There are 18.6 million millionaires in America today. That is approaching 6% of the population.
The US ranks #1 among all other countries in total number of millionaires outranking the rest of the top 10 COMBINED.
When compared to the rest of the world, becoming a millionaire in America is EASY!
Why is it so easy to become a millionaire in America ?
Dave Ramsey
Americans have proven that we will always demand fair wages. Without your income, you would not stand a chance of building wealth. You could win the lottery or become a celebrity but those millionaires only represent a small portion of millionaires in America.
How do millionaires become millionaires in America???
The majority of wealthy Americans have worked, earned an income, lived within their means, and invested wisely in order to grow their wealth over time to the point they accumulated a net worth of a million dollars.
The easiest way to become a millionaire is to put the power of compound interest to work. Consistently deposit funds into an investment account earning interest and through compounding allow the find to grow to a million dollars over time.
How does compounding work?
In its simplest form, compound interest can be defined as interest earned on interest. It is the result of re-investing interest paid on a principal so that the next period interest will be paid on the principal plus the interest that was previously earned. This goes on in perpetuity and has an exponential compounding effect.
Over time the interest has accumulated to become more than the principal. Eventually you will earn enough interest to cover your expenses over the course of a year. Even further into the future, compound interest will allow you to earn enough in interest to cover your expenses with ONLY the interest, adjusted for inflation forever without every touching the principal.
This, in my opinion, is the pinnacle of financial success. To be able to earn enough passive income from investments that you are comfortable in knowing your expenses will be covered forever regardless of inflation and you will never run out of money is the absolute height of financial freedom and it is a goal we should all be aiming for.
It is also a goal that is highly achievable for anyone with an income. Lucky for you, if you are an American, there is an abundance of available income and opportunity to live a lifestyle that allows you to achieve financial freedom without living out of a box and eating all of your meals out of a tin can.
For a more in depth look at compound interest, check out my article How compound interest will make you rich. The key to long lasting wealth
How long will it take for me to become a millionaire?
The obvious answer is, it depends. There are variables at play that will impact the length of time it will take for you to grow your fortune to a million dollars. These variables are your savings rate and your interest earned.
For example, if you simply save $1000 a month in a jar earning nothing, it would take over 80 years before you could even sniff a million dollars.
Take that same $1000 a month and earn 10% and it will grow to over a million in just 23 years.
So if you want to know how long it will take for you to become a millionaire you will need to know the amount you plan to save each month and the interest you can expect to earn on your investments.
If you want to get there sooner you either need to increase the deposits each month or find a way to earn higher interest rates.
What are the odds of me becoming a millionaire?
Your odds of becoming a millionaire improve immediately if you live in America. We have already spoke about this.
If you are interested in other factors, the federal reserve bank of St Louis did a study in which they ranked other factors such as race, age, gender.
The results were the subject of an article on bloomberg.com
Financial Samurai wrote a fantastic article breaking down the odds which you can read here
Here are a few graphics showing some of their results.
What characteristics do I need to become a millionaire?
In America, any dummy can become a millionaire. Just look at me.
All you need is time, a little bit of persistence, and the will to act.
Lots of people say they want to be a millionaire. Many more think they deserve it. Still more will try to come up with schemes and plans to get rich overnight. Yet very few will actually take the necessary actions required to put you on the path to becoming a millionaire.
Throw a stone in any direction and you will likely hit a person willing to tell you what you need to do to become a millionaire. You may even find someone who has actually done it and is willing to share the secret to their success with you. But do you have the will to act? Will you have the perseverance to continue even through hard times or are you the type of person whose will power will crack the minute things get hard?
The most important characteristics you need to have in order to become a millionaire are patience and will power. If you have the will power to put off spending in lieu of investing and the patience to allow your investments to compound, you will ultimately become a millionaire. It is that easy.
You are lucky
You are lucky for 3 reasons.
#1: You live in America where it is easy to become a millionaire
#2: I have written a simple to understand guide detailing the 8 steps I took myself which put me on the path to becoming a millionaire.
#3: I am giving away that book for free. Check it out here
If I have not yet convinced you how lucky you are and how easy it will be for you to become a millionaire, I leave you with this speech by Joim Rohn, American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker
If you wish to get started on the road to becoming a millionaire, subscribe to my mailing list and receive your FREE e-book, The 8 Day Financial Freedom Boot Camp and design the financial future you deserve.
Thanks and happy millionaireing
Earl