Blog launched by couple to advise millennials on getting their first million dollars generates much controversy
Couple Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung invested their half-a-million dollars in savings four years ago, and since then, the duo has continuously saved and invested their funds rather than purchase and settle down on a home in Toronto.
The couple subsequently launched their advice blog, ostensibly to help millennials reach the goal of being retired millionaires in their 30s—generating no small amount of controversy in the process.
“Nobody should ever follow this advice. Complete garbage,” an anonymous reader wrote in the comments section of a CBC story that first reported on the duo’s exploits.
“Ahhh … the good old shallow selfie generation telling us how to live our lives,” another said.
“This is a very unique case where the couple must have had mommy and daddy pay for 100 per cent of their education,” still another reader said. “Not to mention they likely lived in mommy and daddy's house while saving that 500k.”
And even those who have commended the couple for reaching their goals via investment are questioning Shen and Leung’s decision not to get their own home.
Sean Cooper, who made headlines late last year when he outlined the tale of how he paid off his $255,000 mortgage in three years via exceptional frugality, noted that other smaller properties are still available for those who don’t want to burn off their budgets completely.
“If you're willing to work hard and be disciplined, then you can buy a house, too,” Cooper said.
The couple’s financial adviser Garth Turner noted in a blog post last week that “[they] hoovered up every scrap of cash from every source and jammed them into their [stock] portfolio,” while adding in jest that they are also “tireless self-promoters and reasonably irritating juvenile 1%-ers.”
“Missing from the [reports] was the fevered level of saving these two crazed beavers exhibited as I worked with them,” Turner wrote.
Debt expert Doug Hoyes noted that in an age of ever-increasing costs of living, people aren’t exactly receptive towards what he called “self-professed financial wizards”.
“Obviously, we're envious of it. We'd all like to have more money,” Hoyes said. “It's just the stress of the times coming out.
“We're all starting from a different spot. And I think that breeds frustration when we see someone who has apparently had a bit of a head start.”
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The couple subsequently launched their advice blog, ostensibly to help millennials reach the goal of being retired millionaires in their 30s—generating no small amount of controversy in the process.
“Nobody should ever follow this advice. Complete garbage,” an anonymous reader wrote in the comments section of a CBC story that first reported on the duo’s exploits.
“Ahhh … the good old shallow selfie generation telling us how to live our lives,” another said.
“This is a very unique case where the couple must have had mommy and daddy pay for 100 per cent of their education,” still another reader said. “Not to mention they likely lived in mommy and daddy's house while saving that 500k.”
And even those who have commended the couple for reaching their goals via investment are questioning Shen and Leung’s decision not to get their own home.
Sean Cooper, who made headlines late last year when he outlined the tale of how he paid off his $255,000 mortgage in three years via exceptional frugality, noted that other smaller properties are still available for those who don’t want to burn off their budgets completely.
“If you're willing to work hard and be disciplined, then you can buy a house, too,” Cooper said.
The couple’s financial adviser Garth Turner noted in a blog post last week that “[they] hoovered up every scrap of cash from every source and jammed them into their [stock] portfolio,” while adding in jest that they are also “tireless self-promoters and reasonably irritating juvenile 1%-ers.”
“Missing from the [reports] was the fevered level of saving these two crazed beavers exhibited as I worked with them,” Turner wrote.
Debt expert Doug Hoyes noted that in an age of ever-increasing costs of living, people aren’t exactly receptive towards what he called “self-professed financial wizards”.
“Obviously, we're envious of it. We'd all like to have more money,” Hoyes said. “It's just the stress of the times coming out.
“We're all starting from a different spot. And I think that breeds frustration when we see someone who has apparently had a bit of a head start.”
Related Stories:
Financial advisor warns against pinning one's hopes on housing
Keeping a cool head a must amid overheated markets – analysis
