Are you a millionaire? A millionaire is not necessarily someone who has a million dollars in the bank. The million dollars is calculated by your net worth. Your net worth is calculated by subtracting your liabilities from your assets. For example, your assets include all cash, investments, your home, and anything else you have of value. Your liabilities include all debt such as what you owe on your house, credit card debt, car loans, etc. Subtract your liabilities from your assets and you have your net worth.
Now do you have a million dollars? Probably not. If you have a negative net worth, you are in an even worse situation. You are also probably somewhat jealous of those who are millionaires. You picture them as people who are doctors, lawyers, and CEOs that make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. They have multimillion dollar houses, they fly first class several times a year to expensive vacation destinations. They drive fancy cars and go to all the fancy expensive restaurants everyday.
Sure, these people probably are millionaires, but many people that make over $100,000 a year aren't theses people. It's not how much money they make that makes them millionaires. A lot of the people that live this previously mentioned life are movie stars, CEOs making a million or more dollars a year, or heirs of million dollar businesses. You can be a millionaire and feel financially secure without living this lavish lifestyle AND you don't have to make $100,000 a year.
In order to be a millionaire, it takes discipline, creativity, drive, and little bit of common sense. You have to be disciplined enough to save and invest your money. If you can only save $100 a year, even if you have 40 years to earn your first million, it's unlikely you will unless you get VERY lucky in the stock market. You need to be disciplined enough to pass on going out to dinner every once and a while and to buy a cheaper car.
You need to be creative in that you learn to find other ways to earn money. Making a million dollars could take 30, 40, or 50 years, or it could take much less if you make more money. Yes, it is possible to earn a million dollars on a $40,000 a year salary, but it's going to take a lot more time and a lot more discipline to save as much of it as you can. If you can create multiple streams of income for yourself, you will have much less you will need to save.
You need to have drive to get to your million. You could be disciplined for 5 years and have $200,000, but if you lose your drive and spend it all, you have to start over. You really need to want a million dollars in order to get it.
Finally, a little bit of common sense will help as well. It's common sense that if you start selling off your stocks to fund your spending, you won't make more money. It's common sense to go to college to get a better job to make more money. It's common sense to spend less and save more. A million dollars is yours to be had, don't let it pass you by.
