How to Make a Million Dollars

Making a million dollars is pretty easy if you start early. However, even if you are starting late, you can see what you need to do to have a million dollars by the time you are 65 years old. Assuming your savings are earning 8% annually, if you follow these tips you will be on your way to becoming a millionaire! Do more than recommended to become a multi-millionaire! This is assuming you have not started saving yet. If you already have, you are ahead of the game!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Income
• 401(k) and or IRA
• High Interest Savings account
• Patience
• Goals

1. If you are starting at age 25. *Save $286 per month (you don't even have to make a lot of money to be able to save that much! I bet you can afford to save even more than that!) *Contribute enough to your 401(k) plan to get your company's match. If your work doesn't offer a 401(k), start your own IRA. *Pay off any high interest debt (those nasty credit cards) so you can start saving for a house. *Set up an emergency fund. You should aim for at least 3 months worth of your salary in a savings account that pays at least 3-4% interest. *Invest your money in stocks, if the market is down, you should be optimistic because that is a great time to buy in and acquire more stock since you are a long term VALUE investor. If you are starting in your mid-twenties or earlier, you have a great advantage because time is on your side! *The more you invest at a young age, the better off you will be later on, even if you have to contribute less later on due to life circumstances, you will still be better off than someone who saves more per month, every month who is starting older. The money you have right NOW is worth the most.
2. When your are starting at age 35: *You need to save $671 a month *Try to save 15% of your income and if one parents stays home with kids, open a spousal IRA.
3. When you are starting at age 45: *You need to save $1,698 a month *Contribute up to $15,500 to a 401(k) or other workplace retirement plan or $5000 into an IRA. *Keep your focus on retirement savings. Your kids can get financial aid and loans for school, weddings, cars...you don't get that for retirement.

Tips & Warnings

• Start saving as soon as you start your career. Retirement may seem like a long ways away and you might not want to think about it, but the younger you start, the easier it is to retire a millionaire!
• Don't buy into get rich quick scams that steal your money. The key is to GET RICH SLOW!
• If you want to be rich, live like you are poor! Plus, then you will learn to appreciate what you have.
• If you are new to investing and the market takes a dip, don't get scared off. Over time the market is going to have a lot of ups and down, but overall, for the long term investor, it is going to go up.