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Here are some things that help: * Frugality: deeply understanding the things that bring you satisfaction and skipping the rest * Aggressively saving and inves

Here are some things that help: * Frugality: deeply understanding the things that bring you satisfaction and skipping the rest * Aggressively saving and investing money * Building a mastery in personal finance But becoming a millionaire isn't a math problem. Most people on here are capable of doing so many times over without any great career home run. However, achieving such a milestone will require you to (on an ongoing basis) look deeply inwards, answer fundamental questions about yourself, and change your life. At the risk of getting too preachy, most people haven't even figured out what they want and so they default to mainstream consumerism. Such people have little chance of becoming a millionaire (which requires sustained, long-term behavior changes) until they first sort themselves out.

lr4444lr 9y ago
From where do you get your information on personal finance and investing?
- hkmurakami 9y ago
  books, research reports, personal experience. The last is vital, as an investor's emotional composure is at times even more important than the rational side of investing.
  - FLUX-YOU 9y ago
    Why spend the time learning about investing beyond the basics if you could be researching a niche in your field to double or add a zero to your income? It doesn't seem worth it to me if you don't have connections within the industry. You're still a retail investor at the end of the day compared to professionals at banks (which honestly, will have better information), so why not just use Vanguard stuff unless you want to go pro?
    - hkmurakami 9y ago
      Because you need the mental fortitude to not liquidate your ETFs in the next crash. edit: that being said, what you said is what I almost always tell friends who have the temptation to augment their income through side projects.
- greyskull 9y ago
  Good starting point: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index There are universal themes like budgeting, responsible spending, paying yourself before you pay others, etc. Just remember that everyone's situation and priorities are different, so don't get caught up in one specific strategy.
- leifaffles 9y ago
  Some recommended resources: reddit.com/r/financialindependence/ (check out all the links in the sidebar). The advice on this sub is generally much higher quality than r/personalfinance (although less newbie friendly) See also: Mr. Money Mustache / Dave Ramsey (both seriously tackle the behavior problems that hold us back from success and wealth)
- ac29 9y ago
  Bogleheads forum [0] and wiki [1] are pretty sensible resources in general. [0] https://www.bogleheads.org/ https://www.bogleheads.org/ [1] https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_investment_philosophy https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_investment_...
leifaffles 9y ago
Also, debt is bad. Debt is the ultimate "blue pill". Ignoring the obvious issues with compound interest in reverse, the far more consequential problem is that it fucks with your head in ways that normally require CIA-style brainwashing and mind control. Debt justifies and rewards your worst impulses, encourages poor, short-term decision making, and alters your frame of reference to a degree that even the smartest, most noble people among us think they can outsmart debt only to wind up losing big.
- hota_mazi 9y ago
  > Also, debt is bad. Debt is the ultimate "blue pill". Nonsense. Debt managed carefully is exactly how you join the million dollar club. Twenty years ago, my grandfather told me that he had never been in debt, ever. He always paid cash. Always. He was strangely proud of this. My immediate reaction, even though I barely knew anything about finances: "Well, that sounds like a dumb, dogmatic principle to follow". A few years ago, I bought a car and I carefully played the card of "This car is beyond what I can afford but you, the sales person, are so good that you convinced me to buy it anyway". When we went to discuss the finances part, I was given several options: 1) a loan with no down payment and a crazy interest 2) a loan with some down payment and a reasonable interest and 3) all cash. I could have bought the car in all cash. The money was there, in my bank account, ready for this. However, the interest for option 2) was 1.5% and I knew of at least one bank that would give me 3% of interests if I deposited at least $30k in this account and maintained it for a year. So what did I do? I picked option 2 of course. I went in debt. And I didn't just save money doing so: I earned money. Debt is fine for people who have a reasonable ability at managing it. This is how you get rich, don't listen to people who tell you "never do this" or "always do that": look at the number and make the smart decision.
  - leifaffles 9y ago
    Everything you say is 100% factual. (Except the part about how debt is "how you get rich") And yet, I'd wager than 90% of people who attempt to replicate your success story would wind up worse off for having tried it. The problem is that it comes with a huge risk of screwing with your head. And it's very difficult to detect and correct when this is happening. I've had my success stories playing games with debt too. Gaming low rates, churning credit cards, and so on. I see people around me do the same things all the time. The only trouble is, the next day these same people are: * Allowing debt to influence their purchasing decisions (e.g. buying a larger car, a larger house, and so on) * Trying more sophisticated "experiments", only to get burned In other words, they scored a minor victory in an inconsequential battle only to lose big later on.
yahna 9y ago
I'd rather have my current financial situation (which is fine, but far from millionaire) and be willing to spend some money then live like a miser and die with 2 million in the bank. I feel like the people who answer "How do I become a millionaire" with "20 years of fiscal responsibility" are kind of missing the point.
pacaro 9y ago
I would be a millionaire many times over if I and various partners hadn't spent so much money. It wasn't a conscious choice, but it wasn't totally unconscious either. My parents and grandparents saved for a future need that never came at the expense of a present. My grandparents wouldn't spend money on themselves well into their 80s because they would "need it for their old age" — elder care did use up maybe 30% of their savings, but most members of the family would have far rather they had gone on the cruises rather than left the money Time works in your favor too, even as a spendthrift, shares have accumulated, compensation becomes more generous over time, if you keep growing (even at a reduced pace) then 20+ years down the line your skills and experience become a very valuable asset
subatomic 9y ago
> However, achieving such a milestone will require you to (on an ongoing basis) look deeply inwards, answer fundamental questions about yourself, and change your life. > most people haven't even figured out what they want and so they default to mainstream consumerism Not everyone defaults to mainstream consumerism. Some of us just don't understand and cannot comprehend why others are such consumers. Keeping up with the Joneses? Why? For my family at least, we require no deep inward analysis, fundamental questions about ourselves or changing of our lives. To sum up: this is just how we are.

lr4444lr 9y ago

From where do you get your information on personal finance and investing?

hkmurakami 9y ago
books, research reports, personal experience. The last is vital, as an investor's emotional composure is at times even more important than the rational side of investing.
- FLUX-YOU 9y ago
  Why spend the time learning about investing beyond the basics if you could be researching a niche in your field to double or add a zero to your income? It doesn't seem worth it to me if you don't have connections within the industry. You're still a retail investor at the end of the day compared to professionals at banks (which honestly, will have better information), so why not just use Vanguard stuff unless you want to go pro?
  - hkmurakami 9y ago
    Because you need the mental fortitude to not liquidate your ETFs in the next crash. edit: that being said, what you said is what I almost always tell friends who have the temptation to augment their income through side projects.
greyskull 9y ago
Good starting point: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index There are universal themes like budgeting, responsible spending, paying yourself before you pay others, etc. Just remember that everyone's situation and priorities are different, so don't get caught up in one specific strategy.
leifaffles 9y ago
Some recommended resources: reddit.com/r/financialindependence/ (check out all the links in the sidebar). The advice on this sub is generally much higher quality than r/personalfinance (although less newbie friendly) See also: Mr. Money Mustache / Dave Ramsey (both seriously tackle the behavior problems that hold us back from success and wealth)
ac29 9y ago
Bogleheads forum [0] and wiki [1] are pretty sensible resources in general. [0] https://www.bogleheads.org/ https://www.bogleheads.org/ [1] https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_investment_philosophy https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_investment_...

leifaffles 9y ago

Also, debt is bad. Debt is the ultimate "blue pill". Ignoring the obvious issues with compound interest in reverse, the far more consequential problem is that it fucks with your head in ways that normally require CIA-style brainwashing and mind control. Debt justifies and rewards your worst impulses, encourages poor, short-term decision making, and alters your frame of reference to a degree that even the smartest, most noble people among us think they can outsmart debt only to wind up losing big.

hota_mazi 9y ago
> Also, debt is bad. Debt is the ultimate "blue pill". Nonsense. Debt managed carefully is exactly how you join the million dollar club. Twenty years ago, my grandfather told me that he had never been in debt, ever. He always paid cash. Always. He was strangely proud of this. My immediate reaction, even though I barely knew anything about finances: "Well, that sounds like a dumb, dogmatic principle to follow". A few years ago, I bought a car and I carefully played the card of "This car is beyond what I can afford but you, the sales person, are so good that you convinced me to buy it anyway". When we went to discuss the finances part, I was given several options: 1) a loan with no down payment and a crazy interest 2) a loan with some down payment and a reasonable interest and 3) all cash. I could have bought the car in all cash. The money was there, in my bank account, ready for this. However, the interest for option 2) was 1.5% and I knew of at least one bank that would give me 3% of interests if I deposited at least $30k in this account and maintained it for a year. So what did I do? I picked option 2 of course. I went in debt. And I didn't just save money doing so: I earned money. Debt is fine for people who have a reasonable ability at managing it. This is how you get rich, don't listen to people who tell you "never do this" or "always do that": look at the number and make the smart decision.
- leifaffles 9y ago
  Everything you say is 100% factual. (Except the part about how debt is "how you get rich") And yet, I'd wager than 90% of people who attempt to replicate your success story would wind up worse off for having tried it. The problem is that it comes with a huge risk of screwing with your head. And it's very difficult to detect and correct when this is happening. I've had my success stories playing games with debt too. Gaming low rates, churning credit cards, and so on. I see people around me do the same things all the time. The only trouble is, the next day these same people are: * Allowing debt to influence their purchasing decisions (e.g. buying a larger car, a larger house, and so on) * Trying more sophisticated "experiments", only to get burned In other words, they scored a minor victory in an inconsequential battle only to lose big later on.

yahna 9y ago

I'd rather have my current financial situation (which is fine, but far from millionaire) and be willing to spend some money then live like a miser and die with 2 million in the bank. I feel like the people who answer "How do I become a millionaire" with "20 years of fiscal responsibility" are kind of missing the point.

pacaro 9y ago

I would be a millionaire many times over if I and various partners hadn't spent so much money. It wasn't a conscious choice, but it wasn't totally unconscious either. My parents and grandparents saved for a future need that never came at the expense of a present. My grandparents wouldn't spend money on themselves well into their 80s because they would "need it for their old age" — elder care did use up maybe 30% of their savings, but most members of the family would have far rather they had gone on the cruises rather than left the money Time works in your favor too, even as a spendthrift, shares have accumulated, compensation becomes more generous over time, if you keep growing (even at a reduced pace) then 20+ years down the line your skills and experience become a very valuable asset

subatomic 9y ago

> However, achieving such a milestone will require you to (on an ongoing basis) look deeply inwards, answer fundamental questions about yourself, and change your life. > most people haven't even figured out what they want and so they default to mainstream consumerism Not everyone defaults to mainstream consumerism. Some of us just don't understand and cannot comprehend why others are such consumers. Keeping up with the Joneses? Why? For my family at least, we require no deep inward analysis, fundamental questions about ourselves or changing of our lives. To sum up: this is just how we are.