A 100-year-old Georgia man shares how he still has $1 million saved with a salary that never went over $40,000 — here's how you can prep for a long, happy retirement

Moneywise
A 100-year-old Georgia man shares how he still has $1 million saved with a salary that never went over $40,000 — here's how you can prep for a long, happy retirement
A 100-year-old Georgia man shares how he still has $1 million saved with a salary that never went over $40,000 — here's how you can prep for a long, happy retirement

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The elusive century mark: It’s an age many of us would be thrilled to hit. On the other hand, there’s the riddle of how retirement funds could ever last that long.

Then there’s Bill Stovall of Cumming, Georgia, who at 100 years young can still call himself a millionaire, all the more remarkable given that he did it as a man of modest salary — in fact, he never made more than $40,000 in a year. He retired at 65, having held several roles in middle management.

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Some of Stovall’s secrets are simple. He stays away from risky investments. “I’m not a gambler,” he told CNBC in November. “The stock market is a crapshoot.”

If you think having a financial strategy in place for reaching 100 seems far-fetched, you may want to give it another thought. In 2020, there were 80,139 centenarians in the U.S., a 50.2% increase from the 2010 count, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Now, take into account the medical advances bound to happen in the next decade and beyond, made possible in part by artificial intelligence. It all sets the stage for more of us reaching a happy 100.

If you want to follow the prosperity path of Stoval on the way, here are a few pages from his playbook you can learn from.

Live within your means

We live in a consumerist society, and at every turn you’ll encounter pressures to spend money on things you don’t need. Stovall never fell into this trap, though increasing numbers of Americans do.

Nor is he an extravagant spender. Luxury for him might amount to a vodka or whisky cocktail several times a week but rarely more than one glass a day.

One of the best ways to live within your means is to budget — and that can be easily done with Empower.

From investment strategies to budgeting and wealth management, Empower offers a unique digital suite of tools to help you stay on top of your finances. When you sign up with Empower, you can connect with one of their professionals to help you develop a strategy geared towards achieving your financial goals.

With a streamlined focus on your finances, Empower can help you stay on track and live within your means.

Even if you make a budget and follow it to the letter, you’ll still need to spend money on necessities at the very least.

There’s a way to make the money you spend into toward your financial goals.

Acorns is an app that automatically invests your spare change into a diversified portfolio of ETFs every time you make a purchase with your connected card. . If you follow this link to sign up, you’ll get a $20 bonus to help you get started — and it’ll just take a few minutes.

Another approach to living within your means involves gaining a clear understanding of your financial situation. While leveraging various financial tools can be beneficial, it might be worth considering speaking to a financial advisor.

With Advisor.com, you can connect with professionals who can help you better understand your current financial situation and guide you toward a thriving financial future.

Whether you aim to streamline your daily expenses or explore investment opportunities to enhance your wealth, Advisor.com offers a tailored approach through their trusted financial advisors, ensuring the best decisions for your unique circumstances.

Once you are matched with a financial advisor, you can schedule a free consultation to discuss your goals and determine which investment strategy best meets your needs.

Read more: ‘They are awful’: Dave Ramsey is fed up with millennials and Gen Z who he claims don't work but want to own homes — here’s what he says you need to be a ‘successful' investor

Keep at those discounts

Stovall always orders cheap items on the menu when he eats out, and scours the supermarket for items on sale. He never pays more than he has too and neither should you.

You can reduce the cost of routine expenses like home and auto insurance by comparing rates to see what’s available.

BestMoney.com streamlines the process of finding the most affordable car insurance rates in your area. By answering a few questions on their website, BestMoney compares quotes from multiple insurers to help you choose the policy that offers the best value for your needs.

You can also do the same with your home insurance through Official Home Insurance a digital insurance marketplace that focuses on delivering optimal home insurance rates available in your area.

After answering a few personal questions, Official Home Insurance will sort through leading insurers to find you the best deals available.

This will help facilitate your search for the ideal home insurance so you can score some solid savings over time.

Leverage the power of compound interest

The best way to make your money last is to save. Stovall put his salary to work by saving 2% of it a year, a share usually matched by his employer. Over time, compounding did the rest of the work.

It’s like a snowball effect: the more money you set aside, the more compound interest you accumulate.

A high-yield savings account can help make the most of your savings, with higher returns than the national average 0.57% APY. It’s best to explore a variety of high-yield savings accounts to find the best option for your financial growth.

You can browse our Best High-Yield Savings Accounts to leverage compound interest just like Stovall.

Leverage real estate

Over the years, Stovall outgrew his houses in Georgia or had to move for work. Each time he sold, he netted more than what he paid for the home — in one instance turning a $45,000 purchase into a $350,000 sale.

Real estate investment has the potential to generate long-term income that you can use to help grow your retirement savings. If you don’t have a home to sell, you can still benefit from the growth potential of real estate.

For example, Arrived makes it easy to fit rental properties into your portfolio without all the barriers to purchasing a home outright. Back by world class investors including Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in fractional shares of vacation and rental properties without the burden of property management.

To get started, browse their curation selection of properties, each vetted for their potential appreciation and income generation. From there, you can choose the number of shares you’d like to purchase and start investing with as little as $100.

However, if you’re looking to make a bigger investment into the market, commercial real estate, once reserved for just elite investors, is an alternative that can help you grow your portfolio.

First National Realty Partners is one of the fastest-growing private equity firms that gives accredited investors an opportunity to invest in institutional-quality grocery anchored commercial real estate.

FNRP’s team of experts allows you to explore available deals and easily make an allocation, all in one personalized portal. If your investment property has a positive cash flow, you will receive a quarterly cash distribution.

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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