• Sophie Musumeci excelled in the corporate world despite not finishing high school.
• She became a millionaire before her 40th birthday by focusing on being debt-free.
• She enrolls her kids in entrepreneurial classes and resists the urge to buy them things.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sophie Musumeci, founder of Real Entrepreneur Women. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I grew up in a rural part of South Australia, where my dad was a tree harvester. My mom mostly stayed home but worked seasonally at vineyards. In my community, there was a lot of bartering: my dad would swap service instead of money, like giving neighbors a load of firewood in exchange for help shearing sheep.

There wasn't a big emphasis on education. By the time I was in 11th grade, my school asked me to leave because I wasn't attending classes. It just wasn't a priority. It was normal for kids to leave school in grade 10 or 11, get a job, get married, and have a baby.

I started working three jobs when I left school: at the local vineyard, in retail, and at a pub. That's when I realized that the more I worked, the more I could earn. That unlocked something in me.

I climbed the corporate ladder even without degrees

When I was 18 I moved from my home to the Gold Coast, a much more metropolitan area of Australia. Despite not having a high school or college degree, I started working for a major international corporation and climbed the corporate ladder. I doubled my income every few years and was soon earning $250,000 Australian dollars (about $161,000 US dollars) a year.

When my husband and I decided to have children, we thought we'd do what all our friends were doing. Most families in our circle had two parents with corporate jobs and a nanny. We tried that at first, but when I came home and realized my son had more of the nanny's mannerisms than mine or my husband's, I knew I wanted a different option.

I became a millionaire by focusing on being debt-free by 40

When I was 32, I started my business. At first, the business was a financial drain: I had not only lost my corporate income, but I was pouring money into the business. I felt financially dependent on my husband. We had always agreed to keep finances separate, and I had to ask him for money to get my hair done. It was quite humiliating, to be honest.

All the while, I had a goal: be debt-free by 40. When I told my husband this, he laughed. We had just bought a home in Sydney, where the real estate prices rival New York City. Paying that off seemed, well, laughable.

Luckily, my business did well. It grew slowly over time, but then, in 2021 had a big leap after I found a great mentor. The business started having $100,000 AUD (about $65,000 USD) months and never went back. Just before my 40th birthday we paid off our primary residence, the last of our debt. I was a millionaire.

My kids are enrolled in an entrepreneurship school

Now, I'm 42. Money and time are never problems for me. In the corporate world, I made $250,000 AUD, working about 50 hours a week. I have more cash flow and work about 22 hours a week. My lifestyle is completely different, and I'm able to be there more for my kids.

That's the promise of entrepreneurship. Both my kids, who are 12 and 10, are enrolled in a business school for kids that teaches them about founding companies. They spend about 90 minutes each weekend studying business, and it has a real impact on their lives.

Recently, my 12-year-old made $30 from his babysitting business. He was excited about the money and also about how much fun he had. That is the dream: to be paid really well for something that gives other people value and that you enjoy. I want my kids to think differently about how they can achieve that.

I'm teaching the kids to save and invest, even when I want to buy them things

Since neither my husband nor I grew up with a lot of money, it's really important to us that our kids know how to manage money and grow wealth. We don't want them just waiting on an inheritance, which we see from some friends who have generational wealth.

We're teaching them, starting with allowances and gifts. All monetary gifts from birthdays or Christmas are put into a savings account, and we're now teaching the kids about investing that money. They also get $20 a month for completing basic chores like taking out the trash. They can use that money for impulse buys like candy or save it, which my son recently did for a new Nintendo game.

Sometimes, I just want to buy them candy or games. I stop myself because letting them understand the value of their money is an important lesson. Hopefully, it will keep them from being financially dependent on me and allow them to grow their wealth long term.

• Sheri Atwood became a millionaire in her 20s, and again in her 40s.
• After reassessing what she was spending on, she decided to prioritize her daughter's education.
• She gave her daughter an allowance to teach her about money and had her pay for her own things.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sheri Atwood, the founder and CEO of SupportPay. It has been edited for length and clarity.

The first time I became a millionaire, I was 24. I was a vice president in corporate cyber security, making $450,000 a year — more money than I ever could have imagined growing up poor.

Despite my wealth, I wasn't happy. I was married and had a 4,000-square-foot house near the California vineyards. When I was poor, I always thought money and material wealth would make me happy, but I was absolutely miserable.

Soon after my daughter Janicya was born, I got divorced. I was a single mom, like my own mother had been, but I was in a very different financial situation. I wanted to be smart with my money, investing to create a solid financial foundation for my daughter.

I spent $43,000 a year on private school

With that in mind, I started to reassess what I was spending my money on. My big house was stressing me out, and I realized I'd rather live in a townhouse with less maintenance. I didn't buy new clothes or cars. Even now, I drive a Lexus, but it's 17 years old.

Instead, I spent on my daughter's education. I only escaped poverty because of my master's degree and knew I would never regret investing in Janicya. I put her in an expensive and wonderful private school, paying $43,000 a year in elementary school tuition and even more than that as she got older. Because that was my choice alone, my ex didn't contribute to tuition.

Teaching my daughter financial literacy was critical

When Janicya was 7, she had emergency brain surgery. My job required tons of travel, so I quit my corporate role to start my own company. It was self-funded, and although I was financially stable, I wasn't a millionaire anymore. I reached that status again about four years ago, in my early 40s.

I was always of two minds about my daughter and money. I wanted her to understand the value of money, and I also wanted to give her access to everything I never had.

Teaching Janicya financial literacy was a way to do both. I never learned about credit, or interest, or how to leverage other people's money (via loans and investment) to build your wealth. My mom declared bankruptcy, and my sister had multiple bankruptcies. I wanted Janicya to have access to the same financial knowledge as her private school peers who had generational wealth.

I gave her allowance to teach her the value of money

I also wanted Janicya to learn day-to-day money skills. I gave her an allowance that's meant to pay for incidentals, like Starbucks or fancy new cups. I taught her we can't always keep up with others — especially those at her private school. When she wanted an expensive purse, I showed her I didn't even have one.

Sometimes, however, I bent the rules. As a single mom running a business, it was sometimes easier to give her money to go out with her friends because I just needed some downtime. Once, she had a chance to travel to Puerto Rico with a friend's family. I paid for that because it was an opportunity I would have loved as a teen.

Today, my daughter works hard and tells me when to scale back

Still, I tried to make Janicya understand the value of money. When she was 16, she got a job scooping ice cream. Today, she's 20 and a junior in college. My ex and I pay her tuition, but she pays all her other expenses. She's working two jobs while in school, which makes me proud.

Right now, she wants a new car. She's currently driving a 20-year-old Lexus with 180,000 miles — it used to be her grandmother's. I told her I'll match what she saves for a new vehicle. I'll do the same one day when she's ready to buy her first home.

Although I'm a millionaire again, I continue to live like I'll never make another dollar. After growing up poor, I'm terrified of having no money. I like to save and invest, and I never overextend myself with loans and credit cards.

But I've also learned from Janicya. She tells me I work too much. I know from experience that money isn't everything, so I'm trying to spend more time with her — and maybe even take a vacation.

• Julia Myers met her goal to become a millionaire before she turned 40.
• Some of her frugal practices have stayed even now that she's hit that benchmark.
• She doesn't pay for her kids' college education, but has a plan to repay their student loans.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Julia Myers, founder of Generational Wisdom. It has been edited for length and clarity.

It was a goal of mine to become a millionaire before I turned 40. Even more than seeing seven figures in the bank, I wanted financial independence, knowing that I could survive and thrive without being tied to a specific job.

Growing up, my dad went to work every day and saved hard for his retirement at 65. By the time he'd built wealth, he didn't have the health to go with it. I didn't want that to happen to me.

That was fortuitous since I needed to take early retirement from my job as a hospital executive after my retina detached and I lost sight in my right eye. No one wants a one-eyed pharmacist. Luckily, my financial situation meant I was comfortable leaving that job at 38. I continued to invest and accrue wealth and was a millionaire the next year.

We skip drinks at restaurants but travel internationally

I live frugally, which helped me become a millionaire. I focused on getting rid of or avoiding consumer debt and started investing early. I even invested a portion of my student loans after keeping my cost of living low. I wouldn't recommend that, but it worked for me.

I still live by those principles. We're a one-car family, and that car is a 2016 Honda Accord. We rarely eat out, and we don't order alcohol or sodas when we do. These things aren't important to our family, so we don't spend on them.

Instead, we splurge on the things that have real value to us, including travel. We love to travel internationally as a family.

A trip to the DMV made me realize I can't always control my kid's expectations

My kids range in age from 8 to 20. We've helped the two oldest buy cars by matching the amount that they saved. My oldest bought a 2008 Nissan Altima for her first car. She was so proud of researching the car and negotiating the sale, and I felt like I was showing her a valuable life lesson.

Then, we got to the DMV to register the car. My daughter looked around and said, "Where's the fast pass line?" Because our family values experiences, we're always willing to spend on skipping the line, by paying for tools like TSA Pre-Check. That was an aha moment. No matter how intentional I am with raising the kids to not be entitled, they're only going to know what they're used to.

We give our kids a $1,500 launching bonus, then they're on their own

The two oldest (18 and 20) have moved out of the house because it's important to me that they are independent. There are things you won't learn until you're living on your own.

When the kids get ready to move out, my husband and I ask them to prepare a budget. Once we see that, we give them a one-time $1,500 launch payment to help them get started. After that, they're 100% on their own. Money is spent differently when it's yours.

We're not paying for college up front, but we will help with loans

My parents had a policy that I'd always have food and a roof over my head. In line with that, they paid for my room and board in college while I covered tuition. I left school with minimal loans and a degree in pharmacy that led me to a lucrative career. That's contributed to my financial success.

Still, I've taken a different approach with my kids, and we're not paying for their college up front. However, we still have a plan to help them. When they graduate, we'll either pay off their student loans or help with a down payment on a house.

We don't have a set amount for this or other financial decisions regarding the kids. I don't think parenting always needs to be even to be fair. If one of the kids pursues an advanced degree, we would likely give them more money than a child who had a more affordable education.

We're leaving the kids money, but they have to give half away

We regularly tell the kids that we're spending some of their inheritance now to have experiences with them, like those international trips. Still, we plan to leave the kids money when we die — with a caveat.

Each child will have to give half of their inheritance away to a charity they choose. It's one of the many ways I'm encouraging them to create purpose in their own lives, independent from me.