Building wealth is not easy, but it’s also not as hard as you may imagine it to be. If you aren’t born into money, you may have a lot to learn about how to become a millionaire or even a multi-millionaire, but doing so is entirely possible no matter where you start from. The tips below can help you grow your wealth and create a solid base of financial independence.
Adjust Your Mindset
You might be tempted to skip over this part in favor of more concrete, practical tips, but the truth is that an important part of building wealth and achieving financial independence is the mental game. That doesn’t mean that if you think positive, you’ll get rich, but it does mean that having a negative attitude about your prospects can reduce your chances of success. If you don’t value your worth and don’t think you can ever make a lot of money, you might ask for too low a salary when you are negotiating your pay. You might become overwhelmed while researching good investments and tell yourself that none of it will matter anyway. You might ignore investment opportunities because you think things can’t possibly work out well for you.
These are not uncommon attitudes to have. If you grew up in a household where finances were unstable or if you’ve always lived paycheck to paycheck, it can be tough to convince yourself that anything different is within your grasp. But believing that can lead to poor decision-making so that the belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. You’ll need to do more than simply tell yourself that you can succeed, but you do need that belief in place in the first place in order to move forward.
Get an Education
You don’t have to command a seven-figure salary in order to build wealth, but the more money that you do have, the easier it will be. That means taking steps that will increase the likelihood that you’ll make a decent salary. A college education is necessary for many higher-paying jobs. The costs associated with an education can be high, so you will need to figure out how you’ll cover those costs. You can utilize Going Merry scholarships for college students that can provide you with money that you don’t have to pay back. You can search and apply for them and other scholarships online. You may be able to cover all of your expenses via scholarships and grants, which would mean you didn’t have to take out any loans at all.
Stay Out of Debt
You might end up having to borrow some money to cover the rest of your college costs although you should keep your loans as minimal as possible. Besides that, you should try to avoid taking on any other debt other than a mortgage, which is generally considered good debt. A car loan may be unavoidable, but try to purchase the most economical vehicle you can. People do not acquire and hold onto wealth because they are big spenders but because they are savers, and you should do your best to stay out of debt and pay down any existing debt that you have quickly.
Get Started in Investing
You are unlikely to become wealthy on what you make at your job alone. Investing can secure and grow your money whether your paycheck is a big one or a small one. There are a few different stages to this. With the exception of contributing to your retirement account at work, you should hold off on investing until you’ve paid off all your debts except your mortgage and established an emergency savings account with enough in it to cover at least three months of expenses. Once you are in a good position regarding these two things, you can start investing by creating an online brokerage account. This will give you the opportunity to work with a roboadvisor to set up a portfolio or to do some paper trading to help you learn your way around the stock market. This is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to get your feet wet with investing. Later, you may want to get more involved in choosing various vehicles for investment or focus on specific areas, such as investing in real estate.
Disclaimer: This content does not necessarily represent the views of IWB.