My First $1 Million: Writer, 59, New England

Welcome to the first feature of Kiplinger’s My First $1 Million, in which we hear from people who have made $1 million. They’re sharing how they did it and what they’re doing with it. This month, we hear from a 59-year-old writer in New England.

Each profile features one person or couple, who will always be completely anonymous to readers, answering questions to help our readers learn from their experience.

These features are intended to provide a window into how different people build their savings — they're not intended to provide financial advice.

To hear more about My First $1 Million, and this profile in particular, you can check out this podcast with bestselling author and tax attorney Toby Mathis:

Garbage Man. Writer. Teacher. How They Each Made Their First Million - YouTube

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The basics

How did you make your first million?

I earned it by writing books. It took a couple of years, and I didn’t pay particular attention to how much I was accruing, to be honest. Each year, my income went up, and then it dawned on me one day that I’d earned more than a million dollars in royalties (the author’s share of book sales).

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Then I was offered a million-dollar contract, and I think that’s when it hit me … that this would ensure financial stability for my spouse and me and enable us to help our children and enjoy some things in life that we’d never thought possible, like a fancy vacation or buying a new car in full.

What are you doing with the money?

First, we paid off our debt … mortgage, credit cards, a personal loan. We socked a lot of money into our kids’ college funds and were able to pay for each kid’s tuition without them needing to take out loans.

We rented an apartment for our daughter while she was in graduate school, bought our son a car and were able to give them nest eggs to start their adult lives.

That’s really the best part … being able to help the kids so they won’t have to struggle for the first 20 years of their adult lives, the way we did.

We put a lot into our retirement account.

We’ve taken a few lovely vacations. Put on a new deck. Nothing outrageous … there are no Maseratis or penthouses. Just some financial ease.

The fun stuff

Did you do anything to celebrate?

Honestly, I wasn’t aware when I hit that mark. There was a moment when I was leaving the meeting where I accepted the million-dollar contract, though, and I thought of my late father and how excited he’d be. Not for the money per se, just for the acknowledgment of achievement.

What is the best part of making $1 million?

Until I was in my 40s, money was always tight. We juggled bills and worried over using our credit cards. There wasn’t much for anything other than the necessities.

We had a very happy life, but we weren’t getting ahead and didn’t have much in the bank.

So I’d say the alleviation of financial insecurity is the best part.

Did your life change?

Aside from less worrying, no. But that is huge. For the 20 years of my post-college life, I had no idea how I’d be able to afford anything other than the basics, and the basics are a lot. But I’m not a designer clothes/diamonds kind of person.

My life doesn’t look very different now. And I’m really glad about that, because my life has always been very nice.

I have a wonderful partner and kids, good friends and a comfortable, modest home. I wouldn’t want any of that to change.

Any plans to retire early?

I am planning to retire as soon as possible, yes.

Looking back

Anything you would do differently?

Not really. Maybe I would’ve taken a moment to try to let it sink in … that all this work, all these hours, all that hope had led to a measure of success I never imagined.

Did you work with a financial adviser?

We work with a wonderful adviser at Edward Jones.

Looking ahead

Plans for your next $1 million?

I want to leave my kids (and their kids) a significant inheritance. They’re good people and have honorable jobs and nice families. I want them to be able to take a fancy trip now and then and not have to worry about buying a new car.

Any advice for others trying to make their first $1 million?

Take care of yourself along the way. Don’t be too buried in getting to that achievement. Life is happening all around you, and you don’t want to miss it because you’re too consumed with work.

It’s a cliché, but you never know how long you or those you love have on earth.

If you have made $1 million or more and would like to be anonymously featured in a future My First $1 Million profile, please fill out and submit this Google Form or send an email to MyFirstMillion@futurenet.com to receive the questions. We welcome all stories that add up to $1 million or more in your accounts, although we will use discretion in which stories we choose to publish, to ensure we share a diversity of experiences. We'll also want to verify that you really do have $1 million. Your answers may be edited for clarity.

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