144: How to make $1.73 million in 45 years by investing $8 a working day
06-30-2007
PropertyInvesting.net team
If you save $8 a day, by having sandwiches at lunch, for all the working days of your life, and put this money into a 11% return stock market (the average rate of return over the last 50 years) – in 45 years you will have $1.73 million in the bank!
Even if you saved and invested $1 for every day of the year, you would have $360,000 in the bank. If the average US 
citizen starting work at age 20 and ending at age 65, and invested 10% of their earned income of $40,000 in a standard 11% return stock market fund (that’s $4000 per year), then they would have $3.95 million in the bank at age 65! If you invested half, that's $20,000 a year, you would have $19.7 mln by age 65.
Anyone that would like a copy of the mathematical model behind this calculation, please contact us on enquiries@propertyinvesting.net and we will send you a free copy of the Excel sheet – you can model different scenarios yourself using this spreadsheet.
Bottom line is, very few people invest, and those that do, struggle to invest in the average 11% return investment. For property investors who invest for a 20 year period, if returns are in the 20% per annum range, there is no reason why one should not have a net worth of tens of millions of dollars at the end of a 20 year period.
Even if one was to put 1% of an average $40,000 annual earnings (that’s $400 a year) into a 6% return bank account, the total after 45 working years would be $80,000. So saving $1.82 a working day (220 
working days in a year) and putting into a 6% bank account would generate $80,000 at age 65.
So why is it that so few people manage to hold any savings, investments or net worth before retiring? It’s probably a combination of lack of financial literacy, lack of financial discipline, too much spending on material goods and lack of financial motivation.
If you have a savings or investment target and keep to it – because you want to – and are prudent with what you invest in, then you’ll likely be very wealthy in your old age. You have to want to invest and make money. It doesn’t even involve risk – because if you buy regular government bonds with a return of 6% in your local currency, and follow this investment process though your life, you will end up with millions of dollars of investment savings (or net cash available).
If you gear up and take more risk, your returns could be phenomenal and net worth massive. You need to want to make “serious money”. No holding back or making excuses to yourself or others.
The more you leverage up, and the more risk you take, the higher the potential rewards can be – though the greater your chance of going broke. If you learn as you go along, learn from your mistakes, pick up good advice as you invest and avoid making serious mistakes, you can rapidly achieve high wealth by following some simples guidelines:
- Save some money then invest as early as you can – in high return investments (e.g. property at the right price, in the right place, at the right time)
- Invest in property that has a high yield and high chance of capital value increase
- Leverage your cash to use the banks money to invest in property
- Don’t spend all your money! Stop spending on stupid things!
- Watch the pennies – keep good accounts, manage your portfolio actively
- Build your wealth – do not overextend and watch your cashflow (the life blood of business)
- Avoid high commissions and bad investment advice from advisers with vested interests
- Use high quality tax planning and legal advice to avoid loosing your wealth once made
- Be humble, unassuming and careful with your money – don’t ever get arrogant – study experts like Warren Buffet (read his books) – and admire people that make money then give most of it away to good causes like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates – disciplined motivated investors with a sound social conscience
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It’s not rocket science, but you need to want to make money. You need to action things, chase things down and get your hands dirty. If you want the quiet life, put your money into government bonds and you’ll still make millions. If you want to make tens of millions, then leverage up, use other people’s money, take some risk and work hard.
You will find huge person satisfaction from the discipline of business, and it will do your self esteem no end of good. You can quietly make huge amounts of money, and be comfortable in the acknowledge that you will be financially free to do whatever you like in your middle age. You’ll have the power and control to set your own agenda. If we are totally honest with ourselves, like it or not:
- power is money is control
- if you have no money, you have no power and have no control