A Central Florida couple turned a few thousand dollars into a $500,000 nest egg by following a financial plan that included using the dollar-cost averaging approach to investing, according to a Local 6 News report.

Local 6 News featured Lance (last name not given) who was a struggling carpet salesman 12 years ago. He was earning a weekly paycheck and working for somebody else.
Lance and his wife Joan had dreams of owning their own company, having a family and building a nest egg. However, with just $3,000 in the bank, dreams of owning a company and building a nest egg seemed far away.

Now, the couple has two beautiful children and are partners in a company called Cutting Edge Carpet.
"In the beginning we budgeted a lot," said Joan. "The first couple of Christmas' we didn't exchange gifts -- that's the way it was."
Money manager Nancy Hecht guided the couple to their portfolio success.
Hecht put the pair into a diversified blend of mutual funds using the dollar cost averaging approach -- a set amount invested every month.
"It's not saving big huge chunks of money, its regularly doing as much as you comfortably can," Hecht said.
Local 6 News showed a graph comparing two mutual funds each with an investment of $100 a month.
Fund A's share value had a steady climb. The investor purchased 82 shares worth $1,435.

Fund B had some dips along the way, but the investor was buying shares at a lower cost. His monthly investment purchased 223 shares worth $2,230.
That blend creates investor diversification, Local 6 News reporter Mike Holfeld reported.
But Holfeld asked, "Can you be an instant millionaire?"
"You can be an instant millionaire as long as you stay the course," Hecht said.
Hecht says unless you win the lotto there's no fast track but there is a winning formula.
Wall Street's top stocks are a perfect step towards the millionaire circle.
And you can do it with mutual funds over time.
"I like Midcap funds right now something between growth and value," Hecht said.
Some Midcap funds to consider in the story included:
MFS Endeavor, C&B Value, Aim and American Century.
"Stock ownership equals growth and whether your in your 20's or 80's you need some growth that's what keeps you ahead of inflation,"
For more information,
click here or call Nancy Hecht at (407) 869-9800.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
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