Everyone talks about getting rich.
But what does it actually take to get there?
These are 8 foundational steps to become a millionaire that can hopefully motivate you on your journey.
This article was written by a Financial Horse Contributor.
1. Be willing to do what it takes
If you want to be a millionaire, you need to be clear this is your goal.
Set your goal and make sure this is your priority.
If you are not serious about your goal, you’ll not have the focus required to achieve it.
Do you really want to build wealth?
A lot of people say they want to be wealthy, but are unwilling to make the changes required to get there.
Don’t just say you want to be a millionaire, take action!
If you want to have wealth, you also have to want the hard work and sacrifice that is required.
Know that while the initial stages can be hard, the results are well worth it.
The peace of mind that financial freedom brings you is priceless.
2. Keep yourself accountable
You need to know and track your finances, so you are accountable.
Know your exact net worth right now – list out all your bank accounts, CPF, investments, debt etc.
Make use of SGFinDex to make sure you get a complete picture.
Know your numbers, and keep track of your progress.
Celebrate the wins as you get closer to your goals.
Ask yourself:
- where do you want to be in the next 3 months?
- where do you want to be in the next 1 year?
- where do you want to be in the next 3 years?
3. Increase the gap between income and expenses
If you want to build wealth quickly, you need to focus on what you’re actually saving and investing every month.
This is the result of increasing your income, while maintaining/decreasing your expenses.
If you just focus on income while inflating your lifestyle, you’ll find yourself not saving and investing enough.
If you’re spending all your time on budgeting instead of earning, you’ll find that your net worth struggles to go up.
Do both.
If you tackle both income and expenses together, you’ll find wealth accumulation gets much faster.
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4. Get rid of toxic beliefs about money
If your parents were always arguing about money growing up, you may have deep-rooted negative views about money.
If you think rich people are greedy or evil, then how will you be able to become wealthy?
Re-write the narrative.
Rethink your thoughts about money.
Think about successful role models you like, and write down what you admire about them.
Take time and effort to really dive deep about their success story and think about what separates you and them.
Think about how you can grow to have these qualities you admire.
Know that you too, can become successful if you work at it.
Expand your knowledge and competencies so you feel more confident.
Surround yourself with other like-minded people so you know what’s possible, and are inspired by them.
If they can do it, so can you.
5. Hard skills + Soft skills
To maximize income, you need both hard and soft skills.
These are some high-earning hard skills:
- Professional skills
- Data analytics
- Product development
- Coding
- Project mangement
- Marketing
- Software development
Multiply hard skills with soft skills.
Sales is a great example where hard and soft skills intersect.
If you can sell, you can multiply your income with no limits.
We are able to access incredible knowledge for very little these days, so make it a point to always be upskilling.
Check out the top 10 podcasts and tools for personal finance and investing.
6. Make money while you sleep
Once you’ve starting boosting your primary income (while keeping your expenses low), you’ll start to realize that there is a limit to what you can do with 24 hours a day.
This is why all successful and wealthy people make sure they make money while they sleep.
This means focusing on multiple income streams, and building passive income, such as:
- high yield savings account
- dividend income
- REITs portfolio
- bonds
- alternative investments
- rental income
- e-commerce business
- content creator
- affiliate marketing
- house hacking
- side hustles
Check out our 11.11 flash sale for the REITs Investing Masterclass!
7. Learn to lead
If you want to escalate your income, you need to learn how to lead others a team.
This means getting into managerial roles at work and leading a team.
Or hiring and expanding your team to grow your business revenue.
Even at an individual level, you need to be able to utilize experts to help you manage money, grow money, and be tax-efficient.
If you only rely on your own 2 hands to earn money, it will be difficult to snowball your earnings.
8. Practice mindfulness
Finally, we need to have a rich mindset.
If you have scarcity mindset (focusing on what you lack instead of what you have) , you will be stuck on the hamster wheel of chasing more and more.
This is why some high income-earners are actually in a lot of debt, because they are chasing the next bigger and better thing, while feeling empty inside.
If you are unhappy, you will find that money leaves very easily.
Think of how easy it is to waste money when you are stressed or feeling down.
Instead, practice mindfulness.
Be grateful for what you have, and be mindful of how you spend your money.
Use money to enrich your life and mind.
If you can appreciate what money can do for you, you’ll feel contented and abundant.