It’s Not How Much You Make — It’s How Much You Keep
- Adrienne Evans
- Nov 13
- 9 min read
“Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.” — Warren Buffett
A common goal for most people is to pursue careers or professions that make a lot of money.
And yes — a great salary is an incredible goal!
But believe it or not, there are people who never brought home massive paychecks or had “glamorous” careers — and still became millionaires.
For instance, a secretary at Abbott Laboratories quietly turned a few hundred dollars of company stock into more than $7 million simply by saving, reinvesting dividends, and staying patient over time.
Her name was Grace Groner, and her story is a reminder that wealth has more to do with consistency than income.
She bought those shares in 1935 for about $180 (roughly $4,000 to $5,000 today) — and by the time she passed in 2010, they had grown into millions.
And a longtime UPS employee, Theodore Johnson, built an estimated $70 million fortune after retiring — even though he never earned more than about $14,000 a year (equivalent to $60,000 – $70,000 today).
He simply saved regularly, invested wisely, and let time and compound interest do their thing.
These stories go back decades, but the lesson is timeless:
even with ordinary salaries, consistent saving and smart investing can yield extraordinary results.
It’s proof that wealth isn’t about what you earn; it’s about what you keep — and what you do with it.
Why Saving Comes Before Everything Else
Now that we’re on this financial-literacy journey together, we’re going to start diving deeper into the core pillars of financial literacy as we move forward.
They are Cash Flow, Investing, Insurance, Budgeting, and Debt Management — and I like to add one more: Money Mindset, because how you think about money shapes every decision you make.
But here’s the thing: every single one of those pillars depends on a critical factor — you need to have something left over from your paycheck.
That “something left” (what we call discretionary funds) is what fuels each pillar.
Without savings and investments, you’re simply waiting on the next paycheck — and that’s what we call living paycheck to paycheck.
That can become dangerous if an unexpected expense happens or you miss a paycheck.
And we need savings and investments because, if we’re lucky, we’ll all be blessed to grow older — and eventually most of us will want or need to retire.
Saving and doing the right things with your savings gives you options.
The more you keep, the more choices you have later.
How Much Should I Be Saving?
A common rule of thumb for saving is the 50/30/20 rule — a simple way to structure your budget:
50 % — Essentials: rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, transportation, insurance
30 % — Discretionary spending: the fun stuff — dining out, streaming, hobbies, self-care, travel, shopping
20 % — Savings and investments: your emergency fund, retirement accounts, and long-term goals
Money Dearest Note
While insurance is essential, modern-day life-insurance policies can do so much more than just provide protection.
Cash-value life insurance can serve two purposes — providing essential protection while quietly growing money behind the scenes. So even though premiums fall under “essentials,” the cash-value side is building wealth in the background. That means part of what you normally consider an “essential” expense is actually contributing to your savings and investments, too.
And when your insurance doubles as a retirement tool with liquidity, it can lighten the load on your budget — and even create more room for your 30% discretionary bucket, the “fun money.”
This model is a guideline, not a hard rule — and for many people, it’s aspirational at first.
If things feel tight, start by assessing where the squeeze is happening. Are essentials eating most of your paycheck?
Or is debt cutting into what could be savings or discretionary spending?
If that’s the case, focus first on creating breathing room — trim non-essentials or tackle high-interest debt.
As your debt decreases, you can shift more into savings and investing.
But if 20% feels out of reach right now, start with 5–10%.
It’s the habit that counts in the beginning, not the percentage — start small and stay steady. Just build the habit. Even tiny, consistent deposits grow into big freedom over time.
And if you can do more, you probably should.
The more money you can put to work in smart saving and investing opportunities — and the earlier you start — the better your results will be.
Build Your Emergency Fund — Your Real-Life Safety Net
Before we send that money off to go work for us, we’ve got to hold a little back for emergencies.
Because life happens — and it rarely sends a calendar invite first.
Things like:
a surprise car repair
medical bills
job loss or furlough
an unexpected expense for your home or family
The goal is simple: when something happens, you don’t have to reach for a credit card, drain your retirement account, or panic.
You already have a cushion — your emergency fund.
Most experts recommend three to six months of essential expenses — enough to cover the basics: housing, utilities, food, transportation, and insurance.
Remember, this comes out of that 20 % bucket for saving and investing, and many experts suggest building your emergency savings first before you begin investing.
Start small and build in stages:
Maybe start with: $1,000 — your first quick buffer for life’s little surprises
Then build to: one month of expenses — your starter safety net
Finally: three to six months — your full comfort zone
Keep your emergency fund liquid — easy to access when you need it.
You don’t want to have to sell off a stock just to get your car fixed.
A high-yield savings account or money-market account is ideal: it earns a higher rate of interest than a traditional account but still lets you withdraw easily in a true emergency.
If you want to explore different account options, there are lots of sites that compare them for you. One example is NerdWallet’s High-Yield Savings Comparison:
You want your emergency fund to earn something while staying fully liquid — accessible without taking a loss or paying a fee to get to it.
Money Dearest Note
Some life-insurance policies — such as cash value or indexed universal life (IUL) — let you borrow against your policy without ever being required to pay the loan back during your lifetime.
Your cash value can even continue to grow while you borrow from it. And if you choose not to repay the loan, the amount is simply deducted from the policy’s death benefit later.
It’s one of the few financial tools that can give you access to money when you need it — without interrupting your long-term growth.
Remember: your emergency fund isn’t there to make you rich — it’s simply a relatively small portion of your savings that’s meant to give you quick access to cash in a true emergency and keep you and your household afloat.
Develop the Habit of Investing — In Your Future
Once your bills are paid and your emergency fund is in place for the “hair on fire” moments, it’s time to start putting the rest of your savings to work — because emergency savings alone won’t build wealth.
This is where investing comes in.
Think of this money as your workhorse — it’s not for spending.
Its entire job is to make money.
Picture that you owned a goose that lays golden eggs.
If that goose could bring in thousands of dollars a month for life, you wouldn’t hand it over for a weekend getaway or a pair of diamond studs. You’d protect it.
Because that goose could pay for all of that — and more — if you let it keep doing its thing.
The same goes for the money in your investment account — your golden-egg producers.
You want to put that workhorse money somewhere with the potential for higher returns and the magic of compound interest — interest that earns more interest over time.
With time and consistency, your investments can grow into a future income source — a financial cushion that gives you options later in life.
This is where the stock market comes in… and also tools like cash-value life insurance and annuities.
Investing wisely (or using investment alternatives like cash value life insurance) is the vehicle that ensures you’ll have money when you’re no longer working — and it can also be the legacy you leave to your loved ones.
And the best part? You don’t have to be wealthy to begin.
You just have to start — with what you have, where you are.
Think of investing as your long-term plan to make sure you can always take care of you.
How to Start Investing (Even with a Small Amount)
Let’s be real — a lot of people hesitate to invest because they think they need a big lump sum to get started.
Not true.
Or they think they need a stockbroker or have to be a financial wiz.
Neither are true.
You can begin with what you have and grow from there — thanks to modern investing platforms, you can start with as little as $5 or $10 a week in a broad ETF like the S&P 500 ETF on platforms such as Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, Robinhood, or SoFi.
The key isn’t how much you start with — it’s that you start something.
Develop the habit and build your saving and investing muscles.
Start with what’s familiar — your job benefits.
If your employer offers a 401(k) or the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), start there and contribute enough to get the employer match — that’s literally free money.
If you’re self-employed or want to invest outside of work, open a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA.
Use low-cost, diversified options.
Skip trying to pick the next hot stock — instead, look at ETFs or index funds.
They hold dozens (sometimes hundreds) of companies, giving you instant diversification — like buying a slice of the entire market instead of betting on one company.
You can start on platforms like Vanguard, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Robinhood, Webull, or Acorns.
Be consistent — and expect market fluctuations.
Investing small amounts regularly (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly) — regardless of what the market is doing — is called dollar-cost averaging.
It reduces risk and keeps you from trying to “time the market.”
By investing the same amount on a set schedule, you buy more when prices are low and less when they’re high — and over time, it balances out.
Over the long term, it’s one of the easiest, most effective ways to grow wealth.
Stay patient — because investing is a long game.
Markets rise and fall — that’s normal. Historically, though, they trend upward over time.
The secret? Staying in long enough to let compound interest work its magic.
Money Dearest Note
You don’t need to obsess over the stock market every day to be successful.
You just need a plan, patience, and the habit of paying yourself first — because future-you will thank present-you in a big way.
When You’re Ready to Level Up — Consider Getting Help Investing
Once you’ve built the habit of saving and started investing on your own, you might reach a point where you want more strategy — or maybe you’ve built enough assets that you’d rather have a professional manage things for you.
That’s where Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) come in.
They’re licensed professionals who help clients build portfolios, manage money, and create long-term plans for goals like retirement, taxes, and wealth transfer.
The key difference between RIAs and brokers or financial sales representatives is simple but important:
RIAs are fiduciaries — meaning they’re legally required to act in your best interest.
They don’t just make recommendations; they legally have to ensure those recommendations truly fit you and your long-term goals.
A good adviser can help with:
Building an investment strategy based on your goals, timeline, and risk comfort
Managing your portfolio and providing access to highly trained professional advice that guides their decisions
Rebalancing and adjusting your investments as your life changes (new job, business, retirement)
Helping you stay calm and focused when the market gets emotional
If you’re not quite ready for a personal adviser, there are plenty of ways to bridge the gap:
Robo-advisors like Betterment, Wealthfront, and Fidelity Go automatically build and manage a diversified portfolio for you.
They rebalance behind the scenes based on your goals and risk tolerance — for a low fee.
Hybrid advisors blend automation with a human touch.
You get the efficiency of a robo-advisor plus access to a real financial planner when you want guidance.
And if you like being hands-on, you can absolutely manage your own investments via a self-directed brokerage account through platforms like Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity, Webull, or Public.
The goal isn’t to have the fanciest setup — it’s to find a system that fits your lifestyle and keeps your money growing while you’re out there living your life.
It’s Not Where You Start — It’s Where You Finish
How many times have we heard stories about the lottery winner or celebrity who went broke? Having a lot of money doesn’t guarantee you’ll end up with wealth.
At the end of the day, it isn’t always about how much you make — it’s about what you keep and what you do with it.
You could make six or even seven figures and still struggle if every dollar leaves your hands.
Or you could earn modestly, yet build stability and wealth — simply by being intentional about saving and investing.
The truth is, the amount you start with matters far less than the habits you build.
Because much like it’s not what you make but what you keep —
it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.
Friendly reminder: This is for education, not personal financial advice. Everyone’s money situation is different, and any decisions should be based on personal research or speaking with a licensed professional about your individual situation.
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