Next week I will be giving away 2 copies of the book "How To Be The Family CFO" - Be sure you are subscribed by RSS or Email to get the entry code when it comes out!
How To Make A Million Dollars Without Robbing A Bank.
Easiest way? Start with a million dollars. There, all done.
Reader question from Robert - “What do you think is the best way to make a million dollars?” Well, Robert, the easiest way is above, but for those of us without the starting million dollars, there are a few steps you can take to work towards your goal.
Live Below Your Means - When you live below your means, it enables you to save money. This is the biggest key, as how will you get to a million if you don’t save anything?
Save, Save, Save - Yes, I know this has to do with a tip above, but the more you can save every month, the shorter the time will be until you can say you are a millionaire. Put as much away every month as you can bear to..and it will pay off, I promise. Besides, would you rather have every digital channel on your television, or an additional several hundred thousand dollars in 20 or 30 years? I can do without 19 HBO channels, thank you.
Be As Frugal As You Can Be - If you buy the most expensive car, the most expensive cellphone, the most expensive clothes, how do you think you will ever have a million in the bank? Living simply and living frugally are two huge rules when it comes to keeping your money in your pocket.
Monitor Your Finances - You cannot know what it is going on if you do not know what is going on! Watching for late fees, due dates, and account balances allows you to have a greater grasp on your overall situation.
Own Your Own Business - This is a hard one, but still completely possible. Studies and books have shown that those people who own their own business are much more likely to have more money. Why? They aren’t working for the man and making him more money, the money they earn goes in their pocket.
Have An Emergency Fund - For those rainy days, you want to be able to depend on yourself and not a credit card. You should have a sizeable amount of cash available to you immediately for anything that might come up, so you do not have to go into debt to finance a problem.
Stay Out Of Debt - There is nothing more harmful to becoming a millionaire than carrying around loads of consumer debt. Loans to start that business or even real estate loans are one thing; but carrying big balances on your credit cards mean you are giving the bank their money back PLUS 9-22% interest…money you could be earning for yourself if you did not have to pay them.
I know these are all very basic, but I got an email asking for tips. I am not sure if these were the type of answers you were looking for Robert, but this is what I could think of off the top of my head. Really, it boils down to saving, investing, and being smart. Given time, following a few steps will put that million bucks in your pocket. Hope it helps.
StumbleUpon |
Reddit
|
Digg |
PFBuzz |
Del.icio.us
You might also like:
Leave a Comment
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
11 Comments so far
Great post and practical advice, David!
I bet you couldn’t get a million by robbing a bank.
Maybe taking out the armored car at the end of the day
I and my wife have just over a million dollars. According to Quicken, about one million, four thousand; if you add in the value of the house (paid off the mortgage years ago), add another 175 or 200 thousand. We did it by controlling the impulse to buy, and by maxing (or close to it) our savings and 401K. Are we frugal? No, not really. Are we careful with what we spend? Oh, yeah.
I guess I should add: we both have good jobs (we’re each programmers, each working for a major corporation), we don’t carry debt at all (we paid cash for each car), paying off credit cards totally each month; we married late and had a child late (neither planned that way) so that savings started before family expenses), we have one spreadsheet where we track expenses, and another where we forecast retirement income and expenses, and we live in a low cost of living area.
I know that we’ve been lucky, but its not impossible.
Thats great Bill, if only more people were just more careful with their money, more people could be in your shoes!
David: Live below your means is great advice, but equally important for getting there fast is to work to increase your means.
Bill: How old are you guys?
Always work on increasing your means, thanks Nickel, should have included that one.
[...] My Two Dollars with a great post about how to “make” a million dollars. [...]
[...] My Two Dollars with a great post about how to “make” a million dollars. [...]
I think, more important than saving, is spending- on the right things. Spend money on information, spend money on outsourcing, spend money on education and knowledge. Sure, you will eventually need to spend less than you earn to make a million. The most important thing is to maximize earnings.