Early 60s IT manager worth $2.2M making first Europe trip after lifetime of saving
Local advice on how to earn, spend, and invest money is hard to find. Many cultural barriers exist for talking about money, yet it can be therapeutic to do so.
Money Snacks – People Stories is a anonymous way for people in Hamilton County to share their financial journey with others.
Age
Early 60s
Do you have kids? If so, what’s your #1 most stressful thing kids and money?
We wanted to make sure to balance saving for our children’s education, versus making sure they didn’t need to take care of us financially in retirement.
Living Situation
We own our house. When we purchased our first goal was to purchase what we could really afford. We felt like the standard calculators inflated that number because they didn’t take into account the regular little expenses that add up. Things like kids being on a travel team or show choir.
We also made sure to make an extra mortgage payment each year. This is the single thing that can get that balance paid down quicker. The real goal is to minimize the interest you have to pay.
When we could, we refinanced to a 15 year mortgage. And finally, when we came into a small inheritance, we used that to pay off the house.
Job
I worked my entire life in the IT industry, mostly as a Database Manager.
What’s been your salary journey?
At my peak I earned over $110k.
My first job offer was for $15k a year. I thought then that was a huge amount and would allow me to save a lot of money every year. I stayed at a few companies for more than 8 years, but only if they allowed me to move up and earn raises.
My final company choice was not based on base salary alone but the fact that they contributed 12% of my salary toward retirement and they had a great work/life balance.
Other Income
Since we are retired, our income is entirely from our savings. We started saving as soon as we were married in our 20’s.
Starting early is the most important thing, and save as much as you can afford.
At least max out whatever your employer will max.
Second, we recommend using a financial advisor. We did it on our own for a while, however once we had kids we did not have the time to educate ourselves and follow things as much as we needed too.
Debt
We have no debt.
We started off with student loans and car payments. Paying off them first was our priority.
And once we paid off a car, we kept making those payments to a separate bank account. We kept those first cars for at least 10 years and paid cash for the next one.
Budgeting
Our budget is a simple spreadsheet, but we’ve used it our entire adult lives.
We’ve managed our money using a virtual “envelope system” for day to day spending. If the “dining out” envelope is empty, we don’t eat out until the next payday.
#1 Splurge
Spending money on experiences and making memories is with everything.
We can’t take things with us and most of us have too much stuff. But memories last forever.
When we took vacation with the kids we always let them each pick something they wanted to do. Every year we tried to do something out of our comfort zone: white water rafting, climbing via ferratas, ropes courses etc.
Local Hack
Take advantage of coupons or specials. When we were starting out, we only drank water when we ate out.
It allowed us to eat out at nicer places and still save a little money.
Favorite Local Restaurant
This answer is nothing special. But as retired folk, sometimes we just want to not have to fix dinner. When this happens we hit Culver’s because they allow anyone to order a kids meal. Sandwich, fries, drink and a single scoop of frozen custard!
Savings and Investments
This was always our 1st priority after paying off debt. You have to start young, or right now. Time builds money like nothing else can.
Max out your 401k, contribute at least as much as your company will match, and if you can’t spend the time to manage it, use a personal financial advisor.
Best Money Decision
We lost a bit of money when we were trying to manage our finances ourselves. Putting money at risk after that was hard.
We tried one financial company but they were not very personal, we switched to another and their approach has made all the difference. I don’t have to worry, someone handles that for me and we can have fun.
On Your Mind
Travel. We are making our first trip to Europe. It is exciting and scary.
What does it mean to be “wealthy” in Hamilton County?
Our county is one of the wealthiest in Indiana. Driving down certain streets you can see houses that are basically mansions.
But being rich is simpler than that.
Being rich means you can do most of what you want and not have to worry that an unexpected car repair will mean you can’t pay for your child’s soccer lesson.
Total Net Worth
$2.2 million