Thrifty habits put retirement in reach for child-care worker

After devoting most of her working life to a rewarding but modestly paying career in child care, Darlene Bakes was understandably worried about her retirement.

Bakes, 62, hit the financial peak of her career six years ago, when she became the full-time director of the Parent-Child Center at Shoreline Community College. She currently makes $56,788 a year.

She doesnt have a deep investment portfolio loaded with securities and properties. Instead, her wealth is almost entirely in her Seattle house, built in 1928, and retirement-savings accounts from work.

When could she retire? How could she do it?

I was thinking about it a lot, Bakes said.

At that point, she volunteered for a free money makeover by a member of the Puget Sound Chapter of the Financial Planning Association. Bakes was contacted by Carlos Lopez, an Eastside private-wealth manager with Kansas-based Creative Planning.

Lopez examined Bakes goals and finances, and much to her surprise declared her financially independent, which means she has the resources to support herself throughout retirement.

For Bakes, working is no longer a necessity, but a choice.

How did she do it? Lopez said Bakes built a solid nest egg by controlling her expenses, taking full advantage of retirement-saving plans at work and saving money whenever possible.

She saved diligently, despite her circumstances, Lopez said.

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Thrifty habits put retirement in reach for child-care worker