One of my favorite websites, Budgets are $exy, organized a challenge to anyone on the quest for the big “million.” Welcome to the Million Dollar Club. Today is the day I announce my membership into this elite club. Ok, well maybe it’s not that elite haha, anyone can join!
With a goal you have to take very deliberate steps to make it happen. For me, writing things down and seeing it on paper helps me visualize the goal in my head.
I have a goal of retiring with a couple million dollars across my retirement savings accounts. Unlike the average American, my goal isn’t to retire so I can travel and spend my money until I keel over and die… I’d rather use my money to help people less fortunate than myself, spread the Gospel, volunteer, and make an impact on people’s lives. At the same time, I don’t want to retire at a late age and be broke. Thankfully, God has blessed me with a promising and fulfilling career path. It’s my duty to be responsible with what God has given me.
To achieve my goal of becoming a millionaire, I have outlined some steps to make this happen. Although your situation might be different than mine, certain aspects of the following steps will be similar to steps you might take.
My personal To-Do list:
- Max out my Roth-Ira at $5,000/year. I’m with Vanguard and hold a simple group of assets: US stocks index, total bond index, and international index. I manage my investment accounts through
tradeMONSTER. - Pay off the last $5,000 on my auto loan. My goal is to pay this off in the coming months and keep my car for 10+ years. It’s a 2004 Acura TL with 80k miles, so it should last a long long time.
- Take full advantage of my employer’s 401k matching plan. Goal is to contribute $10k of my own money and my employer to match. I will commit to investing at least $10k/year and raising this amount if I’m able to in the future.
- Invest every dollar of every company bonus I receive. What better way to treat yourself than to invest your bonus and possibly retire months or years earlier?
- Sell all my unwanted stuff. I’m huge into living life as a minimalist. My rule of thumb is if I haven’t used something in a year, I sell it if I can.
- I will take full advantage of credit card offers and make as much money off these companies as I can without incurring a cent of owed interest to them. Cash back, hotel points, air miles, it all adds up. Since I’ve started, I’ve made roughly $1500 a year in credit card rewards and bonuses. Over 30+ years, these few dollars now will be a large number later.
- Avoid purchasing items that are not necessities. Do I want a 60″ flat screen television? Sure, that would be sweet, but do I need it? No, definitely not. The key here is to think twice before I buy expensive items.
- Check my accounts on a daily basis and keep track of my financial progress and goals. I use Mint.com to help with this.
- Live frugally and seek discount on everything from clothing to groceries. This means using coupons, site like Groupon, and waiting until the off seasons to buy clothes. I’m willing to take a hit to the pride and make a million bucks.
- Keep working away on Free Money Wisdom. I’m new to blogging and have a passion for helping people with personal finance. I’m excited to not only help people but also make some side money along the way.
I’m well on my way. Using CNN’s millionaire calculator, I should make my first million in 14 years at age 37. My goal is to retire at age 55.
And there it is. Before you, my 10 pledges I’m making to become a millionaire. Like anything in life, this will take perseverance and sacrifice. BRING IT ON!
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