Jeanette Courts
Age: 38
Occupation: IT specialist at the Pentagon
Salary: $94,000 a year
Government Thrift Savings Plan: $107,000
Roth IRA: $6,000
Savings Bonds: $2,000
Online savings account: $10,000
Brokerage account: $1,000
Other savings: $4,000
Home equity: $190,000
Her friends say her commitment to her finances borders on obsession. Her neighbors may chuckle when she drops $400 on bulk detergent and toilet paper in a single shopping trip. But Jeanette Courts’ budget-minded habits have put her on track to becoming a millionaire. Courts, a 38-year-old single mother and information technology specialist at the Pentagon, has stashed away $113,000 towards retirement and has built up $190,000 in equity in her 3-bedroom townhouse in the Washington D.C. suburb of Bristow, Va.
The road to financial security, however, was not always easy. After splitting with her husband nearly four years ago, Courts had to juggle a career, a mortgage, and her then-3-year-old son, Carlito. It didn’t help that she was thousands of miles from her family in Puerto Rico. “I had to believe in myself that I could do this,” she says.
She’s looked for - and found - opportunities to minimize her expenses, such as buying clothes in the off season, bringing her lunch to work every day and buying everyday household items by the car load. Courts also puts pretax dollars into her flexible spending account to cover day-care costs, rides the bus to work from Bristow and takes advantage of free activities like going to the park or a museum.
She’s also made an effort to put away as much as she can in her government Thrift Savings Plan, a federal employee’s equivalent of a 401(k). Courts is debt free and has $6,000 in her Roth IRA account and $10,000 in her ING Direct online savings account, which is earmarked for her son’s college education.
If she puts in 30 years of service, her estimated gross pension payment during retirement would be $2,250 per month. Assuming she continues to stash away pretax dollars and that the Social Security Administration is still financially solvent, she is likely to have a solid income stream during retirement. Ideally she hopes to sell her home and join her extended family in Puerto Rico after she calls it quits. “I would like to be able to retire worry-free,” she says.
Our expert’s take: Courts wants to retire when she hits 58. But if she can wait 4 years and continue socking away 15 percent of her pay, she’d have just over $1 million in today’s dollars in her Thrift Savings Plan alone, assuming an annual 8 percent return, says Gail Fialkow, a certified financial planner at Fairfax, Va.-based Capital Planning & Investments. By waiting until she’s 62, she also gets the benefit of a higher pension. And since Social Security benefits kick in at age 63, she won’t have to worry about digging too much into her retirement nest egg.
Courts’ Thrift Savings Plan could also use some spring cleaning, says Fialkow. Instead of having a blend of large cap, small cap, international and a target retirement fund, she should simplify things by putting her entire account savings into a 2030 target retirement fund.
Courts should also move her son’s college fund from an online savings account into a 529 savings plan, according to Fialkow. By shifting her money into a reputable 529, like Virginia’s CollegeAmerica plan, her savings would grow tax free and could be distributed tax free when it comes time to paying for her son’s tuition. What makes this 529 an even smarter move, says Fialkow, is that Courts would also be eligible for a tax break.
Finally she should consider increasing her emergency cash reserve to $15,000 from its current level of $4,000, says Fialkow. Instead of stashing that money in a savings account, Fialkow recommends putting it into a Virginia tax-free bond mutual fund. The benefit, she says, is that Courts’ money would be sheltered from Federal and state income taxes without losing any of the liquidity of a savings account. The one downside, warns Fialkow, is that the fund is not FDIC insured.
–By David Ellis, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Are you a millionaire in the making? Tell us why at millionaire@cnnmoney.com
To Peter…Jeeze who moved the rock?
Many college-educated individuals earn below $100,000/year. Accountants, teachers, those in Human Resources, some military officers, etc…
Some people perform their duties because they just love doing what they do.
I also know of people who earn around $100,00. Yes-they have some form of education–but they have no real degree to speak of.
My good friend earns $65,000 (provider relations) and she’s currently working on her batchelor’s.
I’m a 27 yr old woman who CT/XRAY/MAMOGRAPHY tech earning just under $70,000 (no degree) making more than another friend who is teacher and a year or so away from attaining her master’s degree($41,000)
So…now what Yoda?
Instead of sitting on your high horse like an uptight little snot, i.e,
“Well–$94,000/year is…merely ok. It’s a fine step above ‘trailor park living’ but she’s still poor! Ha-HA! As poor as the rest of the undeucated, unmotivated ppl in this country who earn less than $100,0000/year. It’s simply nowhere NEAR what ‘I’ make as a college-educated individual who has spent an infinite amount of years in school…”
You should be applauding this woman for being a single mother and doing so well with herself.
Other people should be so driven…
I don’t understand what some of these people are thinking. I mean first of all this woman is a single parent with one child. To have a child cost money Also someone commented about having a college degree. Let me tell you guys something in the IT world you don’t need a college degree to succeed. In the computer word to make money you must have a thing called CERTIFICATIONS which is way cheaper than going to colle to be a computer science major or any computer related majors. It bothers me when people preach that college is the most imprtant thing in life. Some people have to think that a good part of society are not made to go to school. Maybe to some poeple they love to go to school but majority of the people don’t. There are other ways to get a good paying job without getting college.
I have to agree with John of Chicago, believe you me, if you have the kind of salary that this woman has it’s much easier to save, I wished I could do this.
This is a great example of what it takes to be a millionaire. Also, being able to afford ones home, and making a reasonable monthly mortgage payment, rather than so many that try to keep up with the Jones, and buy too much home, is an important element to becoming a millionaire.
Not downplaying her accomplishments at all–she should be commended for what she is doing, but a 100K salary makes things much easier. Common folk do not make that sort of salary. If the objective of these articles is to show normal people how to save and become millionaires–then the articles should be written on people that make a common salary.
Back to the basics is one way to make those Millions. Small baby step can lead to Big Profits:
1. Stop using credit cards - leave the at home.
2. Asked the credit card company for lower interest rate.
3. Tranfer your credit card balance to card with lower interest rate.
4. Make your payment automatically from your checking or saving account.
5. Spend smarter - pack your lunch.
TO Yadgyu, Harkeyville, TX I AM NOT GOING TO TELL YOU YOU HAVE A BAD ATTITUDE I AM SURE YOU HAVE HEARD THAT ENOUGH BUT I CAN TELL YOU I LIVE IN A DC SUBURB (VERY HIGH COST OF LIVING). I HAVE NO COLLEGE AND THE MOST I HAVE EVER MADE IS 29,000yr BUT THROUGH HARD WORK GOOD SPENDING HABITS AND KEEPING MY CREDIT GOOD I HAVE JUST PURCHASED MY 4th HOUSE. IT IS ALOT OF WORK KEEPING UP WITH 4 OF EVERYTHING BUT IT IS WORTH IT AND IT CAN BE DONE.
I’m proud of her, and am sure she can retire at 55 or younger if she wants. She knows how to stretch a dollar AND put her money to work for her. DCA (Dollar Cost Averaging) into her investments is on automatic pilot.I am sure it’s based off a percentage of her salary, so it automatically goes up when her pay raises. We’ve done the same as a military (enlisted) family and are on our way too. We plan to retire by 50, so we can enjoy our freedom, while we are in good shape. That is the inspiration for us to work hard and cut costs and spending to invest the most in our 401K’s and Roth IRA’s. Yes we chose Missouri to retire in so our money goes further, but we love it here. Read the Automatic millionaire! Good fortunes to all!
Amazing Story of this single mom! As they say, “Nothing is impossible until you think it to be”. Hats off to this young woman.
To Peter from Flushing: I am a NYC teacher for 24 years. I have two master’s degrees and I make WAY under $100,000 a year. I am educated and experienced…….now what do you say?
She should continue to obtain education as pretty soon I’m sure our own government will outsource their IT jobs to India and China.
Looks like she is doing great though and I wish her continued success.
Wait, Peter from NY- who are you, and that’s the most horrible generalization of age to salary I’ve ever heard. What about teachers? Architects? People who work at non-profits? They require college degrees, but there’s no way their salaries can follow your logic. They don’t demonstrate their ability? I’d say you would be in the top 3% of your peer group to live up to your “saying”. Also, do you really think a company in need of an IT person pays 140k for an employee when they can hire a kid with 2 years experience for half that price? Also, your “financial model” does not take into account the time value of money. Amounts are irrelivant, percents would be more valid to make more accurate blanket statements about salary.
Making $94,000 a year as an IT professional at age 38 is just ok. There’s an old saying that after age 30, multiply your age by 4000 as a benchmark. For example, if you are 35, you need to make $140,000 or above to demonstrate your ability assuming you have a college degree. And if your age is 40 or above, use the factor 5000 instead of 4000. This does not include people who are self employed. People who make under 100k these days probably do not have a degree and if that’s true, that’s just a reality check that education plays an important part in our life. Otherwise, why would people invest their time and money to get a degree? If you are capable and persistent, you will be successful instead of making excuses or blaming others.
This lady is a great example of how a single mother despite all the struggles can move on and continue grow. I’m sure it was not easy for her to start over again especially with a child depending on her and no family living locally. She was determined and you can see she is holding her head high. She is a great example for all on now saving can give you a great future. She’s not consume with status, she is living a simple life and enjoying what she has and those around her. Good Job!!!
I’m 35; married with two kids - my wife is a stay at home; and has been for 6 years. I make a solid living (~$120k) - and have managed to put $120K away in 401K plan and another $100K away in other savings; may not be a ton but I’m disciplined about it - max out 401K contribution; and any “extra” money we get or save goes right into a mutual fund. These MITM stories are a great inspiration and rather than pick-them apart; I just get re-energized that I’m doing the right thing in both the short term (wife at home) and long term (committment to savings).
Income, expenses, and savings are all relative to geographic region. I can say that my household income in the NYC metro region would impress many people in the rest of the country. But when you take cost of living into account, my income would at best be considered average in the area that I live. As an example, I live 50 miles outside of NYC in the NJ suburbs and I pay close to $900/month on property taxes alone. This is for a townhouse, not even a single family home. Both my wife and I, each make over six figures and yet we cannot afford to live on one salary. We are able to contribute to pre-tax savings, but not at a rate that we would like…and there really is no money left at the end of the month for post-tax savings.
Go Jeannette,Congratulations but don’t let it go to your head.Not easy come but very easy go.You keep this up and you won’t have to worry no matter what.As for your ex it won’t be long till you can say to him”Look at me now and I did without you” .
Morale of the story:You should save anything you can, no matter how little
for it will be there when you need it.
Actually, the entire gist of this is, you have to make money to have money. No amount of saving is going to get you anywhere if you arent making it. We need to be instilling in our kids the virtues of completing higher education. Without a college degree, you are certain to be regulated to sub par employment and subpar wages. I also have noticed almost all these “millionaires” have some type of college…
Per Zillow, she is selling her home. Her equity is actually kind of low for someone who had to refinance/transfer her home when she divorced in 2003. That house was originally purchased for about $160K with her husband and per the selling price of the house on Zillow and the equity listed in the article, her mortgage debt is about $155K. Perhaps she got the house in her divorce settlement and nothing else? What about child support for her kid? $94K might be her base wage but with additional child-support, that could be quite a lot extra.
I think it’s great that she is a saver, but the home equity factor is kind of crazy in these calculations. Home prices are really inflated in the DC metro area. (And it’s crazy to think that Bristow is DC metro area now, because 15 years ago it wasn’t.)
Working for DoD at the Pentagon has a lot of benefits like MetroChecks for commuting, telecommuting initiatives, off hour commuting (working from 6:30am-3pm), etc. If she’s riding the bus from Bristow, she’s probably on one of those luxury coaches you see on I-66. Therefore she pays less in gas and car insurance. Heck she could drive a beater around town to buy her groceries out there and have zero car payments.
Of course, I think her daily habits are fantastic. That’s dedication!
Agree with Jade. It is upto person who wants to save money.
I came to US with around 7k from parents for the grad school fee. I started working right in the school and saved money while studying. Actually, I started investing money in college. One of my investment (Procter & Gamble) turned out to be 4 baggers in 7 years. (500$ turned to 2000$). Long story short, at present, me and my wife make around 180k per year total. We save 50% of our after tax take home income. We take decent vacation once a year (spend around 4k) but never stay in fancy hotel or never eat in expensive places. Our normaly eat out budget is around 40$ each time and we eat out once or twice per month. I read “millionaire next door” book several years back and it had profound effect on me. We live simple life, drive 7 and 8 years old cars which we plan to keep till 10 plus years. Not considering value of real estate, we are close to crossing million dollar mark in year.
I thought about putting our name in the article but decided against it due to privacy reason.
A high income doesn’t mean that you can save a lot by any means. Saving comes down to discipline and will power, period. If you have neither you will blow money left and right, no matter how much you make.
I work in an investment brokerage, and one of my colleagues makes $500K + per year. He buys a brand new luxury car every few months, drops 10’s of thousands on new watches, goes to Vegas and blows 10’s of thousands more.
But at the end of the day he ends up worrying about his cash flow, and sits there waiting for his next check. This is a guy who earns $1 million every 2 years. Imagine that?
I am definitely jealous of her.
I don’t make $94,000 a year and I probably never will. That’s why I see no point in even trying to save for retirement. In order to have a decent amount of money in retirement, I would have to make at least $75,000 for the next 25+ years.
I don’t make diddley squat now. Why save all of my hard earned money just to end up with a petty $100,000-$150,000 by the time I retire? That’s not going to sustain me. The only thing I can do is to work until I get too sick to work or die and to continue to borrow more than I can afford to pay back. I refuse to live within my means because my means suck! I want to live the good life now, not when I’m 100 years old.
You can save if you want to.
When I was in college (in late 1990s), my income was $600 a month and I still saved. I spent less than $400 and saved $200. I walked to classes and didn’t have a car. I lived in an old apartment and shared with a roommate. When I made $2000 a month in the summer, I saved most of it. By the time I got out of graduate school, I’ve saved $20,000.
I made $60,000 in my first job. I drove an old car and put 50% away in retirement plan and after-tax savings.
Now my homehold income is over 250,000 a year, and we save 60% of our take-home pay. We didn’t buy a million $ home. You don’t need a lot of money to enjoy life. I enjoy a backyard barbecue just as much as I enjoy a steak dinner. I’m have so much self confidence that I do not need to spend money to impress others.
I thought about submitting my story to this column, but I know people will say I’ve saved a lot because I have high income.
YOU CAN SAVE IF YOU CHOOSE TOO.
In the example given by Alexajetset, you can save hundreds in utility, car payment, and gasoline by making certain choices. My utility+gasoline
I just wanted to respond to Fred, who wrote, “The real reason we have trouble saving for retirement is paying our taxes - of which someone earning $47K, the median family income, has NONE beyond SSI and Medicare.” I can tell you that I make not much more than 47k, and between property taxes, federal income tax, and state income tax, I pay thousands of dollars per year in taxes. You might pay 45k in taxes, but that still leaves 75k per year net )if you’re making 120k as your comments said) which gives you plenty to invest. If you invest 25k per year in a mixture of IRA (4000 annually) and taxable investments (21000 annually), and average 8% on your investments, you can accumulate a million in 19 years and 3 months. You would still have 50K left after taxes and investing, which is more than the US median household income. The question is: do you want to save and invest for the future, or do you want to live in a big house and drive an expensive car now?
The financial advisers comment that she should simplify things is so useless. The TSP is very simply, with only 4 plans and a couple of targeted plans with very conservative approaches. With that much time left to retirement, she should have all of her money in the S, I, and C funds, meaning small cap, international and large cap. I’d say a 35 35 30 split. The targeted funds are way too timid and have a lot more in bonds, especially with at least 30 years to go.
I agree w/ the above comments about the fact that she should be applauded for living below her means. So often, few do that regardless of how big their income is.
But that is the biggest step, no matter what you make, to live below your means.
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http://www.ITFinanceGuy.com
It’s very possible to do what she’s done.
I’m in a similar situation, so I know it can be done. You got to learn to save first, then spend & invest it right.
Have to agree with the others. I’m making about 35k a year, supporting a wife and kid, in a depressed job market. I could drive an extra hour each way and make another 10-15k a year, but why? I’ve still managed to have about 70k in assets by the age of 26. If I was making 94k a year, I’d probably make few adjustments, and would be putting away at least 30k a year.
As people mentioned, 94K a year can be a gold mine in one state (like Missouri) and seem very little in another. Single mom after divorse who saved that much in such a short time, that is an inspiration. Yes, she does make more than an average salary, but that is not the reason to think that she would be able to save that much. I know people who make that kind of money and constantly whining that they have nothing. Even in Missouri, after paying for an average home, buying groceries that will not kill you (like generic hot dogs that will have you spend millions in doctor bills and should automatically come pre-packaged with pepto), paying child care and all the insurances, taxes, etc. You don’t have that much left, you put something away and alas, money is gone. So the rest is up to the person, all depends on goals and plans.
The point isn’t her income, it’s her discipline…good for her that she makes responsible financial decisions like not buying “too much house” or measuring her wealth by her income, but rather her net worth…good for her!
Ethan, pennies on the dollar is not quite true in Puerto Rico. Some costs are much lower, particularly labor costs: college graduates work for what a closer makes at Burger King in Boston. However the cost of items purchased in stores is the same or higher as on the Mainland US.
Good for Ms. Courts. Her efforts are not extraordinary, but they are certainly admirable. And I’m happy to finally see a MITM who pays for childcare!
I would like to shine some light on Ms courts retirement plans..
I live near Bristow where Ms Courts live and yes 94k is not a whole lot to live off but with a good discipline Ms court is better off than making 1 million and saving none..The point is that you do what you can to save for what lays ahead.I’am 34 with a house that’s worth 900k with a balance of 230k and a saving of 320k between retirement and saving account..it could be done,and it’s all up to you..
it’s not how make you make but it’s how much you save!!!
Good for her! She’s doing what most of us don’t; namely living well within our means. My wife and I make a combined $200k a year, have $200k in retirement accounts, $300k in home equity, and put away over $30k a year and we still worry if we’ll have enough for retirement (my wife is in her 30’s, I’m in my 40’s). And we don’t live extravagantly. People like Peter in NY, NY and Jason in San Diego just don’t get it. And maybe you can’t unless you experience it firsthand. $200k a year sounded like tons of money to us when we were making much less. But now we realized it just doesn’t go as far as you think it will. Jeanette sounds like she’s doing a great job on $94k.
Very insightful comments from folks on this article. I’ve been reading these “Millionaires in the Making” for quite some time now and I agree with some of the criticism that I see here. My biggest beef was that at one time, almost every one of these articles was based on singles/couples who’d had incredible appreciation on their homes (i.e.”equity M.I.T.M.). Having grown up in rural western PA, lived 22 years in SC and the last 2 here is So.Cal. (travelled a lot for my environmental engineering career)I can assure you that most areas of the country DON’T have that type of appreciation on a home and not everyone owns rental property. How about some more articles about folks who are M.I.T.M. from NON-real estate investing? Most of the articles were people based in CA, DC, the Northeast, etc.
Comments about the $94K salary are correct,too. One of my sisters is a single mom w/2 kids…things sure would be easier with that salary, irrespective of the cost of living index. Kudos to the woman in the article though, she’s done a great job managing her finances.
The “take away” from this is that living below your means, though not possible for everyone, is the key to retiring early. Too many folks live paycheck to paycheck because they’re foolish with their money.
Give me a break, life is about making choices. I waited until I was 26 to have one child, and did not have more because I could not afford more at the time. I managed to accumulate a bachelors degree and two masters degrees in almost 17 years of evening school (my $). I’ve always worked at high-pressure highly skilled jobs, used my savings to buy a new low-cost auto every 10 years or so, and lived in a miserable commute area, Washington DC.
I spent my entire life making choices, sacrificing today’s gratification for next year’s rewards and security, investing wisely for the long term, and always accepting responsibility for my own situation. As a single father, I raised my son from the time he was 5 until he was 17 years old.
At 62, I could have retired long ago, and will definitely do so this year.
Ms Courts is to be commended, not doubted, and certainly should not be the object of jealousy. Anyone out there can have the same thing; all you have to do is make the same choices as Ms Courts and take control of your own life – I am not responsible for your life. Believe me, and I’m sure Ms Courts will agree, none of the choices are easy, but the long-term rewards (to you and society) are tremendous.
Give the lady her just due, if she is that tight with her money can she really be enjoying life to the fullest? We all need to keep in mind, that tomorrow isn’t promised, so we all need to have a balance of saving and spending !!!!
Back of the napkin numbers say if you start at age 25 and retire at 65, it takes about $200/mo to build a pre-tax 401K nestegg of $1M for retirement. Don’t want to make a blanket statement but it seems doable for even the average household making 49K annually.
I can reduce all the MITMs to this - Discipline to save and the knowledge to invest.
People who don’t make enough to save just won’t cut it. Frankly, they have more problems in life than just not making their million.
Considering on where she stands, I’m 100% certain that the “experts” had a tough time recommending anything for her to do better. She’s doing a great job. Even the emergency cash reserve recommendation, I bet she’s got a HELOC that she could tap in an emergecy.
I’d love to see an article on her 5 years from now.
Although she has done quite well, maybe you should take a look at the statistics on networthiq.com. For her age bracket, not really that outstanding.
I think she has done quite a respectable job. Come on people, 94k is good money but she is the only breadwinner and has significant childcare expenses. I also bet she hasn’t made 94k forever. Good for her.
So where does a 100K salary go in the Boston area:
Mortgage, taxes and condo insurance = $1800/mo
Student loans = 631/mo
Car payments = 475/mo
Car insurance = 270/mo
Life and disability insurance premiums = 120/mo
Gasoline = 400/mo
Groceries = 500/mo
Utilities = 400/mo
I also contribute 13% of my salary to the 401k. After all the bills are paid, I usually have about $300-500 left over that I try to put into a savings account or use for necessities like car maintenance. If my husband and I wanted to have kids, we couldn’t afford daycare on our current income.
You all need to re-read Ethans comments. No where does he say he is a millionaire. He says he is on his way. Probably used savings calculator. Young and single saving lots of money. Wait till the wife and kids come along!!
I think a good salary is necessary for most of us working bees to reach a million. But that alone is far from enough. This story demonstrated that planning, discipline and financial literacy could help a lot. My wife and I started to work eight years ago with zero dollars in the bank. And I started to plan and learn investment on the same day. We reached the 1M mark last year. For me the key is financial literacy. Remember do not blame other people. Earn it, enjoy life.
She is doing well. I am also immigrant and my family is almost going along the same path. I shop around, find deals and negotiate as much as possible. However, I would suggest to keep putting away some $ converted to her retirement home country(not USA). Say, Most Asian countries give a tax free growth after $ to local currency convesion, better interest rates on CDs and also protect for major revesal from $ strength. Looking at what is happening to $ since last year, need to diversify the wealth from only in $. Also, please note that 1M$ in 30 years from today would only put you in “lower middle class” category. Her social security check would be good enough to pay for the monthly electricity bills, okay, may be water bill also.
Come on people, no one is “jealous” of her,
give me a break. Read what they said..
they were not criticizing her, they are
happy for her but are asking cnn to
feature more MITM people who make less
money, and to feature fewer MITM who make
as much as her. That is all…
This is really great to see so many people in this discussion. I hope the participants really reflect on their comments because your comments say so much about how you view financial matters and investing. Great discussion! Some of the participants need to understand the distinction between work income and building wealth. The key is not how much one makes (cost of living varies dramatically across US), but rather to focus on establishing the ability/skill to save a portion of your income each month (living below your means). The secret however, is what you do with the money once saved. Wealth is built through capital gains and passive income NOT from work income no matter how high the income.
Man you people can critcize someone who makes a decent living and lives below thier means. I applaude her for making the sacrifices necessary to get the job done. I am glad this forum wasn’t available when I was fortunate enough to be profiled in MITM. At some point, it doesn’t matter how much you make as long as you start doing some saving. I do also live in Houston and it is WAY cheap to live here, but at some point the old addage says expenses rise to meet income. It doesn’t matter how much you make, it matters how much you spend. All the predictions in the future are guesses on when some will become a millionaire, but I can guarantee if you don’t save, you will never get close.
Well, everything is possible if you are responsible for yourself.
I will be 30 yrs old by June of this year and I have only been working little less than 5 yrs after college. I have saved $170K (retirement+non-retirement). I started with $42K salary and making $120K now.
I still buy stuff I like, bought 2 brand new $35K cars over last 5 yrs and many high tech gadgets. I set my goal of reaching $1MM by 40, it’s aggressive, but certainly possible.
I think what Jeanette is hoping to accomplish is quite commendable. However, anyone making a decent income can save 1 million dollars over 20-30 years with modest portfolio growth. Also, a large portion of Jeanette’s net worth (and many other people profiled in this column) is from home equity appreciation. Want to bet this won’t keep going up at the same rate it has over the past few years.
The problem is that adjusting for inflation, a million dollars in 2030 does not ensure a worry-free retirement (it will be worth about 500k in today’s dollars). Try living in NYC. With a million dollar nest egg in 2030 you would literally be scraping by.
One other thing, either Ethan (blog below) is very poor in math or plans to retire at 120 years old. 5 million target on a 55k salary. Did he forget about taxes and rent/food/clothing etc. Or maybe he is including an inheritance which he simply forgets to mention.
About time you actually profiled a decent MITM story. I get tired of seeing these two income people who think they are doing something special. A couple earning two incomes should easily become millionaires over the course of 20 years.
To Peter, who argues that “anyone making double or triple $47K should have no problem saving for retirement.”
Less than brilliant. The real reason we have trouble saving for retirement is paying our taxes - of which someone earning $47K, the median family income, has NONE beyond SSI and Medicare. On my $120K, I paid a total of $45,000 in taxation (at all levels) last year - leaving relatively little to save. I take my lunches to work, etc. etc. etc. but let me clue you - at $120K I pay my fair share, and virtually all of your $47Ker’s taxes, as well.
Good for her, she has really overcome a lot and has a goal. Too many people just ‘wait for their ship to come in.’ Those with 4-year college degrees have an unemployment rate of 2%, not the 4.5% overall.
Not possible for all, but if one can obtain a 4-year degree, get and stay married, have kids when financially stable, life will have a lot less drama.
The way I see it,most people are looking for a miracle to make a million or be a millionaire. What Ms Courts is doing is certainly appreciable and very impressive and displays a responsible personality. What people do not realize is that saving a million over a period of a life time takes a lot of responsible decisions and smart spending. They are just jealous that they do not make 94K like Ms Courts and if they do they probably do not save that much. They are looking for a magic formula where they make minimum wages and make a million in their lifetime by juggling something.That only happens in movies not in real life.
I don’t buy into this bull,if she plans on retiring in 20 years with a million better get an extra 50 grand a yr.from somwhere.I have had a cfp and cpa look at my finances and i’m not really expecting to break a million making over 100G with 15-20 years to go!P.S.5m on 55g’s what is your secret?
Thanks for letting us all know that making nearly $100K a year and living thriftily will result in a decent retirement nest egg. Should we stay tuned for the next article about how a person making $250K a year might be able to retire comfortably as well?
The median household income in the US is a paltry $47K a year. These people will need to retire as well! Anyone making double or triple that should have no trouble preparing for retirement.
I think she is doing great. No one seems to mention the cost of child care. The pre-tax dollars max out way below the average cost of child care. In the northeast a decent day care can cost $350 - $400 per WEEK for one child under 3.
As much as she did, that is extraordinary.
I just want to point out one thing, that is the home equity played a big roll in this millionair parade.
As the government kepts printing the money, what is the true buying power for average citizen at retirement years? Do we really believe we can retire worry free if current monetary policy and debts and deficits continue?
Come on, CNN. Tell people to save. But more importantly, tell congress to balance the budgets and reduce the deficits.
The way I see it, is that everyone reading this article is educated or works with their money and understands how to save. The other 80% of America do not understand this trend and are in heaps of debt.
I think she is a perfect example of someone who devotes to conservative saving and letting her work and money grow for her! kudos.
She is doing pretty well given the Salary, Geography and Marriage Status. DC/Virginia is a very expensive area to live.
Look between the lines for some lessons to be learned. Living below her means and not from pay check to pay check like 80% of most Americans. No credit card death saving. Planning for the future by saving, tax advantages, and blowing every cent earned. Come on stop whining and be happy for her. Last note: Looks like she listened in those economics courses in college. If you can’t figure that out, look at her income…that will answer the obvious question. Did she go to college?
I have to agree with the comments here that being a MITM on 94k a year does not sound extraordinary. I am on my way to 5M (not adjusted for inflation) on a current salary of 55k a year. I do not consider my situation extraordinary either. I simply reduce my expenses, reduce my liabilities through the use of the right insurance, and work on ways to expand my income each year.
I do respect and understand the truth that people can go broke on huge incomes and still some on very small incomes can grow wealthy.
Also, I do not believe this gal needs a million to retire in Puerto Rico. Cost of living same quality lifestyle there? Pennies on the dollar I am guessing.
It is easy to be critical of this article, but she made sacrafices in her life to achieve her career goals and continues to make sacrafices as a single mother in an expensive section of our country to save for her own retirement and her kids college education … I say great job!
Almost regardless of where you live, $94K is still a good income. She lives in Bristow which is quite some distance out in No VA. Depending on when she purchased the townhouse out that way, it could be as low or lower than $200K. The commute is a pain, but the government does provide a subsidy for individuals using Metro. When comparing the difference between areas of the country, the biggest factor is generally housing. I know, I bought in No VA ,closer in, for less than $200K in 1997-1999 timeframe, while my income has increased to over $100K.
Having said all that, the fact that she is disciplined enough to put away as much as she does in lieu of other luxuries speaks alot to self discipline.
As mentioned above, before you go off the deep end about her salary, you must consider the cost of living in Washington, DC as compared to where you live - believe me, $94k doesn’t go super far here- especially with a child to support! She sounds like she’s doing a great job.
I love that people are complaining that she makes a decent income. It’s like these stories should only be about people that make nothing and somehow save to make 1 million dollars. It clearly illustrates how a single mom can make the right career and savings moves to reach a million dollars. It’s amazing how people admittedly can’t save $10 say it would be easy to save 1 million dollars by making 94k a year. These article help explain the mind-state and devotion need to save that kind of money.
It does appear that the individuals in these sceanrios do not fit the mold of “financially average”. If the intent is to provide encouragement and hope for readers, then this column does little to inspire that.
I bet even if you made 94k, you would probably spend 93.990k, and save the same 10 dollars a year. I give her props for living below her means, which is not easy, even if you make a good salary.
Regarding the tax free bond fund. It woudl suprise me if she was in a high enough tax bracket that it woudl be advantageous. Esp given the increased principle risk.
Kelli, It has a lot to do with the fact that you live in Houston and she is in DC. In Nothern Va, a townhouse probably costs 400-500,000. Even renting a 2BR apt probably pushes $2,000 a mo. In houston suburbs, I am pretty sure you can get a mc-mansion for that.
You need to save $1697/month, for 20 years, at an 8% growth rate, to hit $1M. That’s about 22% of her pre-tax income, which is high but achievable. Work ’till your 65 and hit $2M …
Before you jump to any conclusions, $94K in Washington DC doesn’t go quite as far as it would in Houston ($57,600 equivalent). Still better than $37K, but not what you’d think. This website helps with calculating the cost of living in various city/states: http://www.bestplaces.net/col/?salary=94000&city1=8840&city2=3360
I love these “Millionaires in the Making”. $94,000 a year in salary …. no kidding she’s a millionaire in the making.
They also had a “Millionaire in the Making” of a young couple who both recently graduated from college (No college debt … both parents paid the whole shot for each of their children), live in Dallas (Cost of living index of 95.2 vs 141 for San Diego) and each hold $90,000 jobs. Millionaires in the Making alright …. hopefully many times over !!!
Clearly the people you’re picking for these segments are obvious candidates. Why don’t you just do a “Millionaires in the Making” on Bill and Melinda Gates children. That would be just as interesting.
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To Peter of Flushing, NY:
You live in NY. Not everyone else does. You can divide your numbers in half in the middle of the country and still be quite well off.
I am coming to believe that a large number of coastal residents, even the “educated” ones, are woefully ignorant of all things outside their little worlds.
What if I told you that there are nice places to live where $400/month buys a decent 2 bedroom apartment?