Woman had ‘Mini Retirement’ at 38 after amassing $2m Net Worth

A woman has revealed her financial tips and tricks that allowed her to quit her job at the age of 38 and go three years without working.

Sabina Horrocks was able to enjoy a three-year break from work following the birth of her daughter in 2021.

By then, she and her husband had amassed a net worth of around $2 million, with both bringing in six-figure incomes in addition to managing a rental business.

Sabina said: “We didn’t do anything extraordinary – I’d say the way we became millionaires is quite boring.

“That’s the thing I think most people don’t understand. Becoming wealthy isn’t hustles, dealmaking and flash. It’s discipline and consistency over time.”

On her blog, The Moneyaires, Sabina said her and her husband’s combined income in 2007 was $80,000.

But by 2020, they “managed to make it to millionaire status”.

Sabina grew up in a lower middle-class family in the Chicago suburbs. While she never went hungry, she revealed that her parents lived a modest lifestyle.

She managed to get a scholarship for her first two years at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she double majored in political science and history.

Sabina went on to get her MBA from Chicago’s DePaul University.

It is estimated that the programme costs just under $35,000.

Sabina met her husband and they eventually married in a low-cost ceremony once they both secured corporate jobs.

From there, they figured out how to optimise their financial future, taking it day by day.

She said: “I had never thought about our future financial goals.

“Nobody’s ever really talked about in my house, aside from affording certain things.”

While growing up, her family was “always trying to save, and my parents would go to four grocery stores on the weekends to save $3 on bread and eggs”.

As an adult, it wasn’t too hard of a leap to fall into financially savvy habits with her husband.

When the pair were ready to buy a property of their own, they opted for a one-bedroom condo for $137,000.

When they were ready to upgrade, they resisted glossy condominiums in downtown Chicago and instead bought a house in the suburbs for half the cost.

Sabina told Business Insider: “My husband and I have always worked together as a team, and we’ve treated finances in our marriage like a business.

“We’ve always had transparency, goals, and shared effort.

“We treat income as household income, not mine or yours. I personally don’t understand how marriages can survive with no transparency and a ‘my’ mentality.”

While climbing the corporate ladder, they continued managing rental properties, even successfully navigating the 2008 housing bubble burst.

In the aftermath of the housing crash – which saw the value of their home plummet by $60,000 – Sabina admitted that the pair may have gone overboard on budgeting, even selling one of their cars, while also scaling back simple pleasures like nights out with friends.

When housing prices were low, they briefly acquired more rental properties but Sabina’s husband hated managing them, and they eventually sold their holdings and put the money in retirement.

In total, their combined net worth is now nearly $2 million.

It’s spread between about $1.16 million in retirement accounts, $460,000 in an after-tax brokerage account, $250,000 in home equity, $30,000 in an HSA, $25,000 in a 529 and $25,000 in savings.

When she quit her job in 2021, Sabina had been earning $120,000.

One day while facing eight hours of meetings, she realised she’d much prefer to spend time with her baby.

Her husband was earning enough to support them all if she took time off and he encouraged her to do so. 

Sabina found herself finally able to enjoy a mini retirement, even recently taking a transatlantic cruise with her daughter and mother.

She added: “We’re at a point now where we’re able to do things like that, and I think it was because, in our 20s, we made some big sacrifices.”