How to become a millionaire?

[marcelomusza]

I disagree. My stepfather has worked a fulltime job for other people his entire life and he is a multi-millionare. He has lived frugally, and has made some smart investment decisions, but he isn't a business owner.

If you look up one post from yours you will see that feh has a similar story to tell.

But you said it yourself, he has made some smart investment decisions, so he didn't rely only on his full-time job, or am I misunderstanding it?
Yeah I saw feh's post, and as I am in the same area as his, I wanted to share my opinion. That makes me think, it really depends on the country situation? luck?

In my case, in Argentina, a third world country, a Senior in any kind of job is in the same situation as myself (please kindly read my reply to feh), and we really have to work hard to keep our style of life going, VERY VERY far away from becoming rich working as employees. But, looking at the bright side, there are a lot of work opportunities, so if we are not happy we just move to another place.

[bjl584]

But you said it yourself, he has made some smart investment decisions, so he didn't rely only on his full-time job, or am I misunderstanding it?
Yeah I saw feh's post, and as I am in the same area as his, I wanted to share my opinion. That makes me think, it really depends on the country situation? luck?

In my case, in Argentina, a third world country, a Senior in any kind of job is in the same situation as myself (please kindly read my reply to feh), and we really have to work hard to keep our style of life going, VERY VERY far away from becoming rich working as employees. But, looking at the bright side, there are a lot of work opportunities, so if we are not happy we just move to another place.

No. He invested money that he saved from working. Is that not possible for you? I don't knwow much about the economics of Argentina. Are there retirement accounts? A stock market? A safe banking system? All of those things exist here in the USA. Pretty much anyone that lives a frugal life and saves and invests here in the USA can retire rich, barring some extreme event or circumstance.

[marcelomusza]

Yes we have that as well, but it is not optimized at all. Here as a professional you retire and you start earning less than 25% of your old salary from your retirement plan each month. So this makes us to keep working full-time because we cannot afford to lose that much money. It's not fair, but this is the way it is.

Sadly Argentina needs a lot of "Ethical" development to do until they start respecting their peoples lives. I am not judging and of course not whining about it but making these comparisons, I can see that we are far from having a pleasant life and just because we live in a third world country haha.

[Bades]

I'm not saying it can't be done, becoming a millionaire working for others, it obviously can.

Sure you can be a Senior Software Engineer or other Senior Manager in IT (I work in IT for one of the biggest companies in the US), and make real good money, something around $125k - $200k.

And you can be very good at saving that money, you can live well below your means and put the rest away for several years and have a very well established retirement account.

Let me make my point again, if you want to live like a millionaire, as in, you're not waiting until your 50, 60 years old to reap all the benefits of a large savings/retirement, typically owning or having stake in a business where you not only receive a salary, but all the profits, that will get you rich quicker then most other options.

[elessar78]

Originally I thought I had a limited window due to health problems. I stuck with what I knew, meaning chemistry. By starting my business in a RV camper I began perfecting my recipe of the most pure and potent formula of crystal meth. As a supplier I realized there was always going to be potential clients, and distribution was always a challenge. Working for the Mexican cartel at first was step up for positive work environment and steady flow of income. To get to millionaire status I resigned from that position and took out my competition. This was after fully realizing the true potential and exponential growth of my current empire-I mean enterprise.

You should get an assistant. It will help with running the enterprise. Perhaps a former student?

[~bs]

I agree that 1 mil in net worth idnt what it used to be, even 10 years ago.

If you have a steady active business income and can grow bigger, that is better tham passive ibusinese. Passive income grows at maybe 10% a year on average at best. Active business income can do that ior more in a single business cycle, depending on your margin. If you have a relatively short cycle, you can compound your returin rate multiple times within a year, whereas passive income takes multiple years to compound the same return. Passive has the advatage that it holds less risk to rnvestor. a good mix of passive and active income streams can generate a higher return at a more reasonable level of risk.

[Nika]

The fastest way to becoming a "millionaire" is owning your own business. Unless you are a top level exec at some large financial firm, you'll probably never see the paychecks that owners of businesses do when working for someone else.

I read an article/study once along the lines of why the rich are rich and the poor stay poor. It was very interesting. People from wealthy or well-educated backgrounds KNOW that it's an actual achievable goal, that it's not impossible, they can envision it, and THEY TAKE ACTION.

People in the lower income backgrounds tend to picture being very wealthy as some dream in their head. They may dream about it, but they never truly accept the dream for something that could actually become reality.

My dad is a wealthy guy, so I have no doubt in my mind that I can't become just as wealthy one day.

The difference between people from rich background and poor background is that the rich can afford to take chances. They can take action and try something, fail, and try again. They have a safety net that allows them to have a much lesser degree of fear and less consequence for failure.

They know that failure won't mean that their family won't have a roof over their head or healthy nutrition or future for their children. Poor don't have that luxury. This is not a perceived risk, it is a real one.

[ccole]

I'm not a millionaire but I'm earning more than what I need. I have an affiliate site that earn well.

[~bs]

Didnt mention it earlier but I think having a good life partner is also key. A couple on the same page regarding saving should be able to save more than a single imdividual, asexpenses are shared and they should have more finanial assets at their disposal in the long run. A couple could make 50k a year each, spend 1 salary, and save the other. A single individual in a similar scenario would end up spending most of his 50k salary and be able to put aside much less..

[KTP]

Study to be a software engineer, start work at age 22 making about $70,000 a year.

Pay off student loans by age 26, start saving $20,000 or so each year, increasing that each year when you get bonus/raises.

In your early 30s you will be making around $150,000 or more if you are any good. Save a third of that and don't buy stupid stuff, live simple.

By the time you are 45, you will have over $2,000,000 and you never owned your own business.


We did the above except missed the part about not buying stupid stuff. Don't have 2,000,000

[PersonalFinanceTopics]

Certain Salary Threshold

There is a certain salary threshold one needs to reach to be able to save significant amounts of money. If more people that have reached that point lived well within their means and saved aggressively when they were young, we've have more millionaires than we could shake a stick at.

While I agree that there is a certain salary threshold, and that you don't have to be self employed to reach millionaire status, I don't think that salary threshold is very high. Obviously, there is a minimum income under which you simply can't save significant amounts of money. Depending on where you live, and how many family members you have to support, I believe that could be somewhere around $20k.

The problem isn't that everybody makes under $20k, the problem is that most people adjust their standard of living to match (or often exceed) their income as it raises over time. We all seem to have "needs" that aren't really needs. Examples include things like smartphones, tablets, cable, crazy-fast internet, etc.

My simple suggestion is that every time you get a raise, setup an automatic draft to move that extra income every two weeks into savings, investment portfolio, or perhaps your 401(k). More ideas to come via my blog.

Stay Positive,
Drew

[thekid]

Only one way. Spend less than you earn and invest the difference.

The larger the savings, the easier it will be.

Wife an I are in our mid 30s and are closing in on first mil in net worth (should reach it within a few years). We make good wages (close to 250k household) and save decently (much more than most of our peers, less than we could-we still live pretty comfortably).

Whether you are a business owner or employed (we are both employed), it's the same principle. Your net worth will be your savings + return on investments.

Note that if you wish to live lavishly, you would need an extraordinarily high income (and hence could live lavishly on less than such income). In all cases, net worth (self made) results from savings. Further, if you wish to live lavishly without working, you need an extraordinarily high invested net worth in order to reasonably be expected to not deplete your net worth with your expenses. Roughly multiply annual income you desire by 30. That's what you would need in investable assets. Maybe even more if you are young.

Lastly, compounding returns on investments is indeed an important concept to grasp, but forget 8% returns at todays yields. 6% on stocks and 2% on bonds is much more realistic. Of course, lower yields means you need to save more to reach same end result.

So, concentrate on maximizing your income (go to school, work hard, have luck) and minimizing expenses and invest wisely.

Of course, all you will likely do is buy yourself an ealier retirement and/or a more cushy one. Money is a means, not an end. You have to balance that goal with other goals (ie. get a job you like, have some fun, enjoy your life).

Good luck.

[JoeP]

With kids: We're finding that activities such as music, school sports, school trips, orthodontia, and recreational activities for kids only grow more costly every year. Plus we get to add in clothing, college savings, and they eat a lot more now. The costs of insuring them for driving are right around the corner. We do balance the want/need of each, but definitely notice a large portion of our income goes toward them. Not objecting at all, it is the right thing to do.

Those without kids have it much easier reaching financial goals, since there are no kid expenses.

[Copper]

You could do gambling. There may be risk of money loosing but if you succeed you will be rich instantly.

[elfen lied]

I don't think Xista can work right now. It is just a domain with a bad search engine script on it. If he wants it to take off, he needs to come up with a custom search engine that indexes on its own and can become a baby Google or something.