Mary Woulf was 22, a single mother and a college dropout. She went to a temp agency for a receptionist job. She did well on the test, so the agency sent her to its best client, a national mortgage lender. “I was only supposed to be there for three months,” she said. She stayed for 13 years. Early on, one of Woulf’s colleagues sat her down. “They knew I was just a single mom and trying to work hard,” she said. The mentor told her about the company’s 401(k) program. “They said, ‘One day you might have a ...

And clearly, my friend isn’t alone. This holiday season, hundreds of thousands of Americans are relishing the same good news, even if $1 million is hardly the vast sum it was when the term “millionaire” first gained currency in the early 20th century.There’s an emotional layer to this moment. Hitting $1 million is a financial benchmark, but it’s also proof that years of steadiness, patience, and compounding returns have finally tipped in your favor. For people like my friend, who have lived through two rece ...