and Mary has worked for 20 years as anOffice Manager for a small psychological firm. They started savingand investing in 1991 when their net worth was $63,000. Eight yearslater their net worth was $467,000. In other words, their assetsincreased by an average of more than $50,000 per year during thatperiod while their income (not counting dividends and capitalgains) averaged about $65,000 per year. But it wasn't always easy.They have three children, Colleen (24), Tim (22), and Meghann (14).Tim has been severely disabled since birth and despite thechallenges of helping Tim cope with his chronic illnesses, theToohey family has been able to achieve financial freedom on amodest income. They were able to build a sizable nest egg in eightyears while encountering some of life's biggest expenses during theperiod. They helped to pay for their daughter's college educationand wedding, paid cash for a new car, and made several expensivehome improvements. Despite those major expenses the Tooheys stillmanaged to save 46% of their gross income and were listed among the"Best Personal Finance Managers in America" in the December 1994issues of Money magazine. The Tooheys' story, in an article writtenby Bill, appeared in the April 1997 issue of Money magazine. Maryco-authored an article published in the February 1998 issue ofMcCall's magazine. In May, 1997 Bill was invited to speak at Moneymagazine's Elgin Project seminar series. Money magazine "adopted"Elgin, Illinois and brought in speakers with expertise in personalfinance. Former President Bush kicked off the event.How did they do it? How do they think? How do they live? Is itpossible to save so much and still have a decent life? Can myfamily do this? Get the answers to all these questions and more ina book written specifically for families with children who don'tearn big bucks.

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