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Financial Freedom

500 Days to $500K

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A dream is a wish your heart makes. – Cinderella

My dream always starts the same.

I am running.

So fast.

It’s as if I am chasing a shooting star.

Then I stop. I come upon a door. Not the infamous Red Door in Insidious. But a Black Door. It has a sign on it. The sign says Freedom.

I reach my hand out to open it and then…the dream ends.

However, when I open my eyes, I realize this dream could actually come to fruition. This dream can come true.

It was just like Cinderella said, “If you keep on believing; The dream that you wish will come true.”

My retirement numbers showing across my computer screen read $404,069. I was inching ever so closer to my starting goal of $500,000.

A part of me was jumping for joy. I knew this was a pretty good amount of savings to have in retirement as my research showed me less than 10% retire with $500k.

According to the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, only 9% of American households have saved at least $500,000 for retirement. The average retirement savings across all families is $333,940, and the median is $87,000.

In addition, Ramit Sethi, in a recent episode of his podcast told a couple that had $468,000 saved between the two of them would be more than fine and were set up for retirement.

I’m only one person. So I figured I was doing pretty well.

The sleepless nights of lying awake thinking about how I’m going to pay the bills was over. I was earning enough to put away over $1,000 a month in my retirement accounts.

I had a family that cared about me.

I was able to take vacations to the beach.

And like that scene in The Summer I Turned Pretty when Susan says, “if you are lucky to be able to spend a day at the beach, you are lucky enough.”

But another part of me was sad, that my $500k journey was ending.

At one point, I was brown bagging my lunch 5 days a week, counting my spare change, eating brown bananas, studying up to 5 hours a day about personal finance and clipping coupons.

I longed to be free.

I wanted to go back to the days I slept in until noon, spent the day reading on the couch during lazy weekends like I did when I was a kid. Alas, it did not seem meant to be.

However, one day I came across a blog called Mr. 1500 Days. This was probably 8 years ago in 2016. He said he wanted a different life for himself instead of retiring in his 60s and so he set out to retire with $1M in 1500 days.

I thought to myself, I want the same thing. Freedom. No get-rich-quick schemes. Just good old-fashioned investing.

Do you want to retire in your 70s or live it up and retire in the Bahamas when you’re 44?

I knew I wanted the second option. So, I had to figure out a way to invest more money.

The simplest route was to pay off my car. I was spending hundreds of dollars a month on that gas guzzler SUV to the tune of $450. Instead of paying the bank, why not invest in my future self?

I felt I heard Eminem on my shoulder saying you only get one shot! You get one life. There are no do-overs! This is not a dress rehearsal. This is real. And if you want your dreams to become reality, then you have to start sacrificing now.

Debbie Allen’s famous 1982 speech in Fame always plays in my head.

I just kept thinking to myself that I had a dollar and a dream to make myself some cream. I was gonna have to fight for my freedom. Fight to be free from consumerism and instead conserve my money. So I cam up with a plan. Get to $500K in 500 days.

From here to $500,000

Here are the stats:

  • Money in the stock market: $402,714
  • Money in my brokerage accounts: $1,355

So, I have $404,069 and need to get to $500,000 and I am giving myself 500 days, or a little over a year. I’m going to assume my average return rate of 13.9%. I’ll also be contributing between $1,100 -$1,333/month towards my investments.

Total Savings in US Dollars (The breakdown of interest)

YearsFuture Value (13.90%)Total Contributions
Year 0$404,069.00$404,069.00
Year 1$476,230.59$420,065.00
Year 2 (500 Days)$502,180.46$425,343.68

So, actually over $500,000. I expect to be able to increase the amount I put in per month over time by at least 1% minimum per year.

Sure, I could run into some hurdles along the way. I could have a loss of income or the stock market could crash. It makes me no difference. No matter what happens or how many different curveballs come my way and plans I have to make, I will keep the goal.

Hope this post inspires you to dream.

Here’s to less work, more freedom! Cheers!

Financial Freedom, Financial Independence, Investing

How to make your teenager a millionaire

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Hey you.

Yeah, you!

Come closer.

My voice is but a whisper.

Autumn is in full swing. As I sip my lemon tea, to ease my dry throat, I will share with you the secrets that have been passed down to me from money gurus everywhere.

But before I say anything, you stop me. You say no. Not here. The masses must hear this too.

Therefore, I promise to share this on my website for all to see.

This blog will be my microphone.

I am now stepping up to the podium.

I adjust the mike and clear my throat.

I say, “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Please excuse my voice for breaking the eloquent silence of nature. But I made a promise to share with you some great news. It is possible to help turn your broke teenager into an adult millionaire. Would you like to know how? I will tell you. Have your teenager invest $3K per year for five years and then let it sit for the next 40 years without adding another penny.” That’s right. Let me say that again for the cheap seats in the back!

Have your teenager invest $15K over a five year time period and let it ride for four decades to accumulate $1M.

I can just hear the scoffs and skepticism out there.

The math ain’t mathing, as Taraji P. Henson, would say. Surely, you jest. But I assure you there is truth to my words.

Enough, talk. Let me show you what $3K can do.

If you scroll down the tweet I posted below, you will see after 40 years, your teenager can grow their $15K to over $1M. Well, $1,003,013.58 to be exact. You just have to convince them that it’s worth it.

You can even offer incentive.

Say your teen earned $3K, with their summer job or college internship, you offer to match what they invest. So if they invest $1,500 then you also give them $1,500 for a total of $3K. Since they cannot put in more than the total amount they earn. Now there’s some food for thought.

Imagine this is your parent talking to you about what it is like to run their household.

Below is them trying to turn you into a millionaire!

Celebrities and Money, Financial Independence

The First Million: How the 401(k) became the silver lining of shrinking pension plans

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There is always another rainbow. – Scrooge McDuck

The IRS has updated the new contribution limits for retirement plans. The annual limit on elective deferrals will increase to $23,500 (up from $23,000) for 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans, as well as SARSEPs, and to $16,500 (up from $16,000) for most SIMPLE plans and SIMPLE IRAs.

That’s great news!

If you can max out your 401(k) with a 10% return, you would have $1M in 17 years. It would only take you an additional six years to get to the next million. You would then be a multimillionaire.

I know what you’re thinking.

How on earth am I going to get to one million let alone two million.

Just hear me out.

Let’s talk about how you can start with nothing and end a millionaire.

I will take you through the origins of a pension and ending with the rise in the 401(k).

Think of it like a roller coaster ride.

Deciding to strap in your seatbelt is the hardest part. It’s getting down the first hill that scares us and then after that it’s pretty much smooth sailing.

What is a pension? A pension plan is a retirement plan that provides a regular income to an employee after they retire. The employer is responsible for managing the investments in the plan and bears the risk of market decline.

Pensions have been around for a long time, with origins dating back to the classical world and before the United States was founded. The first military pensions were adopted in the United States, and the first veterans’ pension was offered to retired naval officers in 1799.

In 1875, the American Express Company established the first private pension plan in the United States, and, shortly thereafter, utilities, banking and manufacturing companies also began to provide pensions.

However, pensions go back even further. All the way to ancient times.

In the Roman Empire, veteran legionnaires received military pensions in the form of land grants or special appointments. This sort of barter system was still going around 50 B.C., when Roman soldiers were paid in salt, a highly valued commodity at the time.

Even the word salary comes from ancient times. The word “salary” comes from the Latin word salarium, which means “salt money. In ancient Rome, soldiers were paid in salt, a valuable commodity used to preserve food. The Latin word sal means “salt”. The word salarium continued to be used to refer to soldiers’ pay even after other forms of payment were introduced.

The word salarium entered the French language as salaire, and then into English in the late 13th century as salarie. The Norman conquest in 1066 introduced many Latin-derived words into the English language, including “salary.” That was during the time of William the Conqueror, but that is another story.

Have you ever heard the saying about being “worth your salt”? Now you know where it came from.

And just in case you were wondering, no, Social Security is not the same as a pension. That is a social insurance program started by Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) in 1935. Social Security is a social insurance plan that is intended to supplement a retired worker’s pension and savings.

Social Security is an earned government benefit for seniors, people with disabilities and children who have lost a working parent. Working people contribute to Social Security with every paycheck. A pension is income you set aside while you’re working so you will be able to get a monthly paycheck when you retire. Pensions have vesting periods and Social Security does not.

Pensions became popular after the Second World War in the 1940’s and through 1970 when as many as 52% of workers had them. Employers managed the program, but they also took on the administrative cost burden and risk associated with them. Then, sadly, pensions started going the way of the dinosaur and Atari game console.

The 401(k) is the PlayStation 5 of our day and bumped out the pension, which is the Nintendo of days past.

Today, about 10% of private employers offer pensions. This started being replaced by the 401(k).

One of the biggest silver linings of having a 401(k) versus a pension is the fact that a 401(k) cannot go bankrupt. However, a company can and once that happens they are under no obligation to pay pension benefits; whereas, your 401(k) travels with you wherever you go like a passport.

A silver lining is a positive aspect or sign of hope in a situation that might otherwise be negative. It’s often used in the proverb “every cloud has a silver lining,” which means that there’s always something good or hopeful to be found in even the worst situations.

Now, that you know more of the history of pensions, let me show you how you can start with nothing and rise to the top just like Jennifer Lawrence in the Silver Linings Playbook. She may be a top paid leading lady in Hollywood now but as a broke teenager starting out, she had nothing.

Actress Jennifer Lawrence at the Red Sparrow premiere in New York on February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs

She grew up in Kentucky in a middle-class family and had a middle-class upbringing. Growing up she often felt like a misfit as she did not fit in with her peers.

I can relate to that on some level as I was always striving to get the gold star on the behavior chart every day at school. I was less impressed with class clowns, popular kids or jocks and more focused on reading and getting into college. My parents called me the rebel of my four siblings. I didn’t care. I know I was meant for something else. I wanted to be a writer and a rich businesswoman. Just like Jennifer, I was charting my own path.

After a talent scout spotted 14-year-old Jennifer while on vacation, she told her parents she wanted to pursue acting. She then worked on leaving school and got her GED so that she could start auditing for parts.

She actually audited for the role of It-girl, Serena van der Woodsen, in Gossip Girl, but lost the part to Blake Lively. She has said she was really bummed not to get the part. However, as one door closes, another opens.

She got her first paid role in 2006 and a small part as a mascot in an episode of Monk. However, the movie that got her the buzz she needed to get cast in bigger films was when she got cast for the leading role in Winter’s Bone. Lawrence’s acting amazed critics and audiences alike. I saw the film and I knew instantly that a star was born.

At only 20-years-old, she earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. And from there, Lawrence’s success continued to skyrocket.

In 2011, she landed the role of Mystique in Marvel’s X-Men: First Class.

In 2012, she wowed audiences as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. The post-apocalyptic, dystopian film was an instant hit. This is the film where she earned her first $1M paycheck. The first women to ever get that million was none other than Elizabeth Taylor for the 1964 film Cleopatra. Jennifer was in good company.

Later in 2012, Lawrence starred in another successful film, Silver Linings Playbook. She won an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance. And at the time, she was the second-youngest actress to achieve this honor. Lawrence was only 22.

If you think her rise to superstardom was fast, then think again. She doesn’t owe any of her success to luck. She worked hard for her multimillion-dollar salary.

In Jennifer Lawrence’s own words: “I put in my time; I lived in a rat-infested apartment when I was 14, and I was told ‘No’ many times. I put my blood, sweat, and tears into all of this. It’s easy to look from the outside and see my career grew very fast, but there was a time before that career when I was working for it. And I definitely wouldn’t have wanted that time to go on any longer.” I feel her on that.

I lived in small apartments, ate ramen for dinner and had times that I lived off of $5 a day. It was only after I put in my time that I was able to negotiate a six-figure compensation package later in my career and started investing upwards to $10,000+ per year, that I started to see some return on my own sweat and tears.

Here is a peak behind Jennifer Lawrence’s financial playbook:

Here’s how she made from playing Katniss and Mystique in these franchises:

  • The first Hunger Games installment paid her $1 million. She earned $10 million for the second film and $20 million apiece for the third and fourth movies.
  • As Mystique in the X-Men franchise, Lawrence earned $250,000 for First Class, $6 million for Days of Future Past, $8 million for Apocalypse, and $4.7 for Dark Phoenix.

On average, Jennifer Lawrence earns between $15-$20 million per movie. Her paychecks for a few of her films were:

Passengers (2014): $20 million

Don’t Look Up (2021) $25 million

Red Sparrow (2018): $20 million

Jennifer also has other sources of income such as endorsement deals.

In 2012, she became the face of Dior. The luxury brand paid the actress a cool $20 million.

She owns a production company.

She is also a landlord. owns a luxury apartment in Manhattan. She paid $9 million for the unit and now rents it for around $27,000 monthly.

What I have learned from her story is that you have to create opportunities for yourself by showing up and doing the work. Success is not just going to fall into your lap. You have to go get it. Success not only attracts success, but it also leaves clues.

In order to earn her first million, Jennifer Lawrence had to act in numerous plays, move to New York, get an agent, audition for dozens of film and television roles, learn how to become an archer, sit in a makeup chair for 3-6 hours to be painted blue everyday on set for weeks and months and work out 1.5 hours a day for months on end over about a decade time period. Nothing happened by accident. It was intentional.

You must use your 401(k) in the same manner.

I waitressed, was a phone operator, a gas station attendant, scrubbed toilets, working all the while earning a bachelor’s and Master’s degree, read about 15 personal finance books a year, started a blog and was promoted numerous times at different companies to get to where I am today.

My first million is so close I can feel it tapping me on the shoulder.

When Business Insider did my story, I was at $375,000 in investable assets. I have since seen had my investments grow to $422,000. My $500,000 journey is rapidly coming to an end. Compound interest is barreling me toward the finish line. Depending on market fluctuations, I will hit my target of $500,000 in 365-500 days.

A company going bankrupt cannot blow up my retirement. My pension cannot be taken away from me the same way Lucy takes away that football from Charlie Brown. My 401(k) is mine forever. Just let that silver lining sink in.

About The Author

Miriam started Greenbacks Magnet in 2016 to keep a scorecard of her goal of $1M in investable assets. Armed with a Master in Management (MiM) and a calculator, she teaches readers how to achieve financial independence while also helping them learn how to smell the roses along the way. The palpable response she got from sharing her personal finance goal in a public speaking course at Georgetown University encouraged her to share her story and teach finance on her website. She invests in AI companies as artificial intelligence is the new iPhone of the moment as she likes to invest in companies that are disruptive.

Financial Freedom, Financial Independence, Self-Made Millionaires

Her First $400K

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As I write this, the Biden Administration has extended the payment pause on borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan for another 6 months.

Might I offer a suggestion: take that money and put it into a rainy day fund or invest it in an index fund (VTSAX) or individual stocks (The Trillion-Dollar Club such as MSFT or META).

Now that I have offered my savings and investment advice, let’s talk about how I got to my first $400K.

They say the first $100K is the hardest. I remember from years ago a time when Drake tweeted that. Don’t remember? That’s cool. I have a copy of his tweet for you to see below.

Well, my money target was higher since I figured I’d go big or go home.

I made my target $400K.

I totally borrowed that title from Her First 100K blog, but I am sure Tori Dunlap will not mind if I borrow it if it helps motivate people to become financial independent.

Although I have a six-figure compensation package now (salary + benefits), it did not start off that way.

You will not believe some of the jobs I have had on my path to becoming a self-made woman millionaire. Let me share 4 of them with you here.

1. Waitress ($2.65 per hour + tips) – Back when I was still in high school I did a summer job as a teenage waitress at Shoney’s. It wasn’t glamourous, but the tips were pretty good. Some days I could clear $50-$100 bucks a night! That’s some good money to a teenager. And the menu there was huge. There was no way I could remember it all. I mean who do they think I am. Sheldon Cooper. I do not have a photographic memory. However, lucky for me, this restaurant had a buffet so it basically sold itself. I was mostly there to bring drinks and the check. It was physically demanding though as it required you to stand virtually all-day. I did get 50% off any food I wanted and the cooks in the back were great. This is my foundation on what it takes to earn a $1. Like Britney Spears says, “work b*tch!”

2. File Clerk/Loan Analyst ($28,000/year) – I was still working my way through college when I got this job. I answered an ad and went in for an on-the-spot job interview and got the job! Essentially, I helped maintain loan documents and helped manage bank customer accounts at a credit union. This job would set me up for what was to come, which was my foray into lending and finance.

3. Night Auditor ($20 an hour + tips) – This was another job I got from answering an ad on Indeed. They were offering $18 but I negotiated $20. Never underestimate the power of negotiation ladies! And the funny thing is when I actually started doing the job, I did so much work that I really should have been making $25 at least! You have answer phones, check-in guests, keep the hotel lobby clean, manage guest complaints and do point-of-sale transactions for the hotel market by the front desk. Then there was the lounge at the hotel that was a mini nightclub that was open until 2am! We did have a few celebrities come through, but I mostly just stayed at the front desk. And did I mention I worked overnight from 11pm – 7am! However, it was fun overall because I had a great coworker. I even had a guest tip me $100 for calling him a cab. Sweet!

4. Associate Director (over $80,000k+/ year) – After college, I applied for another job in lending. Basically, counseling families on how to navigate the financial minefield that is financial aid. I also completed two Master’s degrees and started this blog on the side while doing my job. This blog is my side hustle and it did start to generate some income eventually. However, when asked by Business Insider for the article they published on me, I declined to go into details.

All these jobs helped put me on the path to where I am today, which is female millionaire.

Every time I earned more, I invested more.

I started with a fistful of dollars and turned a small $5,000 investment in Apple into an investment portfolio over $400,000!

The next leg of the journey is $500,000.

Celebrities and Money

From Bombshells to Billionaires: How Victoria’s Secret Angels are making a fortune

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Photo credit: By Samantha Marx from Johannesburg, South Africa – Victoria’s Secret store

“If you’re comfortable in your own skin, you will feel beautiful – and look beautiful to others, too.” — Adriana Lima

Well, well, well. Looks who’s back. In my best imitation of the Gossip Girl voice, I spy with my little eye bombshells and billionaires on the horizon.

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion show is back after a six-year hiatus. The last show was in 2018. If you want to check out the show it is being broadcast tonight at 7 pm EST on Amazon Prime video.

They are relaunching the show and this year’s show is all about women empowerment and body positivity. I am all for that. As this blog will always stand with being positive and creating opportunities for yourself. And these women have done just that.

Without further ado, I give you some of the longest-reigning and richest Victoria Secret models.

Honorable mention also goes out to Marissa Miller who has an estimated net worth of $20 million.

Some of the biggest to ever wear the wings and those million-dollar bras are shown in the photo below (Adriana Lima -$95M, Alessandra Ambrosio-$75M, Gisele Bundchen-$400M, Tyra Banks-$95M, and Heidi Klum-$100M and a couple not in the photo are Miranda Kerr with her husband Snapchat CEO-$1B and Candice Swanepoel-$30M.

And a special shout out to the OG – Adriana Lima who has come out of retirement to walk the show for a record 19th time.

Who says you can’t make a living modeling? These women have all proven it can be done.

Every time the curtain falls on the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show, another angel has gotten her financial freedom wings!

Blogger Interviews, Celebrities and Money, Financial Freedom, Financial Independence, Self-Made Millionaires

How this FIRE blogger got featured on Business Insider

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Testing…1, 2, 3. Can you hear me out there? You listening? Good. Ah yes, I remember it like it was yesterday.

One of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) Bloggers that I had been reading was featured in Forbes. I remember thinking how did he do that. Well, when you go from $0 to $400,000 in seven years that does tend to get people’s attention.

The thing that really stood out to me was that he actually got to $400,000. I just knew if he could get there, then he could get to $1 million.

That blog was called Budgets are Sexy.

I had the pleasure to not only meet J. Money, or J$ for short, in-person just a few years after that article, but also got to interview him on this blog. He’s one of the most coolest and down-to-earth finance dudes you will ever meet.

Over the years, he has given his advice on how he basically went from nothing to something.

He regularly talks about his net worth on his blog and does not shy away from telling you about the highs and the lows of building wealth.

He even did a post on how he lost over $60,000 in the market in one month!

His transparency is why people gravitate towards him. He tells it like it is. He walks it like he talks it.

One of the best pieces of advice he gave me on the road to $1 million was to max out your retirement accounts. All of them. And if you can’t do that, then save as much as you can.

What J$ didn’t know is that his blog lit a spark for me.

If he started with nothing and could go to almost half a million dollars, then I could too.

We like to call J. Money the Godfather of FIRE blogging because he started back when it was just a small niche in 2008. There is even a joke on his site where he is called the Miley Cyrus of Finance! Ha!

All jokes aside, I was paying attention. Budgets are Sexy is the personal finance blog in which it is Greenback’s Magnet yardstick for building wealth. Like Visa, his blog is everywhere my blog wants to be.

Therefore, after reading that Forbes article, I decided at that moment that I wanted to get to $400,000 too!

So I put my head down and went to work. At one point, I was investing 25 percent of my income. I lived off rice and kale. No avocado toast for me. I wanted that sweet taste of freedom.

Every spare dime was put to work in my brokerage account.

This blog is also how I keep myself accountable to reach my financial goals. It didn’t matter if I had holes in my shoes, I kept walking in then until they literally fell apart. Nothing went to waste. I was reading 10 to 20 books on personal finance a year.

I paid off my car $450 payment in 2009. Then my personal loan that was costing me $333 a month. All the hard work and sacrifices paid off when I saw that my balance had grown from $50,000 to $375,000. Then within a few months, I was at over $402,000!

That’s how your girl eventually ending up getting the greenlight to be a story featured on Business Insider.

It also got picked up by some other sites like Yahoo and AOL.com.

I am still increasing my annual contributions every year. I won’t stop until I reach my target: $1 million dollars!

The one crazy thing I noticed in the comments section is that there were many folks saying that $1 million will not be enough to retire.

I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I simply was sharing how I set a goal and was working on reaching it. Man, that really knocked me over. Nevertheless, I recovered quickly. You have to have thick skin once you decide to put your name or work out there.

Unlike George McFly, I can handle rejection. The point of the story was to help and inspire not to hurt and discourage.

I felt like 50 Cent on that interview he recently did on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast where he says his first record deal with Shady Aftermath netted him $1 million and Dame Dash says that ain’t no money. Huh? When you go from nothing to $1 million, you bet your a$$ that is a sh*t ton of money.

However, I digress. I just put my head down and went back to work.

No wonder people practice stealth wealth! Regardless of all the naysayers, I am still working toward my goal. Next stop on the million-dollar tour is $500,000. After that, it is $750,000. And of course, $1 million.

If being on Business Insider taught me anything, it’s not to let anything or anyone trip you up on the road to your dreams. It’s great to be acknowledged and to talk about your goals, but it’s even better to actually live out your dreams.