How a Jail Deputy and a Teacher Built a $1 Million Net Worth

Ten years ago, Kelan and Brittany Kline faced a problem. The then-newlyweds were working jobs that left them with little time together and juggling about $40,000 in student loan debt. 

Their situation was hardly unusual: Americans ages 25 to 34 carry an average student loan balance of about $33,271, according to Federal Reserve data cited by CNBC.

The Klines met in high school in Rochester, New York, and began dating in ninth grade. Since those early days, they found jobs that yielded reliable paychecks: Kelan worked as a jail deputy and Brittany as an elementary school teacher. However, neither of them felt that they had much control over their money or their schedules. 

“We were working opposite shifts,” Kelan recently told Business Insider. “We never got to see each other.”

One evening, the couple decided to confront the pressure head-on over dinner. “We sat down and said, ‘This is not working,’” Kelan told Business Insider. “We kind of just had this brainstorm of, ‘What’s working? What’s not working? Where are our finances at?’”

That conversation became a turning point. The Klines started a personal finance blog, The Savvy Couple, in 2016. It later grew into a seven-figure online business and eventually gave both of them the option to leave their jobs.

The couple told Business Insider that their household net worth, including the estimated value of their businesses, investments and primary home, topped $1 million in 2020. 

How they did it

For the Klines, financial independence did not start with investing more or cutting every expense. It started with defining what they wanted their lives to look like and creating a plan to make it happen.

If we could wave a magic wand, what would our ideal lifestyle look like? Kelan asked at the time. When they tried to articulate their “ideal lifestyle,” they found that they both wanted more time together and flexibility. 

“I was after time freedom,” Kelan said. “I was so sick and tired of someone else telling me when to come to work, forced overtime and denying my vacation.”

Brittany added that “getting on the same page is what made us successful.”

The couple brainstormed how to get more time freedom. They settled on a website. “With an online business, it’s unlimited scalability because you’re reaching the entire world,” Kelan said.

The couple ultimately chose to start a personal finance blog, drawing on their existing interests and experience. Brittany had long been focused on budgeting and saving, while Kelan had tried side hustles, including buying and reselling products on eBay.

The business did not take off immediately. It took nearly a year for the blog to generate any revenue at all, and even then, earnings for the first year totaled just $50.

Since then, their revenue hit $1.3 million in 2023 and $1.1 million in 2024, per Business Insider. 

Kelan’s advice for future entrepreneurs is that they should start their businesses before they feel ready. “The action-takers are money-makers,” he said.

Ten years ago, Kelan and Brittany Kline faced a problem. The then-newlyweds were working jobs that left them with little time together and juggling about $40,000 in student loan debt. 

Their situation was hardly unusual: Americans ages 25 to 34 carry an average student loan balance of about $33,271, according to Federal Reserve data cited by CNBC.

The Klines met in high school in Rochester, New York, and began dating in ninth grade. Since those early days, they found jobs that yielded reliable paychecks: Kelan worked as a jail deputy and Brittany as an elementary school teacher. However, neither of them felt that they had much control over their money or their schedules.