On $20,000 Salary Parking Lot Attendant Saves and Invests Has $500,000 Portfolio

[haha]

Getting rich on a $20,000 salary - MSN Money

[twaddle]

Not bad. 44 years is the key, I think. Save $1000/year for 44 years at 9% and you get $500K.

Edit: wait, it says he started in 1981 with a $400 investment in IBM. So, that means 25 years at 25% to get $500K. We have found WEB's replacement!

[retire@40]

"I saved what I could from odd jobs, such as lawn cutting and window washing"

Hmmm. I wonder how much he earned in unreported cash on those "odd jobs."

[wildcat]

Having a 2nd self-employed job can be pretty profitable in terms of savings and tax-def accounts. It doesn't sound like he went that route though.

[unclemick]

What a rookie! Swiping the 'classic example' from gummy stuff. It's those dang women again - they confirm(being not male) - it's the hormones:

Ann Scheiber 1944-1995, never made over 3,150/yr as a civil servant and put in a total of $5000. Her stocks were 22 mil when she died in 1995.

Prompting yet an another woman(Roxann Klugman) from Minnesota to write a book - Dividend Growth Investment Strategy or something like that.

heh heh heh - she brown bagged a lot. I derailed a lot: 8k to 60k salary took 33 years to cross 1 mil the first time. Partyed a lot, sports cars, dirty blondies, tryed to unthaw Seattle - and Denver. Finally got serious in quiet staid New Orleans.

[chinaco]

I think it is an inspiring story. It shows what can be done if one puts their mind to it.

I hope he can loosen up, retire, and enjoy his hard earned money and investment gains.

[wildcat]

Originally Posted by chinaco

I think it is an inspiring story. It shows what can be done if one puts their mind to it.

I hope he can loosen up, retire, and enjoy his hard earned money and investment gains.

In similar cases that I have read about in the past, these types usually donate a large chunk of their savings to charities. They seem to enjoy work, have minimal needs and would rather see the money go to some social cause.

[justin]

Originally Posted by wildcat

In similar cases that I have read about in the past, these types usually donate a large chunk of their savings to charities. They seem to enjoy work, have minimal needs and would rather see the money go to some social cause.

Probably so. He's used to living on less than $20,000 per year. His SS will cover a lot of that, given his age and his 40 year working history. Something as small as a 1-2% SWR will cover any extra spending needs he would have.

It is a pretty amazing story. An example of the "American Dream", perhaps? Even someone in the lowest paid position can rise to wealth.

[Eyerishgold]

This inspiring story just proves you don't have to be a financial genius to acquire wealth. You just need to master 3 basic activities:

-Budgeting
-Saving
-Investing

[maddythebeagle]

This reminds me of some of the stories of Wal-mart employees buying stock through their discounted employee purchase plan and becoming wealthy during the big growth years....

[wildcat]

Originally Posted by maddythebeagle

This reminds me of some of the stories of Wal-mart employees buying stock through their discounted employee purchase plan and becoming wealthy during the big growth years....

I wasn't one of 'em

[unclemick]

Not poor - 2nd lt. newly minted - pssst TSP equivalent of 500Index. Got a good ten years in - till he screwed up and started reading - Four Pillars.

Today - dollar cost average as early and often as you can into the new model - Total Stock Market Index - taxible, tax deferred whatever.

Do NOT Read Books/Investment crap/ watch the market/hang around the water cooler with the guys - or at least talk sex and sports - Not the third S.

DCA for X years and when it's time to retire(trust your bellybutton) - retire and psst Wellesley or Target Retirement.

Of course it only took me forty years and every investment mistake in the book to figure out it is that simple - really!

heh heh heh - keep the faith: 'God Looks After Drunkards, Fools and The United States of America.'

Oh yeah - and sometimes idiots like me who read books, dinked/invested around for forty years - like the blind squirrel with the acorn I didn't notice much - my 500Index DCA'd into 401k got me to ER. Hindsight and a Curmudgeon certificate makes one 'crusty.'