Married couple Bernadette Joy Cruz-Maulion and AJ Maulion were burdened with more than $300,000 in debt between student loans and two mortgages, after Cruz-Maulion graduated from her MBA program in 2016.
They committed to a plan to pay off their debt as soon as possible, and three years later, thanks to big lifestyle changes, they met that goal. Today, the couple has accumulated a net worth of $1.2 million, including cash, investments in stocks and real estate, retirement accounts, and the home they live in.
Their next big money goal: Bernadette, 37, and AJ, 40, who are based in Ashville, North Carolina, aim to retire in their forties.
Bernadette Joy Cruz-Maulion and AJ Maulion.
Courtesy Bernadette Joy Cruz-Maulion
To get to this point, Cruz-Maulion says she had to unlearn several things her parents, who immigrated from the Philippines, taught her about money growing up.
“A lot of our parents moved here to the U.S. for security and safety,” Cruz-Maulion says. To that end, her parents taught her to avoid taking risks in order to lead a stable and secure life. But that mindset wouldn’t have allowed her to build the net worth necessary to retire early.
Here are five money rules Cruz-Maulion followed, instead of the ones she was taught, to achieve a net worth of $1.2 million by age 37.
1. She invested instead of focusing on accumulating cash
The Maulions have about $1.1 million invested in stocks, real estate, and retirement accounts. Their net worth has grown significantly over time due to their investments increasing in value.
It wasn’t until three years ago that Cruz-Maulion learned that she needed to invest in order to accumulate wealth, so that her money could work for her instead of losing value due to inflation.
“As first-generation Americans, a lot of my friends and myself were taught, ‘You should save money, you should save money, you should save money,'” Cruz-Maulion says. “And so when I was in my early 20s, I literally spent most of my money either going out and eating or putting it away in a savings account.”
The Maulions sold their four-bedroom home. With the proceeds, they purchased a two-bedroom condo and invested the rest.
Courtesy Bernadette Joy Cruz-Maulion
2. She left a stable job to start a business
In 2016, Cruz-Maulion quit her 9-to-5 job as a recruiter. A few months later, she started her own personal finance coaching business, Crush Your Money Goals.
“That was really challenging to have those discussions with my parents because they couldn’t understand why I would leave a very stable company, …….
Source: https://grow.acorns.com/crush-your-money-goals-founder-growing-your-net-worth/