Retiring at 50: Could You Follow This Woman's Extreme Savings Plan?

Americans may be living longer, but our retirement plans aren’t keeping up. Which means people are living longer with smaller bank accounts.

But Marlene Konkoly will retire at age 50. How did she do it? She contributes a whopping 45 percent of the gross annual income she earns as a procurement officer for an automotive finance company to her retirement—all while owning a home and remaining debt-free.

Konkoly is actually well ahead of the retirement savings curve compared to many of her fellow Americans. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, fewer than half of Americans even know how much money they would need to retire. And nearly a third of employees who had access to a defined contribution plan such as a 401(k) did not participate in it.

“Save at least what your employer matches in your 401(k),” Konkoly said. “It’s like saying no to free money if you don’t.”

Konkoly, who lives in Royal Oak, MI, said she started saving at 22—but only because other people said she should. She saved a mere 2 percent at her first job out of college. 

“I didn’t think I could afford much. I didn’t have any understanding of savings and how it would affect my future,” she said.

$17,000 in Debt

At 27, she had $17,000 in credit card debt—but this became a turning point in her financial history.

“I made the decision right then to get myself out of debt,” she said. “I took on extra work where I could. I started to learn how to research purchases before I bought items, and I began budgeting for the first time ever. I successfully eliminated my debt five years later.”

Once she was out of credit card debt, Konkoly, who is single and has no children, turned her focus to her golden years.

“I started to see people around me who simply could not afford to ever retire,” she said. “I knew I didn’t want to be in that position, so I started applying the same principles which got me out of debt toward saving more for retirement.”

How She Got Smart

Konkoly decided to get smart: She took graduate classes in personal finance to understand her portfolio and learn about retirement savings. She reads books, researches on the Internet and follows blogs about saving and investing. And she works with a financial adviser she trusts.

“Just because I can do it myself doesn’t mean I have to,” Konkoly said. “Having a professional adviser allows me to focus on other parts of my life without the time commitment of constantly researching the market.”

Maxing Out Her 401K

Konkoly “maxes out” on everything. She contributes the maximum to her employer’s 401(k), to other retirement investments such as a Roth IRA, and to her employer’s health savings account. She also has a personal investment account for everything else except emergencies.

Fitness for $12 a Month

“My favorite fitness trainer says, ‘Nothing that is easy is ever going to change your body,’” Konkoly said. “The same principle applies to finances. If it’s easy, it won’t move the needle. Yes, it does mean I have to sacrifice in other areas, and sometimes it makes me uncomfortable thinking of all the things I can buy with that money, but I remain focused on my goals to counteract that discomfort.”

To really maximize her savings, Konkoly uses coupons, and takes advantage of loyalty programs, travel miles and credit card points. She streams television on the Internet rather than paying for cable, and subscribes to a $12-a-month fitness video on-demand service instead of a gym membership.

She Pays Herself First

“I put savings at a higher priority than all of the other creature comforts,” she said.

Her One Splurge

She does, however, splurge now and then, and her ultimate passion is travel. For her 40^th birthday last year, she spent 10 days traveling to Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. She stayed in nothing but five-star resorts, and spent a total of $1,400 on airfare, accommodations, meals and train transportation.

In her retirement, Konkoly plans to continue to travel the world, and says she would love to relocate to Sausalito, CA “for the wonderful weather and gorgeous views of San Francisco Bay.”

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About this series: As part of our Smart Spending reporting, Patch is profiling people across the country who have found creative ways to save money. Are you an extreme saver? We want to hear from you! Share your story here or in the comments section below, and check out how some local Patch readers get creative while saving a buck or two.

Shawn T. Silly things that I do that people roll their eyes at are: Saving used (if it wasn't for something nasty) ziplock baggies and bread bags (I use those to pick up doggie droppings because the store bought ones are expensive and shopping bags always have holes)... Sour cream containers make great containers for beads or other small crafts... Yogurt containers and used toilet paper rolls (cut four slits in the bottom them fold them up and it gives you a nice base) are used for planting seeds for my garden. 

Justin V. We have four kids, so maximizing money is ALWAYS a priority..I've found that by going to Sams Club..I can buy all the lunch box stuff I need as well as meal planning..I figured out that I can buy a whole boneless Pork Loin for around $15..I then clean it myself and freeze the porkchops..I usually get 18 porkchops and a roast out of the loin. if you just take the porkchop issue into play, you pay around the same price per lb. At the grocery store. However a family pack of chops will run you almost 12 dollars. And they almost have the bone in..which just makes the weight more but u get the same amount of meet..I also love Ultra Foods..their produce is their only knock..for that I go to one of the Mexican stores or Jewel..

Crystal E. We actually bought a cow and had it butchered we split a whole cow between 4 families giving us 250 pounds of beef. They also package it according to you families if you want 2 lbs of ground beef or 5 lbs. If you need 5 steaks per package or 2. It is such a blessing because it has saved us tons of money on meat this farm was free range and hormone free the meat is so different then store bought in looks and taste. 250 lbs of meat cost me $410 and cutting and packaging was $126. So $536 for a years worth of beef, although that is $2.14 a pound.

Yovette S. Movies in the Park... Movies are free and you take your own concessions.

Kristy G. Use the library for books and films...the price is right. (Do remember to return them on time tho.) If your library doesn't have something you want, ask at the desk to see if they can "interlibrary loan" it from some library where it isn't being used. Often that's true.

Sherri H. Use your public library card. We have saved thousands of dollars over the years with this one simple strategy. You can check-out books, movies, magazines, music and so much more. You can also preview video-games, exercise videos, travel guides, etc., before you decide to purchase them for your family, or as a gift. There are also many interesting programs for your kids, or for yourself at little to no cost. A GREAT way to save money!

Gloria L. I do a realistic monthly dinner menu, we buy only what we need and it has cut down our grocery spending by at least 75% I also started using cloth diapers so we only need to buy a box of disposables every other month.