My First $1 Million: Retired Banking VP, 70, Bexley, Ohio
"I enjoyed the journey. The challenge of selecting and making good investments kinda fed on itself over the years."
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 70-year-old married and retired banking vice president in Bexley, Ohio. He reports his salary was $95,000.
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.)
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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 learn what these millionaires have taught us, check out the articles 5 Key Insights We Learned From 50 Millionaires and 5 Things 50 Millionaires Wish They'd Known Before They Retired.
And to hear more about My First $1 Million, you can check out this podcast with bestselling author and tax attorney Toby Mathis:
The Basics
How did you make your first $1 million?
When I was 18, I laid out a plan to have $1 million by the time I reached 40. That plan involved saving and investing a significant amount of money each paycheck.
Of course, that plan required that I also lived under my means for some time.
I began investing in stocks when I turned 18, first in a mutual fund that I invested $25 a month, then individual stocks.
I started working full time at 15 in a small pizza place, making $1.35 an hour (but there was all the pizza we could eat!).
In college, when I was 20, I moved over to a national food chain on the night stock crew. At that point, I began investing $50 a week in the company stock.
After 12 years in the grocery business, I moved over to the company credit union (actually took a pay cut to make that move). By that time, I had accumulated over 10,000 shares of the company stock and had branched out to buying many other equities as well.
I reached my goal of having a million dollars well ahead of schedule. This was largely driven by consistently investing and the compounding that occurs over time.
Again, living under our means helped free up more capital to invest. My wife and I have continued to invest throughout our lives and now, in retirement, have found ourselves to be multimillionaires (many times over).
Note: My wife was a grocery clerk at the same food chain and eventually retired from that food chain after 45 years as a CPA.
What are you doing with the money?
Continuing to invest.
The Fun Stuff
Did you do anything to celebrate?
I was in my mid-30s, which was about 35 years ago. I'm sure I did something, but nothing that would draw attention to it.
Most folks who knew me knew I invested, but had no idea how much it had grown.
What is the best part of making $1 million?
I enjoyed the journey. The challenge of selecting and making good investments kinda fed on itself over the years.
Did your life change?
Not the first million, not at all. Thirty-five years later, we are taking more frequent trips and gifting much more. We do have a very nice home.
But as far as lifestyle goes, we are still very careful shoppers (coupons, sales pricing, markdowns, etc.), drive older cars (2008 and 2011) and still live well under our means.
Does anyone know you're a millionaire?
My wife, of course. And one friend from college, who also invested (we inspired each other through the process). He is also a multimillionaire now.
Did you retire early?
A little early at 64. I would have retired around 60, but the company kept asking me to stay one more year. After four more years, I did retire at 64.
Looking Back
Anything you would do differently?
Maybe start contributing to a Roth IRA earlier.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Not much advice. Whether luck or destiny, what I did worked out pretty well.
Did you read any books that helped you on your journey?
Think and Grow Rich (by Napoleon Hill), The Kiplinger Letter, The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, The Millionaire Next Door (by Thomas Stanley and William D. Danko).
Did you work with a financial adviser?
No. Always did my own investments and research. It was a hobby that has paid off very well.
Did anyone help you early on?
My mom's oldest sister and her husband started a small business in the basement of their house in the 1920s. It grew into a good-size business with hundreds of employees.
When I was young, we would visit my aunt, who at that time had turned the business over to her son, and talk with her about her stock investments.
I was probably about 10 at the time and found it very interesting. That probably started my interest in investing.
Looking Ahead
Plans for your next $1 million?
I heard a quote once that making your first million is much harder than making your fifth or 10th million. I have found that to be absolutely true.
Speaks to how powerful compounding your savings and investments over time can be.
Any advice for others trying to make their first $1 million?
Be consistent with saving and investing and live under your means. Not rocket science, just need to be consistent and persistent.
Do you have an estate plan?
We have a modest estate plan. We set up children and grandchildren as beneficiaries on all of our investment and savings accounts and set up the house as TOD (transfer on death). That is probably 95% of our wealth.
The remaining amount is handled by our will. We have also aggressively converted money from our traditional IRAs to our Roth IRAs.
What do you wish you'd known …
When you first started saving? My parents were very good role models for developing excellent savings habits.
When you first started investing? Have a better balance between speculative stocks and more stable equities.
Before you retired? That COVID was going to hit six months after I retired. I would have retired earlier because travel was so much easier.
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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