Jan 30, 2025
Brittney and Quinn Sturgis are 27 and 30 years old, respectively, but they already have close to $500,000 in savings and investment accounts.
Their $263,000 combined income from their jobs in the Air Force played a big role in building their account balance, but the amount they've amassed at such a young age is impressive — especially as they live in Dixon, California and the Golden State is well-known for its high cost of living. CNBC Make It recently profiled the couple and dug into their financial habits, budget and philosophy.
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"We're not necessarily focused on trying to hit a certain number by a certain age to completely retire and then we can live our life," said Quinn. "We're very much focused on living our life now and ensuring we're taking steps to live an even better life when we are older."
Here's how the couple managed to save a fortune, all while continuing to splurge on what matters to them — like high-quality food.
How the Sturgises saved a fortune in a short time
The couple were able to save a lot more money than most people because they have advantages others don't due to their Air Force jobs. Quinn is an Air Force pilot and Brittney is a Medical Service Corps officer. Beyond their high combined income, the couple also have access to valuable military benefits including:
- A VA mortgage with no down payment for their $620,000 three-bedroom home, enabling them to invest more
- Military scholarships in college so no student debt
- A $6,732 combined tax-free housing allowance, which more than covers their $4,220/month mortgage
- Discounted childcare on the military base that costs less than $1,000 monthly
- Each get a $317 monthly tax-free food allowance
- Tricare insurance, which provides comprehensive health insurance coverage
Still, they have made the most of these advantages. They invest almost $6,000 per month into Thrift Savings Plans, Roth IRAs and their brokerage account. They are very strategic about their use of credit card rewards and points so they can earn free trips. They also autopay their credit cards on the same day each month to avoid carrying a balance.
In 2021, Brittney was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and she is still being monitored and receiving medical treatment. Due to her illness, the couple became focused on being able to enjoy life now while still saving aggressively, because not everyone gets to live to retirement.
"So in terms of getting the diagnosis at 24, it really changed my philosophy on how I wanted to financially save and spend, as well as the experiences I wanted to have. And I think getting the diagnosis really forced me to accept and maybe see that you may not reach that retirement age that you're throwing out there when you're 21 years old or something, that we have to enjoy life now, that we're taking advantage of all the moments we have together, while simultaneously preparing for the future," said Brittney.
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How can you set yourself on a similar path to success?
The Sturgises have much more money saved than the average millennial and are better prepared for retirement. Federal Reserve data from 2022 shows that American households of those 35 years old and younger have a median amount of $19,000 in their retirement accounts. For the ages 35-44, the median amount is $45,000.
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Without things like affordable VA home loans and a housing stipend, creating the impressive gains the Sturgises have may be a challenge — but any young person can adopt some of their habits to set themselves up for success.
The couple have adopted the philosophy of Ramit Sethi, a personal finance guru and author of "I Will Teach You to be Rich." As they explained, this means "spending extravagantly on the things you love, as long as you cut costs on the things that you don't." For example, the couple are passionionate about spending money on food, while they don't spend much on clothes, jewelry, or beauty items.
They also focused on investing at a very young age so they don't have to work as hard later. They said this "has put us in an outstanding position to take our foot off the gas as we get older because compound interest is doing such outstanding things for us and working so well."
The Sturgises also kept their housing costs below their budgeted amount, instead of buying as much house as they could afford, in addition to reaping benefits from credit card use without carrying a balance. These are moves anyone can make.
Adopting these habits can help get you started on your wealth-building journey and, hopefully, one day, enable you to hit the $500,000 mark and beyond.
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Christy Bieber has 15 years of experience as a personal finance and legal writer. She has written for many publications including Forbes, Kilplinger, CNN, WSJ, Credit Karma, Insurify and more.
