Ballet dancers Dylan Gutierrez, 30, and Jeraldine Mendoza, 29, are already planning for their retirement from professional dancing. The couple earns roughly $178,000 per year as principle dancers with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, as well as from a steady stream of side hustles in the arts community.
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Given the physically demanding nature of their work, they expect to retire from professional ballet dancing in the next five to 10 years.
CNBC Make It asked Kevin O’Leary, chairman of O’Shares ETFs and judge on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” for his take on how well the couple is doing to prepare for their futures.
The couple get high marks from O’Leary for some of their housing decisions. They own a condo in a lively neighborhood in Chicago, forwent a car or parking spot in the city (saving them $20,000 off the bat, O’Leary estimates) and reinvested in their property by upgrading their kitchen and bathrooms.
What O’Leary doesn’t love as much is the couple owning property together without being married. But it’s in the works: Gutierrez and Mendoza got engaged in 2019 and plan to marry as soon as it’s safe to host a destination wedding in Italy.
O’Leary notes he’d like to see the couple get more serious about their budgeting, which Mendoza admits she doesn’t keep track of too closely. “That’s a mistake,” O’Leary says.
Looking at their monthly expenses, he also recommends the couple reign in their outsized food spending. In August 2020, the couple spent $2,885 on food between groceries, dining out and ordering takeout — a price tag O’Leary deems “crazy.”
“If you’re dancing, you need those calories. I get it. But I think there’s major savings to be had on doing a little more planning for groceries and doing a little more cooking at home,” he says.
While the two stash $500 per paycheck into savings, and also contribute to a union pension, O’Leary strongly advises Gutierrez and Mendoza diversify their investments. In addition to putting money into savings, he’d like to see them invest in the stock market to take advantage of higher returns over time. He also says they should consider opening tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts outside of their pensions.
With that said, the couple is realistic about their futures in dance and are laying the foundation for their lives after ballet. Gutierrez hopes to start a production company, while Mendoza would like to pursue interior design.
“They’re planning for the future — very smart,” O’Leary says. “Dylan, he can produce. That would be fantastic. There’s always demand for more content. Even dance is getting more digital.
“And frankly, interior design, if you have the eye, is always going to be around forever,” O’Leary adds. “People are always trying to upgrade where they live … Plus, looks like she did a great job on her own condo from what I’m seeing here.”
Overall, O’Leary gives the couple a rating of 7.5 out of 10 and thinks that, with a few tweaks, they could be well on their way to a 9.5 standing.
Watch O’Leary’s full reaction to Gutierrez and Mendoza’s monthly budget.
Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank.”
Check out: The budget breakdown of two ballet dancers earning $178,000 a year who bought a condo in Chicago
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