Here’s our newest conversation with a millionaire as we aim to gain insights from individuals who have significantly increased their wealth.
If you’re interested in being considered for an interview, send me a message so we can discuss the details.
This conversation occurred in August.
My inquiries are in bold italics, and their answers follow in black.
Let’s dive in…
OVERVIEW
How old are you (and your spouse if relevant, plus duration of your marriage)?
I am 52 years old, and my wife is 45.
We have been married for 17 years.
Do you have children/family (if yes, what are their ages)?
We have 4 kids – a 14-year-old daughter, an 11-year-old son, a 7-year-old daughter, and a 2-year-old daughter.
Which part of the country do you reside in (urban or rural)?
We live in the Chicago suburbs. Our area is situated within a nature conservancy.
It’s remarkable because when looking out of our back windows, it appears as though we reside alone in a forest, yet we are just a quick 15-minute stroll from downtown and the train station to the city.
What is your current net worth?
Our net worth is currently just over $3 million.
What are the primary assets comprising your net worth (stocks, real estate, business, home, retirement accounts, etc.) and any debts that reduce these figures?
Our net worth can be categorized as follows:
In real estate, the equity is situated in our primary residence, valued at $1.06 million, with an outstanding mortgage of $580k at 3.125%. While I’d prefer to eliminate our debt, we have no urgency to pay off the house due to the interest rate.
Our vehicles include a 16-year-old BMW 3 series (purchased used for cash 12 years ago) and a 10-year-old Honda Odyssey (bought new and fully paid off in under 3 years). The kids are tough on them, so we plan to hold off on upgrades until they’re a bit older.
We’re currently enjoying the fact that a very low percentage of our net worth is invested in vehicles!
Our cash reserves are a bit low at the moment. Eventually, we plan to rebuild this to cover 6 months of expenses in our high-yield savings account.
Business equity represents the value of my consulting firm, where I’m the only employee, essentially the cash left if I choose to liquidate and close down.
The angel investment began with a $10k investment in an AI startup in 2020. I have been a member of the advisory board for the company since then and have received several additional stock/options allocations for my contributions.
The shares have experienced significant price appreciation, but I’m ready for this value to potentially drop to zero at any time (due to the company’s early stage and absence of revenue).
My cryptocurrency holdings consist of some free Bitcoin granted to me 11 years ago and a $3k investment in several other coins made in 2021. It’s a small portion of our net worth, maintained for observation purposes only.
The breakdown of stocks is as follows:
- $123k in a brokerage account divided between Shopify (initial $5k investment many years ago) and VTSAX.
- $1.69 million of VTSAX in tax-deferred accounts.
- $470k of VTSAX in tax-free (Roth) accounts.
EARN
What is your profession?
I am the founder and president of my consulting firm, where I offer product management/digital strategy/marketing/sales/operational support to companies of various sizes.
My wife is presently a Salesforce analyst at a global publishing and information firm and is about to transition