How I went from $26K to $1M in five years
No inheritance, no lottery ticket, no single lucky bet. Just a number I wrote down at 28, three countermeasures for my biggest fear, and five ordinary moves repeated for five years. Here’s exactly how it happened.
net worth at 28
net worth five years later
repeated, not reinvented
In my early 20s, I didn’t think about money. I made $30K to $45K a year and took pay cuts to work jobs I found interesting. I saved a little in my 401(k), but not much else.
The exercise that changed everything
When I was 28 and in business school, a professor asked us to write down what we really wanted to do, and what scared us. Then design a countermeasure for each fear. I wanted to start my own business. And I realized my biggest fear was not having enough money if an emergency happened, like a family member getting sick.
My net worth then was $26K. I wrote down three countermeasures:
In 2017, I started my post-MBA job at 30, earning $150K. Fast forward five years to 2021, and my net worth was over $1M. Here are the five things that got me there.
The five moves
1. Make more money. In 2009 I made $41K and saved $7K, about 17%. In 2017 I made $150K and saved $70K, about 47%. When you make more money, it’s easier to save more money.
2. Save as much as you can while enjoying your life. It’s hard to keep saving if you’re not enjoying yourself, so I kept money aside to travel, try new restaurants, and see shows. Beyond that, I saved as much as I could, making it easy to save and difficult to withdraw.
3. Invest for the long term. I pick investments that hold value over time and leave them alone to grow. In 2022 the market fell and my net worth dropped to $920K, and I felt no concern, because I won’t touch that money for 10 to 30 years. Over that horizon, the market goes up.
4. Use credit cards only for points. Credit cards are one of the most expensive forms of debt: 16% to 25% a year, versus the 3% to 10% most investments earn. I use mine for points and pay the balance in full every month.
5. Keep it simple. I tried many things when I started. Now I focus on just a few, which reduces complexity and gets more out of the limited time and attention we all have.
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
Why I coach now
I have a BA in Economics from Princeton, an MBA and MA in Education from Stanford, and over 15 years in financial services and management consulting. But the thing I’m most passionate about is education and helping people achieve financial success. So I became an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) and built Simplified Wallet to do for other ambitious women what that one business-school exercise did for me: turn a vague hope into a clear, simple plan you actually follow.
Want to write down your own number?
That’s exactly what we do on a free 20-minute Clarity Call. No jargon, no pressure, just your first clear step.