This story is part of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money series, which details how people around the world earn, spend and save their money.
By their early 40s, Jenna Bhaloo and Neil Desai plan to attain a net worth of $2.5 million.
That’s how much the couple — who are currently both 30 with no children — estimates they’ll need to reach financial independence.
For them, that means “being able to make changes in our life, whether that means taking a sabbatical for six months or doing another career change just because we can. That’s what we’re interested in, and not having to worry about where the money is coming from,” Bhaloo tells CNBC Make It.
With around $885,500 currently invested, they’re well on their way.
Bhaloo and Desai both came into the relationship with healthy financial habits. But as they’ve grown together and gotten married, they’ve been focusing on establishing and chasing money goals as a team.
Together, they earned $227,071 in 2023. Bhaloo brought in $69,314 between working part-time while finishing her master’s of business administration in the beginning of the year and going full-time in July. Her annual salary is $125,000. Desai earned around $158,000 working in tech.
And while they’re working hard to reach financial independence, they’re not excessively limiting their lifestyle now to get there.
“You should be able to enjoy your life and experience all the things that you want to experience,” Bhaloo says. “You can have [your] investments go to work for you while you’re enjoying [life] and spending on the things that you love.”
Three degrees, debt-free
Holding two master’s degrees and a bachelor’s, Bhaloo is fortunate to not have any debt from her academic journey. A full-ride scholarship paid for her undergraduate studies and part of her master’s in public health from Boston University, where she graduated in 2016. Her parents helped cover the rest of the costs of her graduate studies at BU.
To earn her MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of…
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