While I don’t claim to have ever truly been frugal, saving has always come easily compulsively to me. I will never forget the sense of wonder - accompanied quickly by urgency - that came over me when I saw my first compound interest chart.
You remember the classic setup: a pair of twins, one starts saving at 25 while the other waits until 30, both invest $2K per year (this was the 90s), but the one who starts earlier ends up with, like, $5 million compared to his brother’s paltry single million - even though he stopped saving at age 35 and the dumber brother saved for decades. Or some such.
I was 13 years old in the back of my grandpa’s car ogling the chart in a Motley Fool book I’d found in his seat pocket (this was before screens; car rides used to be super boring). I wasn’t a math whiz, but I could infer that if some brilliant opportunist were to begin investing at 15 instead of 25, well, she would end up really freaking rich.
Being the naive book nerd that I was, I believed everything I read - which served me well in this case (religious texts were another story). I went home and demanded my dad help me open what the book called a “discount brokerage account.” An investor was born.
I have always enjoyed watching my money; I have records of my monthly net worth and budget going back to age 19. Spending is fun - I have rarely declined a trip or dinner invitation - but tracking my net worth and buying assets gave me a deeper satisfaction even in my teens and 20s.
I felt smart; I felt responsible; I felt superior to my peers who inexplicably did not seem to care about opening a Roth IRA, much less maxing it out. Saving money made me feel safe. To this day, I go spend time with my spreadsheets when I feel anxious or crave the illusion of control.
I didn’t know (and still don’t fully know) what I would do with all that money. But I knew I wanted options. These were some of the concerns that drove what I now realize was an anxiety-ridden young brain to latch onto the promise of wealth building:
What if I meet someone at charity event one day who offers me an amazing business opportunity but I don’t have $100K needed to invest?
What if I discover a dream house one day, but I haven’t been saving for the decade prior so can’t buy it?
What if I want to quit my future job and stay home with kids one day but still feel like I can contribute financially so as not to end up trapped in an unhappy marriage?
Note the echo of “one day.” I never actually had specific savings goals. My motivation was FOMO - just for my future, imagined self. So upon reading a handful of real estate investing books by Robert Kiyosaki and Robert G. Allen (if their advice is published it must be foolproof, right?!), I started buying rental properties in my 20s. I considered this the second of a 3-legged financial independence stool (in case the whole stock market thing didn’t work out).
You know how buying a lottery ticket gives you that temporary window before the drawing where you can dream? Where would I live? What could I do? Accumulating assets gave me that feeling. And what’s better: the feeling can eventually become economic reality.
The problem for many of my fellow planning-oriented money hoarders is that saving for the future can become so ingrained (and soothing) that the future never actually arrives. I’ve talked to dozens of multi-millionaires past traditional retirement age who are still saving, even for future generations, rather than face their wealth and decide how to use it.
The compulsion to earn and accumulate served me well in the first half of my life. My accomplishments gave me pride and confidence, facilitated some great life experiences, and enabled me to get divorced and leave my corporate career without impacting my standard of living.
Going into the second half of my life (or the second third, depending on longevity advancements) I want to explore how to actually use wealth intentionally. It’s a lot easier for me to daydream about what my future self might want than to look in the mirror and decide who I want to be and what I should do today.
This is a personal quest to design a life I love that aligns with my values, but it is also a societal imperative. There are trillions of dollars sitting around in investment accounts and other assets that represent a tremendous collective reserve of power. We live in an unbelievable period of prosperity, and new millionaires are born or made every single day.
Let’s not waste the opportunity. Money can buy personal security and freedom, and few things make me happier than that, especially as a formerly-much-more-anxious woman. The most extraordinary blessing and responsibility is that we can then ask:
And now what?
I help people get organized and use wealth to design a life that feels secure and aligned. A former Wall Street banker and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, I act as an unbiased advocate without selling products or managing investments. To learn more, visit my website.
DISCLAIMER: I love writing about the personal, emotional, and practical sides of money, but please remember that my Substack is strictly for educational and coaching purposes. The insights shared here are general in nature and do not constitute specific investment, tax, or legal advice. While I am a CFP® certificant, reading this does not create an official advisory relationship, and any comments or likes should not be interpreted as client testimonials. For personalized investment advice, please consult a registered financial professional.
"I knew I wanted options" 💯💵💰
Far better to live off $40K a year with a mil in the bank than live off $40K a year with 2K in the bank...