How Growing up Poor made me a Millionaire 

Kristy grew up in poverty in rural China. She did not have running water, indoor plumbing and lots of other comforts we take for granted in the West. Her entire family was living on $0.44 per day. The family struggled during the communist regime and eventually was able to move to Canada when Kristy was 8 years old. 

I learned Kristy’s story from her recent book “Quit Like a Millionaire”. That book is worth its weight in gold - it’s straightforward, concise and it contains a wealth of personal finance information. Kristy is a personal finance geek with a lovely dry sense of humor. Even though it is still very new, Kristy’s book has already achieved #1 best-seller status in multiple Amazon categories. We recommend “Quit like a Millionaire” on our website as it makes an excellent guide for immigrants. 

Quit like a Millionaire is exactly what Kristy and her husband Bryce did when they were 31 and 32 years old, respectively. Now Kristy is Canada’s youngest retiree.  What’s the secret? The couple worked relentlessly, saved as much as they could, invested in index funds and accumulated their first million dollars in assets. They decided not to pursue the American dream of homeownership. Instead they focused 100% on investments. In 2015 Kristy and Bryce retired early and went off to travel the world. They have been at it for about 4 years now and things are going quite well. 

Kristy’s Journey  

Kristy’s dad went to Canada by himself for a study abroad opportunity when she was 5 years old. Originally, immigration was not a part of the plan. Then the Tiananmen Square protests took place in 1989, as the political situation in China quickly unraveled. Kristy’s dad realized that he needed to get his family out of the country and applied for immigration. 

Kristy arrived in Canada when she was 8 years old. She witnessed snow for the first time in her life. She was very impressed by indoor heating, hot showers, clean water and pristine cleanliness everywhere. She was blown away by the blue sky in Canada vs. the smog-filled yellow sky that she was accustomed to in China. 

The move was not easy on her parents, especially her mom who struggled with a lack of education and the language barrier. Her mom was not earning much – she could only houseclean or wash dishes in restaurant kitchens. Kristy’s dad was doing postdoctoral research, so his earnings were close to minimum wage. 

The family often sent money to China to financially support relatives back home. They were not consuming much, preferred to buy used items, and picked up furniture that others had discarded at the curb. This was not a big deal for them. Above all, they were grateful to be in a safe, comfortable place. 

Scarcity Mindset 

Kristy dreamed of being a writer. When it was time to choose a degree, she didn’t feel like she could decide based on her passion because her nuclear and extended family depended on her. She had to make a mathematical decision, based on what she calls a “POT” or Pay-Over-Tuition Score. With this approach you calculate how much the tuition cost versus what you expect to get paid once you graduate, in order to estimate return on investment for a degree. 

This process has served Kristy well because as a writer you do not make much money, and if she had chosen to pursue writing, she would have dragged herself and her family back into poverty. To this day a lot of Kristy’s decisions are based on practical considerations and on pure math. 

Another acronym Kristy developed is CRAP. 

It’s also linked to the Scarcity Mindset; which people don’t always appreciate. 

“By growing up poor, I developed Creativity, Resilience, Adaptability, Perseverance — or CRAP” 

These skills helped Kristy move forward in her journey:  

Creativity drove Kristy to read books when she couldn’t afford to go out and see a movie, which in turn, developed her lifelong love of books and eventually helped her realize her dream of becoming a writer.  Resilience helped Kristy stay the course while pursuing a technical degree she didn’t particularly enjoy.  Adaptability was instrumental when her family had to move a lot from one rental to another. This consequently helps her travel the world with ease because she is now easily adaptable.  Perseverance helped her when she was on a mission to become financially independent, writing a book and pursuing her passion projects. 

Kristy’s FIRE – Financial Independence, Retire Early

Initially Kristy and Bryce were going to follow a conventional path; although real estate in Toronto was prohibitively expensive. This made them question status quo even though they both had secured stable engineering jobs. She observed how her industry was lacking stability and work-life balance. Instead of buying a house, they found FIRE. The first personal finance blog that inspired them was from Pete, aka Mr. Money Mustache. The second blog they were exposed to was from best-selling author JL Collins. 

To figure out the size of portfolio needed for early retirement, you take your annual expenses and multiply them by 25. This is called the rule of 25 or the 4% rule, which is the recommended annual withdrawal rate from the said portfolio. 

Bryce shared this math with Kristy and gave her the idea of retiring early. She was initially skeptical, however she redid the math numerous times and ultimately decided to go down that path. Driven by the Scarcity Mindset, Kristy was scared to put her money into the stock market. Getting over that fear was the biggest hurdle in her pursuit of financial freedom. 

“If you figure out the money, life is incredibly easy. If you do not figure out the money, life can be incredibly hard”

There was no “how to” recipe for this – the couple referred to blogs and books on investing. This was not an overnight success. It took them 9 years to learn about investing and practice their skills. They started investing in 2008 so they also had to learn the hard way how to survive a downturn. 

After their investment portfolio recovered from the financial crisis, Kristy made a mistake of pulling out most of the cash and having it sit for 3 years while they contemplated purchasing a home. Even with that mistake, they were still able to retire early. This was a valuable learning experience. 

Early retirement has changed Kristy’s perception of money. As a result, she now has more of an Abundance Mindset. Her parents are slowly coming to terms with her lifestyle and getting interested in investing themselves. Kristy and Bryce are finding their tribe in the international FIRE community, as they continue to explore the world abroad. 

Advice for Fellow Immigrants 

“Learn now to invest and get into the market as early as possible. Pinch every penny and learn so your money can make money”. Kristy and Bryce offer a FREE workshop teaching investing step-by-step and how to build a portfolio like theirs at https://www.millennial-revolution.com/investworkshop/. 

“Don’t think that the Scarcity Mindset will hurt you. Think about it from a different perspective and it might actually make you a Millionaire!”

Resources Mentioned 

Books (affiliate links)

Quit Like a Millionaire 

The Simple Path to Wealth 

Blogs 

Mad Fientist https://www.madfientist.com/

“Pete’s blog” https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ 

“Jim’s blog” https://jlcollinsnh.com/

Podcasts 

ChooseFI https://www.choosefi.com/

Connect with Kristy 

Website: www.millennial-revolution.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FIRECracker_Rev

FB: https://www.facebook.com/MillennialRevolutionBlog

Reader case analysis https://www.millennial-revolution.com/contact-us/

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