Today’s show is a bit of a reset. Every now and then, it is good to get back to Money 101. For me, “Money 101” takes me back to a high school Economics teacher who very possibly changed the course of my entire life…
Now that I run a wealth management firm, and have been helping individuals make good financial decisions for about 15 years, the advice that my economics professor gave doesn’t seem all that groundbreaking. I remember very vividly that he asked, “Which of you would like to be a millionaire?” Well, sitting there being the eternal Money-Guy that I am, I thought to myself. “Hmm… a million bucks sounds pretty good to me!” At the time, I was a crew leader working the drive-thru at Hardees just trying to scrap together enough each week for 1) a weekend date or 2) some hot new addition to my ’84 Cavalier. The method by which to accumulate $1 million dollars was simply to save $100 a month until I turned 65 years old. Really?!? Could it be that easy? Well, it was that very concept that got me interested in finances which ultimately lead to me becoming a financial advisor. It is because of his advice that I show the following chart in every 401k educational presentation that I give:
How To Accumulate $1,000,000 by Age 65
|
Current
|
Interest
|
Years to
|
Required Monthly
|
|
Age
|
Rate
|
65
|
Savings
|
|
1
|
10%
|
64
|
$14
|
|
10
|
55
|
$35
|
|
|
20
|
45
|
$95
|
|
|
30
|
35
|
$263
|
|
|
35
|
30
|
$442
|
|
|
40
|
25
|
$754
|
|
|
45
|
20
|
$1,317
|
|
|
50
|
15
|
$2,413
|
|
|
55
|
10
|
$4,882
|
|
|
60
|
5
|
$12,914
|
|
|
64
|
1
|
$79,583
|
|
|
*Compounding Monthly
|
|||
It really is that easy! And the most beautiful part? It is skewed in the favor of younger individuals who very well may consider themselves “broke”. If you feel like you don’t have a ton of money that you can save for the future, that’s OK… when you’re young, you don’t NEED a ton of money!
It is because of this concept that I always follow with this next chart showing how valuable it can be if you star early:
As you listen to the show, I share my thoughts on how and where you should begin saving. I then go on to share some listener emails that we have received over the past few weeks. I absolutely LOVE when you guys write the show and share your thoughts and opinions, even if they don’t necessarily align with ours. I share these emails and then I also give my response and explain why I either agree or disagree. Thank you all so much for sharing and I hope you will continue to do so!
