The real estate millionaire – Are you a millionaire?
Everyone has an opinion about millionaires. Some love them, some hate them, some want to be, and some think being is the worst thing that could happen to them. Ironically, people’s views of millionaires are often far from the truth of what it really takes to become one, live like one, and more importantly, stay a millionaire. Here are some facts to encourage you to take the big step in your business.
Millionaires are not extravagant – Many millionaires live a simple life. They don’t spend frivolously and they don’t worry about impressing their neighbors. To them, their true worth does not come from their outward appearances.
The proof can be found in the best-selling book, “The Millionaire Next Door,” by Thomas Stanley and William Danko. You’d never guess that the millionaire theme might have something to do with the simple life, but it does.
Millionaires are savers: Most millionaires were not born rich, nor do most of them have exotic high-end jobs. What they do have are simple lifestyles! It’s the simple lifestyles, not the big paychecks, that made these people millionaires. According to the book, your wealth is the result of hard work, perseverance, planning, and above all, self-discipline. If you don’t have the will to save, the seeds of financial success are not in you. Wait until you are a millionaire before trying to live like one.
Why are we not rich? – We regularly and continually give away our money to other people so they can get rich, while living paycheck to paycheck. Very few people pay themselves first. We buy the latest cars, the biggest houses, entire wardrobes, daily espressos, high-tech gadgets and gadgets of all kinds. As a result, we never give ourselves the chance to create the kind of lifestyle we want. We spend a lot of time buying and very little time investing. On the other hand, millionaires are described in the book as “compulsive savers and investors.”
After surveying 1,115 millionaires across the country, authors Stanley and Danko proposed seven common denominators among those who successfully accumulate wealth:
1. They live far below their means.
2. They allocate their time, energy, and money efficiently, in ways that create wealth.
3. They believe that financial independence is more important than displaying high social status.
4. Your parents did not provide affordable outpatient care.
5. Your adult children are financially self-sufficient.
6. They are competent in selecting market opportunities.
7. They chose the correct occupations.
Nowhere on this list was “buying a luxury car or boat.” Spending money on “toys” and other things gets you nowhere. You must have an investor mindset. I don’t like to buy things that don’t pay me rent. The simple life is about living conservatively and with purpose. This means being in control of your money and spending. When you save and invest your money instead of spending it, you are in control of your future. Then you have the decision how you would like to spend your time. For me, I had better things to do than sit behind a desk for 10 hours a day.
Eventually, after a period of time investing and saving, you will reach a point where your investments will outgrow the income you generate by working full time. This is where your life will have new options. You have the ability to work only part-time or not work at all. This is very different from living paycheck to paycheck. You now have the ability to decide and live the rest of your life on your own terms. What lifestyle do you dream of? Do you want to spend more time with your family? Do you want to donate your time or money to a worthwhile cause? It becomes all about options at this point. Choose wisely.
The Millionaire Next Door: “The flashy millionaires the media extols as glamor actually represent only a tiny minority of America’s wealthy,” Stanley and Danko say in the book. “Most of the truly rich in this country don’t live in Beverly Hills or on Park Avenue, they live next door.”
The authors say that the typical wealthy individual is a businessman or woman who has lived in the same town for their entire adult life and owns a small factory, chain store, or service company. He or she lives next door to people with a fraction of their wealth. His survey indicated that while the paycheck crowd drives new cars, most millionaires don’t. They don’t wear expensive clothes or watches, and their homes are relatively modest compared to their financial status. Not everyone who has wealth chooses to display it.
If you really want to be a millionaire, you must get into the habit of spending less and investing more. Eventually, you may get to the point where you see the value in investing and don’t want to spend money on anything that doesn’t give you a return. It really is fun to watch your wealth grow. It happens faster than you think. The key to success is getting started.