@cnn: Abbey Graf has saved a sizable sum for her age and income. She readily describes herself as frugal. Her two main savings goals are to possibly buy a house and retire comfortably – maybe even retire early. To those ends, she tries to keep a tight rein on her spending today and save aggressively. Abbey is a contractor who works full time as a food stamp policy analyst for the state of Wisconsin. But as a contractor, she doesn't qualify for the state pension or have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan or matching contributions. After speaking with the 28-year-old for the first time and reviewing her financial situation, certified financial planner Stacy Francis said, "Her budget is one of the most bare-bones budgets I've ever seen." Given Abbey's anxieties about spending money and fear of not having enough, Stacy plans to use very conservative assumptions for inflation, health costs and average returns when making her projections and financial plan to give Abbey a concrete sense of how "on track" she is to meet her goals. "I'd also like a scenario where she spends more money. I'd love for her to do some travel and enjoy her 20s," Stacy said, even if encouraging clients to spend more isn't her usual approach. Click the link for more on the participant's financial journey and to sign up for CNN's Savings Challenge. 📸: Maansi Srivastava/CNN; CNN Photo Illustration/Photograph by Deborah Donenfeld

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Saturday 17 October 2026 15:30:00 GMT