[libstripper]

Here's a way most people, especially those of you Freepers who are in your 20's, can become millionaires. Her advice really does work. It's caled the magic of compounded earnings built up and not touched for 30 or 40 years. If you invest $1,000 when you're 25 and leave it alone until you're 60 it will double about 4 times and turn into $16,000. $5,000 invested at age 25 at 8% will turn into about $80,000 by age 60. Follow that approach over an entire career and you will retire a millionaire.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Sounds like too much work....







I'm going over to the thread where buying gold cures all your ills.

[kjo]

When large numbers of people have managed to save large amounts of money congress will find a way to take it away.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

$100 placed at 7 percent interest compounded quarterly for 200 years will increase to more than $100,000,000 -- by which time it will be worth nothing.

Lazarus Long

[Fred911]

If you are really smart, you will just marry a millionaire and skip all the hassle.

[linda_22003]

There's a lot of good, simple common sense in this article - but as the saying goes, common sense ain't so common.

One thing I'd add: she does warn people away from home equity loans, and I'd amend that a little. We did do a home equity loan, but we used it the way it was intended - to add on a room, update the kitchen and bathrooms, increase the value of the house. We did NOT use a home equity loan to pay off other debt, buy a car, take a vacation.

[Graybeard58]

I'm going to have much more than a million when that Nigerian feller comes through with my money. I just sent him another check for administrative purposes but just wait and see what he's gonna send me!

[litehaus]

"the net worth column".....Lotsa folks reach this point due to real estate mostly...but that's one helluva diff tween being "worth" a million and having a million bucks in the bank/brokerage account.....

I.E. You can be worth a million and might not be able to pay your bills without spending the capital!

[Son Of The Godfather]

I've got a 7-digit bank account too!...

If you count the minus sign and the two decimal places. :)

[avg_freeper]

It looks like all I need to do is go back in time a decade (or so.... cough, cough) to when I was 25, find a bank that will give a 25 year-old (that looks like a middle aged guy from the future) a savings account with a mere 8% !!!! interest rate, and invest about 62 THOUSAND dollars.

[Teacher317]

Making a million dollars is easy. Start with 20 million, and invest in some liberal causes like Air America.

[Hatteras]

You.. can be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes! You can be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes! You say.. "Steve.. how can I be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes?" First.. get a million dollars.

Now.. you say, "Steve.. what do I say to the tax man when he comes to my door and says, 'You.. have never paid taxes'?" Two simple words. Two simple words in the English language: "I forgot!" How many times do we let ourselves get into terrible situations because we don't say "I forgot"? Let's say you're on trial for armed robbery. You say to the judge, "I forgot armed robbery was illegal." Let's suppose he says back to you, "You have committed a foul crime. you have stolen hundreds and thousands of dollars from people at random, and you say, 'I forgot'?" Two simple words: Excuuuuuse me!!"

[BluH2o]

$5,000 invested at age 25 at 8% will turn into about $80,000 by age 60. Follow that approach over an entire career and you will retire a millionaire.

Allowing for inflation/cost of living increases not really a good strategy. Thirty-five years ago a well equipped upper end automobile cost around $6,000 . Today a comparable vehicle will cost at least $30,000.
Hitting the seven figure mark in net worth ain't what it use to be ... nice to have it, but not the prize it once was.

[joe fonebone]

20 years ago, i read an article about the new millionaires........they are not business people, or lottery winners, but coupon clippers and savvy spenders / savers. Like my grandpa said, and my daddy said, save your money, pay cash for your major purchases ( if ya aint got the cash, ya don't really need it )and you will be able to retire early. Remember, your retirement account is a bill that has to be paid every month, just like your utilities and house payment. start when you are 25, and you will be able to retire at 50.

[Pablo64]

There is a book out by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D, and William D. Danko, Ph.D called The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy, that is a very interesting read. They spent years studying not only how people got wealthy, but just who exactly is the millionaire next door. Most people don't realize who they know among their friends, neighbors, or business acquaintances who are millionaires. It's a very interesting book to read. In it they break down a lot of the old myths and stereotypes about millionaires and back it up with solid data.

[jrp]

Secure retirement? You'll probably need to accumulate at least $2 or $3 million in liquid assets, depending on your desired lifestyle. Or, just get a gubbermint job with gold-plated pension and health insurance benefits....

[Gay State Conservative]

My Dad,a child of the Depression,taught me well regarding money and financial security.He taught me not with words but by example.

Simply put,he worked like the dickens,lived below his means,and never bought anything (except houses) for which he couldn't pay cash.

He had the family homestead,located in an upper middle class suburb of Boston,paid off within 8 years of having bought it...all the while supporting 4 kids and my Mom,who never worked outside the home.

Don't know if this could work for kids starting out today,but "delayed gratification" is something all kids might be wise to consider for their long term security.

[LZ_Bayonet]

Hopefully one of their investments is Long Term Care insurance, or the state might end up getting a lot of that money if one, or both, of them has to go the Medicaid route. Not to mention that the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 disqualifies anyone from Medicaid who has home equity greater than $500,000 (though CA and few other states can set a higher limit). Note: I'm not involved in profiting from LTC insurance sales in any way. Just glad I bought it a few years back.

[cinives]

Of course, todays 25 year olds will find that a million is what they will need to live on per year in 35 years.

[RipSawyer]

Follow that approach over an entire career and you will retire a millionaire.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And you will still be trying to figure out how to make ends meet because of inflation!