Replies

Why do you assume someone earning minimum wage will “never” be a millionaire?

Perhaps never is too strong a word. I think the financial advice given is sound and that most people will benefit.

But these articles seem to always ignore where you start from and imply that becoming a millionaire is as simple as applying a couple basic rules.

It doesn't negate the advice, but if all the people cited by the article were corporate attorney couples with double six figure incomes, then that advice might not be as relevant than if all the people cited were college dropouts who spent their lives working at Starbucks. Where you start has to have at least some affect on how much effort is involved. By not saying, or not taking into account, where these examples started, the author makes the advice less impactful than it otherwise would be.

I have to believe that there are some cases where it's all but mathematically impossible. After all, you not only have to make a million, you have to make a million plus whatever it costs for you to live, regardless of how frugal you happen to be, and you have to live long enough to accumulate that end result. For example, if you work double shifts ($80 hours a week) at $10/hour, the most you're going to rake in, not counting taxes, and assuming you survive, is $40k. It takes 25 years to accumulate $1m at that rate. If you start on that plan at 65, I don't think you're going to make it.

Why do people assume that they have to earn through their own labor every single one of their “one million dollars”.

If you earn 7.2 percent interest per year on your investments and reinvest the interest earned as its earned, your “money” will double in value every ten years without adding a single dollar further.

Tax free, triple AAA municipal bonds from a economically sound state will easily accomplish a doubling of your investments every 10 years.

100,000 dollars in ten years is 200,000
200,000 dollars in another ten years is 400,000
400,000 dollars in another ten years is 800,000
800,000 dollars in another ten years is 1,600,000.

People who say it’s impossible just don’t understand basic 8th grade mathematics.

If you start with 100 dollars and deposit 10 dollars every day for 1156 days ( that 3 years and 2 months ) in an investment instrument that earns 7 percent per year compounded daily you will have $100,115.17 at the end of 1156 days.

If you let that 100,000 dollars sit and earn 7 percent per year compunded annually for 40 years without ever adding a single dollar again it will be worth 1.6 million dollars.

Your first million dollars takes 5 years, 105 days if you faithfully save and INVEST 10 dollars ever day.

I see a lot of people spend more that 10 dollars a day at 7-11, on lottery tickets, fast food and starbucks every day.

Mathematically it is very doable.

The entire key to success is consistency of long periods of time.