Spoiler Alert: Thereâs no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with a golden envelope waiting for you stating you hit seven zeros in your bank account.
People are allured by the number to their name just like the weight on the scale. Speaking of the scale, I honestly havenât stepped on my dusty one lying aimlessly under my sink dying to be used in a good 5 years.
Why?
Because if I eat healthy and exercise regularly, I feel good and thatâs all that matters.
Mental > Physical.
Same thing with your bank account.
You donât become a different person with more tied to your name. No one knows how much you really have nor care because image is extremely deceiving. When you attain more, you typically end up having more problems and need to find a way to fill that void. Just look at any celebrity. 80% of them are unhappy either married 2x+, feel alone, bashed by the tabloids, commit suicide or revert to drugs to distract them from their âlavishâ life.
Even at a firm, the more you make, the more ailments arise. From back pain to hearing problems, obesity to insomnia, more money = more problems!
Pick your poison.
Too much of anything is a dangerous thing, especially once you believe your fat bank account will vanish all your worries.
If you genuinely enjoy working, you donât pay attention to the money and thatâs usually when you work smarter not harder, have found a true passion and arenât in it for the paycheck. Your salary is a byproduct of your impact and value. The more you provide to people by solving their everyday problems, make their lives easier, let them feel good and heard, you get compensated.
Once you reach that point, thereâs no stoping since you didnât come this far to only come this far. You donât just want to help 1 person.
If youâre like me and didnât realize you were worth more than you thought, itâs most likely because you never took the time to gather all your assets. Now this is different than having a reoccurring check-up with your finances. You should regularly rebalance, reflect on your short/long term goals, risk tolerance, investments and monitor the performance on your own, with your partner or with your advisor.
The older you get, the more responsibilities you have and hence, own more. From real estate to trust holdings, investment portfolio and passive income streams. It all adds up and counting all of it could distract you but understanding how itâs growing is a must.
If you knew your daily worth, I find that would make us extremely disillusioned and dangerously competitive.
Money Mindset
My immigrant parents have always been frugal minimalists. If you stop by at any of our properties, you will quickly find we donât own a lot of junk. Appreciating assets such as artwork to investments are our jam, not depreciating clutter such as TVs to cars.
We also donât care what we are worth.
I think itâs fascinating to compare the real rich to the fake rich, a.k.a poor.
The most accurate indication of someoneâs true not fake photoshopped life on Instagram is their home.
There are no shortcuts to home buying. You have to have reliable credit history to be able to afford the home and be a trustworthy buyer, put down at least the recommended 20% cash deposit and prove you are trustworthy by being able pay back the mortgage and all the monthly costs that come with the home. These days itâs even harder. If you want to stand out against potential buyers, expect to pay all in cash and double the price.
As opposed to a car or Gucci bag, itâs a much simpler purchasing process where you can go into debt on the full-amount.
Taste Test
If you visit the most expensive cities in the U.S., NYC to San Francisco, what youâll find is that the people who live in prime locations look like they are from the street.Â
Literally.Â
Silicon Valley is full of hoodie wearing Honda driving engineers and New Yorkâs elite donât advertise brands nor their fast fashion. This once wasnât the case but now living below your means and the stealth wealth lifestyle is full-blown. As a life-long New Yorker, this is a trend Iâve quickly adopted.
The top 10%+ keep a low-profile lifestyle. Maybe a $200 suit and $300 dress but on a typical weekend afternoon, I guarantee you 9 times out of 10, you will not see a millionaire or above splash label brands on their shirt wearing golden rings.
Theyâre just not about that bling anymore. They have better things to do than count their wealth all day, show off and spend every penny theyâve earned.
Hence, the wealthy are quiet, rich are loud and poor are flashy.
Thatâs why a money mindset is key. The wealthy approach investing differently than most people. They listen to financial advisors and their familyâs needs not novices on social media or Jim Cramer 24/7 on CNBC.
Becoming a millionaire doesnât change me and shouldnât change you. You should absolutely enjoy the fruits of life and your earnings. Thatâs what working is for but after you treat yourself, realize you most likely already have what you need.
With the abundance of the internet and the digital revolution, there are too many opportunities online to take advantage of yet that can get overwhelming especially when another Reddit retail investor, Shopify seller or YouTuber states how much theyâve attained to finally âmake itâ.
I believe to truly âmake itâ you have to have a purpose outside of yourself. Stop being entitled, spoiled and constantly wishing and hoping to buy that next cool gadget to impress strangers.
Instead start focusing on what you can provide to the world.
The more you give, the more youâll get back without asking for anything in return.
Itâs similar to showing up overtime. My pet peeve is always being late since being on time is already late so throughout my schooling years till today in college I show up early, roughly 10â20 minutes to each class. Due to this practice, my teachers soon became reliant on me, for a good reason and genuinely enjoy our coffee chats before class.
This has led me to boost my luck enhancing my networking skills, small talk, obtain new positions and meet incredible people simply by showing up overtime.
Compounding works wonders and the earlier you can figure out what you would do for free if you werenât getting paid, the easier itâll be to obtain more than you ever dreamed of.
Just like seeking creativity and innovation. The more you deliberately try, the less itâll come naturally to you.
Try less hard to get more of what you want!
Millionaire Mess
So youâre most likely here to get a deep dive into how Iâm approaching millionaire status at age 20. Itâs estimated that I will reach $2.3 by this October if I keep my renter in my studio, my passive income sources from my blog to publications, side gigs (marketing and promotion for various companies) and investments in shape. Fingers crossed especially for the markets as they seem extra frothy these days with pent-up demand.
As mentioned earlier, there are countless ways to reach the seven-figure mark and this article and all that I write are never intended to make you feel guilty or jealousy. They are simply to teach and help you stay financially prudent and achieve your goals.
Thereâs no timeline to life and even if you never reach the millionaire status, be happy you are able to wake up every day, get to do meaningful work (hopefully) and another day to learn something new.
Itâs never too late to start and hereâs never a right time to do anything so just get started you wonât regret it.
The top strategies Iâve adopted from my colleagues, friends and family that have helped me approach millionaire status can be applied at any age or income level as long as you adopt the right mindset.
-Ignore noises and most people
-Donât compare yourself to someone else, you have no idea what others are going through and people are great at faking it till they make it
-Patience is a virtue
-Risk averse
-No stock picking or day trading no matter how great track record may be
-Everything takes longer than it seems
-More diversification
-More cash on hand
-Be realistically optimistic
-Understand that thereâs a ton OUT of your control
-You donât need to be an expert, you just need to experiment and keep going
-Never tie emotions to decisions
Stay open and not shallow. Look beyond the number and what you can provide to people. No day is guaranteed so as long as youâre making improvement daily, thatâs what counts.
At the end of your life, you wonât regret not earning more, youâll regret not being there for those who always supported you.
Money isnât everything especially when your mind isnât straight.