Galleries

Celebrities and Money, Financial Freedom, Financial Independence, Investing

How I made it to $500,000. Checkmate!

Gallery Leave a comment

It was a cold summer night when I finally got home after running errands.

The fall season was fast approaching. Alas, it was the last days of summer. No more summer concerts or cookouts. It felt so sad to see it come to an end.

Was this how Belly felt in The Summer I Turned Pretty? When Cousins Beach was in the rearview mirror as she drove away. It was time to move forward and move on.

Christmas was three months away. I was trying to get all my holiday preparations organized. Christmas tree. Check. Christmas decorations. Check. Holiday travel plans. Check.

I also had another check to do. My financial checkup. It was time for my monthly fiscal health check.

The stock market had a nice bump happen within the last 30 days. I had also been investing in AI companies for months and some stocks had started to takeoff!

I figured I would piggyback off of Nvidia and invest not only in them, but some of the companies that they were investing in as well. Below is Nvidia stock portfolio.

Stocks Nvidia currently owns

Nvidia started investing in AI stocks at the end of 2023. According to its latest 13-F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which was released weeks ago, it now owns several high profile ones:

  • Applied Digital Corp (APLD), founded in 2001, which builds data centers for customers. Their position is worth $63 million as they own a 3 percent stake in the company with 7 million shares.
  • Arm Holdings (ARM), founded in 1990, which helps semiconductor companies design advanced computing chips. Their position is worth $280 million.
  • CoreWeave (CRWV): Nvidia’s biggest equity holding, this cloud computing company provides GPU-accelerated infrastructure for AI workloads. Nvidia owns 7% of CoreWeave’s Class A shares, according to filings as of June 30, 2025. This stake of approximately 24.3 million shares makes CoreWeave Nvidia’s largest equity holding, at about $900 million.
  • Nano-X Imaging (NNOX), founded in 2018, which develops AI software to improve the efficiency of medical imaging. They did own 59,000 shares. However, they sold its stake in the company in February 2025.
  • Nebius (NBIS) is a technology company that provides artificial intelligence infrastructure. Nvidia owns a minority equity stake in the company, having acquired over 1.19 million shares in late 2024. Nvidia: The Real Winner In The $19B Microsoft/Nebius Deal. It’s stake in the company was $33 million at the end of 2024.
  • Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX), founded in 2013, which is using AI to transform the drug discovery process. Their position is worth $56 million as they own 7.71 million shares.
  • Serve Robotics (SERV), founded in 2017, which develops autonomous delivery robots with a focus on serving the last mile of a delivery. Their position was worth $25 million as they own 3.73 million shares. However, they sold its entire stake in Serve Robotics at the end of 2024.
  • SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN), founded in 2005, which is a leader in conversational AI technologies. The company recently paid off $200 million in debt to be able invest more in their technology. Nvidia previously had a position worth $10 million as they owned 1.73 million shares, but sold them all in late 2024 and early 2025.
  • WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD): Nvidia’s smallest position ($23.6 million) is in the autonomous car company WeRide, which is working to commercialize self-driving vehicles. Not only is WeRide backed by Nvidia, but the company also uses Nvidia GPUs and AI software in its vehicles. Nvidia is also working on autonomous driving technology.

Nvidia is currently worth over $4.2 trillion. So I figured investing in them and the same companies they put millions into was a pretty good bet! It turns out I was right. I have earned tens of thousands by doing this.

My own portfolio had gone from $375,000 to $4400,000 since my story had been featured on Business Insider and picked up on Yahoo! Finance.

I typed this amount into my retirement calculator and saw that if I continued with my 14.3 percent compound rate and investing $1,333 per month, I could have over $500,000 by May 1, 2025. I was about 500 days from having half a million in investments. This was in December 2024.

I actually hit my target in my portfolio in September 2025. Screenshot below was taken to mark the occasion.

From there, I could have $1 million in another four or five years. I would officially be a millionaire.

Looking back I had to reflect on how I got here.

This is my story.

Starting out: $0

Growing up in the 90’s, I was eager to get start working and earning my own money. As a teenager, I worked as a cell phone operator making $9 an hour. I later went on to work as a waitress for $2.65 an hour plus tips.

Standing on my feet for hours on end made me realize that this was not the career I aspired to have. Constantly being on your feet is fine and dandy when your young and paying your dues, but not in your 40’s with back problems and bad knees worn out from years of playing sports!

I could clear anywhere from $30-$50 a night working part-time at Shoney’s. If I had only been fiscally savvy back then, I would have started investing at 16. But hindsight is 20/20. I did not have the financial knowledge then that I do today. I saved $0.

However, my time would come. I would become financially literate and put all that I had learned to good use in the years to come. I job hopped quite a bit in my early 20’s while I was trying to figure out what interested me. I worked for an authorized cell phone dealer for AT&T and Nextel.

I was an administrative assistant and a receptionist for a cosmetic medical doctor. I learned from there that beauty costs a pretty penny. Literally.

I guess I will just invest in a more expensive facial cream with at least a 30spf to keep my skin healthy and youthful because Botox is expensive! I was making $12 an hour here. I couldn’t believe the amount of money women were shelling out for beauty treatments. Now I understand why Rihanna and Kylie Jenner started their beauty businesses. People still buy lipstick even in recessions!

Investing in my 20’s: $0 – $25,000+

Back in 2006, I was just getting started in the working world. I got a job working in lending for a federal credit union. I opened up a 401k asap!

I wasn’t earning much when I first started out. Around $25,000-$28,000. However, I knew I had to start somewhere. By the time they laid me off during the 2008-2009 Recession, I had at least $8,000 in my investments.

I was reading 10 books a year on personal finance at this point.

I also made a decision that I wanted to be wealthy.

I set out a goal of $1 million.

Every time I had an extra $20 bucks, I would invest it.

I paid off my expensive car loan and used that money to invest as well. I bought a SUV for $24,000 in 2003 and had negative equity of $6,000 so I owed $30,000 in auto loans! My payment was $448.65. It took until 2009 to pay this off. I have not had a car payment since.

Every birthday and holiday, I also invest money into my Roth IRA.

New job, higher retirement contributions: $50,000 – $500,000+

By 2012, I was well on my way to a millionaire in the making. I had been watching the Suze Orman show, read the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, the Automatic Millionaire, and hundreds of finance articles, books and blogs at this point.

I also witnessed people losing their homes and jobs. That was a scary time. I decided I would live off rice and beans if I had to in order to become financially free.

I was able to double my income from my 20’s and increase my investments.

I started with $5 and increased my contributions at one point to 25 percent of my income. Within 10 years, I went from $50,000 to $400,000 in my investment portfolio.

Instead of shopping, I would put that money into my Roth IRA. And with that job that laid me off in 2009, I invested that $8,000 in my 401k by rolling it over into a Traditional IRA and put almost every penny in Apple stock. That investment turned into over $25,000.

I then sold a portion to invest in a property and put some of the funds into buying shares of Google before the last two most recent stock splits. Alphabet’s first stock split was in March 2014, when it split 2-for-1. The 2022 split created two classes of shares: Class A (GOOGL) for shareholders with voting rights, and Class C (GOOG) for shareholders without voting rights. On July 15, 2022, Alphabet (GOOGL), the parent company of Google, executed a 20-for-1 stock split. My small investment in a few shares of GOOGL turned into hundreds of shares.

At this point, with over a 15 percent rate of return, I started earning compound interest and dividends to the tune of over $56,000 a year.

Over the last decade, I had read so many stories of celebrities going broke, I knew I had to do something different. Athletes were also going broke at a record pace. It was reported by Sports Illustrated in 2009, that most athletes went broke within 3-5 years after retirement. Here are just a few cautionary tales below.

MC Hammer

The late 1980s hitmaker filed for bankruptcy in 1996 after amassing a fortune of around $70 million. His spending included a $30 million mansion with a recording studio and an entourage of 200 people. As of 2025, it was reported his car was being repossessed and he was being sued for allegedly failing to make payments on a $100,000 Land Rover.

Toni Braxton

Toni Braxton filed for bankruptcy twice: once in 1998 and again in 2010, when she claimed debts between $10 million and $50 million.

In an interview, Braxton said her her first bankruptcy was due to a spending addiction, but that the second occurred when she canceled her self-funded Vegas show after receiving a diagnosis of microvascular angina, which causes chest pain.

The singer declared bankruptcy in 2010 after amassing $50 million in debt, including money owed on a mansion she couldn’t afford. She reportedly didn’t wisely spend the advancements her record label gave her for her albums.

Burt Reynolds

The actor declared bankruptcy in 1996 with $11.2 million in debt after an expensive divorce and extravagant lifestyle.

Michael Jackson

In 2004, his financial advisers declared that he was all but broke and would be unable to repay a $70 million loan to the Bank of America.

Teresa Giudice

Teresa and Joe Giudice were first featured on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” in 2009, the same year they filed for bankruptcy. They claimed they were nearly $11 million in debt. In 2013, they were charged for attempting to defraud lenders and hiding income during their bankruptcy. They both served prison time.

Sonja Morgan

Teresa Giudice isn’t the only member of the “Real Housewives” family with financial issues. RHONY cast member Sonja Morgan filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 after divorcing her husband. She reportedly stated that she owed $19.8 million to creditors and had $13.5 million in assets.

Morgan settled her debt in 2015.

Antoine Walker

Antoine Walker amassed $108 million in his 13-year-career as a Boston Celtics player. But in 2010, he had to declare bankruptcy with $4.3 million in assets and $12.7 million in liabilities.

Two years later, Walker was debt-free. Today, he’s an advocate for financial literacy.

As you can see from above, earning millions is not a guarantee that you will not run into financial troubles. We are living in expensive times. These are the most unpredictable times I have ever seen. Where a bad medical diagnosis or divorce can bankrupt you. Fraud and Ponzi schemes are running rampant.

Forget get rich quick.

When you are not trying to get rich quick, you will get rich slow.

You have to ignore the negativity and naysayers. You need to invest in yourself through education, having healthcare and home and car insurance.

I myself decided to get a $1 million life insurance policy so in case anything ever happened to me, I would be able to leave money to my family. I went through AAA with a medical exam to get a 10 year term policy. If you are looking for some life insurance yourself, you can use this as a barometer: 25 times your expenses. Therefore, if you spend $100,000 a year, then you will want a $2.5 million dollar policy.

After seeing so many celebrities’ have tax and other financial troubles, I decided I wanted to go a different route. I keep my fixed expenses low. I spend less than I earn and always save and invest. I make sure any extra income from bonuses, second jobs, side hustles and windfalls go into my Roth IRA.

As I write this, it is was definitely a walk down financial memory lane. I set a goal and I made it! I knew that a goal without a timeline is just a dream and without a plan is just a wish. So here was my goal: 500 days to $500k. I was just 500 days or 12,000 hours from $500,000. I am five, scratch that, four and a half years away from being a millionaire. That is 1,825 days.

I am marking the days off the calendar and making sure to have fun along the way. By the time I hit send on this post, I will have crossed one more day off the calendar. Only 1,824 days left $1,000,000 and me becoming a 401k millionaire. I set the bar high. I am running toward the million dollar baton…and am reaching out to catch it.

After years of working toward this goal, there was only one thing I could say to myself.

About The Author

Miriam started Greenbacks Magnet in 2016 to keep a scorecard of her goal of $1M in investable assets. Armed with a Master in Management (MiM) and a calculator, she teaches readers how to achieve financial independence while also helping them learn how to smell the roses along the way. The palpable response she got from sharing her personal finance goal in a public speaking course at Georgetown University encouraged her to share her story and teach finance on her website. She invests in AI companies as artificial intelligence is the new iPhone of the moment as she likes to invest in companies that are disruptive.

Retirement, Self-Made Millionaires, Wealth

How many people retire with $1 million

Gallery Leave a comment

I remember reading an article where Dave Ramsey said the top two ways that most people become millionaires in the $1M to $5M dollar range; 1) a paid off home and 2) maxing out retirement accounts.

I already knew that paying off a home is always a way to help yourself become financially secure. But how many folks are really maxing out retirement accounts? Not as many as you would think. I did some research and found that although many people polled say they want to be a millionaire one day, not many actually reach it to that goalpost. Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI for short) data estimates that just 3.2% of Americans have $1 million or more in their retirement accounts. The numbers below were posted by the Motley Fool from EBRI’s retirement savings data.

These are the amounts in Americans’ retirement accounts:

$0 to $9,999: 58.4% of Americans
$10,000 to $99,999: 20.5%
$100,000 to $499,999: 13.9%
$500,000 to $999,999: 4%
$1 million to $4.99 million: 3.1%
$5 million or more: 0.1%

You will notice that almost 80% of Americans have less than $100,000.

You may have also noticed on my post Her First $400K that I showed you a tweet from rapper Drake saying the first $100K is the hardest.

No sh*t!!!

That means only the top 20% have made it past the first hurdle of $100k.

The next 14% have reached just shy of half a million dollars.

Not too shabby.

Then the percentage just sink like an anchor.

Only 4% get beyond $500K. And just a mere 3.1% got to the holy grail of $1 million in retirement savings.

And don’t even look at the numbers for $5M, that is a paltry one percent.

Not too surprising that the 1% take the top prize.

Only the top 3% make it to the millionaire promise land.

No wonder so many folks are playing the lottery.

It can take 20-30 years of investing to make it to $1M and the possibly another 7 or so to get to $2M. That’s 40 years! A lifetime.

However, do not be discouraged.

Any obstacle can be overcome with a well-thought out plan.

Making your primary target to get to $100,000 can reap you rewards for a lifetime. Starting here can help you achieve the next goal. Whatever you do decide to do make sure you make your plan as specific as possible.

Write it down.

And no matter what, don’t stop until you reach your goal.

That is the only way to achieve anything.

You do not give up.

Comics and Comic Book Reviews, Financial Independence, Retirement, Self-Made Millionaires

What would you do with $1 million dollars in your 401k?

Gallery Leave a comment

“Thomas Edison’s last words were “It’s very beautiful over there“. I don’t know where there is, but I believe it’s somewhere, and I hope it’s beautiful.”
― John Green, Looking for Alaska

Happy Saturday! It’s the last day of May 2025. As I write this, I am closing in on $500,000 in investments.

It made me take pause and reflect on the journey I had been on to get to that number.

The sleepless nights wondering how I was going to pay the bills and how I would afford to pay for retirement was over. Even with a return of investment of less than the stock market average of 10 percent over the last 30 years, I would still hit the $1 million nest egg milestone before I retire. So it made me think, what would I do with $1 million dollars of investments?

With that type of money, if you wanted to, you could buy a house with cash depending on where you want to live. This includes places inside and outside of the United States.

The cheapest places to buy a house in the U.S. include states like Iowa, West Virginia, and Mississippi, as well as cities like Scranton, PA, Weirton, WV, and El Paso, TX. This year, West Virginia has the cheapest homes in the country, with an average house price of $146,578. Several countries also offer affordable options for buying a house outside the US, including Colombia, The Philippines, Italy, Nicaragua, and Mexico.

I even heard Italy was letting people buy homes for $1! That’s a pretty sweet deal! Bravo, Italy. It makes me want to pack my bags and say ciao bella!

Even if staying in the U.S. is what you want, you do have options on where you live and what you do in retirement.

That is enough scratch to start a business, travel the world, start a charitable foundation for college scholarships or to help donate to meals on wheels. The possibilities are almost endless.

I may not be able to give away billions, but I sure could start a college scholarship fund for underprivileged kids with $10,000 starting capital for $500 each one towards books or other education related expenses. Maybe I could do something for medical students and start a scholarship that pays for med school application fees or supplies.

The point is that you have options. Many options. Especially, if you have a paid off home and no debt.

I remember Dave Ramsey saying that most people acquired their first million by consistently investing in their 401k’s and paying off their primary residence. In addition, the people they did a study on became millionaires from five professions: teaching, law, management, accountant, and engineering. So if your in one of those five fields, then you got a real good shot kid of being a becoming a millionaire.

Just taking stock of myself, I did pay off the personal and auto loans. Then redirected that money to my savings and investments. The auto loan was $450 and the personal loan was $333. The goal is to get to a savings rate of 50 percent . I then want to direct my attention to paying off my mortgage and having no home payment. That allows me to be in the driver’s seat of my future time after punching the clock.

So what would I do with all that free time and one million dollar nest egg? I think I will start a second career. What would I do if money was no object. Maybe voiceover acting. I was told once I had a great voice for radio! I was also once a background actor for a Hollywood movie. I could expand my creative pursuits outside of blogging.

I could teach personal finance and home economics at the local library.

I could backpack through Europe.

To be specific, I could buy a first-class ticket to London, stay at the Ritz Carlton or Savoy and have high tea while also taking in the sites of places in the Ian Fleming novels and have my martini shaken not stirred. I could visit the home towns of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

Maybe I will go to visit the fictional town of Stars Hollow from the show Gilmore Girls.

In the book “The Count of Monte Cristo,” Edmond Dantès (the Count of Monte Cristo) lives in several locations. He lives in Rome and Auteuil, outside of Paris. The author of the book, Alexandre Dumas, also built a mansion called Château de Monte-Cristo in the French countryside, which was a real place. Maybe, I’ll go for a looksee.

“What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?”
― John Green, An Abundance of Katherines

The point is to have goals and have some fun. Go on adventures. Dream big. Hard work should be rewarded. It can take decades to build a million-dollar portfolio. Live a little. The most successful retirements are the ones of which people retire to something.

To quote the author John Green, “The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle. Like, I will probably never be struck by lightening, or win a Nobel Prize, or become the dictator of a small nation in the Pacific Islands.” However, I can fly to Paris on a Monday, have high tea in London on Wednesday, and stay at the Palace in New York City like Serena van der Woodsen in Gossip Girl.

You can check out my post on the show called Money Advice from Gossip Girl.

My miracle may not have been to live next door to Margo Roth Spiegelman like the protagonist in the book Paper Towns in which the quote is borrowed from, but I still can create my own miracle. The gift of free time and financial freedom. A life that is well-lived and leisure that is earned.

So with all that said, the question you are to ask yourself, “what would you do with a million in retirement?”

Would you sail around the world?

Would you visit the Louvre in Paris, see the pyramids in Egypt?

Or maybe you would try out your Spanish language skills you learned on Babbel in Spain or Barcelona?

Or would you visit the beaches in Rio?

As for me, maybe I will visit all the places The Chipmunks went to see in the 1987 film The Chipmunk Adventure.

I could buy a Porsche 911 with cash.

I could rent out a beach house on the California coast.

I could stay at the same hotel as James Bond in Montenegro.

I could buy a season ticket to see the Yankees or the Knicks play.

I could buy a ticket to ComicCon in San Diego and go meet my favorite actors from the Marvel Comics films. (Just FYI…I got to meet Orlando Bloom aka Legolas from Lord of the Rings at a comic convention and he was an absolute gentleman!)

I could buy a front row ticket to a concert.

I could fly in to whatever city they decide to visit to get my replica Book of Shadows signed by the cast of Charmed!

Yes, I’m a comic nerd, sue me.

I even have a Betty and Veronica fridge magnet. Yes, from the Archie Comics. Maybe I’ll have a lost weekend like they did on Riverdale and dance the nite away at a club in Vegas. I might even steal Veronica Lodge’s dance moves!

I once flew in to ATL for a day just to go to Six Flags over Georgia!

I have never swam with the dolphins or run with the bulls. However, I did get to meet the iconic actor Val Kilmer and got to be in a Hollywood movie as an extra! Both were pretty cool.

I once even decided on a whim to take the train to New York on a weekday afternoon so I could sip cocktails at the Plaza Hotel.

Just know whatever it is, it will be epic!

About The Author

Miriam started Greenbacks Magnet in 2016 to keep a scorecard of her goal of $1M in investable assets. Armed with a Master in Management (MiM) and a calculator, she teaches readers how to achieve financial independence while also helping them learn how to smell the roses along the way. The palpable response she got from sharing her personal finance goal in a public speaking course at Georgetown University encouraged her to share her story and teach finance on her website. She invests in AI companies as artificial intelligence is the new iPhone of the moment as she likes to invest in companies that are disruptive.

Taxes and Insurance

Why I bought a $1 million life insurance policy

Gallery Leave a comment

Happy Monday!! And to all of you out here visiting for the first time, Happy New Year! 🥳

As I write this, the Philadelphia Eagles destroyed the OKC in Super Bowl LIX. Here’s a special shout out to Jalen Hurts, the Super Bowl MVP!! He’s earning that $255 million-dollar contract extension he signed in 2023.

The Eagles won their second Super Bowl in franchise history and their first since 2017. Philadelphia avenged a Super Bowl LVII loss to the Chiefs with the victory and finished the season with an overall record of 18-3.

After all that excitement on Sunday, time to calm down and get back to business, fiscal business that is.

Just like a football player knows how important it is to look after their help, it is equally important to look after your financial health. If you have loved ones that depend on you, then having a life insurance policy is a must.

There are many companies that offer life insurance.

After doing some research and comparing several key factors in choosing a life insurance company, such as price, policies, coverage, riders, the application process, the company’s financial strength, and customer satisfaction, I made the decision to choose Pacific Life. This was around 2020. I got a 10-year term policy for $1.5 million.

I made my decision based on the A.M. Best rating (AM Best is an American credit rating agency headquartered in Oldwick, New Jersey, that focuses on the insurance industry).

A simple Google search can help you find companies that allow for no medical exams and company ratings such as with U.S. News. You can also use Policy Genius.

Having life insurance can give you and your family peace of mind knowing that if something happens to you, they are taken care of.

I decided that it is best for most folks to base their amount of coverage on loss of income over however many years they think that would be after the loss of a loved one.

For most folks, that would mean a policy that is 20-30 times the annual income of that person.

Therefore, if you earn $70,000 a year, you would want a policy that is a minimum $1.4 million. If you are earning $100,000 per year, you want a policy worth upwards of $3M.

Life is unpredictable. It is always prudent to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

Stay safe out there.

About The Author

Miriam started Greenbacks Magnet in 2016 to keep a scorecard of her goal of $1M in investable assets. Armed with a Master in Management (MiM) and a calculator, she teaches readers how to achieve financial independence while also helping them learn how to smell the roses along the way. The palpable response she got from sharing her personal finance goal in a public speaking course at Georgetown University encouraged her to share her story and teach finance on her website. She invests in AI companies as artificial intelligence is the new iPhone of the moment as she likes to invest in companies that are disruptive.

Financial Freedom

500 Days to $500K

Gallery Leave a comment

A dream is a wish your heart makes. – Cinderella

My dream always starts the same.

I am running.

So fast.

It’s as if I am chasing a shooting star.

Then I stop. I come upon a door. Not the infamous Red Door in Insidious. But a Black Door. It has a sign on it. The sign says Freedom.

I reach my hand out to open it and then…the dream ends.

However, when I open my eyes, I realize this dream could actually come to fruition. This dream can come true.

It was just like Cinderella said, “If you keep on believing; The dream that you wish will come true.”

My retirement numbers showing across my computer screen read $404,069. I was inching ever so closer to my starting goal of $500,000.

A part of me was jumping for joy. I knew this was a pretty good amount of savings to have in retirement as my research showed me less than 10% retire with $500k.

According to the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, only 9% of American households have saved at least $500,000 for retirement. The average retirement savings across all families is $333,940, and the median is $87,000.

In addition, Ramit Sethi, in a recent episode of his podcast told a couple that had $468,000 saved between the two of them would be more than fine and were set up for retirement.

I’m only one person. So I figured I was doing pretty well.

The sleepless nights of lying awake thinking about how I’m going to pay the bills was over. I was earning enough to put away over $1,000 a month in my retirement accounts.

I had a family that cared about me.

I was able to take vacations to the beach.

And like that scene in The Summer I Turned Pretty when Susan says, “if you are lucky to be able to spend a day at the beach, you are lucky enough.”

But another part of me was sad, that my $500k journey was ending.

At one point, I was brown bagging my lunch 5 days a week, counting my spare change, eating brown bananas, studying up to 5 hours a day about personal finance and clipping coupons.

I longed to be free.

I wanted to go back to the days I slept in until noon, spent the day reading on the couch during lazy weekends like I did when I was a kid. Alas, it did not seem meant to be.

However, one day I came across a blog called Mr. 1500 Days. This was probably 8 years ago in 2016. He said he wanted a different life for himself instead of retiring in his 60s and so he set out to retire with $1M in 1500 days.

I thought to myself, I want the same thing. Freedom. No get-rich-quick schemes. Just good old-fashioned investing.

Do you want to retire in your 70s or live it up and retire in the Bahamas when you’re 44?

I knew I wanted the second option. So, I had to figure out a way to invest more money.

The simplest route was to pay off my car. I was spending hundreds of dollars a month on that gas guzzler SUV to the tune of $450. Instead of paying the bank, why not invest in my future self?

I felt I heard Eminem on my shoulder saying you only get one shot! You get one life. There are no do-overs! This is not a dress rehearsal. This is real. And if you want your dreams to become reality, then you have to start sacrificing now.

Debbie Allen’s famous 1982 speech in Fame always plays in my head.

I just kept thinking to myself that I had a dollar and a dream to make myself some cream. I was gonna have to fight for my freedom. Fight to be free from consumerism and instead conserve my money. So I cam up with a plan. Get to $500K in 500 days.

From here to $500,000

Here are the stats:

  • Money in the stock market: $402,714
  • Money in my brokerage accounts: $1,355

So, I have $404,069 and need to get to $500,000 and I am giving myself 500 days, or a little over a year. I’m going to assume my average return rate of 13.9%. I’ll also be contributing between $1,100 -$1,333/month towards my investments.

Total Savings in US Dollars (The breakdown of interest)

YearsFuture Value (13.90%)Total Contributions
Year 0$404,069.00$404,069.00
Year 1$476,230.59$420,065.00
Year 2 (500 Days)$502,180.46$425,343.68

So, actually over $500,000. I expect to be able to increase the amount I put in per month over time by at least 1% minimum per year.

Sure, I could run into some hurdles along the way. I could have a loss of income or the stock market could crash. It makes me no difference. No matter what happens or how many different curveballs come my way and plans I have to make, I will keep the goal.

Hope this post inspires you to dream.

Here’s to less work, more freedom! Cheers!

Financial Freedom, Financial Independence, Investing

How to make your teenager a millionaire

Gallery Leave a comment

Hey you.

Yeah, you!

Come closer.

My voice is but a whisper.

Autumn is in full swing. As I sip my lemon tea, to ease my dry throat, I will share with you the secrets that have been passed down to me from money gurus everywhere.

But before I say anything, you stop me. You say no. Not here. The masses must hear this too.

Therefore, I promise to share this on my website for all to see.

This blog will be my microphone.

I am now stepping up to the podium.

I adjust the mike and clear my throat.

I say, “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Please excuse my voice for breaking the eloquent silence of nature. But I made a promise to share with you some great news. It is possible to help turn your broke teenager into an adult millionaire. Would you like to know how? I will tell you. Have your teenager invest $3K per year for five years and then let it sit for the next 40 years without adding another penny.” That’s right. Let me say that again for the cheap seats in the back!

Have your teenager invest $15K over a five year time period and let it ride for four decades to accumulate $1M.

I can just hear the scoffs and skepticism out there.

The math ain’t mathing, as Taraji P. Henson, would say. Surely, you jest. But I assure you there is truth to my words.

Enough, talk. Let me show you what $3K can do.

If you scroll down the tweet I posted below, you will see after 40 years, your teenager can grow their $15K to over $1M. Well, $1,003,013.58 to be exact. You just have to convince them that it’s worth it.

You can even offer incentive.

Say your teen earned $3K, with their summer job or college internship, you offer to match what they invest. So if they invest $1,500 then you also give them $1,500 for a total of $3K. Since they cannot put in more than the total amount they earn. Now there’s some food for thought.

Imagine this is your parent talking to you about what it is like to run their household.

Below is them trying to turn you into a millionaire!