### Millionaire Interview Update: Three Years Later
Here’s an exciting update from Millionaire Interview #236, originally published on April 19, 2021, at **ESI Money**. Three years have passed, and as promised, we’re revisiting their journey—highlighting the changes, wins, lessons, and continuing plans for the future.
As usual, my questions will appear in **bold italics** followed by their responses.
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### OVERVIEW
**_How old are you?_**
I’m 50 now! Cue the relentless stream of AARP invites—they seem to show up every week. I’ve been married for 22+ years, and as they say, a true gentleman doesn’t reveal a lady’s age. For context, when my original interview was published, it was right around my 47th birthday.
**_Do you have kids?_**
Yes, we have three amazing kids. Our oldest, who is 18, just wrapped up a hectic year of college visits and applications. The FAFSA delays really messed with timing on decisions and even housing. Thankfully, we’ve figured out the best option, and we’re ready for her to start college this fall.
Meanwhile, our middle child, 14, recently got accepted into the same technology and science magnet high school that her older sister is about to graduate from. Thriving doesn’t even begin to cover it. Our youngest, who’s 7, is wrapping up first grade and growing every day. Watching all three of them find themselves and learn makes me realize just how competent they are—much more so than I was at their age. That’s all my wife’s doing!
**_What area of the country do you live in (and is it urban or rural)?_**
We’re still in Northern Virginia, right outside Washington, D.C., along the Dulles Toll Road—a solid exurban area.
**_What was your original Millionaire Interview on ESI Money?_**
We were **Millionaire Interview #236**, published on April 19, 2021. You can check out our original interview [here](https://esimoney.com/millionaire-interview-236/) for more background.
**_Is there anything else we should know about you?_**
On a lighter note, we became foster parents not just to children but to animals! Three years ago, we found and rescued a 4-week-old kitten hiding in the bushes of our neighborhood. More recently, in January 2024, we adopted a German Shepherd-Husky mix from our local shelter after his previous family returned him. He’s an adorable bundle of anxiety. Initially, he bonded with me, but now he’s all about my wife, following her everywhere and hating it when she leaves—even for short trips to the grocery store.
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### NET WORTH
**_What is your current net worth, and how does it compare to your original interview?_**
As of May 26, 2024, our net worth is approximately **$7.6 million**. Back in the original interview, it was around **$3.4 million**, so we’ve more than doubled in three years!
Here’s a breakdown of our assets and liabilities:
– **Assets**: The majority is held across retirement and taxable accounts, along with a significant portion allocated in cash ($50k in non-retirement accounts, $150k in retirement accounts). We also hold educational savings in the form of 529 plans for our kids, amounting to roughly $400k.
– **Liabilities**: Mortgages on both our primary residence and rental property were refinanced and locked in at super low rates (sub-3% for the home and 3.5% for the rental). Given today’s inflation and higher interest rates, it feels like we’re essentially sitting on “free money.”
**_What happened along the way to bring about these changes?_**
Several important moves and realizations:
– **Refinancing**: Hats off to my wife for urging us to refinance when rates were low. This has been a game-changer.
– **Strategic Investing**: I’ve been investing aggressively in growth stocks. We also moved out of commercial real estate due to concerns about regional banks and upcoming risks in the sector.
– **Market Missteps**: While we had many wins, I also encountered some costly mistakes—like dabbling in options trading. Selling covered calls hurt us in terms of capital gains and taxes. On top of that, investing in a friend’s startup turned out to be a complete loss, and I’ll say it again—never give money to friends if you want to keep both the friendship and the money.
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### EARN
**_What is your job?_**
I’m now a Director in a large multinational company, leading a delivery team focused on cloud-native solutions. I shifted away from my previous roles as VP of Technology and CTO