How to MAKE a million bucks!

[Dmoney]

Inspired by the thread on how to invest $1 million, here it is.

I'd love to hear from any who have assets (other than their principal residence) with a value in excess of $1 million. I'd also love to hear from those who have solid plans for getting there, or even just hopes of getting there.

I know many won't want to comment on their net worth, or even come out and say they have $1 million+, and that's okay. Anyone willing to contribute details, it would be much appreciated and I think extremely interesting for both those who are already successful, and those trying to become so.

The more details the better. Rather than say "Real Estate", tell us if you built houses, flipped houses, rented houses, burned down houses and claimed insurance on them .


I'll kick it off as best I can.

I've been working odd jobs since I was ~12 years old (coaching camp, mowing lawns, shovelling driveways, raking leaves etc.) and have always been a saver. I was taught the power of money to grow and compound on itself from a young age, and have ever since been fascinated with how money works, how markets work and how to grow wealth.

Went to university for finance while working throughout, graduated and got a job on Bay Street. As it stands right now, I'm hoping to build my wealth the old fashioned way of working a job, earning more than I spend and saving the rest. In the longer term, I plan to expand my wealth primarily through the market. Holding stocks/bonds, selling options, collecting dividends etc. You can follow the beginnings of that journey here:
http://canadianmoneyforum.com/showth...come-statement

I'm also constantly exploring various options more entrepreneurial in nature, which may or may not be viable down the road. I'm currently way to busy to consider anything that will take more than 10-20 hours out of my week, so it is mostly limited to ideas in my mind or on paper.

I hope to stay the course of my current career path for at least 5-7 years, at which point I will likely be able to step up to the next level with a very steep increase in pay and responsibility. It is likely then that I will have to make a choice between remaining in the industry, or pursuing alternatives.

I hope to make my first million by 30, which gives me 7 years to do so. Lofty goal, but I hope to be up to the challenge.


Hope to generate some interest. Would love to hear from anyone who:

Started a business
Saved and invested
Started a blog(s)
Bought a franchise (how did you get the seed capital?)
Inherited $$ (what did you do with it afterwards?)
Invested in real estate

Would also like to hear from anyone else with goals and plans to achieve them.

[londoncalling]

Easist way to make a million bucks? start with 2 million and spend half... I know that's not want you wanted for a reply but I thought I'd start this off with a bang. I hope you do find some serious replies though as I am curious as to how people can make a $1 000 000. I assume that it takes either a lot of starting capital, a lot of luck or both. Another possibility would be to lead a ridiculous frugal lifestyle to the point that i would not see the pursuit worth it if one wanted to do it in a 7 yr time frame. Regardless, I am wishing you well on your 7 yr $1 000 000 journey. I do think $1 000 000 is an attainable goal for most just not sure of how long it takes to happen. I see this being a very popular thread.

Cheers

[ffej49]

A Story of 2 families I know who are retired...and I hope to land somewhere in between.

1) The "Smith" family saved every dime they made. Raised 3 kids, sent them to school. Retired before 65. The Smiths' kids remember growing up asking for toys, and Mom and Dad always responding "We can't afford it". They are now empty nesters, with lots of cash and still won't spend it, becuase all they know is saving. They are incapable of enjoying their hard fought $$$.

2) The "Taylors" have been a single income famliy for most of their 40years together (mind you that single income is a partner at a law firm). They are > 70 years old. Always done well in real estate in the GTA. They have 200K each in RRSP's (soon to be RRIF's). Just this month they decided to sell their condo in GTA, downsize here and buy a nicely appointed condo in Florida. Every year they pay for each of thier kids to bring their families down for a week at time (Flights, accomodation, plus many dinners out).

I will never make what a Partner at a law firm makes, but i can take one of his principles and make sure that it stays with me: He would rather see his children enjoy his money, and share that time with his grandkids, than leave some trust acct filled with dollars.

Not sure if that is valid as to why this thread was started...

[Ethan]

I want to be a millionaire by age 40. 1/4 of the way there now, age 27 (including my girlfriend's assets, we've been common law for 3 years). Keys in getting where we are:

- relevant work experience in university (coop programs and summer internships)
- We were both fortunate enough to have our parents pay for our university educations, allowing us to graduate debt-free
- we're both CA's. This career path involved long hours and low pay pre-designation, but the increase in pay and ability to transfer jobs post-designation made the sacrifice worth it. I don't know how our relationship made it through the first 3 years at a firm, she deserves most of the credit.

To get to $1 million, we plan on paying off the mortgage quickly (15 year amortization), maintaining good networks through attending various events in the city, continuing education (I'm debating transferring to a line of work that would allow me to get the CFA) and living below our means.

Potential roadblocks include wedding and kids (rumour has it these things are expensive), the desire for a larger house (I bought a small house with a basement rental that is walking distance from work, moving to the suburbs would be a drain on resources) and major market corrections.

[doctrine]

If you want to be a millionaire/independently wealthy, you need to be in business, and a business that can grow to function without you. In my experience, the people I know who are able to do this have family capital, either relatives or through family businesses. Unfortunately, its nearly impossible for someone to obtain $1M in capital at an age where they can apply it aggressively (under 50) while not working a full time job.

[Ethan]

Unfortunately, its nearly impossible for someone to obtain $1M in capital at an age where they can apply it aggressively (under 50) while not working a full time job.

$1 million isn't that much anymore. Read 'The Millionaire Next Door.' If a family with average earnings is diligent at paying themselves first and achieving average returns, $1 million is easily within reach. The key is to start early and get your money compounding.

[Dmoney]

@ londoncalling: The follow up question would then be... How to make $2 million bucks?

I think the 7-year time-frame is aggressive but obtainable if and only if I stay on my current career path. Starting from an all-in comp that I expect to be ~$100K, the increases are apparently fairly steep and frequent. Very common to be making 1/4 of a million within the first decade on the job and not unheard of to be making $500K - $750K/year within the first 10 years.

I anticipate my hurdles to be:

1) potential loss of employment
2) sluggish market which impacts variable compensation and career advancement
3) the most dreaded: Children

From my personal experience, I've come across several millionaires.

By far the most common group of millionaires seems to be highly educated individuals with great professional jobs and good savings habits (doctors, lawyers, accountants etc.)

I know a few guys who own several bars. Interestingly enough, its two separate groups, each consisting of two very tight partners who have cooperated from the beginning. Both pairs have expanded from one bar to several and combined I'd say each partnership owns bars worth north of $10 million. One of the pairs owns all the real estate their bars are in, and I'm not sure about the other.

I've also come across a few people who own construction businesses, home building companies, gyms, real estate and insurance companies, and have all done well for themself. As was said upthread, I think a business that can carry itself is the way to go.

I've also noticed that those who have a business partner from the get-go seem to do extremely well as long as they stick together. Short of those who inherited their parents' business, all the big successes that I have come across have not gone at it alone.

Any volunteers??????

[crazyjackcsa]

I imagine the thread will be full of examples of the old adage "It takes money to make money" and survivorship bias.

How to make a million dollars: The recipe.

1. Get good paying job.
2. Save money.
3. Invest that saved money in something (Stock market, Real Estate, whatever).
4. Wait until you have a million dollars.

I screwed up the first step. With a family income of 60k a year and two small kids, it'll be a long time until I end up with a million in cash. But I'll get there (when a million is only worth 500k today)

[ddkay]

What Ethan said, any family with above average household income (average here is $85K) and proper savings habits should easily achieve that.

Until a time machine comes along there are few shortcuts to quick and easy millions. Ownership is the riskiest but probably most rewarding. IMO determining factors are the right business environment, strong work ethic, connections to people with similar objectives, and a little luck.

Maybe this is worth a read, kinda rags to riches story of an inherited RE business turned to empire > http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...articlecontent

[donald]

I'm on my way.My path is completly different than dmoney or ethan as in i don't have any formal education(i semi graduated with a work intermship)You can prob tell by my writing skills and format(working on that)Lol
I have a construction business that i started 6 yrs right from the ground(basically a hammer and a rusty half-ton & a pray)after working for a family member who was in construction,after about 2 yrs and being able to turn a profit my dad actualy came on board with me and now i run a tight small construction firm(4-6 guys)Finally after about five yrs im semi "stable" and do roughly 1/2 a million in sales(i don't have a mba but i know business 101 and my margins are awesome*north of 30% of gross revenue*I'm trying to expand.I have always been a saver...I built and sold a house in-between and made a nice profit and have a hybird approach of-business assets/personal assets/portfolio assets.I have about 100k capital in the company(no debt)Ongoing stream from corp*hard to calaculate because i draw one bonus a yr and one dividend cheque.personally i have about 75k(no debt) and between all ports rrsp/non/tfsa 200k dumping aggressive from business profits(I'm learning asset managing from the seat of my pants-like i did with my business)I should be able to secure about a half-million @ the end of 2012-Age 32...single...renter(costs me about 30k to live)Come hell or high water im going to be a millionarie before 38(I just want to do it to do it)the money is not even my motivation...guess it's just the challenge and how hard it is/seems-and i KNOW i will NO DOUBT in my mind*with some luck*