My First $1 Million: Oil and Gas Retiree, Round Rock, Texas

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THE BASICS
THE FUN STUFF
LOOKING BACK
LOOKING AHEAD

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 widowed 67-year-old retiree in Round Rock, Texas. She was an oil and gas accounting manager and grew up in Austin.

See our earlier profiles, including a writer in New England, a literacy interventionist in Colorado, a semiretired entrepreneur in Nashville and an events industry CEO in Northern New Jersey. (See all of the profiles here.)

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?

We got married right out of college. We both worked and always saved every year. Most of every raise went into savings.

We opened an IRA as soon as we were eligible. We contributed the max to our 401(k)s and then our IRAs.

The first decade together, we took vacations to visit family and to my dad's ranch, so the expenses were low. We bought cars and houses that were perfectly fine, but not fancy.

My husband was handy and always made good improvements to each house we lived in.

Our only loans were for houses and cars. We paid off our credit cards every month.

We were buy-and-hold investors with the more staid investments. I still hold a good dividend-paying stock we bought in 2004.

We gambled on riskier stocks with no more than 5% of our investments.

What are you doing with the money?

The bulk of it went into investments, primarily mutual funds. We were blue-jean kind of people, so living the high life really wasn't of much interest to us.

The word "bonus" spelled out on round wooden plates next to a keyboard, money and calculator.

We earmarked his annual bonus for doing something lavish and fun, both before and after the first million.

THE FUN STUFF

Did you do anything to celebrate?

We didn't really notice. It was a slow and steady climb through the years. Being worth $1 million wasn't any different than being worth $999,000.

Five stacks of gold coins getting subsequently taller with an arrow curving up above them.

And if most of your net worth is in the stock market, (you're a) millionaire last month, not a millionaire last week, a millionaire yesterday, not one today …

Does anyone know you're a millionaire?

It's not anyone else's business. My neighbors would be astonished at my net worth. I doubt if my siblings even have a clue how wealthy I am.

My children know my net worth is north of $1 million, but not how far north. I want them to be prepared to manage what they inherit, but I don't want them to think they don't need to strive now because their retirement will be inherited.

What is the best part of making $1 million?

Less stress and worry about meeting needs and emergency situations.

Did your life change?

It was cool to break that barrier, but it didn't change our lives at all. We still lived a middle-class lifestyle and enjoyed it.

Health made the most change. After a bad cancer diagnosis, but good outcome, we started living differently. We took up scuba diving and had Caribbean vacations every year. We bought a third car (a Miata) for fun.

We were beyond the $1 million mark at that point, so we had the financial freedom to change our lives. The million made it possible, but realizing our mortality is what changed us.

Did you retire early?

I retired at age 51 and my husband at 56. He left about $500,000 on the table from stock options and salary by not working an additional six months.

Multiple fireworks exploding over a harbor.

Working was no longer fun, and that was more important than the extra money.

LOOKING BACK

Anything you would do differently?

I would loosen the purse strings sooner. We took nice vacations, had nice cars, did enjoyable things, but we could have taken more expensive vacations, occasionally flown first class and dined at fine restaurants more often.

My husband died unexpectedly at age 63. It wasn't until that happened that I really realized that I don't want to be the wealthiest person in the cemetery. I'm taking really nice vacations, but I wish we had done them together.

Did you work with a financial adviser?

No. I was always interested in the stock market and enjoyed handling it myself.

LOOKING AHEAD

Plans for your million?

I'm spending more on vacations and doing things in life. I'm being more generous to my causes and my family.

A gift bag with hundred-dollar bills sticking out of the top.

It's been a real struggle to break out of the mindset of saving, but I'm working hard at using my money to enjoy my life and make it better for others.

How long did it take to make your second million?

It took 25 years for the first $1 million, six years for the second million and three to four for each after that.

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

If you can't afford to pay cash for it, really think about whether you need it or just want it.

Do you have an estate plan?

Yes. Will, durable power of attorney, medical power of attorney, living will, HIPAA authorization, direction for disposition of remains, declaration of guardian in case of incapacity and anatomical gift form.

I also have a binder with all this information, list of contacts, list of passwords, list of current assets, list of current invoices (when due, how received, how paid), funeral requests, information on how to handle inheriting the assets (how to roll over IRAs, timeline for RMDs, etc.) and just general information that will be useful to my children when I'm incapacitated or dead.

I handled my parents' trust and estate when they died, and everything after my husband died, so I know what will make the job easier for my children.

What do you wish you'd known …

When you first started saving? I was an accountant, so I already had a pretty good understanding of needing to get a cushion of savings to handle any bumps that came along.

A piggy bank inside a red "break glass in case of emergency" box.

When you first started investing? How to research companies. I started out buying companies I personally knew, such as Toys R Us when the kids were small. We bought stock in a small publishing company that made pop-up books for kids. It actually tripled in value, but that was just dumb luck.

Before you retired? How busy I was going to be that first year and that I didn't have to try to get so much done immediately. I felt like I was working harder than when I was getting paid. But I was also enjoying it more.

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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As Contributed Content Editor for the Adviser Intel channel on Kiplinger.com, Joyce edits articles from hundreds of financial experts about retirement planning strategies, including estate planning, taxes, personal finance, investing, charitable giving and more. She has more than 30 years of editing experience in business and features news, including 15 years in the Money section at USA Today.