Two Easy Strategies to Help You Become a Millionaire

Two Easy Strategies to Help You Become a Millionaire

Joshua D.Pro Member
BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes

I know that BiggerPockets.com is a website devoted to real estate investing, but our ultimate goal is to help our visitors find wealth. I was just reminded of a few simple steps towards creating enormous wealth from an article, Meet the Automatic Millionaires. The article actually profiles two relatively hardworking families that have set their sights on becoming millionaires (and have succeeded). What is their big secret?

1. Living frugally / below your means.
2. Paying yourself first

Using this two-prong approach, you can be on your way to becoming a millionaire. Think of all the money you can save by cutting out the Starbucks or a pack of smokes. In a year, you could have a decent down payment on some property. Packing a lunch for work and cooking more often at home are other really easy ways to save up. What about holding off on that new car, and staying with the tried and true used car. Your friends may not be impressed, but they will be when you retire 10 years before they do.

Paying yourself first is another easy thing to help you towards millionairedom. If you take money out of every paycheck and set it aside towards your savings or investments, you will be on your way. The easiest way to do this is by setting up automatic transfers into a savings account from your paycheck. You should set what you pay yourself according to what you can afford, but you must make sure you do it. Setting up a regular program will bring rewards very quickly. Imagine what you can save by taking out $10, $50, $100, $250, even $500 a paycheck to pay yourself. It adds up.

The Figures Below do not include interest:

Paying yourself $10 every two weeks saves you $260/year
Paying yourself $25 every two weeks saves you $650/year
Paying yourself $50 every two weeks saves you $1,300/year
Paying yourself $100 every two weeks saves you $2,600/year
Paying yourself $250 every two weeks saves you $6,500/year
Paying yourself $500 every two weeks saves you $13,000/year

Imagine what interest will add . . . (interest rates are rising steadily!)

So, if you’re looking to start acting like a future millionaire, create a plan of living below your means and paying yourself first. You won’t regret it!
:groovy:

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Dayton, OH · Member since 2008 · 517 posts · 17 votes
20y

Well I can work up the totals... but like most things financial it depends on a few assumptions. The problem lies within the compounding interest i.e. the interest you earn is added to your pile, and then interest is calculated from your savings PLUS your interest.

@ 4% interest in 10 years:

Saving $10 every two weeks you would have $3,193.88 ($593.88)
Saving $25 every two weeks you would have $7984.70 ($1484.70)
Saving $50 every two weeks you would have $15,969.40 ($2,969.40)
Saving $100 every two weeks you would have $31,938.80 ($5,938.80)
Saving $250 every two weeks you would have $79,847.01 ($14,847.01)
Saving $500 every two weeks you would have $159,694.02 ($29,694.02)

Amounts in parenthesis are interest that you earned over 10 years.

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  • Member since 2008 · 149 posts · 4 votes
    20y

    Great article! I've been working on the whole living below my means thing for a while, and it is great to have all that extra money in hand. I think I'll start workng on paying myself first now. I'm sure it is going to take some discipline, but you've opened my eyes a bit.

    You can open an account with Emigrant Direct and get 4% on your money right now. Go to http://emigrantdirect.com/ - it is a legit bank and pays great!

    I hope someone can work up the totals you've mentioned with interest - taking the 4% into account . . ..

    Anyone?

  • Dayton, OH · Member since 2008 · 517 posts · 17 votes
    20y

    Well I can work up the totals... but like most things financial it depends on a few assumptions. The problem lies within the compounding interest i.e. the interest you earn is added to your pile, and then interest is calculated from your savings PLUS your interest.

    @ 4% interest in 10 years:

    Saving $10 every two weeks you would have $3,193.88 ($593.88)
    Saving $25 every two weeks you would have $7984.70 ($1484.70)
    Saving $50 every two weeks you would have $15,969.40 ($2,969.40)
    Saving $100 every two weeks you would have $31,938.80 ($5,938.80)
    Saving $250 every two weeks you would have $79,847.01 ($14,847.01)
    Saving $500 every two weeks you would have $159,694.02 ($29,694.02)

    Amounts in parenthesis are interest that you earned over 10 years.

  • Member since 2008 · 20 posts · 0 votes
    19y

    Great Article :D

  • Member since 2008 · 14 posts · 0 votes
    18y

    Tip on saving cash on lunch, rice. Just make like 1/2 a cup of rice before work and pack some hot sauce or soy sauce and it makes a great substitute and is filling. A little to filling, also you could mix it up and change sauces or cook in fish or a type of meat or veggies. 10 pounds of rice will run you about what you'd pay for one day's worth of lunch and will probably last you a year.

    Also many banks offer a brokerage service, at least with wellsfargo they have a money market account that is highly liquid, i can get cash from it in ~2-3 days, and it pays monthly interest at a 4.65% APR. I wouldnt recommend using them for actual stock trading, they have a $20 commission on trades.

  • Member since 2008 · 65 posts · 2 votes
    18y

    Some good thoughts.

    There is an excellent book which talks about this in an ancient parable-esque way - The Richest Man in Babylon. Two key points are 1) pay yourself first (10% no matter what) and 2) make your money work for you. I think the book was written in the 1920s.

  • Member since 2008 · 17 posts · 0 votes
    18y

    Great advice on growing your wealth. These are two easy steps anyone can take to advance their financial position. I'm surprised to not see "buy instead of rent" on here, but then again... this is a real estate forum so I suppose anything based around that is a given.

  • Residential Real Estate Agent · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 9 votes
    18y

    hey there Josh-

    Nice topic I love the idea because lately I have lived way over my means and I am not being shy about that either. But if we all saved a little here and there and decided that we didn't need to go out tonight that would make a big difference. Thanks for the advice and I think I will start right now on living well within my own means, talk to you all soon enough!

  • Investor · Fayetteville , NC · Member since 2008 · 19 posts · 0 votes
    18y

    I've got the paying yourself first part down. I sock a way 15% of my pay in retirement accounts. It's the living frugally part that's tough for me. I like good quality stuff. Does living frugally mean I have to buy cheap, low quality living necesities? Such as cars, furniture, clothing etc.

  • Loveland, CO · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 123 votes
    18y

    I'm glad that sparky621 brought up the "living low quality" part of this. Living "below" your means does NOT mean living with low quality "things" or eating "cheap cra**y meals.

    I'm frugal, my wife is CHEAP. We don't eat at fast food places, in fact we seldom eat at any restaurant that has more than one location! We both drive nice cars, Lexus and Infinity, one is an 03 the other is an 04 and (unless someone comes up with a true electic with 250 mile range) neither will be replaced until about 2010 at the earliest. On of them is the first NEW car either of us ever owned!

    When we were in our early 50s (about 10 years ago) we had enough assets to never work again. But it's impossible to change the HABITS of a lifetime, on average I spend about 4 hours searching for plane tickets before we travel, I always know where the cheapest gas in town is, I always search for coupons for hotels on driving trips,

    I just replaced our 6 year old cell phones with new ones, I mentally plan out any driving trip, even daily ones and our monthly trip to the big city, I've always bought my clothes on sale.

    I bought me skis, boots and poles on sale, I ski at least 3 weeks every year (with a ski club-the best value). BTW when I bought that gear (in Vail) 4 other members of our club bought new gear the same week; their average cost-$975, my cost $355!

    We just replaced our old sofa, which we had purchased in IIRC about '84. However it was very expensive when we purchased it, about $2300, probably a month's take home pay for me at the time. The build quality on it was unbelievable.

    I still own a pair of Johnston and Murphy shoes that I purchased in 1976, new soles once or twice, new heels several times more. A lady I worked with complimented me on them (in about '93 or '94) and asked how much I had paid for them. I answered; "I don't know, I'm not through with them yet".

    Any modern car should last 250K miles, without any major work. A battery, alternator, brakes and tires are much less than car payments. I change my oil and filter every 5,000 miles, without fail

    Good clothes, well taken care of should last a very long time, shoe trees! Hangers!

    Quality doesn't cost, it pays.

    Shop hard, bargain hard, enjoy the fruits of what you have bargained for.

    The worst purchase you can ever make is a "new" car. It's only new until the payment book arrives in the mail.

    The average car payment is probably between $350-$400/month and as soon as it's paid off the owner feels obligated to replace it. Take that $350/month and put it in a good growth mutual fund and it'll be a million $$ in (you do the math) ??? years.

    all cash

  • York, PA · Member since 2008 · 227 posts · 0 votes
    18y

    Sparky,

    Good for you on the savings part.

    Frugality and Quality are two different measurements. The point of this post is that you should be living on less than 50% of your income. For everything, and you can live on less than that if you are smart. Listen to Dave Ramsey and Clark Howard. Read Thomas Stanley's books. A large income only gets you so far.

    As Cash said ... a brand new car is one of the worst investments you can make. Instead of buying a BMW, buy a Honda Accord. Instead of buying a new Accord every two or three years, maintain it properly and wait seven, eight or ten years.

    There is a historical reason that your mortgage should not be more than 25% - 33% of your income. I know someone who pays 60% of their income to their mortgage?!?!?. That's crazy.

    If you are buying a new cell phone every year or so ... that's not frugal.

    Nobody is saying that you should done a sweater and turn the heat down to 55 degrees. You don't need to eat Mac & cheese everyday.

    My wife and I were both in the military. When I got out in 1999 my income tripled over what our combined income was the year before. We still lived like we were in the military. We could have gone out and bought a big house and two new cars. We bought a townhouse and waited a year and half before buying a car.

    We have saved as long as we have been together. We have also saved like we are not going to get social security or a pension. Even today, with a much larger income, we still save/invest about 30% of our income.

    Good Luck,

    Jason

  • Member since 2008 · 12 posts · 0 votes
    18y

    Nice article thanks for sharing. Well, I hope I can save more money and become millionaire someday.

  • Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2008 · 44 posts · 5 votes
    18y

    I have often felt that it is more about what you spend then what you make.

  • Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2008 · 12 posts · 0 votes
    18y
    Originally posted by "Brokerca":
    I have often felt that it is more about what you spend then what you make.

    Aaaaaaaaaah, exactly. According to Mr. Kiyosaki ("Rich Dad, Poor Dad"), it's not how much you make, it's how much you keep!

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