As I began to write this blog I found an old copy of Forbes magazine, with an interesting article
that listed the wealthiest cartoon characters of all times and what their net-worth would be in today’s
currency. Among the favorites listed were uncle McDuck, Mr Burns and Scrooge, but at the top the list
with over twenty-seven billion dollars of net-worth was the boy Richie Rich. His family’s wealth
outshines all the magical Disney kingdoms put together, and would roughly be up to par with what the
Wal-Mart family’s wealth is put together. Nevertheless our reality is that we cannot draw up cartoon
bank accounts and suddenly appear money, we have to work hard for it.
In our culture we constantly think about millionaires. One of the greatest dreams most of us
have is waking up to find out that we won the lottery (Fun fact: Talking about inflation, Mega-millions
and Power-ball tickets will be going up to almost $5.00 this year). The thought of a luxurious lifestyle,
traveling the world and being worry free for the rest of your life sounds amazing. But what does it
actually take to become a millionaire? When are we going to find out that some rich great uncle died
and left us his whole inheritance? But the biggest question of them all is, can I become a millionaire?
There was a recent University study that analyzed the lives of ten-thousand millionaires. This
study looked at data of how these people live, what kind of jobs they have and where their money came
from. To my surprise 93% of these individuals came from nothing, no inheritance, no family
background, no inter-generational wealth, nada. If that was not enough, the study listed from wealthiest
to least wealthy the top jobs held as; engineers, accountants, teachers, managers and attorneys. Doctors,
musicians, athletes, politicians and actors did not even rank among the top 5 jobs most millionaires
have. If that was not clear enough, this means that the ninety-three hundred of the people that were
studied, are what we call everyday millionaires. They are regular people, maybe even your next door
neighbor. They don’t drive exotic cars, they don’t wear designer clothing and most of them even stated
to constantly shop with the use of coupons. The only difference is that they distinguish themselves for
being disciplined individuals that have built their wealth over time. We tend to forget in our world,
guided by greed and consumerism, that a basic one-thousand year old principle still works, “Save for
the Future.”
As we start a new day, new month, new year and the total transformation of our lives. I want
you to also get set on a path to total financial peace. The following are some of the tools and strategies
that most of the everyday millionaires have used and are utilizing on their journey to financial success.
I invite you to start thinking alike and become a millionaire. I want you to think about the sense of
security and freedom that living a worry free life can give you and your family. Whether you are
incarcerated or out in the world, we all have something to fight for, that requires our full dedication and
hard work. Know that the path to becoming a millionaire is not easy, but remember that being broke is
not easy either. This is the point in your life where you decide to make the necessary changes to be
successful.
- Work on your Mental Plan – Simple, buy what you really need. Stop buying things that you
think will make you happy and definitely stop spending money on things that you think will
make you money. Most of the time these things will not make you any happier and will not
make you any money at all. - Set a Spending Plan – Create a monthly budget. Depending on your accounting ability you can
use the internet, an app on your phone or simple pen and paper. Figure your income (money you
receive), your expenses (money you spend on basic needs) and your remaining balance (money
to be used for going out, buying clothes, restaurants, vacations and saving). - Save $1,000 – Work on being prepared for the unexpected. Although it may take you several
weeks or months to save. Having an emergency fund of one-thousand dollars can make you
better prepared for any of lives unexpected situations. You know by know that “if something
can go wrong, most of the time it will.” A sad but interesting fact is that only about 40% of
people in America have at least $1,000 dollars saved up in case of an emergency. - Debt Snowball – The debt snowball is a concept I learned, and have utilized, from a great book
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, where he explains that the best way to have total
financial independence is to live debt free. Now you may be thinking about how could you
possibly pay off the thousands of dollars in old credit card debt owed? the answer is one dollar
at a time. The snowball, or as I refer to our incremental steps, starts by paying off as much as
possible into the smallest debts and slowly progressing to paying off the larger ones. Your
success comes by getting rid of all the small debts owed and at one point focus and being able
to pay off a higher amount into the largest debts such as your car or home. In a matter of months
or years you can live debt free. - Save, Save and Save – I am not a financial advisor or an expert investor but I do know that the
key to becoming a millionaire is to save money and invest it well. Bank investments, like stocks
or bonds, will usually double every seven-years. This means that if could save $10,000 dollars
for your child today, that money would turn into roughly 2.4 million dollars by the time your
child retires. That is not counting any additional money that is made during their lifetime. Now
I know you are probably telling yourself what I am even talking about. The point is simple,
whether it is one-dollar or one-million dollars the money you save today will continue to grow
always.
This article is meant to encourage you to be successful. I know there are many people who live on a
limited budget or pay-check to pay-check, but this does not mean that financial success is not possible.
Remember that most of the everyday millionaires came from nothing, and it is up to us to create shape
our future and be successful. Remember that money is a great tool, but it is a terrible master if we let it
take over our lives. The key to happiness is not money, but having money can allow us to give back to
others, be generous with those in need, and prepare always for the unexpected.