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I would like to dedicate this post to Jonathan.
My spouse and I started with nothing. We left college with debt and moved to a HCOL area in the mid 1980s. We knew nothing about money other than “if you can’t pay your credit card off each month, quit charging until it is paid off”.
We are Christians and felt called to tithe our income, so we worked up to the full 10% of gross income that is traditional. We never missed it. Even when times were hard, we were always ok. Sometimes I have no idea how, but after 40+ years I know for a fact that you can never out give God.
We never made more than $100k in a year until the last 8 years my spouse worked. We were the first generation who had to figure out our own retirment b/c the pensions changed to 401ks. We were so dumb that we didn’t understand the part about leaving money on the table if you don’t put enough in to get the company match. We had no idea how much we should put in the 401k until later. For many years we just put enough to get the match. We didn’t know you have to put in more. Our HR was not as good to help as I am sure RDQ’s was.
In the early 1990s I listened to Christian radio and found a few programs that talked about finances. I started to check out books from the library. In my studies I never came across Jonathan’s writings, believe it or not. I wish I had, it would have saved some time. I didn’t find him until HD.
We were way behind on our retirement savings. As I learned more, we did better. By 2016 I had finally found Jonathon and HD. HD was one of my favorite websites to read. I learned so much from all the writers. I used the guide to research topics I didn’t know about.
The past 10 years have been amazing for us. Everything finally “clicked”. My spouse found a well paying job that made low $100k. I didn’t waste the opportunity and used what I had learned from HD and others to play catch up. And we were able to catch up. Our net worth now is in 7 figures and we retired with dignity 21 mos ago.
We are a Humble Dollar success story. We are just regular people. I hope what I have written will encourage any others like us that even if it is late in the game, you can still get there. I so wish Jonathan was here to read my post, this is why he was so passionate about what he did. Chris
Wonderful story. I agree, it is never too late. I started over with nothing at a late age. I first read Johathan’s column at the Wall Street Journal, I’d guess it was about 1985 or so. I found his approach very straight-forward and understandable. Like you, I was delighted by my results. I could have retired earlier than I actually did.
Normr, I am glad you were able to find Jonathan before I did and that you were able to catch up too. Chris
Congratulations on a successful journey. I agree that it’s never too late. I didn’t start saving seriously until my late 30s, after I left my first husband and realized my pension didn’t have the COLA I would have expected if I were still in the UK. I was fortunate to discover Vanguard fairly early, and to have little interest in possessions and none in shopping. I was also fortunate that the mega-corp was willing to pay my pension and provide retiree medical when I reached 30 years service, even thought the benefits have been progressively reduced.
Thank you, Kathy. You are fortunate to have retiree medical. That got taken away from the younger employees like the pensions. We were mostly Medicare age at retirement. One of us was able to be on Cobra for 6 mos. C
Thank you for your story.
Nick, thanks. C
Chris: Thank you so much for sharing your story. I love the ‘regular people’ forum posts because I am one too. It’s so important for HD readers to get a balance of opinions from a variety of contributors.
When I was in my thirties, the trending retirement ‘rule’ was that you had to have accumulated at least $1 million in your retirement account if you were to have any chance of actually retiring. At that point in my life I was making about $35,000 a year. The thought of putting away more than about $50 a month towards my retirement seemed impossible. When ‘rules’ like the $1 million retirement are popularized, I think they do a real disservice to everyone. I think most people view it as an unachievable goal and just give up.
In my forties I happened to hear Dave Ramsey for the first time. I became obsessed with learning more about personal finance and began listening to his show every day. I loved that he featured ‘regular people’s’ success stories every day.
When I found Jonathan’s “Money Guide”, it became my financial Bible. It was so refreshing to find financial information written in a style that ‘regular people’ could understand.
I never did achieve that $1 million balance in my retirement accounts, but I did pretty good for myself. Luck, timing, planning and fate all seemed to have played a role in my ability to retire at an age when many are still having to work. It’s a true blessing to be able to spend my time how I want and I credit Jonathan for a lot of my financial success.
Kristine, when you speak, I listen! You always have great words of wisdom.
Thank you–that’s high praise here on HumbleDollar!
Love hearing more of your story, Kristine. Thank you. C
Chris, great story. Congratulations on your success and retirement. Regular people are my favorite kind of people. They are the backbone of our country.
Had a big smile on my face reading your comment, Jerry, thanks. C
Thanks for sharing your “regular people” story, Chris. I always enjoy reading your comments and it was fun to see the bits of financial biography that you’ve shared nicely pulled together in this piece. It was a fine tribute to Jonathan. I’m writing this comment while staying in a quaint town (Milford PA) that I was first made aware of through a recommendation Jonathan once made to me in a HD comment.
Thank you, Ken, your comment meant a lot to me. C
Chris – thanks for posting and sharing your story. I’m sure Jonathan was reading as you were writing.
Thank you, Jeff. I agree. Jonathan is still the heart of HD. C
Chris, thank you so much for sharing your story. We know a little about you from your regular comments, but now so much more about why you come across as such a grateful, thoughtful person. I echo the comments below that Jonathan would have greatly appreciated your post. Your story, and that of many others, exemplifies how Jonathan brought financial sophistication to regular folks.
Ed, thank you. Yes, Jonathan was a great teacher to all of us. He had a real knack for making some of these topics easier to understand. C
Chris, thanks for your heartfelt piece. The gratitude you have is expressed beautifully.
Greg, thank you. Your comment meant a lot to me. C
Chris, thank you for sharing. I enjoyed your post. I’m glad you both arrived at the finish line in great retirement shape.
Thanks, Mark. I think you have been a wonderful new voice for HD. C
Most people not educated in finance or investing have to learn about it over time on their own, and most likely make mistakes along the way. Young people reading this post would not only find it informative, but help them to realize that there is hope for them too. Nice article Chris!
Thanks,Jack. As I read your comment I thought about how the internet has changed how we get information. It just seemed so much harder back when I was learning and so glad the young people won’t have it so hard. C
There are definitely parallels between your story and mine, Chris. My husband and I were married in the early 1980s and, as I say now, we were too young and dumb to know that we were too poor to get married. We weren’t in debt and we had our degrees, but we lived in California (HCOL). After we got married, he worked in campus ministry (had to raise support), and I enrolled in grad school. We also believed in tithing on our gross income and always did so or close to it.
Our situation was a bit more fortunate in that we both landed in jobs that got us into the state of California’s excellent retirement system (pensions & health care). But we didn’t start saving for retirement in any serious way until our mid-40s, and that’s when our financial picture started to change. I moved to a different university system at 48 with a higher salary scale, and he left state service at 56 with 20 years of service time (=full health care benefits for both of us) and went into a higher-paying private sector job. We started shoveling money into 401K/403B/457 programs. I’m now retired and we’re drawing pensions from the state and have a nice nest egg. But we’re late, late, late bloomers.
I used to listen to Larry Burkett (RIP) on Christian radio on my commute to work in the early 90s. He always preached “pay off your credit card in full every month, and the first month you don’t, cut the card up and never get another one.” I can’t say we were always able to follow that rule, but it stuck with me as a principle.
Thanks for sharing, Chris!
Dana, thank you. I listened to Larry Burkett also, God rest his soul. He sure helped a lot of people. C
Chris, this is a great read. Your and our life paths are different, however, our financial paths are remarkably similar. Your first lesson regarding credit cards is probably an early lesson for many young couples. Leaving 401K money on the table is another. Neglecting to calculate what one needs to save for retirement is the mistake that nearly everyone makes.
Towards the end of our working years, Chrissy and I pounded money into our 401s, IRAs, HSAs, SEP, and brokerage accounts in order to get to our goals.
There are so many great resources on HD, written in ways that don’t require a degree in finance to understand. Now we just need to stop sucking up to RDQ….. it’le just encourage him😁
Thanks, Dan, I love your stories also. And, I did want to say that I don’t get some of the (I assume) good natured ribbing of Dick? I have always felt that he genuinely cares about the little guy and wants to see all of us do well. C
RDQ is the HR guy with a heart. I’m pretty sure he knows that I like him.
Great post, Chris. Very inspiring and very true—it’s never too late!
Yours is just the sort of success story which is Jonathan’s greatest legacy. He would be proud of what you’ve accomplished.
Thank you, Andrew. I teared up a little when I read your comment. C
Thanks for sharing this heartwarming story, Chris. He would’ve loved reading it.
Thank you, David. C