Want to learn how to become a millionaire by 30? Here’s my story on how I reached a million dollar net worth before 30. It involved a lot of luck, a lot of effort, and a lot of risk.
I believe all Financial Samurai readers will eventually become millionaires due to disciplined saving and savvy investing over time. If you keep reading and listening about personal finance, it's hard not to keep moving in the right financial direction over time. In fact, the average America household is a millionaire based on the Federal Reserve's latest data for 2022.
Now that I'm 48, in retrospect, I should have taken even more risk. Taking more calculated risk is a key theme if you want to become a millionaire at a relatively young age.
The second key theme to become a millionaire by age 30 is to own appreciating assets that work hard for you. Eventually, you will tire of the grind. When that time comes, you will hopefully have at least one million dollars in assets generating passive income.
Finally, if you really want to be a millionaire, you need to come up with a plan and follow it. When it comes to your finances, you can't just wing it. You must be intentional!
Suggestion to become a millionaire:
In addition to building wealth through stocks and private AI companies, also invest in real estate. Real estate provides the powerful one-two punch of principal appreciation and rental income growth over time Fundrise manages about $3 billion in private real estate investments, mainly in the Sunbelt region where valuations are lower and yields tend to be higher. I've personally invested over $400,000 with Fundrise, a long-time sponsor of Financial Samurai, so far.
How To Become A Millionaire By Age 30: Financial Upbringing
Growing up in a middle class household made me strong. My parents always drove beaters and frowned upon ordering anything other than water when we went out to eat.
I knew my parents were not rich because their incomes were in the public domain as foreign service officers. As a result, I made a conscious choice in high school not to attend one of the two private colleges that had accepted me. Instead, I went to William & Mary, which cost $2,890 – $3,200 a year in tuition from 1995-1999. I needed to save money.
We were by no means poor. We just pulled up to parties in a paint-less 1976 Nissan Datsun alongside Audis, Mercedes, and BMWs for the four years we lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between 1986-1990. It was very mortifying as a kid.
I knew nothing of expensive shoes because I had none. My wealthier friend gave me his old Air Jordans 4s that were two sizes too large. I couldn't even afford a camera or a Nintendo game system. We led comfortable lives, but didn't have more than we needed.
I was always curious about my wealthier friends. Many of their parents were business owners. So one day I told my father I too wanted to be a businessman.
By the time I was 13 I was hooked on every single episode of “The Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous,” narrated by Robin Leech. A million dollar house and a $40,000 sports car. What a life! I thought to myself in the 8th grade. Might as well give it a go. That's when I started really hitting the books.
Millionaire By 30 Money Mindset
If you want to become a millionaire by 30, you must adopt a strong money mindset. Know that there is money everywhere for the taking. You've got to believe you deserve to be rich.
Further, becoming a millionaire by 30 is becoming more common rather than the exception thanks to inflation. After all, $3 million is the new $1 million today.
There are so many standard ways to become a millionaire. If you don't become a millionaire by 30, you will eventually get there with enough time.
If you work for 40 years and save and invest just 20% of your after-tax paycheck a year, there is no doubt in my mind you will amass at least one million dollars. Compounding is a powerful force.
Maxing out your 401K for 30+ years will also most likely lead to over $1 million dollars as well. Historical stock and bond market returns plus company match are on your side.
We've got financial planners, personal finance blogs, television, best selling books, and even free financial tools to help you build and track your wealth.
So many resources make building wealth much easier now than in the past. Let's look at three reasons why becoming a millionaire by 30 is easier than ever before.
Three Reasons Why The First Million Could Be The Easiest
1) Tremendous energy.
When we first graduate from high school or college, we have a tremendous amount of energy to show what we can do after all our education. We're hungry, motivated, and need to prove to others and to ourselves our worth. 60-90 hour work-weeks for at least a decade are no problem!
Unfortunately, so many of us piss away our youth. We buy new cars without following my 1/10th rule for car buying. Some of us get into expensive credit card debt. And a lot of us don't to our elders and think the world owes us something. Forget it folks.
Nobody owes us anything. But we owe it to ourselves and to our parents who sacrificed all that time and money raising us to give life everything we've got.
2) Fewer or no dependents.
Most of us won't have children by the time we graduate from college. As a result, we can focus 100% of our efforts on generating wealth by developing our careers or our businesses.
Compare ourselves to middle aged adults with two children, a mortgage, and aging parents to take care of. We are like finicky Ferraris on a starting line ready to blow away our older model competitors.
I'm now a dad to two young children. As a result, I've got to wake up by 5 am every morning to write before my children get up. Otherwise, nothing would get done on Financial Samurai. By the time 1 pm roles around, I'm exhausted playing with my kids. Take advantage of your youth!
Children cost money and drain your energy. Grind as hard as you can before having them.
3) Nothing to lose.
When we graduate with nothing, we have nothing to lose. Compare that with people with property, stocks, and other investments during economic downturns, and they have everything to lose.
With very little assets, we should be taking more risks. Now is the time to start a company, invest in that growth stock, take a new job opportunity, or move half way across the world on a hunch that good things might happen. If we don't take risks while we are young, we certainly aren't going to take them when we are old.
How To Become A Millionaire By 30
I had no idea I became a millionaire at age 28 until two years later when I did my first detailed net worth spreadsheet in 2007. It's easier to achieve something when we don't even realize what we're doing.
I was too busy saving, investing, working, and trying not to blow my money on things that I didn't need. I was one of those “Super Motivated Boyfriends” (SMBs) who were impossible to lock down.
Like most people believe, 30 is a big milestone. Ever since college I told myself I was either going to make it, know that I was going to make it, or be an absolute failure by 30.
The fear of being a failure at 30 with no job, no woman, no savings, no investments, and no world experiences made me so motivated to not mess things up. I felt I needed to become a millionaire by 30 in big cities like New York and San Francisco.
A painful two years of working 70+ hour weeks right out of college with difficult bosses also got me into overdrive to figure out a way not to work forever!
There was no fanfare when I discovered the seven figure milestone had been achieved. Just the realization that time passes more quickly as we age. I had to make the most of my opportunities since nothing lasts forever.
Keep Aggressively Saving And Investing
Years later, I’ve continued to grow my net worth with a variety of passive and alternative active incomes. My family is a great motivator to keep on going. The last thing my wife and I want to do is go back to work while our children are still young.
If you've been reading my posts from how to save for retirement and how to properly invest for your future, there's no magic behind wealth accumulation.
Amassing wealth is about savings, discipline, perseverance, luck, an X Factor, and the belief that you too deserve to be wealthy. Eventually you will have more than enough so that you'll either retire or keep on playing for fun.
After leaving the work force for good at the age of 34 in 2012, I decided to keep on playing by building Financial Samurai into the best possible personal finance blog I could. When people tell me I’m lucky, I agree! As a result, I’ve tried to re-create my luck by writing 3-4X a week every year since 2009.
After 15+ years of writing on Financial Samurai, I believe one important secret to wealth and success is grit. If you can demonstrate unwavering commitment with one thing for at least 10 years, I strongly believe you will succeed. Too many people quit way too soon or right before the going gets good. Stay committed!
If I started this site in my early 20s, I would have become a millionaire by 30. If you are young, please take advantage of your youth.
The Road To One Million Dollars By Age 30
To the best of my memory here's how I was able to amass a million dollars by age 28. Today, my net worth is much larger thanks to continual investing, asset diversification, and building multiple passive income streams.
Age 22. Year 1999. Place Your Neck On The Chopping Block.
When I graduated from The College of William & Mary, the total amount of cash I had was roughly $4,000. I had saved some money from summer jobs temping and flipping burgers at McDonald's for $4 an hour. I had just started a dream job in New York City at Goldman Sachs. It was go time!
My base salary was $40,000, which at the time didn't feel too great. I lived in a studio with my buddy from high school for two years because we couldn't afford something nicer.
See: Achieving Financial Independence On A Modest Income
As a result, I invested $3,000 in a dotcom stock called Vertical Integration Systems (VCSY). It turned into $200,000 within several months. Yes it was incredibly lucky, but it also took some analysis and guts. I just wish I had more money to invest!
The stock pulled back by around 25%, at which time I sold everything for around $155,000 and stayed out of the bubbliscious stock market for the next year and a half due to a job change in 2001. VCSY ended up being worthless a couple years later. $155,000 equals about $120,000 in after tax proceeds. The trade is detailed in the post, Don't Stop Fortune Hunting.
Net worth: ~$160,000.
Age 24. Year 2001. Taking An Employment Chance.
After two years in NYC, I was recruited to join another firm in San Francisco. I only knew a couple people in San Francisco, but felt the promotion to Associate without having to go to business school and 100%+ guaranteed raise to an $80,000 base salary + bonus was attractive enough to take a chance.
I was coming from a top firm and had established some solid client relationships over the past two years. The economy was still dicey due to the dotcom implosion and there was a big chance I would not make Associate after my third year at GS.
It turns out my firm in NYC did indeed let go of many colleagues, and only about 25% of the people I knew from my entering class were still there two years after I left. It was a little scary moving all the way cross country, but it wasn't like I was moving to the middle of nowhere. This was San Francisco, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Besides,
San Francisco is six hours closer to Hawaii, one of my favorite places on Earth, so I figured what the hell. I saved 100% of each bonus, maxed out my 401(k), and saved a little more for my after-tax brokerage account.
Net worth: ~$260,000.
Age 25. Year 2002. Continued To Live Like A Student.
The first two years in NYC, I lived in a studio with another guy. We put up one of those Chinese Paper Walls to add more privacy. I didn't care. I was living in New York City, the most alive city in America. I'd rather spend money going out and partying rather than on an extra bedroom.
When I moved to San Francisco, I spent even less on housing since NYC is about 30% more expensive. I found a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment at the edge of downtown for only $850 a person. I finally had my own room, yeah baby!
When you now make double what you were making a year ago, yet pay 25% less in rent, saving becomes very easy. I increased my after tax, after 401K maximum contribution savings rate from 50% to 65%.
Here's a post I wrote later called, Home Expense Guideline For Financial Independence. It highlights how I lived in NYC and SF to maximize disposable income. The post also gives recommendations on how much money you should spend on rent/buying in your journey as well.
Net worth: ~$400,000.
Age 26. Year 2003. Conservative Investments Before & During The Recession.
60% of every paycheck and 100% of every year end bonus after 401(k) contributions went into long-term CDs that yielded 5-6% at the time. The reason why I invested in CDs was due to a job change and not having time to manage my portfolio in 2001, 2002, and 2003.
Furthermore, I was scared of another market implosion that would not only take down my investments, but also my bonus, and potentially my job.
My 401(k) was already 100% exposed to the stock market already. Today, my net worth is highlight diversified across real estate crowdfunding, real estate, bonds, stocks, private equity, and business equity.
A day after my 26th birthday, I decided that it was time to grow up and buy my own place. I was renting a $1,600/month one bedroom apartment in San Francisco and wanted a nicer apartment.
At the same time, I didn’t want to spend more than $2,000 a month on rent because the return on rent is always zero. I became very disillusioned with having a large chunk of money in the bank and started wondering what is the point of working more since I had more than I could ever have imagined.
At age 26, I was already thinking of “retiring” in Hawaii. Given my waning motivation to work as hard anymore, I decided to buy a two bedroom, two bathroom condo in a nice area of SF and live it up a little!
The combination of 5-6% compounded returns in savings over four years, a growing 401(k), growing after tax investment account, and another year of saving a larger bonus really helped.
You don't have to be a great investor to become a millionaire. You just have to be a good-enough investor with the proper discipline and risk exposure.
Net worth: ~$550,000.
Age 26-27. Year 2004. Renewed Motivation To Work.
After putting down a 25% downpayment (~$140,000) for a $580,500 condo, my motivation to work skyrocketed because of a drained cash account. I prayed the housing market wouldn't implode like the stock market did years earlier.
A year before my condo purchase I did a silly thing and bought a $78,000 Mercedes G Wagon (G500). The truck was sweet and I thought it was a great deal since it was selling for $150,000+ the year before since this small dealership in Sante Fe, New Mexico curiously owned the US import rights.
I drove the truck for a year and had to sell it for a $20,000 loss because it wouldn't fit in my condo garage due to the height! What an idiot, but I felt buying the condo was the responsible thing to do. I traded way down to a seven year hold Honda Civic worth $8,000 instead. I was growing up but still had the thirst for nice cars.
Having A Mortgage Was A Big Motivator
The $435,000 mortgage put a fire under my ass to work harder and be the best performer I could be. At the age of 27 I was promoted to “Vice President,” a title that is normally bestowed on business school graduates three to four years out of school at the age of 32-33.
From there, my income took another large jump up to $120,000 + a larger potential bonus. I became one of the youngest VP promotes in my office.
Debt provided an unexpected side benefit for my career. From 2003 to 2005 my condo also appreciated to around $815,000, a 40% jump. Unfortunately, this increase was unsustainable as we all know. In fact, one of the biggest downsides to paying off your mortgage is the loss of motivation.
I felt this way in 2015 once this condo's mortgage was paid off. However, once my son was born in 2017, the motivation to make money increased again.
Net worth: ~$800,000.
Age 28. Year 2005. A New Landlord And Millionaire By 30
At 28, I decided to finally buy a single family house in San Francisco for $1,520,000. Believe it or not, $720/sqft for a house on the north end of San Francisco was pretty good because many homes were selling for $900/sqft at the time.
I was sick of having neighbors above and below me. I wanted a yard, a deck, reprieve from the HOA meetings, and to be king of my own castle. The bad thing about my house was that it was on a busy street next to the busiest street in the entire city.
After I moved into my single family house, I turned my condo into a rental, but finally sold it in 2017 for 30X annual gross rent because I no longer had time to be a landlord after my boy was born.
My rental property equity was around ~$350,000 plus around $750,000 worth of CDs and stock investments for a total net worth of around $1.1 million. I knew I was doing OK, but I had no idea I was worth over $1 million at the time. I was too busy building a business at work, managing a rental, remodeling a new home, and figuring out how to keep things going.
Note On 401k Investments:
I put away the max 401K pre-tax contribution since my first full year of employment. At the time, the maximum contribution amount was $10,000 a year. The maximum amount is now $22,500 a year for 2023 and will likely go up by $500 every 2-3 years.
If I take six years times the average $15,000 = $90,000. The average company match was around $15,000 a year since we had match + profit sharing, so add on another $80,000 = $170,000 in my 401K by the age of 28. But actually, I had over $200,000 given it did return more than 5% on average for six years.
One of my 401K options was a hedge fund, where I put a 60% of my allocation during the downturn between 2000-2002. The fund actually did well given they had a net short position, so my overall 401(k) was able to take the hits. In fact, if you max out your 401(k) consistently, you will likely become a 401(k) millionaire after 20 years of contributions.
More Thoughts On How To Become A Millionaire By 30
I strongly believe most people reading this article can accumulate a million dollars if they have the motivation, a good amount of planning, the right amount of guidance, and some luck.
I'm sure some of you will have your own doubts, while others will scoff at how little $1 million is. But here are my suggestions for those who want to become a millionaire by 30 or at a relatively young age.
1) Don’t mess around in high school and college or else you will have a hard time landing a good job that pays well.
Give yourself optionality please. There are thousands of straight-A, top 25 university graduates every single year. I was one of the thousands, and it's hard to compete if you are not one of them because employers can’t respond or meet with everyone. Grades matter.
Many firms such as Goldman, Mckinsey, Bain etc have GPA cutoffs of 3.5 out of 4.0, with some at 3.7. If you don't have connections then you just aren't going to make the cut when there are thousands of applicants for only 60 spots. You can rage against the machine and believe grades don't matter, but you are going to be wrong like donkey kong and most likely regret your immaturity.
Getting a job on Wall Street was like winning the lottery for a kid coming out of a non-target public school. I went through seven rounds and 55 interviews over a course of six months before getting the offer. I would not have been able to even get an interview if I didn't get good grades or show initiative.
Your job income is the #1 main source of wealth for most people. Might as well focus on the highest paying industries that you think you'll enjoy if money is what you want to make. It's important to note that no way is a large income a guarantee for lasting wealth as many millionaire bankruptcies have proven.
2) Save until it hurts each month.
Remember this Financial Samurai saying forever. If the amount of money you're saving each month does't hurt, you're not saving enough.
When you’re a college student, you’re poor. Hence, even if you graduate and only make $30,000 a year, I’m willing to bet that’s more than you've ever made in your life! Try to continue living like a student for years after you've found your first full-time job and save!
Stop making excuses why you need to buy a nice car and nice clothes. You’re a 22 year old recent college graduate for crying out loud. Build your foundation in your 20s and stop thinking you have a decade to explore, because you don't. 10 years maxing out your 401(k) will likely result in a $200,000 portfolio in your early 30s.
The base you build in your 20s will provide tremendous returns for later on in life. If you stay consistent over the years, you will get there. Aim to save at least 20% of your after tax income every year, no matter what. Becoming a millionaire comes from good personal finance habits that compound over time.
Yes, saving until it hurts each month doesn't sound great. But you've got to do it! For more motivation to save and invest aggressively, here's how you may feel reaching various millionaire milestones. I chronicle what it's like to achieve a $1 million, $5 million, $10 million, and $20 million net worth.
3) Work hard and know your place.
If you want to be a millionaire by age 30, you must work hard. Working hard takes NO skill. If you’re not coming in first and leaving last, you aren’t putting in your time. Be irreplaceable. Be remarkable.
I promise you if you wake up by 5am every morning, work one to two hours before the rest of your peers and work another one hour after your peers have left, you will get ahead! Avoid career limiting moves that will severely curtail your future.
The reason why I was promoted to Vice President at 27, when the average VP promote is 33 is because I put in extra dues. I generated millions of dollars in revenue, built a solid network of internal supporters, and was a workhorse by coming in by 5:30am everyday for my first two years and leaving at 7:30 pm-8 pm on average.
Sometimes I even left work at 10 pm. Did I sacrifice some of my social life? Of course I did. But, I also partied hard many weekends! Working hard doesn't mean you can't also play hard and travel. You're young remember? Your energy is limitless!
4) Stop making excuses.
You can spend time crying why the world isn’t fair, or you can do something about your life. If you are reading this post, chances are you have clean water to drink, shelter, internet and a legal system that protects your rights.
There are millions of people in the world who are starving every single day. An equal amount who live in fear of dictators confiscating everything they own. Some immigrate to America for a better life, don't even speak the language and crush it. What is your excuse? Abolish welfare mentality.
Spend 30 minutes every day by yourself in meditation coming up with a better business model for your company or for own business. Spend four hours every weekend in the office studying up on new things that will help improve your standings with your clients.
You can even start a blog and work an extra 30 hours a week online before you have a family and generate some healthy revenue if you wish. Let's take advantage of the freedom our respective countries provide.
5) Consider both aggressive and conservative investment strategies.
When I was 22, I only had about $4,000 to my name. Regardless, I invested 80% of my money and it turned into a 50 bagger. Was I lucky? Hell yes! But, I did my research and was I willing to put my balls on the line to try and make some money.
I think it is very important to take more risks when you are young which is why I'm biased towards growth stocks over dividend stocks. With the proceeds from my VCSY China internet trade, I transferred my wins into long-term CDs and then ultimately into property.
In addition, I actively invest in private funds to try and find the next Google, Apple, Meta, and more. Companies are staying private for longer, which is why I've been allocating more money towards venture capital funds over the past 10 years.
When you are ahead, it's very hard to walk away. As a poker player I know this feeling all too well. But it's tantamount to invest a portion of your winnings in a safe haven. Lock it up. Protect yourself from yourself!
I didn’t take on the reckless mentality of betting the farm with my windfall since I was now playing with the “house’s money.” This was my money now dammit, and I wasn’t about to piss it away on some B2B stocks. Continuously diversify your income streams and build passive income.
Today, I like the combination of growth stocks and less volatile real estate investments. You must take the appropriate amount of risk exposure. Otherwise, you could end up losing a lot of money, which ultimately means lost time.
6) Property is one of your best friends over the long term.
If you put 20% down on a property and it goes up 3% a year, that’s a 15% return on your cash thanks to leverage. Sure, you can get your face ripped off if you bite off more than you can chew. But trust me when I tell you that thanks to inflation, your debt payments will seem insignificant five years afterward.
Five years later, you will be happy every month when you get to charge a rent that is much higher than the interest portion of your mortgage. Property is my favorite asset class for young people to build wealth.
I sometimes feel guilty raising the rent, but remind myself, I was the one who took the risk, put down the downpayment, and nobody forces anybody to rent my place. Real estate is my favorite investment asset class to build wealth.
The condo I bought on my 26th birthday for $580,000 was fully paid off in 2015 at the age of 38. A neighboring unit with the same layout sold in 2017 for $1.36 million. Today it's worth even more.
I'm now investing in real estate crowdfunding to take advantage of lower valuation properties with higher cap rates in the heartland of America. I want to invest in the next San Francisco Bay Area over the next 20 years, and lower cost of area cities like Memphis, Austin, and Salt Lake City look attractive to me.
My favorite real estate marketplace is Fundrise, which manages about $3 billion and has over 350,000 investors. Fundrise offers diversified private real estate funds that invest mainly in the Sunbelt region where valuations are lower and rental yields are higher.
Fundrise offers a simple way for all investors to diversify into real estate through private funds with just $10. Fundrise has been around since 2012 and manages about $3 billion for almost 400,000 investors.
The real estate platform invests primarily in residential and industrial properties in the Sunbelt, where valuations are cheaper and yields are higher. The spreading out of America is a long-term demographic trend. For most people, investing in a diversified fund is the way to go.
I've invested $954,000 in real estate crowdfunding total so far, and $300,000 through Fundrise. My goal is to diversify my expensive SF real estate holdings and earn more 100% passive income. I plan to continue dollar-cost investing into private real estate for the next decade.
After strong stock market gains during a pandemic, money is likely going to flow into real estate as the Fed cuts rates. As a real estate investor, I think it's strategically wise to buy before demand increases due to lower rates.
7) Pretend you are poorer than you are and show few signs of wealth.
Stay humble despite amassing a fortune. Don’t show off or waste money on things you don’t need. Make people believe you are younger and poorer than you really are. I drive a 13 year old car and wear t-shirts, jeans, and a baseball cap most of the time. Once you've accumulated your war chest, practice Stealth Wealth.
I would say at least 80% of the millionaires I know are very low key. You can't tell they have a lot of money except for when you get to their house. The only people who want attention are those who are insecure, not not really rich.
By tricking your mind into being poorer than you really are, you keep the hunger and gratefulness alive to earn more. Most of the millionaires I know continue to work hard because they see upside opportunity.
8) There are more ways than one to rub a furry koala.
You can make big bucks through a day job or by starting your own online business. Better yet, you can do both. While I was working in finance, I launched Financial Samurai. I worked on it before I went to work and after I came home.
Since starting this site in 2009, Financial Samurai now generates enough revenue to provide comfortably for a family of four in San Francisco. In fact, FS started generated enough for us to live well starting at around 2013. You just never know until you start something new.
To become a millionaire by 30, you must work on your X-Factor. Your X-Factor is what will bring you more wealth, happiness and joy. But the key is to work on your X factor long before you need it!
When you build a business, you build wealth by not only earning income from your business, but by creating equity value in your business. The value of your business is based off a multiple of revenue, operating profit, or net profit.
9) Office politics counts.
In order to get ahead, you've got to play the game by building as many company allies as possible. I don't know many people who like to sell themselves internally to their colleagues and bosses. People think that all it takes is good work to get recognized, paid, and promoted. This is absolutely false!
You must sell yourself internally as much as you sell yourself externally. I believe you need to sell yourself 50% internally and 50% externally.
Don't think just because you're bringing in business that you will automatically get paid and promoted. You must build a support network of powerful people at your firm. Once you have someone with significant power on your side, your entire career gets that much easier.
10) Regularly invest in yourself.
If you want to be a millionaire by 30, then invest in yourself. Your greatest money making asset is you. Don't cheap out on education or consulting. Education is worth more than any material thing you can buy. My studies in college and grad school taught me how to market, negotiate, communicate, analyze investments, and influence.
Thankfully, you can now learn most everything for free thanks to the internet. It's hard to recognize value when you can't touch it. However, I promise you that knowledge and education is worth more than everything else.
The more you learn the more you can earn! Pick up a copy of my new USA TODAY national bestseller, Millionaire Milestones: Simple Steps To Seven Figures. It provides more practical information and suggestions than a $300,000 college degree.
I'm confident that by reading my book, you'll dramatically increase your chances of becoming a millionaire. It is your practical guide to building more wealth than 94% of the population! Order your copy on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, Books A Million, Bookshop.org, or anywhere books are sold!
If you haven't already, also join 60,000+ others and sign up for my free weekly newsletter. Subscribe to my podcast and my posts via e-mail. Everything is free where I share my experience of making millions. I am also the instal WSJ bestselling author of Buy This Not That.
11) Diligently keep track of your progress.
How much you keep is even more important than how much you make. There are people who make millions of dollars and end up broke years later. The simple reason is because they had no idea where their money went. Perhaps they made some ill-timed investments.
Maybe their risk exposure didn't align well with their risk tolerance. Or maybe they simply just spend too much. Everybody should leverage Empower, the best free financial tool online. With Empower, you can track your cash flow, analyze their investment portfolios, and calculate their financial needs in retirement.
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12) Regularly turn funny money into real assets.
We will regularly go through boom bust cycles. The key is to consistently turn that funny money you made in the stock market into something real. Do not stay all-in all the time when you have a nice windfall.
So many people have ended up losing all their money in the 2000 crash. Then came the 2008-2009 crash. Most recently was the March 2020 crash. Boost your wealth by using your windfall gains to buy a more stable asset like real estate or fine art. If you do, your chances of becoming a millionaire by 30 will increase.
With stocks near all-time highs again, I'm taking about 10% of my winnings and spending it on a better life. I'm also investing more in private real estate online that's 100% passive. As I get older, I really don't like dealing with rental property maintenance issues and tenants any more. That said, once I viewed my rental properties as an educational tool for my children, it has made holding them much easier.
13) Consistently recognize your luck
To become millionaire by 30 requires a ton of luck. If you start believing all great wealth is mostly due to hard work and skill, you decrease your chances of becoming a millionaire. The reason is because you may start taking your opportunities for granted. You also start getting arrogant.
Not everybody has equal opportunity. For example, people's chances of becoming a millionaire are different by race. Stay humble and hungry.
The more you can recognize your luck and opportunities, the more you will save and the harder you will work. Being grateful is a huge part about becoming a millionaire.
14) Invest for the long run
Your first million really isn't the easiest now that I'm much older. Once you accumulate several million dollars, you will find it much easier to make another million dollars in net worth.
Therefore, your key is to grow your capital to a sizable amount and make continued risk-appropriate investments. For example, if you have five million dollars in invested capital in the S&P 500, and it goes up 20%, you've just made one million dollars without doing much work.
Let long-term investing be your friend. The longer you are invested, the more you let compound returns build.
15) Build a business and invest in moonshots
Millionaires have a larger percentage of their net worth in private business and investments in private businesses. When you own your private business you make money from your salary and the growth of your company equity.
If you don't want to build a business, check out the Fundrise venture product, which invests in the following five sectors:
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
- Modern Data Infrastructure
- Development Operations (DevOps)
- Financial Technology (FinTech)
- Real Estate & Property Technology (PropTech)
Roughly 65% of the product is invested in artificial intelligence private businesses, which I'm extremely bullish about. In 20 years, I don't want my kids wondering why I didn't invest in AI or work in AI!
The investment minimum is also only $10. Most venture capital funds have a $250,000+ minimum. In addition, you can see what the Innovation Fund is holding before deciding to invest and how much. Traditional venture capital funds require capital commitment first and then hope the general partners will find great investments.
See the growing navy blue bar below that represents business interests. The richer you are, the more business interests (private equity) you own!
Align Your Beliefs With Reality If You Want To Be A Millionaire
One cannot downplay the importance of luck in becoming a millionaire by 30. I have been fortunate to have two loving parents, an incredible spouse, and a brain that works most of the time.
If you're born in America, please take full advantage of all your opportunities. Despite having a deficiency in higher level math, uninspiring SAT scores, and a run in with the law as a teenager, I made up for my weaknesses with plain old work ethic and relationship building. It also helps to be an undying optimist as well.
You can't complain about not having wealth if you decide not to pursue wealth. That's a mental misalignment. The desire for wealth shouldn't be viewed as evil. It should be viewed as natural for anybody who wants to live a better life. Who doesn't want to b a millionaire to take care of his or her family and parents? Further, by being a millionaire, it's easier to give back to the community.
As soon as we align our realities with our beliefs, we become congruent and happier with ourselves and our outlook.
Good luck on your journey to your first million! Becoming a millionaire by 30 is a great accomplishment. Once you get there, your next goal should be to try and invest $1 million. That's when the real fun and big financial upside begins.
Become A Millionaire Through Real Estate
Real estate is my favorite way for the average person to become a millionaire. Using other people people's money (a mortgage), you can buy a real estate that tends to appreciate in value over time. Meanwhile, inflation whittles down the cost of debt. This one-two combination helps create a significant amount of wealth over time. Let inflation be your friend, not your enemy!
Roughly 50% of my net worth is in real estate. Further, real estate accounts for roughly half of my estimated $380,000 a year in annual investment income. One irony of real estate is that because it is less risky than stocks, investors can actually end up making much more from real estate.
I think the best strategy is to ow your primary residence to at least get neutral real estate. Then diversify by buying rental properties in your city, public REITs, and commercial real estate.
If you want to invest in real estate passively, check out Fundrise, my preferred private real estate platform. Fundrise manages around $3 billion in assets under management for over 380,000 investors. It invests primarily in Sunbelt residential and industrial real estate where valuations are lower and yields are higher. I've invested $300,000+ with Fundrise so far and they are a long-time FS sponsor.
How To Become A Millionaire By 30 is a Financial Samurai original post. The reality is, once you become get your first million, it's much easier to make millions more. You just have to stay disciplined and keep on investing for the long run. Join 60,000+ readers and subscribe to my free weekly newsletter if you want to achieve financial freedom sooner.
Arriving here at year 2024 to say thanks! This is the post which inspires me to be be a millionaire by 30 and I am glad to share that I have finally achieved it in 2024. :) It just feels that I am just getting started, and I am aiming for 10M by age 50.
My goal (attached) using bearsavings.com/tools/millionaire-calculator/
I don’t agree.
The first million is hard. The second million is even harder.
But after that i think it gets a bit easier.
The problem with the first million in this day and age is, it goes mostly towards setting up your home, buying your first or second car, paying off your debt, and accumulating funds in your 401k.
By the time you have your first million, most of that money is completely inaccessible.
Your second million will be mostly in invest assets. That’s the good stuff. But that typically takes a looong time to amass, because by that stage in your life, you have many other obligations.
This is why most people start thinking about retirement by the time they get their 3rd million.
Think you’re right. Also struggling more with the second million. After that I hope it has become a habit :-)
Why do you think the second million is harder than the first?
I’m thoroughly impressed by your insights on achieving millionaire status by 30. Your clear, strategic advice and real-world examples provide a roadmap that’s both attainable and empowering.
This article is a goldmine of valuable advice. Your insights on wealth-building are both practical and motivating, making the journey to financial freedom seem within reach.
The insights you’ve shared are not just motivational, but also incredibly actionable. Your roadmap to becoming a millionaire is both clear and achievable.
Your approach to achieving financial independence is both refreshing and empowering. This article is a goldmine of valuable advice.
Hi I’m barely 21 and very eager and curious about money and how to get rich like you . I hope to get rich one day by reading and studying your ways to one day be successful and then come back and give you the credit for inspiring me once I feel I made it.
Congratulations on your journey. But you made your starter cash from dot-com. (this is not to discredit you in anyway, but there was as you say some element of luck to it. and luck is a very important element in life)
But for the average person TODAY, the first million dollars is neither fast, nor easy, nor particularly meaningful.
Here is the problem, housing is so freakishly expensive, and rent is even worse. owning a house would get one to pretty much 1 million.
If a person bought their first property, that would likely eat up most of their disposable income for the foreseeable future. (this eliminates both fast and easy)
But once a person has a primary residence (even not fully paid off), getting that first 1 million in investible asset on top is huge.
And that’s very hard to do, and the sooner that is accomplished the better it is for one’s financial future.
You’re right. Getting my job at Goldman Sachs and making the investment in VCSY was mostly luck. I recognized this luck, hence, decided to save and invest the majority of my income until my luck runs out.
That may be happening due to artificial intelligence. However, at least it’s been a nice 25-year run!
You may enjoy this post: Buy real estate as young as you possibly can
Great read! Currently in my mid 20s trying to create new income streams and be able to set up my daughter for a very bright future. Hoping to hit 100k in my Roth by the time I am 30! I also just started my personal finance blog and will continue to write new content and help other Gen Zs like myself learn about personal finance and financial freedom.
As easy as the 1st million might be, no way is it easier than the 2nd, 3rd, 4th…. those will literally happen on their own, even if you cut back on contributions, each one coming faster than the previous (well, depending on your investment returns). Whether it be investing for retirement, or paying off debt like student loans (if you have that as a goal), a few years of delayed gratification (continuing to live like a student) is all it takes to get the net worth growth process rolling early.
Less than 3 years until my wife and I will retire at 55. $3.5M net worth (less than 20% of it in home equity), and we didn’t hit the $1M mark until 2015. 44 years for first million, less than 9 years for next 2.5 million. Even though we’ll both have pensions, we invest as if we won’t, putting ~35% of gross income into retirement each year.
I’ll continue here. We both work at corporate jobs in finance in consumers product and IT companies and both have changed a couple times, i actually moved from consulting which i initially did to industry which served me well. Having born and raised outside of US, our jobs have taken us to 5 different countries for the first 20 years across Europe and Asia and we settled in US approx. 10 years ago to give kids some stability. It is great to see your perspective as we are very happy to have had the opportunities that we had which would have been impossible for us otherwise.
I agree that generally speaking one has far more energy and may not yet be married / have children yet in their 20’s. Problem is that many smart people at that age in last 20 years may have debt load from their education / maybe a home (if they live in a cheaper city) mortgage. The last thing they might think of in 20’s, are financial vehicles and good equities.
All I did was save money until I bought my lst home to live in @32 yrs. I don’t think I barely invested in any equities. Saving part was part of my upbringing by low-income parents
Ahhhh! Didn’t make it at thirty! Took me a little longer! Awesome article. One of my big mistakes was I worked so hard I forgot to invest in myself. Always had an excuse to work more and relax less….
Never had a big win. Always a lot of small ones.
Sam,
Good stuff – I found myself wondering if you tried doing any more trading in the stock market after your one big win in 2000. Given how we’ll you’ve done with the rest of the your wealth building, you might have been able to score another win.
I’ve kept on trying, with no similar success. Although, after holding Netflix and Apple for over 10 years, they have done very well.
Love this, Sam!
I’m sitting here proud of hitting $1M at 35, then see you did it 5 years faster and in 2003 $. Ha! Everyone has a different personal journey though, and that’s what I love reading about.
I know I’ve read your posts a number of times over the years, but have been reading other blogs more and more as I start my own. I’m inspired by your level of detail, frequency of posting, and engagement with commentators!
This is the first time I read this page though, so it’s the first time I realized you are a W&M alum. Same here (’08)! Go tribe!
I started my career late (first full time job at 24) due to choosing to do my Master’s first and moving from a 3rd world country to Australia. Sometimes wish that I was just born here – I could’ve started my career at 21 and now would be worth a few hundred k’s with property.
I guess this means i’ll just have to work doubly hard! I’ve started a blog as well with yours as an inspirations (but for an audience based in Australia), and hopefully soon I will have an ebook and do Ted talks :)
Being a millionaire by the age of 30 is quite an achievement. I think whoever sets this goal really has to give everything. Thank’s for the Tipps :)
I was worth $100,000 by age 30.
WHAT IS THE BIG HURRY!!
I shall be a MILLIONAIRE by age 65 DESPITE:
ONLY a $420,000 lifetime GROSS INCOME!
Only about 60% of that is EARNED GROSS INCOME!!
NO INHERITANCE or LOTTERY VICTORIES!!
LESSON: Get an EXCELLENT financial planner EARLY!!
I believe that before going into any job, you should ask yourself if you want to do it. If you look at dentistry, nursing, or physician occupations solely from a financial aspect, none of these may provide the best return on investment.
Obviously, not everyone is suitable to work in any of those occupations. Most dentists are motivated by a desire to help others and did not enter the field only for financial gain. Dentistry, on the other hand, is a rather steady career. No matter how much debt you accumulate, if you can keep the work for a specific period of time, you will most likely be able to pay it off. When do you think you’ll be done?
Congrats! Your story sounds amazing and for sure this is a good example for many, but to be honest it is extremely difficult to replicate your story. Everyone has a different situation.
When I was younger I had similar idea to start saving&investing as soon and as much as possible. There were periods when I saved over 50% of my salary.
Things changed after I started a family. Our small rented apartment wasn’t enough for 4 people, a car as well etc. So the initial plan to save 50% of salary has become impossible.
After some time I decided to change my approach to become financially independent and I think this might help everyone who is overwhelmed by the success stories of others.
Right now I am a big believer in the Coast FIRE idea. Before I started a family I was able to save $230k in ETFs, after kids showed up me and my wife were able to save $1.5k on average. It is not a lot but thanks to that the seed amount of 230k is significant, annual portfolio growth was higher than our contributions of 18k per year.
Our goal is to reach $1,3M and retire early at the age of 44. According to our calculation $6k will last for nearly 50 years https://calcopolis.com/saving/rentier/a_130000000-i_600-w_600000-inc_0-t_1500
I know this is not as fast a route to success as your story, but still we will be able to retire over 20 years before schedule.
Damn, I’m 2 years too late reading this article.
I think while luck play *a* role in wealth, it certainly doesn’t play 100% of the role. I think the luckiest thing for most of us are the basic: we’re in a nice, first-world country where opportunities are abound.
I read a book recently “Great By Choice” by Jim Collins where he studied luck across companies and it turns out better companies don’t on average have better luck than their much worse competitors.
Most companies, and people, are hit with bad luck and good luck. What separates the people that have great results over time is a financially conservative mindset, consistency, and resiliency.
So sure, there’s some a lot of luck with a 50-bagger, but at $200K, that’s only a +/- a few years of savings. The greatest achievement of hitting a million I feel is the consistency and the emotional discipline over time to get there.
Hi, talking about land of oportunity, does anybody know what would be the equivalent amount you would need in Mexico to be in the same situation as having 1million USD living in the US? My guess is someone living in Mexico having 1Million dollars is much richer that someone having a million living in the US (asuming they live in a relatively nice city).
I think the core knowledge here is:
WITH A LOT OF LUCK
It is not true that at your 20s your energy is infinite. Millions of people have medical issues before that age. Others are graduating with scary student’s loans, other has family members with health issues, or siblings to support, others are jobless. Also let’s see the dates in this article: from 1999 to 2000s, before the housing bubble burst and the Great Recession.
In 1999 I could buy a decent flat with my actual savings, now I have nowhere to go (despite having those savings and no debt, and no kids to support). Sadly, I was born too late, in 1999 I was right out of high school, so housing bubble hit right when I was starting my career (the worst time to start a career, salaries were low and have no recovered).
Also it is not true that 3 millions is 1 million now, it is the other way around because of inflation, and this is happening worldwide. Just look for the increased prices of plastics, that increases the price of everything (from food to medicines).
And your investments can make you lose money. This happens, bussiness go wrong, investments go wrong too.
Simply, I’m unlucky as hell.
I totally agree that extraordinary wealth is mostly due to luck. Click the link of you want to read more.
As a result, it is up to the lucky ones to give back and help other people get lucky too. This has been one of my missions since I started Financial Samurai in 2009. To share as much knowledge as possible to help others build more wealth and achieve financial freedom sooner, rather than later.
Best of luck to you! For more nuanced personal finance content, join 100,000+ others and sign up for the free Financial Samurai newsletter.
Hi, it is me again, after a year. Yeah, I read some of your articles about saving, the article about Stealth Wealth is really useful.
I found a place to live.
You forgot the biggest lesson I have learned this year:
ASK FOR HELP
I talked to some people about my problems, I asked for a raise at my job at the worst of 2021… I got it. Just after that I said out loud my income still was too low, a friend heard me, offered me a place to buy at a decent price given the actual housing market (now I have a mortage for the next 10 years, but I can control it).
And once you’re wealthy, tell nobody. Keep a low profile.
The lesson here is that if you are poor, say it. if you are short of money, say it. Ask for a raise or look for a better paying job. Ask your friends for help. Not everything is about luck, it is about building communities of people mutually helping each other. I’m slowly learning this, I was raised by truly selfish people. We humans need each other. I asked for help and I got it. I want to do the same when I will be able to do it.
To all the people reading this: work hard and help others. Not only with money, I’m still poor so I share the compost I make at home.
Congrats! Yes, if we can focus on helping others first, the good karma tends to come around.
Do you regret retiring early? It seems like you have done the math and realized that you probably should have delayed it maybe 7 years?
Had you done so, you probably would not have to come back to the job market. I believe the FIRE movement has been the singularly most financially destructive movement for people of our generation. No one can know the future. Who could have foreseen COVID, or the current high inflationary environment?
Why quit early while you are still sharp and healthy?
American employers should adopt a more flexible hiring practice to accommodate our now very diverse workforce. People in your circumstances may want to work 3 days a week, or maybe 150 days total a year, or maybe the usual 250 days but with 100% remote or some % remote
In retrospect, retiring at the age of 34 was a little too early. If I could retire all over again, I probably would’ve worked 3 to 5 more years until age 37 to 39 in a new office in Asia or London. Ideally, then I would negotiate an even bigger severance package.
But I’m not sure whether I would have been able to have kids if I kept on working due to all the stress and hours. And because our two kids are the most priceless things ever, and they occurred after we both retired, I’m not sure we would’ve been willing to work longer to take the risk of never having kids.
Do you have kids? I regret having kids so late.
I haven’t gone to work full-time yet. But I am looking for some part-time consulting work in the artificial intelligence or financial technology space in San Francisco once my daughter start school in September 2024. We will have 40 hours a week of void to fill. So I think it’s best to be productive and earn some money for 15-20 hours a week.
What’s your financial situation?
I am an attorney who doesn’t make more than 55k a year. Yes, we’re out there. No, if you google it, most attorneys do NOT make 100k or more a year. Also, a number of attorneys aren’t actually practicing attorneys. Yet, my net worth is over 600k. How did I do that? I sold one of the 4 life insurance policies I control and after begrudgingly paying my sister her half, I got 250k. Still even without that nice cash infusion, my net worth (not including a home since I don’t own one) would be 350k with that paltry salary I mentioned above.
How? 1) I chose to move in with my mom and step dad for almost 4 years after law school. 2) According to Fidelity, I have averaged a 25 percent return in my “investing account” and 50 percent in my Roth IRA. I only opened up my ROTH 401k two years ago since my cheap company finally started to match it two years ago (but suspended the match for last year). Even with my very paltry salary, my ROTH 401k is worth 90k. I contribute 50 percent of my pay to my 401k. I’ll be hitting the 19,500 maximum in the not distant future.
It really boils down to what one wants: If one desires to have kids and be married, then that’ll obviously cost you more money than if you’re single. Do you want to retire early, travel and live in style? Ditto. As for me, I am not interested in having a family of my own or living the life of the rich and famous now or in retirement. I’m a minimalist with basic needs. If things work out well, I’ll be retired (I mean fully retired, not writing on the side for income, doing any sort of side hustle, working part time, etc) by 43 (I am 37 now) and do what I want.
I know roughly 30 or so attorneys, and not a single one is less that $100k. I did know one that started around $75k but after a couple years is now in the $300k range. Most that I know started in the mid six figures though on day one. What type of work are you doing as an attorney for $55k? Did you not have law school loans to payback? I’m assuming since you are calling yourself an attorney you passed the bar and don’t just have a law degree.
I think that retiring at 43 on a $55k salary is amazing, and hopefully you get to spend your free time doing all that you want. Seems like a tall order to me though unless you never get health issues, and live somewhere very remote. eitherway, best of luck to you. In the end it’s really all about making a plan and executing that plan. There are truly no “right” ways to live your life.
My net worth will be $600,000 by age 60 BUT i only averaged $10,750 (GROSS) a year for 35 years!! Read down WAY below!!
My accomplishment is BETTER than yours!!!
LESSON: Get a GOOD financial planner early and invest PRIMARILY EQUITIES (especially AMERICAN)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This needs to be a movie! What a fantastic story.
Another key: Don’t get married young and divorced in your thirties. Especially to someone who earns 25% of less of what you earn. If you contribute the majority, you lose the majority in the divorce and the other party gets a huge bonus in the end while you are stuck paying for a life style they could never afford if it was only on them to earn the funds for it.
Good luck convincing 95% of the sheep out there to follow this sane and sober advice.
obligation should be the mark of your life. work to be the best in the world at what you do and the rest will follow. obligate yourself, in as many ways as you can so that people look to you. and they will help. -jav
I have to disagree. I think it’s ok to get married (and divorced) in your 30s, but I think it would be better if everyone thought about the ‘what ifs’ and prepared for them prior–especially when things are all still rosy and you never think the relationship will end.
Anyone can get a prenup and you don’t have to have any wealth to have one.
I was close to getting married in my very early 20s, didn’t have a penny to my name, but knew I was going to make it one day. I asked for a prenup (and he agreed).
Marriage didn’t happen, but we were together for nearly a decade. By the time the relationship ended I had made it, I was a millionaire.
My partner at the time of our break up? Worth less than when I met him in our 20s. The difference in our personal drive & passion obviously wasn’t a good match–but hey, who thinks about that in your 20s?
I was fortunate enough to have the foresight to think about the ‘what ifs’ though.
I also started investing in real estate. By the time the relationship ended I had two houses (now I own 5) but I owned everything (I never had my partner put his name on anything nor helped with any of the finances). So it all worked out fine when we split.
A prenup would have done the same thing should the state have demanded I split it all.
I absolutely shared everything with my partner at the time and provided him an incredible life he couldn’t afford, I just didn’t put his name on anything I earned.
My fear of not being able to take care of myself is what kept me keeping everything in my name, something I talk about on my new blog.
But Sam is right that it takes a TON of luck and anyone who says otherwise is lying to you. Definitely have to work hard and longer than everyone else, absolutely– but luck is huge too.
I am not aware of the stock that Sam invested in with his 3k, that was a bit before my time. I started out of grad school around the recession and had only 2k that I saved from my first paying ‘real’ job–a whopping 16k a year.
All I did was Google back then about everything and anything I can learn to get a better life. Because I was struggling. bad.
So when I had my 2k saved up, what did I invest in? Google.
Dumb luck? You bet.
But I wouldn’t have had that 2k if I didn’t bust my butt, live near the poverty line and save like a madwoman lol.
You can turn any situation around–even the divorce. Use one of your income streams to pay for the ex and gain others to pay for the life you want.
Best of luck to you!
Looking back on my savings strategies, one thing I regret is not taking advantage of the after-tax investment vehicles (e.g., Roth IRA, Roth 401(k) earlier in my career. I saved primarily with pre-tax accounts and I think that was a mistake. In fact, to rectify it, I’ve been slowly converting my pre-tax accounts to my Roth IRA over the last couple of years, making sure not to ‘increase’ my income too much so that I’m subject to the next tax bracket.
The key to saving is to start with what you can afford when you are early in your career, then ratchet it up as you get pay raises and promotions so you don’t really feel it in your paycheck. That’s worked for me and we are saving around 30% now. I have two defined benefit pensions as well that will pay me ~ $100k when I hit 62 and retire, so my savings rate doesn’t need to be at the level of FIRE followers.
Just my two cents ;-)
I am 36 and I have a bit of an opposite take on this. My parents (especially my dad) pretty much forced me to put money in Roth instead of traditional when I first started working at 22. The result is that I saved a lot less money in my 20s than I could have because I couldn’t afford to max out my Roth 401k until my late 20s.
Sure, yea, that money will be available tax-free in 24 years, but not putting away 15-25% more in my early 20s really crippled my portfolio once you consider compounding interest. I could have always converted those traditional 401ks to Roth later when I rolled them over to my IRA. Instead I lost 7 years of non-maxed-out contributions AND 7 years of a lower effective tax rate that I can never get back.
Each $1,000 I didn’t save in my 20s turns into $20k+ I won’t have in my 60s. So I basically screwed myself out of hundreds of thousands of dollars because I bought into my parents’ tax fears.
Maybe in 24 years tax rates will be 50% I’ll be grateful for my Roth accounts, but the government could always raise penalty-free withdrawal ages. The tax rates could also be lower. We just have no idea. It’s impossible to predict the future.
Sam has it right: Max out your traditional 401k/IRA and then decide what you want to do after that. Nothing else matters until you can max out your pre-tax accounts and that should be everyone’s goal.
Evie D,
You make a great counterargument. The one thing I worry about is that the government will be forced to raise taxes significantly in the future to pay for all the debt they are taking on – but you are right, there is no way to know for sure what will happen.
Since I’m covered by a traditional state pension plan, I don’t get a match on the pre-tax 401(k), so that is a little less enticing for me and one of the reasons I went with the Roth 401(k). Considering the savings rate in this country is so paltry, the decision to save is the most important thing – where to put it is another story ;-)