Becoming a millionaire by 35 is a very attainable goal for many people in the developed world. However, more non-millionaires exist than millionaires, even though it is doable. That’s a real shame because it’s an attainable goal for the vast majority of people. Here is exactly the guide to get there.
Below is the mathematical and logical portion in order to be a millionaire by 35. In other words, all you need to save is $46,403 per year at a 7% interest rate in order to be a millionaire by 35, assuming you started from age 22 at the graduation of college. That is a lot of money, but it is not impossible at all.
By the way, it also doesn’t matter if you didn’t get to save $46,403 per year in the beginning stages of your career. Maybe the starting salary wasn’t that high so you are just building it. However, if that is true, then it does mean that you have to make up for it in your later earning years.
At my age, I am supposed to have a net worth of around $285,530, according to the schedule. However, I have a net worth well beyond that at $400,000. A net worth that I was supposed to have in two years. This means that I am two years ahead of schedule.
Additionally, at my savings rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if I will be way ahead as time passes. I save approximately $85,000 per year, including 401k money, HSA, savings, company match, and more. This is exciting news. If I can do it, then anybody else can. It does take a lot of behavioral characteristics in order to get there.
How to be a Millionaire by 35
The first half of the battle is knowledge. As long as you know you’re going in the right direction, you’ll get there eventually. All you have left is time. Time will pass by, whether you like it or not, so if time is all you need, then that’s great news.
one way to be a millionaire by 35 is to SMASH that social share button and post this article for your friends! Your friends could definitely use knowing how to be a millionaire. And all you have to do is click share for your friends to read.
So with that said, let’s get into exactly how to be a millionaire by your mid 30’s.
1) Live Frugally
You can’t save $46,403 per year if you spend most of your money. And how do you save more money? If you live frugally. Don’t go out and get a high rise apartment straight out of college. What’s the point? It’s money down the drain that you’re not going to see returns on anyway. The joy you feel is gone after you leave.
Don’t go out and eat $15 – $20 lunches every single day during work day. Go out and spend $8 – $10 lunches. One of my friends recently came into town. I haven’t seen him in over two years. We spent $30 on lunch, alone. On a special occastion like that, then it’s perfectly fine.
However, the vast majority of the time, it is not. Food is one of the biggest line items in our budget. Learn to control it. Then translate the savings methods and hacks onto other aspects of your budget. You’ll accelerate your progress even further than that. There’s savings to be had that’s just right there for your taking.
2) Save Money to be a Millionaire by 35
After you live frugally and buying used technology, cars, and furniture, then it’s time to now save that money. There’s savings accounts that you can safely park your money into that lets you save money easily. $10 here and there really adds up over a course of.a year.
You won’t know how exactly valuable $1,000 is, until you actually put it into perspective. One thousand dollars is an enormous amount of money, even in today’s standards. The reason it’s an enormous amount is not because it can buy a lot of stuff or because it’s a lot in nominal terms.
It’s a lot of money because it has the power to grow into something much larger. Every million dollars starts with a thousand dollars. To be a millionaire by 35, every dollar counts towards getting there. It’s not a good idea to squander it.
3) Invest the Savings
So now you live frugally and save the money as a result. Then the crucial thing is to invest those savings into assets that make you money. Savings accounts return an abysmal 0.01 – 0.5%, for the online banks. That’s abysmal. They might as well literally not pay you any interest instead of insulting you by paying that interest.
To be a millionaire by 35, you need to invest in assets that generate 7% per year, on average. 7% annual return rate is a HUGE amount of return rate. It’s nothing to be scoffed at. I used to think you need at least a 25% return every year in order for it to be worth it. Nope. 7% annual returns are good enough.
Learn how asset accumulation works and follow the process religiously. It’s going to take at least 6 – 8 years of consistent effort in order for you to get there. Once you do get there, you put in minimal additional work and let someone else (money) do the rest of the work for you and carry you to the finish line.
4) Switch Jobs to Increase Income
You can’t give loyalty to someone where they won’t give you loyalty back. Companies take advantage of loyalty, they do not reward it. To be a millionaire by 35, it’s time to switch jobs to a better and higher paying job. A standard good raise is between 10 – 15%. An earlier prior boss told me that he wouldn’t leave for anything less than a 20% raise.
Now, don’t go and leave a job for a $5,000 raise. That’s not worth it. Even if you get the inflationary and standard 2 – 4% raise from your current job, that should be worth at least $1,000 – $4,000 extra to you. So then, it’s not really a $5,000 raise, it’s only really a $4,000 – $1,000 extra raise per year.
Your relationships that you build is worth more than that. Find another good job that pays at least 10%+ per year for you to move. Otherwise, why wouldn’t you just stay and make just as much in your current job? It doesn’t make sense to do so otherwise. Move jobs strategically. You have to reprove yourself at a new company.
5) Start a Side Hustle
To be a millionaire by 35 and save $46,403 per year, you need to start a side hustle if your income doesn’t already cover it. Your company is not going to give you 50%+ raises in a single year but a side hustle gives you the potential to grow that much.
This year alone, my stock market investments paid me an extra 50% on top of my salary that I earn.
Imagine if I add side hustle money on top of that. It’s not as hard to get a 50% increase to your salary with a side hustle and investments. All you have to do is convince yourself to do it, and I’m sure you are very good at convincing yourself to do anything you want yourself to do.
An extra $5,000 per year is a lot of money. To me, that’s more than an entire paycheck’s worth. That I wouldn’t have had otherwise. It’s unbelievable just how much of a help an extra $4 – 500 per month does to your finances. It’s much more help than you were realizing especially when you invest the difference.
6) Avoid Lifestyle Creep
I’ve seen it time and time again. Once people get a $10,000 raise, they start to think, “that’s just more money that I had this year than the last, it’s time to spend it!”. One of the jobs that I was going for had a $150,000 bonus. My coworker immediately asked, “what would you spend with a $150k bonus?”.
I was shocked. The extra bonus money or additional money should be socked away towards investments that make me at least $150,000. Then, and ONLY then was I going to spend on anything remotely close to $150,000. Avoid this lifestyle creep. It affects more people than you know. This isn’t the first person who told me this.
Whenever I told a friend I got a $30k bonus, the first thing they immediately asked was what I was going to spend the bonus money on. The mindset that some spend-happy people have is mind boggling. People don’t want to live for the future, they want to live for the present. Whenever you get extra money, avoid the lifestyle creep.
Lifestyle creep is the enemy to the goal of being a millionaire by 35.
7) Let Time do the Work
Now that you know how to generate the $46,000 it takes in order to be a millionaire by 35, now all that’s left is to do it year after year. Again and again. Without fail. There’s a popular saying in poker. “It’s only a matter of time before I bust you”. It works both ways. It’ll only be a matter of time before you get there.
As long as time is your ally, friend, and supporter, you are going to do just fine. There are people where time is an enemy and they are racing against it. Meaning, the more time passes, the worse their situation becomes. That scenario is the worst to be in because regardless of you situation, time is going to pass by.
There will be zero exceptions and time will not stop for anyone. Not even for the President of the United States. Therefore, make sure you are on the right and good side of time and not the bad side of time. If that’s true, then all you have to do is play the waiting game and you are going to be good to go.
8) Be Patient
Now that you made time your ally and friend, it’s time to practice patience. Thirteen years is a VERY long time. $46,000 per year is a lot of money to not have access to for the next 13 years. Too many people give up at this stage. At the final stage, when they already set up everything for success.
But they lacked this one ingredient, patience, and ended up giving up at the five year mark. After putting all that work in. Gone, just like that. Poof. It’s not hard to be patient for the first 1 – 2 years. Why? Because it’s still new. The dopamine hit from seeing your net worth hit all time highs are new to you.
It encourages you to keep going. Years 3 – 5 are the hardest years. It’s when you don’t think you’re getting there as fast as you thought you would. Once you get over these years. Once you get over the hump, then that’s when you will lift off like a rocket ship. This is when you will experience growth so quick that you will get worried.
It takes a lot of patience to be a millionaire by 35.
It’s Completely Doable to be a Millionaire by 35
What so many people don’t understand that millionaire by 35 is an achievable goal for many. Sure, there are sacrifices that need to be made in order to get there. Such as working on a side hustle on the weekend instead of frequenting the bar and relaxing with friends.
However, it will all have been worth it by the end of it all. As we grow older, we have what are called, “wants”. Our wants seem to grow every year and doesn’t seem to end by the end of it all. However, the sacrifices of today are the winnings of tomorrow.
Too many people give up after 2 – 3 years of FIRE because they don’t recognize 2 – 3 years is considered the “short term” in FIRE terms. Don’t be one of those who just wants to be a millionaire by 35. Be one of those who IS a millionaire by 35. If none of your family members were wealthy, you could be the first one.
You could literally set the example for the younger generation to follow. All you have to do is make some choices that aren’t complicated but difficult to stay consistent at. There’s an unlimited number of opportunities for you to take advantage of in this world and the opportunities are not going to dry up anytime soon.
Even though the millionaire status does not mean as much as it used to, it’s still a very impressive goal to achieve. There are more non-millionaires than there are millionaires. Therefore, it’s still a tremendous feat to accomplish. Then you can tell me all about it once you get there and leave a comment on the blog!
How to be a Millionaire by 35 List
- Live frugally
- Save money to be a millionaire by 35
- Invest the savings
- Switch jobs to increase income
- Start a side hustle
- Avoid lifestyle creep
- Let time to do the work
- Be patient
