This summer, Personal Capital gave away a Tesla to one household that uses our free finance tools. The winners have been selected: Jared and Bethany of Illinois received their Tesla in advance of the holiday season.
We sat down with Jared to talk about how he and Bethany are driving their family’s financial future.
1. Define what financial freedom looks like for you.
“Basically, financial freedom for me is not having to totally fret about money. It’s having enough to give to friends and family who are in need, and to my church and charities I care about.
“A big step toward financial freedom was when I didn’t have to worry about paying off the credit cards anymore. That took a huge weight off my shoulders.
“It’s about retirement as well – making sure we have enough and aren’t going to be biting our nails.”
2. Enjoy the fruits of your labor now.
“My wife and I are coming up on our 20-year anniversary, so we’ll definitely be going on some special trips. After we won the Tesla, we went to the dealership to drive it around. Oh man, that was a lot of fun.
“Last year I was starting to think we’d be a one-car family for a long time. We’ve been thinking about getting a smaller car, but it’s something we put off. I would’ve bought some used car for a few thousand and that would’ve worked just fine. But I’m about to have a Tesla; I can hardly believe it.”
3. Teach your kids smart money practices.
“Talking about finances with my kids is important to me. I got myself into a hole with debt and climbed out, and I’m trying to pass along the idea to spend what you have.
“My son is about to get his driver’s license. He’s already asking if he’s going to be able to drive the Tesla. If he behaves, I may use that as an incentive.”
4. Plan for your future.
“After paying off credit-card debt, we started saving more for retirement. The next step will be paying off the house, which isn’t super far away.
“I’ve used the Retirement Planner to check out projections on how much I’d have for retirement.
“My retirement will be family-focused, maybe a touch of travel. I have five kids, and I’m excited to raise them and see what happens in their lives.”
This is an unpaid endorsement of an individual who uses Personal Capital’s free financial tools. This individual is not a client of Personal Capital Advisors Corporation (“PCAC”).