My First $1 Million: Retired Tech Industry Director, 78, Delaware County, Ohio

Welcome to Kiplinger's My First $1 Million series, 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 time, we hear from a retired publishing/information processing director of IT software development in Delaware County in Ohio.

See our earlier profiles, including a writer in New England, a literacy interventionist in Colorado, a semiretired entrepreneur in Nashville, an events industry CEO in Northern New Jersey and a retired self-employed attorney on the coast of Washington.

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.

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

THE BASICS

How did you make your first $1 million?

Starting in the 1980s, I maxed out my IRA and 403(b) and never stopped. Then I started an after-tax account Invested in mutual funds and high-earning laddered CDs.

I don't know when the first million arrived, since I seldom pulled all the accounts together for a grand total until after it was a million. I felt that the less I looked, the less I would worry.

What are you doing with the money?

Most of it keeps growing since my Social Security and pension more than cover my needs. I find that things don't make me happy. Giving to charities for the less fortunate brings me joy.

Once I retired, I started a DAF (donor-advised fund) and, at 72, used two QCDs (qualified charitable distributions) for my charitable giving.

I've also taken the whole family — my children and grandchildren — on all-expenses-paid vacations in the States and to Europe.

I began gifting (my loved ones) the annual maximum in cash to cover special extras.

THE FUN STUFF

Did you do anything to celebrate?

Nope.

What is the best part of making $1 million?

Having something substantial to leave to family and having the financial ability to donate significant sums to charities and nonprofits that help the less fortunate.

Did your life change?

No. It is just a number.

Did you retire early?

I worked until I was 67 because I liked what I was doing.

LOOKING BACK

Anything you would do differently?

No.

Did you work with a financial adviser?

No. I read Kiplinger, Fortune and many books on investing and financial planning. I had a number of friends and work colleagues who used financial advisers with mixed results.

Did anyone help you early on?

My mother, a super saver (more about her below).

LOOKING AHEAD

Plans for your next $1 million?

I already have several million and plan to keep giving it away.

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

The rules are really simple — start early, max out your 401(k)/403(b), then use a Roth IRA and invest in index funds and a few stocks that you really like and have researched.

Use dollar-cost averaging and invest aggressively but not recklessly. Don't mess with calls, put options, etc. Keep it simple.

Give some away each year. Pay cash for everything but a house.

Read Kiplinger and act on some of their recommendations.

Check your accounts no more than quarterly. Don't worry or react to what the market is doing.

For major discretionary spending, walk away and come back one to two weeks later and see if the desire/need is still there.

Do you have an estate plan?

Yes. I have a will, powers of attorney, DAF and have named beneficiaries on all accounts, which are going to my family and designated charities. This keeps everything simple.

What do you wish you'd known …

Before you retired? I would have traveled a bit more earlier in retirement, when I had more energy.

When you first started saving? Nothing. My mother was a world-class saver. She taught me to:

• Save more than you spend
• Give some of each week's earnings to the church/charity
• Pay cash or don't buy it

I bought my first car at 17, but my parents required me to pay cash and have the first year's insurance before they would sign for the car.

When you first started investing? More about the different types of mutual and index funds.

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 also might want to verify that you really do have $1 million. Your answers may be edited for clarity.

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