3 Retirees Share the Tiny Investments That Made Them Financially Secure
Written by
Cara Danielle Brown
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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Hoping to be financially secure in retirement but aren’t exactly raking in the cash? Don’t fret.
A comfortable retirement does not require making millions of dollars in the present — it does, however, require significant planning and a series of smart decisions that pay off over time.
GOBankingRates chat with three retirees to find out which tiny investment each made while young and how it made them financially secure in their golden years.
Milton Saltzberg, 93
Milton Saltzberg, a 93-year-old former realtor, closely studied the stock market all his life and, as a result, has made some savvy investments. Thirty years ago, Saltzberg spent $17 to invest in an up-and-coming company called (*checks notes*) Apple. Over the years, Apple stock kept splitting — meaning it divided its existing shares into multiple, lower-priced shares which rose in value over time.
Today, Saltzberg owns nearly 620 shares of Apple. Currently, one share of Apple is worth approximately $256. That’s $158,720 or a $158,713 profit from an initial $17 investment. Around the same time, he also bought a single share of Microsoft — initially valued at $21 and today worth $460.52 a share. Microsoft has split nine times. A single share has now become 288 shares… You do the math.
Because Saltzberg had the patience and temperament to hold onto these stocks long-term and the foresight to get in early, these investments cost him almost nothing — but are significantly aiding his retirement.
Eric Greene, 72
Over 50 years ago, 72-year-old serial entrepreneur, Eric Greene, attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business which, at the time, cost roughly $2,500 annually. While an investment of a different kind, Greene insisted investing in skills and education has proved invaluable. An accounting major, Greene credits his schooling with “understanding profit and loss, how to spend money, what costs are okay and what costs are not” — particularly when it came to variable costs and fixed costs.
As he explained, fixed costs are expenses like rent and property taxes that stay the same regardless of how much of any given product you make or how much profit you earn. Variable costs consist of labor and raw materials–costs that fluctuate depending on how much of a product you make and how much profit you wish to earn.
“When deciding if business is worth taking, I always determine if a buyer can fully cover the variable costs and make a contribution to the fixed costs,” Greene stated. “That’s when the business is worth taking.”
The knowledge he acquired at U. Penn helped him become a success — and retire a multimillionaire.
While the cost of attending a university is much higher today, the takeaway remains the same: Always invest in yourself. Go get the Google certificate.
David Miller, 77
Retired OBGYN, 77-year-old David Miller, admits that, while he made a good salary, he was not great at managing money. Which is why he credits his investment in a financial planner as key to setting him up with a secure retirement.
“Without him, I would have no idea what is what. Plus, I’m embarrassed to say I was spending most of what I made well into my fifties,” Miller stated.
Over the years, Miller’s financial planner has assisted him with “allocation for retirement accounts and taxes and timing on withdrawals,” helping him balance growth and preservation, diversifying across assets and, most importantly, ensuring his money lasts. For the first couple years they worked together, Miller paid his financial planner an annual retainer. Now that Miller has a better grasp on his portfolio, he pays $250 per hour for sporadic consultations. And, according to Miller, he’s been worth every penny.
“Probably the biggest thing he’s taught me is how to modify my behavior,” the 77-year-old said. “Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?”
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