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So you want to be a millionaire
MSN Money ^ | June 14, 2006 | Liz Pulliam Weston

Posted on 07/14/2006 5:50:11 AM PDT by libstripper

The day my husband and I became millionaires was a lot like any other day.

He went off to work, grumbling about the commute. I was fretting about our utility bill and decided to check our personal finance software to see how much more we were paying than the previous year. While I fiddled with the numbers, I told the software to update our account balances. Lo and behold, the net worth column showed seven figures where before there had been six.

There was no popping of champagne corks, no trips to the Continent, no quitting of jobs. The fact that the experience was so mundane speaks volumes, both about how millionaires are really created and what it means to be one. Looking for a loan? Check out MSN Money's Loan Center

(Excerpt) Read more at moneycentral.msn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: investments; millionaire; millionaires
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To: libstripper

Hopefully one of their investments is Long Term Care insurance, or the state might end up getting a lot of that money if one, or both, of them has to go the Medicaid route. Not to mention that the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 disqualifies anyone from Medicaid who has home equity greater than $500,000 (though CA and few other states can set a higher limit). Note: I'm not involved in profiting from LTC insurance sales in any way. Just glad I bought it a few years back.


41 posted on 07/14/2006 7:24:34 AM PDT by LZ_Bayonet
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To: GOP Poet

There's anohter way to look at pay9ing off the house note. The interest on the note usually exceeds the rate of returnon most fixed income investments. Thus, as an element of a diversified portfolio, paying off that note can make a lot of sense instead of putting the money into stocks.


42 posted on 07/14/2006 7:29:33 AM PDT by libstripper
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To: Hatteras
You.. have never paid taxes'?" Two simple words. Two simple words in the English language: "I forgot!"

Richard Hatch tried that. . . it didn't work.
43 posted on 07/14/2006 7:35:15 AM PDT by sittnick (There is no salvation in politics.)
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To: libstripper
Until some scum-sucking local council wants to take it from you via eminent domain.
44 posted on 07/14/2006 7:41:16 AM PDT by MissEdie
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To: libstripper

Of course, todays 25 year olds will find that a million is what they will need to live on per year in 35 years.


45 posted on 07/14/2006 8:07:27 AM PDT by cinives (On some planets what I do is considered normal.)
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To: GOP Poet

Your financial advisor must be Ric Edelman.


46 posted on 07/14/2006 8:20:19 AM PDT by wouldntbprudent (If you can: Contribute more (babies) to the next generation of God-fearing American Patriots!)
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To: libstripper
I suppose too one should decide based on their long term and short term goals, which always differs person to person. My thought is it is always good to pay off interest debt sooner rather then later. So one can't go wrong with paying off their house note.

So I must agree with you here. Conversely if there are other money making goals that are entwined with the need to pay down interest and principle, I think it would depend on how insulated the person is from risk, as well as how comfortable they are with risk, as well as what there short term needs are.

47 posted on 07/14/2006 11:49:08 AM PDT by GOP Poet
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To: Gay State Conservative
You hit the nail on the head! What a great father.

Delayed gratification . . . I swear this word has been erased from the English vocabulary, but you are so right. It is critical for any sound building of anything that is of true value or substance, I swear. No where is this most externally obvious then when it comes to money (maybe when it comes to food and exercise :-).

You were so blessed to have such a role model. Thanks for the reminder.

48 posted on 07/14/2006 11:57:01 AM PDT by GOP Poet
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To: GOP Poet
You were so blessed to have such a role model. Thanks for the reminder.

Yup,you're right.I don't know if you've ever heard the saying "the older I get,the smarter my Dad/Mom gets" but that certainly applies to both of my folks.

But then,I'm a big believer in the concept of "The Greatest Generation".I strongly believe that the hardships they endured...the Depression,WWII,Korea *and* the Cold War allowed them (or forced them) to develop a strength of character that's all-too-rare in Boomers and subsequent generations.

But that's just my opinion.

49 posted on 07/14/2006 12:11:56 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative
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To: LZ_Bayonet
I'm not involved in profiting from LTC insurance sales in any way. Just glad I bought it a few years back.

Wise move.

50 posted on 07/14/2006 12:14:45 PM PDT by RedWhiteBlue
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To: libstripper

Follow that approach over an entire career and you will retire a millionaire.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And you will still be trying to figure out how to make ends meet because of inflation!


51 posted on 07/14/2006 2:08:22 PM PDT by RipSawyer (Does anybody still believe this is a free country?)
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To: HuntsvilleTxVeteran

$100 placed at 7 percent interest compounded quarterly for 200 years will increase to more than $100,000,000 -- by which time it will be worth nothing.

Most likely so, or too close to it for comfort. I am amused by those who so glibly point the way for young people to raise a million over forty years as if it will still amount to something. I like to recall the ads I used to see on the back of Reader's Digest in the late fifties which offered to send info on "how to retire in fifteen years with an income of $300.00 a month". It seemed quite plausible at the time.


52 posted on 07/14/2006 2:12:29 PM PDT by RipSawyer (Does anybody still believe this is a free country?)
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To: Gay State Conservative

He had the family homestead,located in an upper middle class suburb of Boston,paid off within 8 years of having bought it...all the while supporting 4 kids and my Mom,who never worked outside the home.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

To do the same thing today, even with the most stringent scrimping and saving would require an income of how much? I am guessing at least $150,000. and I really have no idea what the house would be worth in such a location. What did your father do for a living.


53 posted on 07/14/2006 2:24:55 PM PDT by RipSawyer (Does anybody still believe this is a free country?)
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To: linda_22003
We're focusing on paying off debt and building savings at the moment. A large part of our problem can directly be attributed to *ONE* moment of weakness that I can fairly credit to both my husband myself. He bought a Harley. And I gave in. It's not unusual for one of us to get stupid, but it's a very rare thing for both of us to turn off the brain cells at the same time. The Harley company helpfully added to the loan all of our other vehicle payments at the time we bought the bike. Now we have a $30,000 loan and a bike that has depreciated down to a value of only $15,000.

Crap.

So we're getting a loan to pay off ALL our debts (except the house), paying our "stupid tax", then selling the bike and applying that toward the loan. Our total debt will drop considerably and we can actually pay it all off.

After everything is paid off we'll start saving to have a house built and put money aside for retirement.

We did get a 15 year loan that I'm stubbornly refusing to refinance no matter what. It would be nice to not have a mortgage payment when we're retired!

54 posted on 07/14/2006 10:40:16 PM PDT by Marie (Support the Troops. Slap a hippy.)
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To: Gay State Conservative

But they're the ones who raised us Boomers, remember? ;)


55 posted on 07/15/2006 4:00:10 AM PDT by linda_22003
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To: Marie

Wow, what a cautionary tale. To spend so much on a Harley and not even be able to keep it....

I did raise my eyebrows a little at "The Harley company helpfully added to the loan all of our other vehicle payments..." ALL of our others? Not sure how many vehicles, or how many payments, that is - but if it's more than one it's over my comfort level.

You're paying a high price for his little testosterone rush - good luck in the future! :)


56 posted on 07/15/2006 4:07:32 AM PDT by linda_22003
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To: linda_22003
We had a car we bought new and a second-hand truck that we do use enought to keep. We've learned our lesson.

After the bike is gone we'll be getting another, much cheaper, second-hand bike for him to ride to work. A bike like that would save so much on gas that it would pay for itself. *That* is what we should've done in the first place!

57 posted on 07/15/2006 10:41:08 PM PDT by Marie (Support the Troops. Slap a hippy.)
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