Earn $1 million in 25 years
The majority of the population lives paycheck to paycheck and does not plan for their future. Investing is actually a very simple process that anyone can participate in. In as little as 25 years, you can literally become a millionaire and have financial security that will last through your retirement years.
Short term: the more money you invest, the more you will have when you withdraw. If you really want to invest, start saving now and be a little more frugal with your money and you’ll be on your way. This is what you can do to get started:
1. Sell Your Car: With gas prices on the rise, try to drive less and you’ll save more than you probably realize you’ve been spending. If you have to commute to work or drop the kids off at school, then sell your car and buy a hybrid or something that gets a good mpg. How about buying a Vespa scooter?
2. Eat at home – Eating out has its advantages, but for the same amount of a single meal, you could get around 3 or 4 meals eating at home. Spend more time grocery shopping, pick up a new cookbook, and enjoy some nice home-cooked meals.
3. Stop watching TV: TV these days does nothing but kill brain cells. Instead of paying for 2,000 satellite channels, just subscribe to Netflix for $5 a month or buy an Apple TV and download only the TV shows and movies you want. If you need the news, you can always log on to CNN.com.
4. Pay off loans: In the long run, you’ll end up paying thousands of dollars in interest on your loans. So, in the short term, make paying off any debt a priority. Get rid of any and all credit cards. Those payments may seem cheap now, but you need to look at the big picture.
5. Make your own coffee: This goes along with eating at home, but nowadays many people tend to go to Starbucks every morning. If you calculate it, this can become a huge expense. Even if it’s only $0.30 more for a Venti.
Long Term – A good goal is to be able to invest $1000 a month. If you keep thinking of new ways to save more money in the short and long term, this will eventually be possible. It can be really hard to part with that much money each month, so you need to change your mindset. Just remember that you are going to withdraw with $1 million in your bank account.
Invest – Find an investment account and transfer money from your account automatically every month. If you invest manually, it’s too tempting not to always pay the full amount, so make sure it’s automatic. Look for an investment account that offers close to 10% interest. If you deposit $1,000 a month in an investment account with an interest rate of 10%, you will have more than $1.3 million in 25 years.