How to Become a Millionaire (How to Become Rich)

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Yeah, yeah, a million dollars ain't what it used to be. But it's more than 90%+ of all U.S. households have. So who wouldn't want to be a millionaire?

This article from Money Central is written by a millionaire and in it she shares her tips on how to become a millionaire. The key tips:

• Make financial security a priority.
• Spend less than you earn.
• Save and invest regularly.
• Pay down debt.
• Own a home.

Good, simple, basic, effective tips. I'll come back to these in a minute, but let's first review a few other tidbits from the piece:

• If you haven't got a plan, it's way too easy to lose your way: spending money on stuff that isn't important, taking on debt that's toxic rather than helpful, giving in to despair when markets turn against you. Having a long-term goal, and a long-term view, are essential to keeping your balance.
• I bless my Depression-era mother, who grew up poor, knew how to pinch a penny and put a high priority on savings. She understood the importance of "paying yourself first," so from my first job I've been in the habit of saving at least 10%, and often 20%, of my gross pay. She taught me to use credit cards as a convenience, not an excuse to buy stuff I couldn't afford. She viewed people who carried credit card balances with the same suspicion and displeasure with which she regarded people who didn't keep a tidy house.
• Again, automated investing plans really help. We invest regardless of whether the market is up, down or sideways. We know that, in the long run, a well-diversified portfolio of stocks beats out every other investment, even if there are some bumpy times along the way.
• Another key: Don't cash out your 401(k) when you leave a job. About half of all workers do, and that's nuts. It's not just the taxes and penalties that eat up a quarter to a half of your withdrawal. More importantly, every $1,000 cash-out costs you $10,000 or more in future retirement income. So roll the money over into an IRA or your next employer's plan.
• But it does mean you should avoid high-rate debt and be cautious about your total debt load. Keeping your housing expenses to 25% of your gross pay, for example, will help ensure you've got enough left over to fund your other goals and have some fun once in awhile.
• Despite the ups and downs, owning a home has long been the cornerstone for wealth for most people. Consider that the median net worth of all homeowners in America in 2004 was $184,400. For renters, it was $4,000. Among the richest 10% of households, 96.9% are homeowners, compared with 69.1% of all households.
• We’ve discovered (duh) that it's easier to meet your goals, and have money for fun, if your income is rising. So we've invested in education, launched our own businesses and looked for new ways to generate cash. In today's ever-changing economy, you have to be ready to learn new skills and take new directions.
• Finally, and maybe most importantly: My husband and I don't live just for tomorrow. Our long-term goals are important to us, but we also want to enjoy life today. The fattest bank account in the world wouldn't be worthwhile to us if we didn't have a chance to enjoy each other, our daughter and our lives. So we appreciate the financial mileposts when we achieve them, but we know there's more -- a lot more --to life than money.

Just an excellent, excellent, excellent article all the way around. All this, and she also recommends two of my all-time favorite finance books -- The Millionaire Next Door and The Automatic Millionaire. What's not to love??!!

If you've been reading Free Money Finance for more than two seconds, you know how I talk about these issues on a regular basis. Here are some links that provide additional thoughts on what the article has highlighted:

Have a Financial Plan

• Pretend It's Not a Budget: How to Create a 'Spending Plan' You Can Stick To
• MND: Why do Millionaires have Budgets?
• MND: Have a Budget

Spend Less than You Earn

• How You Can Become Wealthy
• Even the Rich Need to Spend Less than They Earn
• It's Not What You Make, It's What You Spend, Part 3

Save and Invest Regularly

• Why I Like Index Funds
• Poverty to Prosperity
• The 15 Minute Investment Portfolio

Pay Down Debt

• 7 Credit Card Trends that Can Cost You
• Yes, You Can Erase 15 Years of Debt in 14 Months
• Get Out of Debt, Part 1

Own a Home

• My Formula for Buying a House
• Why Homeowners Get Rich and Renters Stay Poor
• Increase Your Home's Value with Cheap Landscaping Tricks

Importance of Education

• Sell College to Your Kids
• The Value of an Education
• Facts on Education (and the Value of It)

Other Topics Mentioned

• The Richest Man in Babylon, Keep Part of All You Earn
• Don't Kill Your Retirement Fund When You Change Jobs
• Maximizing Your Greatest Asset: Why Your Career is So Important

Comments

[Tim MMF]

Wow, great article! Practical tips too...

[Dr. Artfredo C. Abella - Wein, Austria]

Let me present some rationalities on How to Become Rich:
1. MAKE FINANCIAL SECURITY A PRIORITY. The best way to insure financial security is by availing ourselves or our businesses with insurance. Insurance is an institution that would share the financial risk of ones company during times of fortuitous or force majeur events. Fire, life, accident, retirement, old age and disability insurance are geared towards providing cash and income to those who can no longer be productive. Save for the rainy days, follow the ways of the ants - store your grains during summer for the winter days to come. Another way of having financial security is to buy properties having capital gains and develop it. Touch the interest and the fruits of the capital gains but never touch or withdraw its original capital or investment. Develop and teal the land for productive and agricultural gains but never sell the land itself for financial security. Another concept of financial security is to prepare a will while a person is still alive, it will provide a better management of ones property if he dies. Create multiple streams of income including passive ones to ensure regular incomes from many sources. Depending in one form of source to earn an income is debilitating and risky.
2. SPEND LESS THAN YOU EARN. This means earn more than you spend. Millionaires are people who are bigger than their financial problems, it means living within your means and saving a portion of what you earn to afford a haven for investment in the future. As your income increases your standard of living must remain the same is one of the surest path to being rich and millionaire. Buy things that will meet your needs rather than your wants. Self gratification in buying things that we desire and want is the only way to poverty.
3. SAVE AND INVEST REGULARY. Remember the three legged stool for one to become rich - earn money, save it and invest in high yield instruments like time deposits, demand drafts, treasury bills, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and marketable securities. He who saves and puts value into his money for future investment purposes will become rich. Make it a habit to save, save, and save regularly then diversify the investment to minimize risk will make a person financially independent and successful in business. Meet your obligations and pay first all fixed expenses and minimize payments to variable expenses. Variable expenses are expenses which could be controlled like public relations overheads, even city services could be controlled, lights off to all electrical appliances when not using to control so much payment for electricity. Do not leave leaky faucets unrepaired to avoid over payments to water services.
4. PAY DOWN DEBT. Make money your slave and not your master is the best advice. Do not borrow money since borrowed money becomes our master rather than our slaves. One of the best sign of successful business is when we can meet our financial obligations promptly whether it will be by the millions of dollars or otherwise. Pay down debt and if possible totally eliminate it. Buy goods in cash basis, it is lot more cheaper and cash discounts or rebates are always given when payments are made through cash. You cannot serve two masters at one time as what the Bible says. You cannot be the slave of money at the same time be the master's of it. Borrow money with a considerable risk taken into consideration and pay the obligations on time. We become the master of money if we can let it work for us, if we can earn income out of the investments that we make. We must treat money just like seeds and as we toil and water it, it grows in an exceeding growth and bears ever lasting fruit. One day we will all end up to be like the Uphanishads, as they get and consume wealth, more wealth are still bountiful and abundant.
5. OWN A HOME. Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam be it ever so humble there is no place like home according to Walt Whitman. If you own a home, then you will be the owner of it. You can have it rented as you acquire more houses or establishments. A home provides capital gains to the owners where he could have it served as collateral to the banks if he prefers to borrow money. Above all it provides a sanctuary for his family - a place where love and respect reigns above all.

[Minimum Wage]

That's nice if you have a normal income, but could you spend less than you earn if you earned minimum wage and had student loan debt?

[EMF]

@Minimum Wage:
If I earned a minimum wage, I would look for ways to improve my situation so that I no longer earned minimum wage. I would spend my time looking for ways to improve my actual and perceived value to employers so they would want to pay me more.

What I would not do is spend money on an Internet connection nor would I spend my time whining about my situation on personal finance blogs.

[Dannie]

How can I be a millionaire if I don't have nothing to put in the pot?I am already broke and I have a visual plan what I want to do but I can't pursue it due to bills and lack of money,I want to be a millionaire, I am low income and need help to pursue this goal?

[Experienced]

If you earned minimum wage...

Let me walk you through your life as if you earned minimum wage...

You look for ways to improve your situation so that you no longer earn minimum wage. You finally find a job (the only job available) which pays eight dollars per hour instead of the minimum wage. You spend money only on food and gas. You only use the gas to get from home to work and back, and to get to the grocery store to by food.

You can not afford to buy healthy food because it costs twice as much as regular food, and you are trying to save money. You find it ironic that the only food that you can afford is the food that comes on the TV dinner trays that you make at work... you see, because you work at a TV dinner tray factory, standing on your feet for ten hour shifts (which is good, because that means you get overtime pay) burning the tiny excess flakes off of the edges of the plastic trays.

You spend your time looking for ways to improve your actual and perceived value to employers so they want to pay you more. You pick up other peoples slack at work. You make sure that they see you doing high quality work. You have your employers’ eating out of your hand and can feel that they are about to promote you.

You take good care of yourself. You live near a national forest so you hike off the unhealthy food. The only peace that you seem to muster is when you are alone in the woods surrounded by nature. It inspires you and gives you hope that some day you will be able to buy more than food and gas. You have a strong feeling that tomorrow will be the day that it all changes.

You come in to work one day and they fire you because they no longer feel like paying as many employees, and your state of residence has a “right to work” law which allows employers to fire employees at any time without cause or reason.

Your choices for employment are now the chicken processing plant, Wal-Mart, waitress, security guard, or fast food. Fast food is simply too degrading for someone of your intelligence and initiative. The few higher paying jobs in the state (and many other states) don’t even try to hide their scoffing laughs as you walk out the door after the interview.

You create a financial blueprint that optimizes not only your savings, but all aspects of income. You really are trying. You even turn your favorite craft into a mini-business, but it doesn’t even yield enough money to cover your weekly gas costs.

You decide that it would be easier to save money if you had a partner in life, so you marry the one who you love most. You would like to have children at some point, but can’t financially support them so you postpone that dream until you become a little richer, which you are still sure will happen.

You have no debt. You own your own house because your father died from cancer and willed it to you. You have no car payments because your brother gave you a car for free (though it is 15 years old), because he cares enough about you to not have you driving around in a car that is catching fire every time that you stop (as your previous car was doing).

Your brother is doing a little better because he is awarded grants for college because he has nearly a 4.0 GPA. He is forced to live off of the excess grant money because his degrees do not help him get a job in overcrowded careers. You yourself are very smart, as is your entire family. That does not seem to be helping. Poverty does not discriminate against intelligence, initiative, or nobility. Poverty will consume all who step into it’s shadow.

You invest all that you can, but it just isn’t enough to matter. By now, regular medical issues, dentistry, and optometrist visits have all but cleaned out your bank account. You do not have medical insurance. You can not afford it. Like almost all jobs in the state, yours does not offer a 401k or benefits of any kind. You realize that you are all alone in this world.

After decades of optimism and doing everything right to better your quality of life, you realize that poverty is indeed a monster, and if you escape it’s clinch it is not because of your own effort.

******************************************************
50,000 dollars per year is in fact RICH. I have really created a financial graph which optimizes savings and spending on any level of income. I once made 50,000 dollars per year, with six months of the year off (seasonal work). I began to feel too comfortable, so I gave up the job and came down to see what real people were going through. I am lucky in that I do not require much to be happy. All of my friends are in poverty, and all of them are very smart and wholesome. They deserve to be rich and famous, but they will probably never be.

I feel like I have completed this era of my life, but now I find myself in the same dismal abyss as the majority of the nation. I will be up on your level before too long. Though not everyone is as lucky as I am. I won’t forget what I have seen down here with the real people.

I am telling you what the minimum wage life is like. Please do not try to explain what you think this life is like when you are watching it from above. Noone in poverty wants to be there. They are all trying to get out. The opportunities simply aren’t there.

[FMF]

Experienced --

I disagree. I have been there (see http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2007/10/my-story-from-r.html ) and am not any longer. With hard work, determination, and, yes, a bit of luck, you can get out.

FYI, here's a guy who never made much but saved a ton:

http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2007/11/how-to-get-rich.html

[aldrin]

Yes,I agree that owning a home is a possible way of becoming rich because you do not rent anymore.If you have much money do not invest in cars because cars can be rotten easily unlike houses that last for a lifetime

[jon]

In a span of 15 years I went from homeless to now household income of over $125,000 a year. I also have 5 rental properties (PAID FOR ).It took hard work, I worked 2,3 even once 4 jobs at once. I worked 14-18 hours a day to put my wife through college. She has her masters and is still furthering her education. YOU CANNOT DO IT WITH DEBT...PERIOD!!!!!! Drive $500 cars and eat cheap no credit cards. I found what jobs paid the most I went there put in time after time after time got hired worked hard up the ladder, now here I am. We still live off my income save all of my wife's. HOMELESS TO SAVING BIG BUCKS BUYING RENTAL PROPERTIES GETTING RICH IN 15 years........ GO FOR IT IT CAN BE DONE

[Charles Daniel]

good to know the basics of becoming
rich.

[Dexter Tittil]

This was a great article....

[Joe]

>>automated investing plans really help
I totally agree.

From my job, money each month goes to my 401K.

From my on-line banking, meoney each month goes to:
1. money market saving for my emergency funds.
2. some index mutual funds.

[kayode]

I agree with owning a property of his own.

[manpreet singh]

I like what u write in this page , i will implement from today.

[Unitl debt do us Part]

Great Article and thanks for highlighting it.

The one thing I will say about the article is that for those who are currently in debt and accustomed to living the easy credit high life will find it hard to adjust to the low cost automatic millionaire lifestyle. The 'have it now' generation will find it difficult to put aside their 'needs' and save for a better future.

[the next billionaire]

Experienced:
change your mentaity and vision, stop looking behind and look ahead. you can start by taking some of the advice given here. where and what youve been through doesnt matter. i live somewhere in africa where your situation is a dream for many. impossible is nothing, achieve everything, you can.

[CandiSue]

What a wonderful website. Thank you, I enjoyed reading lots of the articles.Ccc

[LUCAS ARNOLD]

TO BECOME RICH ,YUST PAY YOURSELF FIRST AND DON'T SPEND MORE THAN YOU MAKE .

[HTBR]

Informative post. All of us naturally want to become rich. But always remember that there are other that you should not neglect when you are going to the top. There are other things that are much important on how to become rich.

[azmi dan]

TO BECOME RICH ,YUST PAY YOURSELF FIRST AND DON'T SPEND MORE THAN YOU MAKE .

[AlHarrington]

"Despite the ups and downs, owning a home has long been the cornerstone for wealth for most people. Consider that the median net worth of all homeowners in America in 2004 was $184,400. For renters, it was $4,000. Among the richest 10% of households, 96.9% are homeowners, compared with 69.1% of all households."

LOL.. isn't that like saying people who OWN professional sports teams are WEALTHIER than those who watch professional sports?

Buying a home has nothing to do with wealth.
Investment in property does.

[MZ TASHA]

i never understood the concept,of when your not employed,and you have no financial means and fill out for all money making programs and then they ask you for your credit card info why? for help,they still want you to spend money that you don't have,how can some one like me at rock bottom right now with nothing can be successful with these programs? i would love to talk to these people who made money personally so they can show me step by step. help me.

[srdjan stojanov]

Thank you for helping us

[Bryan]

About minimum wage:

Minimum wage jobs are boring. I just remain unemployed rather than settle for a minimum wage job. Waste of my time. I bet these minimum wage earners have never flown across the planet to a new country like South Korea or Vietnam to get a job. That's because they're more interested in complaining than action. There are opportunities all over the world for unskilled or barely skilled people, you just have to be willing to sacrifice a bit of comfort for them.

About a million dollars:

The post says a million dollars is not much but its more than what 90% of people have. Please try to compare apples to apples. With the strategies and plan you give us, saving and putting money away in investments (DOW and S&P are flat for the last 10 years), you'll have a million dollars by the time a much larger percentage of the population has a million too. Just about everyone's home in California or elsewhere will cost a million by that time, and many people will have paid them off. You might end up like the wealthier 30-40% of people.