Magazine clipping, Still salting it away in their sixties, Money Magazine, December 19, 1995

The Goyneses save 15% Still salting it away in their sixties Who says you stop saving once your peak-earning fifties are history? Not Theron and Naomi Goynes, 66 and 61, who are still saving roughly 1 5 % of their $130,000 income. Theron retired after 27 years as a school administrator but now works part time as assistant mayor of North Las Vegas. Naomi is an assistant principal at a North Las Vegas middle school and has no immediate plans to scale back. Says Theron: "Now that we are financially secure, we want to keep earning so we can help our grandchildren as much as possible." Credit the Goyneses' enviable posi-tion largely to 30 years of diligent sav-ings. Back in 1964 they began putting away $50 a month in a savings account. As their income grew, they gradually boosted their savings, despite the cost of putting three children through col-lege. "You're never too young to start saving," says Naomi. Fortunately, good habits are as hard as bad ones to break. Each month the Goyneses now funnel $1,600 into their credit union savings account and a tax-sheltered an-nuity invested in stocks. All told, they have amassed $200,000. In addition, they also tuck away $100 a month in U.S. Savings Bonds for each of their three grandchildren, a fund that now totals more than $10,000. "We believe that education is the key to all good fortune," says Theron, "and we want our grandchildren to have as many op-portunities as possible." The couple weren't always model savers, however. Twenty years ago they found themselves $50,000 in debt on nine credit cards. "As soon as we ran up the limit on one card, we'd start on the next one," says Theron. So they called a halt to their spending, cut up all but two credit cards and consolidated their debts with a credit union loan. It took six years to pay off the debt, but they managed to keep up their monthly sav-ings during that time. "We sat down and made a list of our wants vs. our needs," says Theron, "and we decided to make some sacrifices." These days, the Goyneses still enjoy spending, but in moderation. "I have a weakness for suits," Theron admits, while Naomi loves to buy shoes. The Goyneses own five cars and recently also spent $20,000 to fix up their five-bedroom, $180,000 house. The couple have boosted their debt load too, but not excessively. In 1990, Theron took out a $57,000 tax-deductible home-equity loan to pay off the note on his '91 Mercedes and pay down a $17,000 MasterCard bill from his children's three weddings. Even so, the Goyneses can afford a few extravagances. When they both fi-nally retire, perhaps in 1997, they will pull in an annual retirement income of more than $90,000 from their annuity and inflation-adjusted pensions, plus Social Security. Jokes Theron: "Our children kid us that when we pass on, they're going to live well." A P E N N Y S A V E D ! The Goyneses say you should start saving now even if you can put away only a few dollars each month. No matter how small the amount, they note, it will still add up.