So many of us set goals like trying to become a millionaire by the age of thirty or forty. (Confession: Once upon a time, I thought that 27 was reasonable with the way the stock market was going). Some of us set a goal of being wealthy enough to take that dream vacation or buy that dream house. The problem is that those “some days” won’t become a reality unless you start putting a plan into motion right now. Unless you suddenly win the lottery, money isn’t going to fall into your pocket. Hoping for a big lottery win is no way to plan for your future, so here are some proven ways that you can start getting wealthy right now.
- Start small – Rome wasn’t built in a day and you’re not going to become independently wealthy overnight either. The best strategy is to start small, saving a few bucks here and there. It will add up over time, even if it seems like a slow way to build wealth. What you’re doing is building the foundation for your next wealth building exercises.
- Put your money to work – Once you’ve got some money put aside, don’t let it sit there and don’t bury it in the back yard. Start investigating some safe investments that will provide good returns. For example, bonds or even certificates of deposit are a great way to start seeing some extra money. High interest bearing savings accounts are another. You don’t want to sink your money into bad investments at this point (or ever) so play it safe and again, start small.
- Find your inner entrepreneur – If your job just isn’t going to help you realize your dreams of wealth, it’s time to think about adding some secondary streams of income that you can rely on. Whether you spend the money you make from your ventures or put it aside, you’ll have a lot more financial freedom. Of course, if you want to get wealthy, the key is making that money work for you.If you’ve got a talent, start using it. Open up your own small business or start your own company. Just don’t quit your day job unless your business really starts to pay off. It will take time to build it up, but you’ll eventually be able to strike out on your own and be wealthier for your trouble.
- Consider real estate – Smart investments in real estate can really pay off, especially over the long term. Read up on flipping properties or think about buying property that you will then rent out. There is a lot of money to be had in real estate and you can do quite well with the right property. Just make sure to take your time and make wise decisions to avoid ending up with a money pit.
These are four simple ways that you can start building wealth right now. You have it in you, you just need to buckle down and get down to business. Financial security doesn’t have to be a pie in the sky idea any more.
Agreed, building a foundation for the financial future is better than doing nothing. I am also just saving/making a few dollars here and there and I feel that this mentality will carry on to a wealthier future.
It’s only 3 ways to build wealth- real estate, entrepreneurship, and the stock market
You gave good details in all 3.
The problem is that many people do not have the patience to watch their money grow.
Good call, Moneymonk, I got a little wrapped up in the bullet points.
i just wanted to say that my husband and i were able to take our dream vacation and pay cash for the entire thing a year after we got married. we spent 9 days in Hawaii and did everything we wanted to do without hesitating about money (tours, snorkeling, shopping, dining in the finest restaurants). not too shabby for being only 23 and 24 years old :)
I also thinking contributing to a Roth IRA is avery important for young people wanting long term wealth.
I’ve been trying to get the entrepreneurship part down for a while, hence the blogging, freelancing, etc. But I feel like I need to take a drastic step to make these earnings really matter. Right now I’m making chump change and while it is slowly growing, I’m curious if it’ll ever be “enough” at this rate. I’d like to clear around $500-$1000 a month (something you do already, right Lazy?). What can we do to take our meager additional earnings into that next level?
A lot of people underestimate the “small,” they think that unless they make some big impactful-feeling change… nothing actually changes. But it’s the small stuff that makes the most difference. Stop drinking one can of regular soda a day and watch pounds melt off as you skip 110 calories a day. It’s just that simple for money too.
I don’t know much about investments but my mom has helped me buying some unit trusts. However, it’s been 1 year but there doesn’t seem to be any changes. Is it true unit trusts takes a long time?
I don’t know much about unit trusts, but I will say that there seem to be any changes in the stock market for the year – unless you count downward changes.
My problem is that I keep “starting now”. I don’t seem to have any consistency when it comes to saving money.
Every single accomplishment I have ever achieved has come from hard work. Whether it was academic, athletic or career related everything comes through hard work. I am just starting my wealth building phase, but I imagine the success of my wealth building will be due to hard work. Whether it’s entrepreneurial, career advancement or successful saving and investing it’s called work for a reason. It’s not easy.
Nice list LazyMan.
The problem is that in our instant gratification society its tough to invest $1000 today and expect to earn $1000 in dividends/interest off that investment in 30-35 years when you could splurge the money on yourself now.
People want immediate results, and that’s why most would not only not reach the wealthy status, but most won’t have enough saved for retirement as well
I get my motivation to keep up with the small stuff by using projected growth calculators (like the one at MoneyChimp or Bankrate).
Seeing the projected income curve start off small and get really big is a great encouragement. If I’m feeling discouraged, I’ll check and see how an extra $500 a year will shorten the timeframe, and it keeps me excited about baby steps.
It’s nice to have saved enough that now (in my 40s) all those online retirement calculators show I’ll have to save an additional *negative* dollar amount/year to meet my financial retirement goal.
But I think it’s the big stuff that counts – on the expense side, think housing and vehicles.
Living in under 1500 sq.ft. and driving a 10 year old car (both paid for years ago) let me free up significant cash flow, even on my relatively modest income.
Continuing to do the above will allow me to add significantly to my net worth over the next couple of decades.
Start-Up: I agree, but if things were easy then everyone would do them … and then it wouldn’t be as successful, right? :)
Agreed. These things however need to be timed well. Real estate for example is deemed to be the positive way of investing but but again as we’ve seen in the last few years therez been a big drop and made all think again.
I don’t know about getting rich, but it isn’t as hard as many people think to get wealthy. Investing in something like real estate can really provide some disposable income within a short time.