Archives for August 2008

CNN Money has recently put up a new profile in their series on Millionaires in the Making. This one about the caught my eye because of they share similarities to us. They are married and under 30, with no kids. A relatively high combined income. Lives in an area with a high cost of living. Saves half of their income. But they have a net worth of over $500,000 already? Maybe I could learn a few things.

Jobs. He is a software engineer. She used to process mortgage loans. But now she bought a retail store selling fancy soaps. Combined income is $174k, but they don’t break it down. Their balance sheet lists the store being worth $125,000 with a $72,000 business loan. It is also unknown what this store value is based on – a multiple of net annual earnings?

From what I know about such shops, they are really hard to make successful, but can be very lucrative if you are. With the current economic downturn, I don’t know if I’d be selling $10 soap. All in all, too risky for me.

Housing. They rent a house from his parents for $650. I know for a fact this is at least 50% below market rent, probably much more. Smart move for them, but hard to replicate for the average person.

Real Estate Invesments. They made $110,000 from buying and selling a condo during the boom years. I cannot necessarily attribute this to skill, and I certainly can’t duplicate it. They then went out and bought three rental properties in Arizona and Texas, which have current negative cashflow of $750/month. Their balance sheet says they have $40k in home equity, but you have to wonder how realistic those values are. Previously, one rental sat empty for 9 months. Not mentioned is their mortgage situation; are these adjustable-rate or fixed?

Overall, I’d say they have only broke even in this department. I wouldn’t want those properties.

Stock Investments. $88,000 (37% of portfolio) is in Microsoft stock. Even if purchased at a discount as a fringe benefit, many ESPP participants sell as soon as possible to grab the profit. Rest of portfolio is 99% stocks, though not much other detail. Lots of risk here, much of which is connected with his job as well. MSFT performance has not been impressive. Hmm, not much learned here either.

Spending and Priorities. According to the graphic, their non-housing expenses are about $17,500 per year. This is right at about our spending levels, which is $18,000 per year.

The article then goes into how they never travel and rarely eat out (and split meals when they do). However, she also wears a $20,000 engagement ring, and they own 4 cars including a $30,000 Subaru WRX. Although not what I would do, who cares if that’s what truly makes them happiest. I wouldn’t call them misers. They tithe to their church and still control spending, which is respectable.

Recap

This couple is doing the “big stuff” very well. They make a lot of money, and only spend about half of it. Multiply this by many years and you get a fat net worth. But other than that, I can’t really say I want to emulate them. They have a lot of risk in a boutique shop, cashflow-negative rental properties, single-stock investments. None of these created their high net worth, in fact they might have even detracted from it.

But we do share the same goals of early retirement, so I wish them luck. They might need it!