14-months of business. I saw potential in this business early on, so we closed the other business to focus on the consulting business. I went back to the non-profit I previously wrote grants for part-time, and my husband found a job while I built the consulting business.
- 50 – I made $49,980.91 the second year in the new business, and I quit the non-profit company for the second time.
- 52 – My third year in business I hit the six-figure amount of $102,410.
- 53 – My husband quit his job and we started working together full-time again, and we made $148,194.71 our fourth year.
- 54 – I was exhausted and burned out, so I sold the business for $300,000 in 2017. We made $385,751.50 in total the fifth year and then I retired. My retirement lasted 1.5 years.
- 56 – I started another consulting business to earn $1,000 a month to pay for my husband’s MBA. I made $57,634.00 the first year of my new business. My husband completed his MBA in one year, the pandemic started immediately thereafter, so he started working with me to help grow my consulting business.
- 57 – Second year of new business we made $208,507.00.
- 58 – Third year of new business we made $258,190 (Could have made more money, but my mother-in-law passed and as the executor I had to settle her estate, so I worked minimal hours for over five-months and didn’t take on many new projects).
- 59 – I am currently preparing to sell my business and retire again. After we take a one-year sabbatical my husband wants to start a business and work 10-years, so he says.
As you can see, becoming a millionaire is not a straight path. Matter of fact, ours is probably the bumpiest crooked road you have ever seen or heard of.
I’ve learned you do not have to be the smartest, most educated, or even the most stable employed person or couple to gain financial wealth. It appears our lives were in a state of disorder and we still became multi-millionaires.
My income grew because I wasn’t scared to take risks, worked really hard, was obedient to what my spirit was telling me to do, and trusting God to do the rest.
What tips do you have for others who want to grow their career-related income?
Do not allow others to define your potential and put limits on you.
If you take risks, are fearless, and are not intimidated by other people’s position, title, education, and standing in life, you can go far.
If you want to advance at a company or in business, only ask to speak and meet with the owner(s), or the decision makers. They are the ones that have the ability to change your financial future. Go directly to the owner to sell your assets and value to their company.
Also, never be afraid to hear the word No. The more no’s you hear, you are getting closer to a Yes.
What’s your work-life balance look like?
Our company is open three days a week. My work day usually starts around 10 am each day. Our office is open Monday through Wednesday, so I have lots of free time.
My husband and I work together. Most days we start our morning by taking a walk together. He always has my breakfast ready for me when I get up, because he gets up early. We talk throughout the day, joke, laugh, disagree, and listen to music while we work.
My husband and I watch lots of movies together Thursday-Sunday when we’re off, and have ping pong tournaments throughout our work days. My husband loves making me a huge bowl of popcorn in the middle of the day the old fashion way with a large pot on the stove.
We read articles a lot. I’m able to read books, write in my personal journal, call friends, and take nice long baths.
My husband and I exercise daily. He lifts weights and does strength training. I do aerobics, sit-ups, and use 10-pound weights.
I would say we have a balanced, healthy, enjoyable, and simple life.
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?
Our other income is from interest and dividends from our IRA’s and Index Funds.
Our most recent quarterly dividends and interest was around $3,100 a month, or $9,300 a quarter.
SAVE
What is your annual spending?
Many of our expenses are paid for through our business.
So taking the numbers from our personal budget and some of our business financial reporting numbers, our annual personal spending is around $40,000.
What are the main categories (expenses) this spending breaks into?
- HOA – $3,840 (Includes water, sewage, garbage, lawn care, pool, termite and pest control, and master homeowners insurance)
- Gas – $370
- Car Insurance – $631
- Car Gas, and Maintenance – $2,741.50 (business pays for this)
- Electric – $1,220
- Giving – $12,315.95
- Homeowners Insurance – $1,144 (for two homes)
- Health Insurance – $1,687.12 (business pays for this)
- Meals/Entertainment – $5,786 ($4,000 is paid from our business)
- Property Taxes – $2,551 (My mom lives in our second home, which was her home. She wanted to keep paying property tax.)
- Travel – $3,500 (Haven’t traveled since Pandemic)
- Miscellaneous – $3,000
Do you have a budget? If so, how do you implement it?
We used to live on a very strict budget when we made less money.
My husband has always collected and kept all of the receipts. He also tracks incoming revenue, expenses, and spending for personal and business using QuickBooks. My husband prints monthly financial reports. He goes over the reports with me each month, so we both know exactly where we stand financially.
What percentage of your gross income do you save and how has that changed over time?
We probably save about 70% or more of our income. We have always been savers. Even when we did not make a lot of money.
When we purchased our first home we rented out rooms in our house, which allowed us to pay off our first home in five years and save a lot of money each month. We rented rooms around 12 of our 29.5-years of marriage (usually 2-3 rooms at a time) in two separate homes. We have owned a total of six homes. Our daughter grew up knowing people were living on the other side of our home, or in the basement of our home from the time she was small (she never saw them and they never saw her).
Early in our marriage we probably saved around 10% of our income, because we did not make much money.
Also, instead of saving more in the earlier years of our marriage our focus and goal was paying down our mortgages to be debt-free. When we started making more money our saving’s percentages increased to 50%, 60%, 70%, and higher.
What’s your best tip for saving (accumulating) money?
Live as if tomorrow you could lose your job. If you knew you would lose your job tomorrow you would save, store up, be resourceful, and be more careful on how your money is spent.
We always saved as if we could be laid off, or a recession could start the next day. So, when money comes in, pay off debt, save, and then transfer excess money immediately to investment accounts.
What’s your best tip for spending less money?
Do the opposite of what everyone else does, and you will be successful financially.
Never compare your situation and life to others, because usually nothing is as it appears to be. Be sure to create your own financial vision for yourself.
Additionally, wait 24-hours before purchasing something you feel you must have. If you still feel after 24-hours you must have it, maybe it is a necessity. Before making a new purchase ask yourself, is this a want or a need? Taking care of needs is way more important than taking care of all your wants if your wants keep you broke.
What is your favorite thing to spend money on/your secret splurge?
Jewelry, but only recently. Last year my husband brought me all the jewelry I wanted. I got a tennis bracelet, two beautiful new diamond rings, a diamond necklace, and a beautiful set of diamond hoop earrings.
That was probably the first time I felt rich, because we spent around $8,000 and we didn’t feel anxiety or stress after doing it. My husband was excited to be able to splurge on me and I was happy to have him do it.
INVEST
What is your investment philosophy/plan?
Invest in what you understand, hold on to investments long-term in good and bad times, and if something sounds too good to be true it probably is.
What has been your best investment?
Purchasing index funds with dividends and purchasing our homes before the market went crazy with outrageous prices.
What has been your worst investment?
Investing in individual stocks, especially cannabis stocks.
I just felt it was stressful.
What’s been your overall return?
Not sure, because I’m not sure how to calculate the return.
Maybe 8%
How often do you monitor/review your portfolio?
I probably monitor our brokerage account every other day, but our other investment accounts maybe every 3-4 months or so.
NET WORTH
How did you accumulate your net worth?
I do not have a college degree. I was raised in a lower-middle class family with both parents and seven other siblings.
My husband and I were able to accumulate our wealth not based on how much money we made, but how much money we kept.
Also, from the day we decided to get married we talked about our financial goals and vision. Early on we made the decision to always discuss everything financial, and to stand united in our decisions. Good, bad, or indifferent, the decisions were made united as a team.
The first time I ever made six-figures was December 2015, which was $102,410. In 2016, the business made $148,194.71. In 2017, the business made $385,751.50, which was the year I sold my first business. Right after I sold the business I found ESI Money on Yahoo and the blog changed my life.
In 2017,we paid off our primary and rental properties (rental was sold in August 2020). Our net worth in 2017 was around $500,000 including our real estate. Thereafter, I retired for 1.5 years.
January 7, 2019, I started another business to help my husband get his MBA. My goal was to only earn $1,000 a month to pay for his MBA. But by June 2019, the business was making $7,000 a month. By July 2020, my business was making $20K each month. In March 2021, we were officially millionaires. By July 2021, the business was generating $25-40K each month.
Since we did not have any debt we were literally plowing 70-80% of all revenue made into our Vanguard brokerage, retirement accounts, and HSA saving accounts, anywhere from $15-$35K a month.
Then in August 2021, my mother-in-law (MIL) passed away. My MIL was a secretary for 47 years. She was widowed after 40 years of marriage in 1995. Her husband left her a life insurance policy of $225,000. Two years after her husband passed she met a boyfriend on the Internet. He was great at investing her money and growing her net worth. My MIL and her boyfriend were together for 23 years.
By the time she passed, August 2021, her net worth was over $1,550,000. The inheritance was to be split between my husband and his brother. Unfortunately, his brother has been missing for over 14 years. Two private investigators we hired to find him believe he is deceased or homeless, so my husband received the total amount of $1,550,000, plus half of the insurance policies.
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?
Our greatest strength is our ability to save and stay disciplined while saving.
Even when we did not make a lot of money we always saved, maintained a good cash reserve, and were able to live debt free. We saved, but also made sure we continued to have enjoyment and fun traveling and socializing with friends, family, and associates.
What road bumps did you face along the way to becoming a millionaire and how did you handle them?
We faced job loss, recessions, selling all our investments when there were downturns, because we didn’t know any better. There were periods when we had to use food stamps. Both of us quit our jobs over and over when we had a new business idea, and when we didn’t feel valued and respected at jobs. Thank God we never borrowed money from anyone because we always had a good cash reserve.
Not having job stability made us work really hard to create our own financial stability, which we did. We did not know my MIL had money and that there would be an inheritance left for us. We discovered her will and the possible inheritance in 2016 while cleaning out her house once she got dementia. Me being assigned as the executor of her will, and finding out about the inheritance was a surprise.
What are you currently doing to maintain/grow your net worth?
We are still the same people we were before we became wealthy.
We continue to track our income and expenses, save, invest, talk about new purchases, spending, and focus on what we actually need instead of getting everything we want just because we have the money to get our wants.
Do you have a target net worth you are trying to attain?
My first target was reaching one million, then only two million.
I never even considered three million, but it came quickly (net worth has dropped recently with the market correction). Now we are headed toward $4M. My next goal is $5M.
How old were you when you made your first million and have you had any significant behavior shifts since then?
I was 57 years old, and my husband was 50 years old when we made our first million, which was in March 2021. We have not had any real behavior shifts. We are still frugal.
Nothing has changed in our spending except we do not have to watch every penny. We still live in the same house, drive the same 2007 Toyota Corolla (we have one car), and still mostly eat at home. It’s funny, we will be talking and say, “If we were rich I would…,” and stop and realize, we are rich.
What money mistakes have you made along the way that others can learn from?
In 2002 when the economy had a downturn, I sold all of our Coca-Cola stock, Walmart, Home Depot, mutual funds, and individual stocks because I was scared. I did not know when everyone gets fearful I should stay put, and purchase even more investments.
Another reason I sold everything, we had moved across the country to a place with less job opportunities, and then the dot.com recession happened. We needed those investments to help keep us financially stable. I didn’t get back into investing again until 2017 after reading ESI’s blog.
What advice do you have for ESI Money readers on how to become wealthy?
Have a plan for how you will spend your money before you get money. If you develop a financial plan and vision when you are broke, when you actually start making a lot of money you will not have to figure out what to do with it.
Whether you make a little or a lot of money, plan to have multiple streams of income, save consistently, and invest systematically.
Try to earn the maximum amount of income possible. Save the highest percentage you can sacrifice, and diversify your investment, so you create different income streams.
FUTURE
What are your plans for the future regarding lifestyle?
Our plan is to transition to a simpler life.
We plan to possibly move closer to the beach, but we’re not 100% sure. We would like to transition to a one-level home at some point.
What are your retirement plans?
I will put my business on the market this year to sell. Once the business sells I will retire. Thereafter, my husband and I plan to take a one-year sabbatical.
After our time of rest and relaxation, I plan to write a book, do more ministry, and get more involved in my community.
Are there any issues in retirement that concern you? If so, how are you planning to address them?
No, not at this time.
MISCELLANEOUS
How did you learn about finances and at what age did it “click”?
I learned about finances from my parents and grandparents.
My parents taught me by the way they lived. My dad was the founder of a non-profit and my mom was a piano teacher and director of music at our church. Growing up, we received allowances that started with a nickel and topped off at a quarter each week. My dad would give us our allowance with a tithing envelope. He always told us there are two things you always do first, 1) pay for the roof over your head, and 2) pay God 10%. So I remember giving a dime out of my quarter each week to my church.
My mom and I loved shopping at thrift stores. I was one of the best dressed students in high school and people couldn’t believe where I purchased my clothes. My dad was frugal because he was supporting a family of 10 people including himself.
When I was a senior in high school my parents paid off our family home. I knew that was important because we went to a restaurant to celebrate. I decided that day I would be an owner, not a renter. I also decided one day I would pay off the home I owned early. I could feel my mother’s happiness when they had no mortgage.
In sixth grade I saw my dad work hard to get his degree, quit his good government job and go full-time into ministry. At 18 years old my mom and I started college the same day. My mom was 39 years old when she started, after my youngest sister turned five years old. I never finished college, but my mom went on to get her master’s degree, started her career at 46 years old, and was able to retire with a good pension at 58 years old, which was unbelievable.
I saw my parents make the sacrifice to put their children in some of the best private schools. I personally went to a very prestigious and very expensive private school. I was on scholarship, but my parents still had to pay quite a bit.
When I was in college (the brief time I went) I saw a bill that came in from my private school for $1,000. That is when I realized my parents were still paying for my private school education. I had been out of the private school for six years. Seeing that, I made a promise to not let my parents’ financial sacrifices for me be in vain. My parents taught me the lesson of making financial sacrifices now for things that will pay off later.
My grandparents told me that once I get married to create a lifestyle where we can live on only one income. They said anything can happen in life where only one person will be able to work. My husband and I discussed that logic before we married, and one of us was always home with our daughter. We were always able to survive on one income. My grandparents also told me to pay cash for everything and never get in debt. I took their words to heart, applied what they said, and it has paid off.
I can say I’ve always been a saver. At 16 years old I had $2,000 saved up. People borrowed money from me at a young age, even my parents. Even back then I wrote a contract for the loans with executed signatures (don’t know how I knew to do that). My mother borrowed money from me for her first semester of college, and both of my siblings married young and borrowed money from me with signed agreements.
Not one of them ever paid me back, even though I tried to hold all of them to their signed contracts. One of the first rules my husband and I made before we married is, we do not give anyone loans, and that includes family, friends, in-laws and out-laws. If we have money to give, we give it. If we do not feel led, then they have our prayers.
Who inspired you to excel in life? Who are your heroes?
My parents and my grandparents. Both taught me valuable lessons about money, living debt free, and having long happy marriages.
My parents were married 59 years and my grandparents were married 72 years.
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?
The Millionaire Next Door, The Millionaire Mind, and The Power of Broke (if you are an entrepreneur).
Do you give to charity? Why or why not? If you do, what percent of time/money do you give?
We give monthly financial support to two non-profits.
Also, we provide monthly support to different individuals in need. We recently finished a one-year financial commitment to two struggling single mothers and a married couple.
When others are put on our heart to support, we either make a one-year monthly commitment, or give a one-time gift to help out. We give directly to individuals, and not so much to large institutions or churches. We like to be a blessing to those in need, by giving directly to them to help their needs.
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?
Yes. We plan to leave our daughter some money, but not all of our money. We want to leave some money to nonprofits dear to our heart, family, and others we may identify that have a financial need later in life.
Our daughter will most likely get between $500,000-$1M, but her inheritance will be set up in a trust with distributions over 10-20 years. If she has children in the future we will leave an inheritance for them in our trust as well.
We currently have a will, but will be getting a trust drawn up once the business is sold.
charlie @ doginvestor.com says
This is very interesting and you have a great lifestyle I would say 🙂.
What type of consulting work do you do? Is it management consulting or something more specific?
Congrats on the financial success and to be working together on something great.
M#347 says
We license in the personal care industry in eight different states.
RocDoc says
Great life story and very inspirational. What type of consulting business do you have and how did it grow so rapidly?
M#347 says
We license in the healthcare industry in eight different states. When we started in 2012, I literally just did one website page and got our first call in two days. Honestly, God gave me the idea, because I had never heard of the type of business we have. So when I got the vision I created a one page website. We got our first three local clients within two weeks and then we started getting clients national.
It is a special niche business, so there are only a few businesses in the country that do it, but many do not do it very well. That is what sets us apart. We provide excellent service with honesty and integrity.
M246 says
Excellent interview! Thanks for sharing. I think we’d all like to know – what is the nature of your current and past businesses?
And, how is your homeowners insurance so reasonable at just $1,144 for two homes? I take it you’re not on the coast and do not have to carry windstorm/hurricane insurance?
M#347 says
Our current business is licensing owners to run healthcare businesses, which is a similar business I did in 2012. However, our business started in 2019 is somewhat different services since, and we had a noncompete and did not want to compete directly with the business previously sold. Some of our other previous businesses include an in-home daycare, cleaning business, software training, grant writing, research marketing, and personal finance coaching. I do not feel like we failed in any of them. All were necessary in teaching us lessons on how to do things better in business.
Actually, regarding the homeowner’s insurance, I wasn’t very clear so I apologize. Our primary homeowners insurance is that full amount. Our other home’s insurance is $4200, which my mom chooses to pay each year. I didn’t realize that would cause confusion, so I do apologize.
M#347 says
I’m so sorry. When you said homeowners insurance, I was thinking of property taxes. Okay, so our condo homeowners is exactly $362 a year (where was live our HOA has a master policy that must rebuild the inside of our home in case of a disaster or emergency). Also, our HOA pays for upkeep of the outside of our home and the common areas.
Our other homeowners insurance (mom’s house) is exactly $781.59 a year.
Sorry, I was probably doing five things at once, so I apologize.
Sharon says
I’ve been reading this newsletter for a while now, and this is the most fascinating interview yet! It almost reads as a memoir with stories about the grandma, her boyfriend etc. Life is so very interesting! Thank you for sharing and inspiring us!
M#347 says
Thank you. I really pray our story encourages other that feel like they have failed at times and have lost hope.
I’ve learned that life is a journey and puzzle. We have no idea where and how the journey ends, and where we will find the pieces needed to complete the puzzle of our life.
SMB116 says
Wow I am so very impressed with your story. What kind of healthcare business do you do? Is it selling supplements, vitamins, etc.?
I really enjoyed reading all about your life and all the various details that you shared with us. I too started at McDonalds at 16 and we are the same age….so glad that you and your husband found each other and reached such great financial success!
M#347 says
Thank you. We actually license homes for personal care, so just two clients can bring in around $13-20K a month. It is an awesome business and I’m extremely thankful I was given the vision to create it.
SMB116 says
That is really awesome. So happy for you both and hope that you will provide an update to this community once you settle into retirement.
MM says
Hi,
This is an awesome interview with a brilliant story!
I would like to learn more about your business and happy to get in touch.
Steve says
Great interview. The thing that struck me was spending $8500 on multiple pieces of jewelry gave so much happiness to both you and your husband. Some millionaires in these interviews spend much more than that annually on similar luxuries, yet clearly don’t get as much happiness from it. Excellent example of truly being happy with what you have.
M#347 says
Thank you so much. Your insight and perspective just brought me joy!
Megan says
If I read this correctly, you have joint assets of $3.8M, but that includes owner-occupied real estate of $1M, an inheritance of $1.6M, and a business valued (by yourself) at $0.8M.
Net of those three items, your lifetime savings and investments at age 59 are $400K.
Interesting.
Tom says
Agree, this was interesting aggregation. Arrival at the wealth was a little different than most of the ESI stories. I believe this is what afforded them the work life balance as well.
M#347 says
March 2021, we reached $1,350,000 (this includes our primary home) by saving, investing, selling a home, and living frugal. Our homes and investments values increased significantly during that time. Also, were and are aggressive savers. In March 2021, our cash, retirement accounts, and brokerage account reached $1,000,000 in value, before we received an inheritance from my MIL.
I’m not sure how you came up with $400K. We saved $1,000,000 by March 2021, not including our primary home. Unless I do not understand what you are saying, and that is possible.
Also, we have 1-2 contract workers and my husband works with me. For every $15K a month of revenue made we need a part-time person working 10-15 hours. I cannot run the business efficiently alone.
M#347 says
I wanted to add additional knowledge regarding our business. We figured out at every $15K monthly revenue increase (i.e., 30K, 45K, etc.), we need someone working 10-15 regular hours. We have one person that works 15 hours each week and is always on retainer, and another that works around 10 hours, or more it needed, not on retainer.
Clay says
Is there a backstory behind the change in value of the 2nd home? Is it more than a change in the general market?
M#347 says
Our initial rental home we paid off was sold August 2020. Now, the second home we currently have was my parents home. My father passed in April 2018. My mom has a pension and social security of $2K a month. We purchased her home in April 2022 an agreed price of $400K for three main reasons:
a) We wanted my mom to have excess money to live more comfortably in her retirement, and to be able to do more things she enjoyed without worrying about the cost.
b) My mom wanted to see my sibling enjoy part of their inheritance while she is still alive, and
c) We wanted the home to avoid probate court, because after going through the probate process with my MIL there was no way we wanted to go through that process again.
So purchasing our second home, my mom’s home, out of the $400K of the agreed purchase price, my mom received $149.5K, my seven sibling received $30K each as an early inheritance, 17 grandkids received $2K each, and 11 great-grands received $500 each. All of that came to $400K, and we did a quick deed to purchase my mom’s home.
She does not pay rent. She pays the property tax, because she wanted to continue to do that. She said it makes it feel like it is still her home.
Clay says
Thanks, I suspected there were some details, I just wasn’t sure what they could be.
MI 343 says
Thank you kindly for sharing your story. I definitely like your comments,
“My income grew because I wasn’t scared to take risks, worked really hard, was obedient to what my spirit was telling me to do, and trusting God to do the rest.” and
“If you take risks, are fearless, and are not intimidated by other people’s position, title, education, and standing in life, you can go far.
If you want to advance at a company or in business, only ask to speak and meet with the owner(s), or the decision makers. They are the ones that have the ability to change your financial future. Go directly to the owner to sell your assets and value to their company.”
I believe you’ve hit the nail on the head, with spiritual direction from the Lord and humility of heart to honor Him in word and deed, such employments will pay off greatly in our lives and we’ll be able to say the boundary lines have fallen to me in pleasant places – surely my inheritance is delightful!
May God’s guidance continually rest upon you.
M#347 says
Thank you so much. I’m so glad my story and words encouraged you, and I appreciate your words spoken over me.