Monday, October 12, 2009

Millionaires in the making: The Rodrigueses

posted by Jonathan Tse

Only 27 years old, prodigious savers Gina and John Rodrigues are determined to retire with a million-dollar nest egg by the time they turn 40. Here's the odd part: They just might make it.



(Money Magazine) -- John and Gina Rodrigues have always been good with numbers. John is a software engineer who manages a team at Microsoft, and Gina spent years processing mortgages at Wells Fargo and Countrywide Home Loans. But the numbers they are especially good at are the kind with dollar signs in front of them.

At age 27, John and Gina already earn a combined $174,000 a year, save half of what they make and have built a formidable portfolio of $380,000 in stocks, mutual funds and cash. Their goal: to become millionaires and retire by the time they turn 40, just 13 years from now.

To make that dream a reality, they have become black-belt practitioners of an art rarely practiced in America these days: While others with their earning power might indulge in fancy dinners, luxury vacations and designer wardrobes, the Rodrigueses live like young couples did before the era of easy credit. They rent the house where John grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area for a mere $650 a month; rarely travel; split an entrée on the rare occasions they eat out; and spend almost nothing on clothes (John wears free Microsoft T-shirts, while Gina gets hand-me-downs from her sister).

Click here to read more

3 comments:

  1. To my mind, it is sad to exist like this, as if postponing your real life. But at the same time young people have something to learn from their example. It's just a matter of preference. - Alma Zhumagulova

    ReplyDelete
  2. It seems like it is so hard to achieve such success like these people. However, we are taking the financial planning class. It makes a lot of sense with the class. I believe we can all do it like them.
    Quang Nguyen

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is too hard to start retirement plans at age of 27.
    Shawn gao

    ReplyDelete