How to go from "Average Joe" to Modern Day Millionaire

If you, like most people, earn an average income, then you might think it’s impossible to ever reach millionaire status. The fact of the matter is, however, that you actually can become a millionaire…or at least get pretty close…as long as you’re willing to be smart with your money and follow some simple tips.    

One of the best pieces of advice you can ever follow is to invest your money and to start investing it early on. Really, if you can just save 10 to 20% of your income each month and use it wisely, you’ll be on the right track.

One smart use for the money you’re saving is to put it into a Roth individual retirement account (Roth IRA). If you just let this money sit there and don’t make any withdraws, it will reinvest its own dividend, and the interest will compound. Your money can grow quite a bit over the years. In fact, if you start investing into your Roth IRA at 25, invest about $458 per month, and your money grows at 7% each year, you could expect to have a million dollars by the time you reach age 63 and are ready to retire!

If you’d like to have your money before you reach retirement age, then it’s as simple as stepping up the amount of savings that you invest each month.Even if you can’t quite save enough to reach that million dollar mark, some saving and investing is better than none at all. To find the absolute best investment strategy for your goals and budget, speak with a financial adviser who can provide you with help and advice and get you started on a good “savings strategy.”

Your Guide to Better Investing

You probably already know that investing is an important and smart step for your financial future. Unfortunately, however, while most people realize that fact, they have no idea how to go about creating a smart investment strategy. Don’t worry, though, with our tips, you can create a measurable strategy that will help your investments to flourish and give you a diverse investing portfolio. 

First things first, it is important that your investment strategy be actually, physically written down. A written strategy will give you a clear plan that you can check back on when you have questions or run into problems. That written strategy can also remind you to “stick to the plan” if you feel like veering off your investment course for whatever reason.

The key to writing and creating your perfect strategy is to, first of all, consider what your long-term goals or objectives are and to incorporate those into your strategy design. You can have a professional help you with this part of the process if you like. Most professionals will listen to what your goals are and then figure out how to work them into your perfect plan.

You also want to think about what your strengths are as an investor. Even if you don’t think you have any, there has to be something that gives you that edge over the competition. Maybe you have “insider knowledge” due to the industry in which you work. Or, maybe you just have a knack for picking stocks. Search deep to find your strengths and then incorporate them into your investment plan.

And, speaking of your investment plan, there should also be a section of it devoted to planning your trading activities. Include rules for buying investments and selling them. Then, look at the trading and investing strategies as a whole and determine if they have what it takes to perform well in a variety of market environments. The best plans are diverse enough to work across a range of markets, but at the very least, your plan should work with your intended or likely market(s).

Finally, make sure you have a way to actually measure your investment plan and how well it’s working. Having some kind of benchmark, which, again, a professional can help you to develop, will allow you to determine whether or not your investment strategy is working. If it is, then you can keep things going the way they are, and, if it’s not, at least you’ll know so you can make adjustments as necessary before your strategy hurts you in any way.

Crafting a great investment plan isn’t easy, but it will be worthwhile. Get help where you need it, follow these tips, and make sure your plan is as thorough and detailed as possible, and you should be just fine.

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Easy Tips for Increased Wealth

More money. It’s something all of us want but that few of us know how to get. While there are all kinds of strategies out there for keeping more money in your pocket, you really don’t have to do anything big and major in order to see an increase in your funds. Just doing a few simple things can increase your wealth without majorly altering your lifestyle.   

Buy Stocks

A lot of people think that the stock market and how it works is beyond them, that it’s something only rich or very financially knowledgeable people bother with, but that’s not true at all. Stocks are something that all people should be investing in since they often warrant big returns. You don’t have to make huge investments in the stock market either; simply putting $5 or $10 into a major company or another business that performs well is enough to get you started. For best results, seek to invest in practically foolproof stocks, like stocks offered by big name companies. And, if you’re still feeling a little wary about navigating the stock market yourself, find a qualified financial or investment advisor and ask for some pointers and advice.

Cut Out Credit Card Debt

Constantly trying to “catch up” on credit card payments is one of the easiest ways to find yourself constantly broke. If you’ve gotten in over your head with credit card debt, it’s time to take action. Whether you talk to your credit card provider to work out a new plan, take out a loan to pay off your debt, or just pay as much as you can, a little at a time, the sooner you banish big credit card debt, the sooner you’ll notice increased cash flow.

Take Advantage of Insurance Discounts

Did you know that most insurance companies offer a wide range of discounts for those who qualify? Car insurance companies, for example, often hand over discounts for things like having more than one type of insurance through the same provider, not getting into any accidents within a set time period, or even pursuing an education and making good grades. Unfortunately, a lot of people miss out on insurance discounts because they don’t know about them. If you could stand to save on insurance (and who couldn’t?), talk to your insurance provider about discount options and make sure you take advantage of the ones for which you qualify.

Obviously, there are a lot of different ways to bring more money into your life. Take advantage of these options and keep your eyes peeled for other ways to save more and spend less. You’d be surprised at how many wonderful options there are for increasing your wealth.

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