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| Friday, October 05, 2007 |
| Millionaires in the Making: Justin and Emily Bergman |
 CNN.com has posted the most recent Millionaires in the Making - profiling Justin and Emily Bergman of Connecticut. They are really young - just 25 and 27 years old, but a recent $50,000 inheritance and a Navy re-up bonus has vaulted them into a fairly debt free (the money spent on cars is a shame) life-style. They have started saving for retirement and with the help of a Navy pension should be in good shape for retirement. Around the same time, they consulted a financial planner for advice on investing the money Justin inherited from his deceased father. Justin started a Roth IRA and 529 college savings plans for their daughters. They paid off credit card bills, kept $2,000 for themselves and used the rest of the money to pay other expenses such as cremation fees, legal fees and travel expenses. They also put a $21,000 down payment on a new car.
The Bergmans started 529 plans for their daughters Hannah, 5, and Sariah, 1, because they plan on covering at least 50 percent of their college tuition. They now contribute $50 a month to each 529 plan and have saved about $4,800 for Sariah and $3,700 for Hannah. They also have about $15,200 in mutual funds, earmarked for a down payment on a house they plan to buy the next time they are relocated.
“I don’t think I was as crazy about saving in the past because I didn’t make enough,” Justin said. “But now that I make more in the Navy, I try to keep my sights on being a saver.” Labels: Money Stories |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 12:18 PM *
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| 5 Comments: |
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"They also put a $21,000 down payment on a new car."
Why not pay cash for a mini van?
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Because, like most people, they think they deserve "nice things". Good luck retiring!
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I think you guys are a little harsh on the minivan! I, for one, have been in that position. I was totally 100% content with my Ford Contour until my daughter was about 6 weeks old and we decided to take our first road trip - the rear facing car seat took up about 76% of the backseat! Barely enough room for me to squish back there with her when it was time for her to nurse. Forget the pak n' play, the stroller and our suicases! We were like sardines! We dropped 30K on a minivan soon after that trip. Six years and 100K miles and I have not regretted that minivan! The space for hauling kids, babies and gear is awesome! The ability to crawl back into the third row to change a baby's diaper at a rest stop in the cold Buffalo winter was AWESOME! The sliding doors make it so easy to get kids in and out of their car seats. I have not regretted my minivan purchase one bit! I plan to replace it with another brand new minivan in about 3 years - minivans are awesome if you want to do any travelling with kids!
Maybe she could have purchased a used one - a new Honda Odyssy is the gold standard for minivans.
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3:01 anonymous- I think you misintrepreted the 'why not buy a mini van' comment. It reads like they put $21K on a car (model unnamed) instead of geting a perfectly appropriate MV.
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In the article it states that the $21,000 downpayment was for a 2006 Honda Odyssey.
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"They also put a $21,000 down payment on a new car."
Why not pay cash for a mini van?