A Bloody Good Way To Get A Million Dollars

I know it is a slight exaggeration but I have heard almost a million times in some form or another,

“Ben, you’re in the know, can you tell me the secret to getting a million bucks?”

“I sure can”, I tell them and they look at me with eager anticipation. I then lean in and whisper….. “Save & invest more, then be patient.”

And that is where their eyes glaze over and they say, “Huh? That’s boring, Ben.”

You might very well agree with that sentiment! Well, maybe it is boring, but often the simplest strategy is the most effective, and if boring works then that’s perfectly fine with me!

Think about it, you don’t plant a crop today and expect to harvest tomorrow. You prepare the soil, you plant, you spray, you fertilise, you water (or pray for rain) and you wait. Then eventually with patience, good management and a blessing from the rain gods, you harvest a crop.

So, if you have enough time, I can tell you it is relatively easy to get a million dollars.

Here is a little example to give you an idea of what I mean. How much per week would you need to save and invest to give you $1m by age 60?

Your Age Now             Savings Invested Per Week Required to Achieve $1m by Age 60

30                                $188

35                                $283

40                                $441

45                                $725

50                                $1,329

*assuming an annual 7% return p.a. excluding tax and inflation.

I am not saying these weekly figures are necessarily tiny to everyone, especially if you are 50, but let’s be fair, a million dollars is a lot of money to save, isn’t it?

If that seems all too unaffordable, how much would $200 per week invested from age 40 grow to at age 60?...... Around $450,000!

The million-dollar question is, why isn’t everyone a millionaire or at the least have $100’s or $1,000’s in the bank? The answer is simple – knowledge and discipline. Something I call the ‘knowing-doing gap’ which I will address in a blog another time. Stay tuned!

Before I leave you to ponder the above, there is one other lesson hidden here. It is get cracking early! The longer you leave it, the harder it will be to get to your $1,000,000 or more.

Cheers