So lately, one thing I enjoy doing is reading about people who are already millionaires (or even billionaires) and learning how they got to where they are. The best way to achieve a goal is to mimic how other people have successfully achieved that same goal. What habits did they develop? What advice do they share? So here are some ideas that I have gathered over the last few months. I guess it's my own little "habits of highly-successful people" list.
1. Get an education. There are people who make it without one, but they are the exception not the rule. Not everyone can be billionaire dropouts like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerburg. My parents always made education a priority in my life and for that I will always be grateful!
2. Get rid of debt! Dave Ramsey is all about cutting up those credit cards and only buying something if you have the funds in the bank to cover it. Cars, vacations, gadgets...everything but your house should be bought with cash (or a debit card). To help in this effort, I recently sold my beloved SUV. Luckily, it was worth more than I owed so I was able to take the cash left over and buy a cheaper, older, but still decent commuter car.
3. Live below your means. I just read this article about Bill Gates that really impressed me.
" I play tennis, I play bridge, I spend time with my family. I drive myself around town in a normal Mercedes. I’ve had a Lexus. The family has a Porsche, which is a nice car that we sometimes take out. We have a minivan and that’s what we use when it’s the five of us." - Bill GatesBill Gates drives his family around in a freaking minivan! Are you kidding me? If he can live below his means, anyone can. It's a simple concept - spend less money then you earn - but it does require a lot of discipline. Don't be like MC Hammer or Michael Jackson and buy everything in sight just because you can. That's a quick way to go bankrupt.
4. Save. One of my favorite stories from Dave Ramsey's class was of a newlywed couple that wanted to buy a house. They both had jobs and made a combined $90,000 a year. Instead of getting a mortgage right away they found a cheap apartment above some old lady's garage and they lived on $40,000 a year. The wife's mother was furious that he would make her live like this, but 4 years later they $200,000 in the bank, they found a deal on a house for $150,000, and he gave her $50,000 to furnish the place. Without ANY debt that $90,000 they make now goes to whatever they want. Wow. Saving is empowering.
5. Be charitable. Whatever your reasons may be - religious, moral, karma, tax deductions, whatever - it is important to be charitable and generous with your money even when you're not making a lot of it. This is a habit that many millionaires advocate. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, probably the two most famous billionaires in the US, have embarked on a quest to get the world's wealthiest people to sign a pledge that they will donate the majority of their fortunes to charity. I find that incredibly inspiring. Bill Gates has given away $24 billion of his personal fortune to help eradicate diseases like malaria and polio from 3rd world countries. Mark Zuckerburg just gave away $100 million to the Newark School District. Their money is saving lives and empowering people all over the world. Make a difference in the world. Give some money to a good cause.
Phew! That is probably my longest blog post ever! I guess now the trick is to live up to it...check back with me in 40 years to see if I did it.
