Living On $280K A Year In Fort Worth, TX | Millennial Money

Terrence Bilodeau, 35, lives in Fort Worth, Texas, and earns $280,000 a year as a real estate appraiser and landlord. He owns 12 properties that are worth about $2.75 million. Here's a look at how Bilodeau built his career in real estate and how he spends his money.

This is an installment of CNBC Make It's Millennial Money series, which profiles people across the U.S. and details how they earn, spend and save their money.

Read more about his budget breakdown here

The 35-year-old real estate appraiser based in Fort Worth, Texas, checks his net worth monthly to see how far he is from his goal of $10 million. He's well on his way: As of January 2020, when CNBC Make It reviewed his finances, he's worth about $1.3 million, he says. He expects to hit $3 million in the next two to four years and $10 million by the time he's 50.

Growing up with a single mother, Bilodeau never felt financially secure, as the family struggled to make ends meet. Today, he views money as a way to make his life better. He invests most of his income in real estate and the stock market. The little bit of discretionary spending he does allow himself includes hiring landscapers to care for his yard, a housekeeper to clean his house and a monthly membership to a local spa where he gets massages. It's worth it, he says, so he can spend what little down time he does have with friends and family, or just relaxing.

Not that he has much. Bilodeau works seven days a week running his business, and he never takes vacations because he doesn't want to lose any income. Any time he takes off is time he's not getting paid. He plans to relax once he achieves more of his goals, which includes someday starting a family.

Bilodeau brought in a combined $370,000 last year as a real estate appraiser and realtor, and paid himself a salary of $280,000 from those earnings. As an appraiser, he works on behalf of banks to determine current and accurate property values.

His income is largely determined by how much time he puts in because he works for himself and charges per appraisal. Appraisals typically cost about $450, but he charges up to $2,500 for complex projects. The most he's ever billed in a month is $50,000, but most months it's around $30,000.

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Living On $280K A Year In Fort Worth, TX | Millennial Money