Millionaire Interview 437

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 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 61 years old & my husband is 57. We’ve been married 5 years; together 12 years.

We met on vacation 4 years prior to dating, and then dated long-distance for a year. He moved across the country 11 years ago & we married in 2019.

This is the only marriage for both of us – at that point in our lives, neither of us expected to get married, so this was a wonderful surprise!

Do you have kids/family (if so, how old are they)?

I do not have any children.

My husband has an adult child from a previous relationship.

What area of the country do you live in (and urban or rural)?

We live in a suburban area of southern California; most would consider it a VHCOL area. I’ve lived in southern California most of my life (I lived for two years in Florida as part of a job relocation/promotion).

My husband grew up in the Northeast and moved to Florida for 7 years to get away from NE winters. We have lived together in SoCal for 11 years.

What is your current net worth?

Net worth is between $6.0-$6.1 million depending on the stock market on any particular day!

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?

• Rental property (owned outright): $1.5m; currently rented at $7k per month. It is managed by a local property manager for $500 per month. So far, it has had low monthly costs for a couple of reasons: though it was built in the 1940s, I have remodeled it 3 times since owning it, so it is well-maintained. Also, property taxes are low because of Prop 13 in California (I have owned the house since 1990). Finally, knock on wood, homeowners insurance in this part of California has not gone crazy like many parts of the state.
• Taxable Brokerage Accounts: $2.4m
• IRA accounts (non-Roth): $1.3m
• Roth IRA accounts: $58k
• HSA accounts: $40k
• HYSA/Checking/laddered CDs: $290k
• Personal residence: $1-$1.1m with a $425k mortgage at 2.59%

EARN

What is your job?

As of April 1, 2024, I am fully retired. Prior to that, I was a C-level executive (sales & marketing) in the educational software industry.

My husband is self-employed in IT, providing computer/tech services for residential & small businesses (he calls himself a “one-man Geek Squad”). He has ramped down his hours over the past couple of years, so we currently do not have a lot of regular income (W2/1099).

What is your annual income?

Income this year will be around $65k, primarily from partial-year rental income & some consulting.

In recent years, it ranged from $250k to $450k depending on bonuses, etc.

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 have always enjoyed working. I babysat starting at age 13, and when I reached 15 ½, I was able to get my first part-time job (in retail).

Once I turned 18 (halfway through my first year in college), my father got me an interview at his company (a large defense/aerospace company), and I was hired part-time in an administrative/clerical role. This turned out to be beneficial in a few ways: I earned much more per hour than in retail; the company reimbursed my university tuition, so I only ended up with one year of student loans to repay; and probably most importantly, I worked in a nascent computer programming department.

I took a computer programming course in college, and one of my coworkers taught me the programming language they were using in that department. I moved into a programmer role (still part-time, but at an again higher hourly rate) for the rest of my time in college.

My degree is in Economics, but the company gave me a full-time job after graduation as a “Member of the Computing Staff” at what was to me an astronomical salary ($33k per year). This was equivalent to what engineers were making at the same company.

After 5 years, I decided I didn’t like what I was doing and changed careers to be a teacher (and took a 50% pay cut!). I stayed in education for 5 years & considered going into school/district administration.

Instead, I decided to combine my computer & teaching experience along with my master’s degree in education to move into the educational software field. It worked out.

I more than tripled my salary (from $21k per year in education to $72k), and within two years, I was making $175k as an ed-tech sales rep. I averaged that for several years depending on how much I sold, and once I was a regional manager, how much my teams sold.

Once I became a VP, I averaged $210k per year. After about 5 years, I moved into C-level roles and earned between $275k-$350k per year for 10 years.

I also had three lower-earning years as a C-level at an education non-profit (approximately $175k per year). In the last full year before I retired (2023), I earned $465k.

Part of this was due to a large bonus related to the sale of the company. Even without that bonus, I still had the best year of my career ($365k).

For most of my career, I focused on smaller companies in start-up or growth stages. I probably could have made more at larger companies, but I enjoyed the fast pace at smaller companies.

What tips do you have for others who want to grow their career-related income?

I think two things worked out for me, and I believe they are widely applicable:

Figure out what your boss needs (and perhaps doesn’t do well or doesn’t like to do) & do it well yourself. If you can help make your boss more successful, you are much more likely to get raises and promotions.

Become part of the revenue-generating department(s) in your company. If you can become a commission-earning sales rep, that’s ideal, and in many industries, your earning potential is unlimited.

I am a natural introvert in an extrovert’s role, but I was still able to sell successfully because I believed in the products/services I was selling. Even if you aren’t a direct sales rep, there are roles adjacent to sales that can still earn incentive compensation based on the sales team’s revenue attainment.

Demand generation, business development, sales operations, and some marketing roles earn commissions or bonuses in some industries.

I also changed careers a couple of times, and because it eventually meant I got into a career that I loved & was good at, I believe I ultimately made more money than I would have staying in my original career. So, don’t be afraid to change course if it means you get into something you like better & can be more successful in.

What’s your work-life balance look like?

Now it looks great! Just kidding…

Before I retired, it varied tremendously. Some years, especially before COVID, I traveled more than 50% of the time.

At one role, I commuted 45 miles each way in Southern California traffic, for over 7 years, in addition to working 9+ hour days. For another role, I was remote, but the company was based in NYC, so I traveled there from California one week a month (in addition to regular work-related travel as VP of Sales).

In my last role, as part of the executive team, we were working to sell the company, and that was intense. Executives received unlimited PTO, but I often worked on vacation (especially if we were in the middle of presentations to potential buyers).

However, I do believe (based on friends who are/were sales executives in other industries) that the education technology industry has a little better work-life balance than other industries.

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?

In 2004, I was living in what is now my rental property and decided to add an ADU in the backyard. At the time, I was thinking it could be a good option for one of my parents to live in if/when one of them died & the other didn’t want to/couldn’t live alone.

They were 66 and 73 at the time; now they are 86 & 93, healthy & still living in their own home! So, early on I decided to rent out the ADU.

This brought in a small amount of extra income that I invested (and used some for travel).

In 2017, my husband & I decided to move to a much less busy part of southern California, so we rented out the entire property (main house & ADU), and purchased our current primary residence. The rental income is our primary source of income now that I am retired.

I did a little bit of consulting in my field earlier this year, but I realized that I don’t really want the stress or responsibility, so I am unlikely to earn income other than the rent unless our financial situation changes materially.

I really didn’t plan for this – as a matter of fact, I never really wanted to be a landlord, but I highly recommend this type of passive income, especially if you have a property that is paid off and is in a desirable area that commands high rents. And, having a property manager keeps my stress levels lower!

My husband was a working musician for many years, but he transitioned full-time into IT work when he realized he wasn’t going to be a rock star (though he is one to me!). He continued to play gigs several times a month, providing extra discretionary income.

He doesn’t play as often now, but he still does a few gigs a year.

SAVE

What is your annual spending?

For the last few years, our annual spending has ranged from $150k-$175k. This does not include some major home improvement/remodel expenses ($100k total over 4 years spread between primary residence & rental property).

I purposely had these improvements done prior to retirement to try to keep home maintenance costs stable/predictable over the first 5-8 years of retirement. For 2024 (first year of retirement), we are trending to spend $150k.

This includes paying $900 per month for health insurance through ACA (partly subsidized). This will likely increase in 2026 if the subsidies are reduced.

I also expect our annual spending to increase to about $170k next year mostly due to increased travel, as long as we are still within our safe withdrawal rate to fund it.

What are the main categories (expenses) this spending breaks into?

• Monthly
• Home (mortgage, HOA, utilities, insurance, property taxes, maintenance; plus discretionary items like landscape, pool care, housecleaning) – $5,100 (38%)
• Groceries & Dining out – $1,525 (11%)
• Healthcare (insurance premiums + out-of-pocket costs) – $1,300 (10%)
• Personal Care (gym, nails, hair, etc.) – $450 (3%)
• Auto (insurance, maintenance, plus $750 per month earmarked for new car purchase – we keep our cars 12-15 years) – $1,300 (10%)
• Financial Advisor – $400 (3%)
• Entertainment (includes internet, cell, streaming apps, concerts, etc.) – $550 (4%)
• Travel – $2,000 (15%)
• Shopping, gifts – $600 (5%)
• Pets – $175 (1%)
• Charity – I have a Donor Advised Fund to which I contributed $50,000 over the last few years. It is now worth about $72k, and we donate about $2k-$3k per year from the fund. This is not counted as part of our normal monthly budget.

Do you have a budget? If so, how do you implement it?

Yes, I created a budget about 8 years ago when I first started thinking about retirement. I started by writing down everything we spent each month, down to the dollar.

Before that, I just kept an eye on what I was spending & tried to limit lifestyle creep. I was always pretty frugal, so I never spent beyond my net base pay each month, and usually spent less.

Once I started tracking everything we spent, it gave me a better idea of what our budget should be. My goal was to maintain our style of living into retirement, and not allow lifestyle creep to inflate our budget in the 8 years leading into retirement.

It also allowed me to have a good understanding of how much we spent over those 8 years on things like home maintenance costs that were “lumpy”: a new HVAC unit here, a new garage door opener there, etc. as well as out of pocket medical/dental costs that also were not the same year over year.

I feel like this has made our retirement budget much more comprehensive & realistic. I’ve tried to be ultra conservative in budgeting for things like home maintenance & out of pocket medical, knowing that those could blow up in any one year.

I’d rather budget more each year & not spend it than not have planned for enough.

From that tracked spending, I created our monthly & annual budget. I still track everything we spend – I write it down in a notebook and I use Quicken Simplifi.

I reconcile them at the end of each month to make sure I don’t miss anything. I used to use Mint before it got shut down, and before that I tracked spending in my notebook & net worth in a spreadsheet.

I find I like the reports & net worth tracking in Simplifi, but I still like to write down everything we spend. Sense of control I guess!

Since some of our spending in various categories isn’t smooth, I use the rollover and spending watchlist features in Simplifi to monitor how we are trending toward our annual budget in each category. I also have an “austerity plan” budget that we can pivot to if/when there is a major stock market decline and our retirement “income” has to be reduced (to match safe withdrawal rate).

We can easily cut 15-20% of our spending without feeling it too much, and more if we really tighten our belts.

What percentage of your gross income do you save and how has that changed over time?

Even when I was living paycheck to paycheck, I always tried to max out my 401(k) contributions. Also, when I got a raise, I would earmark 75% of the net amount for savings/investment & lifestyle creep/inflation took care of the other 25%.

I would put aside 5-10% of my commission/bonus checks for “fun” spending (such as a big trip) or for home remodel/improvements, but otherwise commissions/bonuses were saved/invested. As I mentioned above, if you’re lucky enough to work in a role that pays a decent base salary plus incentive compensation, I think that makes saving a larger percentage of your overall earnings easier (especially if the incentive comp is only paid quarterly or annually.

You create your budget using only your base salary (while still maxing out your 401k, HSA, etc.) and then save/invest the majority of your incentive compensation. This also makes it easier to avoid lifestyle creep.

It’s so easy to spend that extra 3% raise when it comes in your paycheck twice a month, but if you earn a 10-15% bonus each year – that can double your savings rate!

The percentage of gross income I saved was different each year. If I had a good year for variable compensation, it was 35-45%.

It was never less than 25% of my gross, once I was making salary & commission/bonus. Prior to that, it was more like 10%.

What’s your best tip for saving (accumulating) money?

Live well below your means. Yes, I’m frugal, but I also didn’t want my working years to be all work & no play.

Pick one or two categories that make you super happy & make working worth it (mine was travel), and allocate some discretionary money to that. For all other categories, be super frugal!

Drive the used Toyota for 12-15 years (and keep it well maintained) instead of buying the BMW that yes, you can afford. “Right-size” your housing: don’t buy a 5 bedroom house if a 3 bedroom is all you really need (but buy in a nice neighborhood that will appreciate in value).

The smaller house means lower annual utility bills, insurance, taxes, etc. & lower maintenance/upgrade costs down the road. Save all that extra money and let it compound over time.

Automate your savings. When you get a raise, don’t increase your monthly spending.

Instead, give yourself a one-time treat and then continue with your previous spending level. As many “millionaires” on this site have mentioned, avoiding lifestyle creep is huge.

And, it’s easier to do when you treat yourself with some of your hard-earned money – I think I also appreciated those “treats” more than I would have a bigger house or a new car every 5 years.

What’s your best tip for spending less money?

I am a true believer in the adage that the small things add up. Bring your lunch to work (and your morning coffee) rather than going out each day.

Don’t buy all the apps/streaming subscriptions. Buy one each month and binge-watch the heck out of it. Get something else the next month.

Don’t buy a new cell phone every year. Turn your thermostat up a degree or two in the summer & down a degree or two in the winter.

Walk or bike to do errands if you can. Go out to lunch once a month as a treat.

Same with dinners out – make them “treats” instead of the norm. Plan fun date nights at home or game nights & potlucks with friends.

If you’re lucky, you naturally enjoy low-cost hobbies such as hiking, reading, running, gardening, and cooking. If you are drawn to higher-cost hobbies, set a limit, and try to fund those hobbies through a second job or hacks.

My musician friends only buy new instruments from gig money. My golfing friends look for last-minute bargains or public courses.

And finally, avoid debt, especially consumer debt. Buy your cars with cash and save for the next one.

Pay off your credit cards every month (or don’t use them at all if you can’t control your spending). Mortgage debt is different, but don’t buy more house than you need & can afford.

And then, buy less than you can afford. Just because you can qualify for the mortgage doesn’t mean you should take on that much debt.

What is your favorite thing to spend money on/your secret splurge?

Hands down, travel. Even when I had less money, I saved every extra discretionary dollar for my next big trip.

We splurge on business class flights (though we still look for good deals & award tickets) for flights longer than 5-6 hours. We’ll spend more on “bucket list” trips, and try to economize a bit on others.

INVEST

What is your investment philosophy/plan?

Until I was in my early 50s, I didn’t really have one. I didn’t pay a lot of attention during my 30s and 40s to my net worth or even my investment accounts.

I had a financial advisor in the early 2000s who was not a fiduciary, so was paying fees based on assets under management. I probably would have more in my investment accounts now if I hadn’t been paying him 1-1.25% each year, but who knows if I would have invested it well enough to outperform what he did.

I don’t think he was a particularly bad FA; I just don’t know if I could have done better without him. When my dad told me to fire him because he wasn’t a fiduciary, he protested by saying that he made me a lot of money… so who knows?

After that, I basically became a “Boglehead”. Invest in index funds, set it & forget it.

For someone like me who does not have a ton of interest in investing, I think this is the best philosophy.

It has kept me from panicking and selling during down markets, and from speculating on individual stocks. Two exceptions to that: two investments I made in individual companies (Amazon & Apple). More on that below.

I think the other thing that worked for me is that I was very aggressive in my investment allocations during my peak earning & investing years. Because I was in “set it & forget it” mode, I kept my allocations at 95% equity.

Since I didn’t really track my balances, I just kept dollar-cost-average investing. This turned out to be huge for me because, during the 2000s, I was investing a lot of money in the stock market.

If I had paid attention to how much my investment balances dropped in the “lost decade” (2000-2010), I might have stopped investing in the market, or I might have invested a lower % in equities while the market was down.

What has been your best investment?

Amazon stock. I have always been an avid reader, and when Amazon started selling books online, I was so excited, I decided to buy some stock.

I did sell some shares over the years to fund the down payment on a second home, and I funded my Donor Advised Fund with some of the appreciated stock, but I am still up 11,974% on my investment (cost basis $2,372; market value on 10/2/24 $286,378). I also have a gain of 826% on my Apple stock, but the Amazon investment was my own pick & it still makes me smile that I got so lucky with it.

The other would be my rental property (previously my primary residence). Purchased for $250k in 1990, and worth about $1.5 million now.

I have remodeled a couple of times, so that is not all “profit”. Still, a great investment.

What has been your worst investment?

A vacation condo I purchased in 2014. We loved our condo and used it quite often (2-3 weekends a month, year-round).

We liked the area so much that we decided to move here full-time in 2017. We rented out our primary home & moved into the condo full-time.

My husband & I were both WFH at the time and we just didn’t have enough room. So, we bought our current residence and put the condo up for sale.

Sales in this area were sluggish in 2017, and we were both too busy with work to try to make it a short-term rental. We ended up selling it at a loss of about $.

But, it did get us out to this area full-time, and that was the best move we made – we are much happier here than in the urban area we previously lived in. So, a financially poor investment, but a good investment in improving our mental health.

What’s been your overall return?

I really have no idea.

Charles Schwab says my percentage gain on my investments is 222%.

How often do you monitor/review your portfolio?

I review it with my FA annually.

I monitor it myself fairly often, mostly because I can see how much the different investment accounts are worth each time I log in to Simplifi.

NET WORTH

How did you accumulate your net worth?

I accumulated my net worth through a combination of solid earnings, a level of frugality, and disciplined savings. And, a bunch of luck as the cherry on top.

Once I started making enough that I didn’t have to live paycheck to paycheck, I no longer used a budget. However, I always prioritized savings: except for when I was teaching, I have always lived on my base salary and maxed out my 401k.

When I started earning more than I needed to live on, I allowed myself to have a little more discretionary spending money, but I always saved/invested 90% of my commissions/bonuses. The exception to that rule was when I did remodels/improvements of my properties – for those I used commission/bonus money.

I could have saved/invested more as my salary increased over the years, but I did allow a little lifestyle creep to happen as my base salary grew. However, I also enjoyed the heck out life during those years.

I was still my basic frugal self, but I traveled a ton, enjoyed some small luxuries (monthly massages, personal trainer), and I don’t ever remember feeling deprived because I was making myself save a high percentage of my earnings.

Probably the most important takeaway is that those luxuries weren’t huge expenses (I never bought expensive cars, and I didn’t buy newer/bigger houses as my salary increased). I invested in the properties I owned (through maintenance & improvements), I bought practical vehicles for cash (I don’t buy a car unless I can pay for it outright.

I have made car payments, but that was only because they offered me a 1% loan. I invested the money I’d saved for the car in a HYSA and came out ahead).

As for travel, I did spend a lot of money over the years. But I always looked for inexpensive flights and mostly stayed in medium-cost lodgings, with a few splurges for bucket list trips.

I was also lucky enough to have a lot of frequent flier miles & hotel points from my work travels.

As I mentioned above, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to my net worth or my investments through my 40s. In my early 50s, I was let go unexpectedly from the company I had been with for 11 years.

This rocked my world, but it also was a wake-up call that made me start thinking about retirement goals. I started tracking our spending and actively monitored investment accounts.

I met with a financial planner to determine what my net worth needed to be to retire based on spending requirements & life expectancies. At that time (early 2016) I had a net worth of about $2.7m ($750k of that was the value of my primary residence).

From then on, I had a one-track mind: earn, save & invest as much as I possibly could for as long as I could stomach working. I found a comparable job pretty quickly, and set a goal of retiring at 57 or 58 (2019/2020).

I retired (the first time) on 2/3/2020 with a net worth of $4m. I have to admit, I did start to stress out when the market dropped in March 2020.

But I didn’t panic sell, and by June 2020 I was back to a net worth of $4m. However, I think because of the shutdown, I got incredibly bored.

We couldn’t travel (not much anyway), volunteer opportunities were not available, gyms were closed, etc. So, I went back to work in November 2020 (my net worth about $4.3m), and again I went into Earn, Save, Invest beast mode!

But by early 2023 I realized that I really was ready to retire and that I was going to do it right this time! I decided that once we were able to sell the company I was working for I would decide on an exact date.

We sold the company in July 2023, and I gave my retirement notice to our CEO in early September, with a retirement date of Jan. 2, 2024. Net worth on 12/31/2023 was $5.38m.

I consulted for the same company until they hired my replacement on April 1st.

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?

I think for me it was a combination of Earn and Save, but “Save” is probably my greatest strength.

What road bumps did you face along the way to becoming a millionaire and how did you handle them?

I think my biggest roadblocks were early on, and both were because I quit a job before I had another, and I got into debt because of it. I finished the school year in June, and did not sign a renewal contract, but I also did not have a new job yet.

It took me much longer than I expected to find the new job (about 9 months). I became a “boomerang” and moved back in with my parents to save money, but I still got into credit card debt (and I was still paying for my graduate degree loans).

I learned two lessons: never voluntarily leave a job without getting a new one first and avoid credit card debt like the plague. Once I started my new job, I continued to live with my parents for a few months so I could pay down the credit card debt.

Once I moved out again, I kept my spending super low so I could pay off the graduate school loans more quickly. I learned those lessons well, and the only debt I’ve had since then was mortgage loans.

I also have never left a job without having another one (except when I retired of course).

What are you currently doing to maintain/grow your net worth?

At this point, since I’m retired, I’m trying to use withdrawal strategies that at the very least maintain my net worth & hopefully grow it over time. I am working with my financial advisor to rebalance my portfolio from an 80/20 allocation to a 60/40 allocation to help weather any downturns in the stock market.

I have a withdrawal strategy, but really I just stick with my budget, and we monitor the portfolio. If the stock market has a 20-40% (or higher) drop, I have a lower spending budget that we will pivot to.

Do you have a target net worth you are trying to attain?

Before I retired the first time (Feb. 2020), my target was $4.m, and I was just slightly over that. When I retired this time, my target was $5m, and my actual net worth at retirement was $5.38m.

Now I am just trying to maintain the investment portfolio and avoid/manage sequence of returns risk.

How old were you when you made your first million and have you had any significant behavior shifts since then?

I think I was in my mid-to-late 40s when my net worth reached $1m. I really wasn’t paying a lot of attention to net worth at that time, rather I was just trying to save/invest as much as I could while still enjoying my life.

I started paying a lot more attention in my early 50s (~2016) when I started thinking about getting out of the rat race. By that time my net worth was a tad under $3m, and I started running calculations to figure out how much I needed to retire.

I didn’t really change my Earn, Save, or Invest behavior, but I did pay a lot more attention to how my portfolio was growing, and what my net worth needed to be to retire comfortably.

What personal habits and/or traits have you developed that have made you successful at growing your net worth?

A strong work ethic and the willingness to live below my means. Also, the ability to tell the difference between “value” and “price”.

Sometimes you do get what you pay for. I’ve learned over the years how to tell when it’s better to pay a little more for something because it will last a whole lot longer, and when it’s ok to buy the cheaper version.

What money mistakes have you made along the way that others can learn from?

Along with the other mistakes I mentioned above (credit card debt, quitting a job without having a new one), here are a couple that stand out:

I didn’t understand the value of Roth IRAs until I was planning for retirement. I was not income-eligible for them for many years, but there were a couple of years that I could have done some Roth conversions and stayed in the same marginal tax bracket, and I should have done those.

This is one of the reasons I think that I am not as good at the “Invest” part of the ESI model.

I also didn’t understand the value of having an HSA. I have been blessed with excellent health my whole life, and I wish I had understood the financial soundness of choosing a HDHP earlier, and saved more money in an HSA.

I did eventually figure this out, but I could have been doing that for much longer.

And, in the spirit of “the little things add up”, I did spend way too much money over the years on dumb things that either I didn’t need or never used. As I got older, I got much better at honestly answering, “do I need this?”; “if I don’t need it, do I really want it?”; and “will I really use it?”/“will this enhance my life?”

What advice do you have for ESI Money readers on how to become wealthy?

Create goals and actively monitor your progress toward them. Save & invest – rinse & repeat.

Even if you are not a high earner, if you save & invest 10-20% of your income from the very beginning, and you live within your means, you will have enough to retire at the same or better lifestyle as you’ve had during your career.

This is huge. You may not be in the top xx% of wealth, but the ability to choose to not work when you are older is a bigger deal than most 20-40-year-olds realize.

FUTURE

What are your plans for the future regarding lifestyle?

I’ve mentioned most of this in my answers above; so just a summary: I have been able to retire early (once at 58, and then for real at 61, so just a bit “early”).

The extra couple of years have allowed me to remodel two houses and grow my investments to the point that we can upgrade our lifestyle a bit in retirement, especially in regard to travel spending.

What are your retirement plans?

I thought I might do some consulting, but I am enjoying the freedom from stress so much, that I will only go back to paid work if absolutely necessary financially. I have started to volunteer with my church, and I have found a couple of other organizations that I am hoping to volunteer for.

Financially, all of the Monte Carlo simulations show 99-100% success rate for retirement. This is without any inheritance and lowballing social security, so I feel very comfortable.

We plan to travel more in the first 10-15 years, and then decrease the travel (especially international) as we slow down. Staying active & fit is a huge priority.

Luckily we live in a part of the country where we can be active outside almost all year long. My parents are both alive and pretty healthy (93 & 87), so one of the reasons we haven’t left California is because I want to be close to them.

We might consider moving to a lower cost-of-living state when they are gone.

Are there any issues in retirement that concern you? If so, how are you planning to address them?

Healthcare costs & long-term care as we age.

Our financial plan takes this into account, and my financial planner assures me we have the ability to pay for it, but it is such an unknown (especially whether/when we will need assisted living and/or nursing care), that it does cause me a bit of stress.

MISCELLANEOUS

How did you learn about finances and at what age did it “click”?

It was more about observation than specific or intentional learning/instruction. My parents lived below their means, and though we were probably lower-middle class until I was in my teens (when my father got a big promotion), I didn’t feel like we lacked anything.

Sure, we didn’t buy brand-name clothes, and our vacations were “staycations”, but we always had secure housing, plenty to eat, etc., and there were no arguments about money or debt. My dad did teach me specifically about staying out of debt and saving for what you want (and avoiding impulse purchases) – and probably the best advice he gave me was to contribute the max to my 401(k).

I think it “clicked” when I left education & was in debt. When I got that new job & started paying off debt, I realized that saving money was a game I could play.

Set a goal, reach it. Set a higher goal, reach that.

Who inspired you to excel in life? Who are your heroes?

My parents and grandparents. My paternal grandparents immigrated to the U.S.

They gave up their homeland, their language, their friends & family to make a better life for their children and future generations. My maternal grandparents were not immigrants, but they moved cross-country in the 1940s to get better jobs & a better future for their children.

They, too, gave up everything that was familiar to start a new life in a new part of the country. They could have lived ok where they were, but there was no future for their children (farming on land they didn’t own).

My parents were incredibly hard workers – they gave me my work ethic by example. They also taught me to live within your means, but to find joy in life as well.

They also shared their faith with me, and it is the most valuable thing I got from them.

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 Richest Man in Babylon – easy to read, with applicable strategies & tips, especially “pay yourself first” and “live within your means”

The Millionaire Next Door – this really made me feel like my approach (under-spending your income) was valid. I had so many friends with incomes similar to me who were living much more extravagant lifestyles.

It made me wonder if I was just “cheap”. This book helped me realize that many very wealthy people became that way with the approach I was using.

Your Money or Your Life – this one helped me to understand that the number (net worth/investments) wasn’t the goal, but that it was the means to an end: to retire comfortably at an early enough age to enjoy the money I saved & invested.

Do you give to charity? Why or why not? If you do, what percent of time/money do you give?

Yes, I give to charity through my Donor Advised Fund (DAF); to my church and other charities. I also volunteer my time to various ministries at my church and am considering some other volunteer opportunities.

I plan to increase my charitable gifts over time (see below).

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?

I do not have any children, and my only sibling is wealthy enough to provide an inheritance for his children. My husband has a daughter from a previous relationship, so we will likely leave some level of bequest to her.

I do plan to increase my charitable gifts through my DAF as it grows, and as I age, to consider how to distribute any wealth that will remain at my death, most likely to charitable organizations with some amount to my nieces & nephew (or grandnieces/nephews as the case may be).