(06-13-2018, 05:57 PM)pirkster Wrote: Becoming a millionaire isn't as hard as it sounds these days.  A millionaire being, someone with a million dollars net worth (not a million dollar annual income.)

There a few rules that you must not break, but some refuse to follow anyway.

1.  Save money.  Have a budget that includes savings and stick to it.
2.  Pay cash for everything besides a home loan.  Never borrow money except for your home.
3.  Don't buy a home unless you have 20% down.
4.  Work both sides of the equation.  Get another job if you need to raise your income.
5.  Don't be stupid and ignore rules 1-4.  People of all incomes have become millionaires following this plan.  Close to 90% of today's millionaires did it themselves - they did NOT inherit it.

I was reading a very interesting article the other day talking about how many of the younger generation millionaires no longer buy homes until well into their careers. Renting allows flexibility to move quickly to compensate your income or financial resources and doesn't come with the obligation to come out of pocket for essential maintenance(water heater, AC repair, Landscaping). It also allows the only complete form of protection against changing markets that can cost people tens of thousands. 

Another interesting but unrelated topic the article covered was the correlation between the income of the people to whom you surround yourself and you own income level. It was suggesting that if you analyze your 5 closest friends who see the most and there income levels and compare them to your own there at normally similar. It wasn't suggesting that if you surround yourself with millionaires you just become that. But more that if you surround yourself with successful people you are more inclined to pick up on habits that promote success.

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