It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. For one thing, it isn’t like I have a million dollars lying around. I’m WORTH well over a million. But it’s locked up in investments like real estate and 401(k)s.
The key to becoming one is having the goal first and developing a plan to go along with it. My plan was simple: better education, paid by my employer, and save, save, save.
Don’t buy prepared meals if you can cook them. It’s cheaper.
Don’t take expensive vacations. Rely on frequent flier and frequent stayer programs through hotels and airlines.
Don’t be cheap, either. Just don’t spend freely. Spend on people you enjoy spending time with, but also spend with others who can help you reach your goal (networking).
Maximize your 401(k) at an early age. I have a friend who is much wealthier than I am, but he founded his own business. For years, I was wealthier than him, and he always wondered why I put so much away. He was going on expensive vacations and not saving. Then he hit on a great idea and got fabulously wealthy. Good for him. How many of you will actually hit that idea, though? Not many. So save and maximize your 401(k).
Once you’ve reached your goal, it doesn’t end. You have to be even smarter. A million isn’t what it once was. I was a millionaire in 1999, then lost it all to the bubble bursting. I was back down to about $700k. But I’ve doubled that in 5 years because I STUCK TO THE PLAN.
You can, too.
SeoAnthony, with regard to it being depressing:
In a way, it is depressing. Think about it…you managed to get the money and now you want to keep it. Keeping it isn’t easy, and if you’re really ambitious, you want to increase it. You wind up focusing alot on ways to make it and keep it. It takes up alot of your time.
When you think of the richest people in the world, it’s a list of people committed to their money and doing things with it. Which means they can do things with it because up until now, they’ve been doing things to GET it.
Money, however, and its accoutrements are THINGS. If you can use those things effectively, like I pointed out in my original post, you can use it to connect with your friends and build your business/family. If you put a positive spin on its uses, building money CAN BE FUN. BUT, it’s also a burden, and you can’t ignore that it’s more of a burden if you really have to work hard to make and keep it, as most people do.
Emerson and Thoreau were right when they extolled the simple life. Buffett is probably the wealthiest “simple” man I’ve read about. That is the “plan” I choose to emulate. Don’t overdo it, keep it simple and easy.
