(Note: This article was inspired by the Millionaires in the Making section on CNNMoney.)

It’s not always easy to manage your finances when you’re working 80-100 hours a week. But the long hours haven’t kept John and Jane Spendalot from setting their sites on some lofty financial goals.

“We think by the time we’re 40 we can have a positive net worth,” says Jane, 28.

Lawyers in Love

The two met three years ago as first year associates at the prestigious Los Angeles law firm of Shall, Oh & Profligate. Law school, of course, is not cheap and the Spendalots felt the full brunt of a legal education in the pocketbooks, graduating with almost $250,000 in student loan debt combined. Thankfully, the large student loans allowed them to snare even larger salaries—John, 28, and Jane make $150,000 a year, each. Despite the large salaries, saving money isn’t as easy as one would expect, they say.

Where Does the Money Go?

The Spendalots are avid travelers. Working long hours leaves them pining for the road. Financed mostly by credit cards, the Spendalots have seen much of the world the last few years—France, Germany, Japan, Thailand, Spain, and Greece, to name a few recent jaunts.

The Spendalots also recently purchased his and her Porsches. At almost $70,000 a piece, the cars weren’t cheap, but they say they expect to keep the cars for a very long time.

“At least until they’re paid off in four years,” says John. “By then the navigation system will probably be outdated. And I thought it was going to be a bit cheesy to have his and her cars, but to paraphrase Johnny Drama from Entourage:

‘We’d look like schmucks in Jettas. In Porsches, we look good.’

“Man, I love him,” says John.

Investing in a Home

After getting married last year, the Spendalots set their sites on a home in Manhattan Beach, CA. They finally settled on a five bedroom, four bath house for $1.6 million.

“My father always used to say that a home is a great investment,” says John. “And I wanted to be responsible, so I figured we should get the biggest house we could find.”

“Yeah, we don’t have any kids, so we don’t really need five bedrooms,” says Jane. “But there’s a chance one day we might decide to have kids; maybe when we’re done practicing law. Although, I guess I might be too old by that point. Maybe we’ll adopt one of those poor kids like Angelina. I love her.”

The Mortgage

When it came time to financing the home, the Spendalots selected a zero-down, 30-year mortgage, with interest only payments the first ten years.

“I was flipping through the channels one night and that Susie Gorman lady was on CNBC. She was talking about how mortgage interest is deductible,” says John. “I figured the more interest we paid, the larger our tax deduction, so we’re saving money there.”

The strategy, thus far, hasn’t worked out in the Spendalots’ favor. In the year since they purchased their home, similar houses in their neighborhood have been selling for up to 10% less. Since they didn’t put any money down on the home, the Spendalots now suspect they owe quite a bit more than their home is actually worth.

“We’re not too worried, though,” says Jane. “I expect by next year home prices will start increasing by 15-20% again. You know, like normal.”

The Future

As it stands, the Sepndalots currently have a net worth of -$600,000, a rather low amount given their earning power. They do recognize that it’s important to save for retirement and have been devising a strategy.

“We’d like to start saving, but we really want to get out of debt first,” says Jane.

“We’re making the payments on our student loans and we figure that once those are paid off—in 2034—we’re going to take the money we were paying on student loans and then put that toward our credit cards. It’s called a ‘debt snow job’ or something. Some guy on the radio was talking about it. Then, we plan to start putting away money for retirement.”

Saving Money

The Spendalots realize that the best way to get ahead is to cut back on their spending. Although she doesn’t go grocery shopping much (the couple eats out most of the time), Jane has started bringing coupons with her to the grocery store when she does go.

“It’s a lot of fun,” she says. “I never thought I would be one to clip coupons, but I really got into it. I even bought this cute little Fendi handbag that I call my ‘Coupon Caddy’ to carry all my stuff in.”

“And the bag will look GREAT when we’re in Rome next month.”



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