A Plan to Get Rich Starting with $25

With the exception of a few fringe thinkers everyone would love to have wealth and all that comes with it. Lets face it, having money is better than not having money. We’ve all heard a story where someone “came to this country with $25 in his pocket” which goes on to tell how this particular individual built their fortune and lived a life of luxury. So how did they do it? What does it take to achieve our ultimate financial goals? It may be easier than you think.

Ok, so you’d like to be one of those people but where do you start? It begins with patience. Not what most people want to hear and that may be the first reason why most people don’t achieve great things but it’s a fact. Sayings like “The guy who hangs on longest is the guy who wins” or “Rome wasn’t build in a day” are based on the idea that you must be prepared to commit to a plan for the long term. Understand from the beginning that this will take a little time. Wealth acquired quickly is usually wealth lost quickly. Look at the sad history of many huge lottery winners. By taking time to develop your wealth there will be habits formed and lessons learned which will ensure that your wealth will last a lifetime.

Next accumulate a grubstake. Remember that the first objective is not to focus on the volume of the wealth accumulated but rather on your attitude and state of mind toward achieving your goal. You are in a process of building powerful habits that will change the person you are into the person who can achieve the goals you have set for yourself. If you aren’t already working on this then start today. Set up a $25 dollar a month automatic contribution to a saving account. Lets say you set a goal for your first five years of building up a small grubstake of $1600. No, that doesn’t sound like a lot but “the mighty oak from the little acorn grows”. That $25 a month at roughly 2.5% will turn into $1600 in 5 years. If you’re able to save more great! If you’re able to add lump sums from time to time even better. Bump the monthly contribution up to $100, the interest rate up to 3.5% and start with $1000 and your five-year grubstake is now over $7700. Use an online savings calculator to see what effect changing the variables can have. Whatever you do, don’t stop. Remember it’s all about the habits and new attitudes you form.

So what do you do with all the time between making those monthly contributions to help you achieve your fortune? Learn, prepare and plan are the next steps. As the grubstake grows you need to learn how to put it to work for you. Although you can achieve surprisingly great wealth just by being an expert saver over the long term we are aiming at something more. We want to maximize our wealth potential. Now we are looking for ways to make our grubstake grow at a faster rate. To do this we need to move from being savers to being investors. Study the major investment vehicles, which would include the stock market, real estate and private business ownership. In short we are changing from owning debt securities to equity investments. Systematically study each investment area. Then begin to develop a plan for investing in each. In five years you will now have the knowledge, skills and habits to take you to a whole new level of wealth accumulation. When you are ready with knowledge and a well thought out plan begin to move your money into investments with larger growth potential.

Along the way you will be tempted off your plan by many things. It may be a sudden unexpected expense. You’ll naturally consider using the funds you’ve accumulated to pay it off. Don’t. You need to adopt the attitude that this money does not exist except for its purpose of supporting your lifestyle with the return it generates and never with the principal. Until the principal is large enough to do this using the money for absolutely anything else is not an option. You will find another way to pay that expense but once you touch your grubstake it will send you back to ground zero instantly.

Another temptation will be that “Once-In-a-Lifetime-Opportunity” that you are certain to be offered. Do not be tempted or distracted by get rich quick schemes. Surprisingly those once in a lifetime opportunities will come along many times in your life. Stick with the plan. Invest in your plan. Do not let your emotions get the better of you. Those concepts you’ve learned while planning and preparing such as Diversifying for Risk Management will keep you on your path to having the wealth you desire and deserve.

Naturally there will be bumps in the road. At times the stock market will tumble as will real estate. Understand that there is money to be made in all circumstances if you are prepared and positioned to take advantage of them. Continue to educate yourself and build your knowledge and experience. At this point in the process you will likely have substantial assets, which will give you options to leverage your wealth into an ever-increasing foundation of revenue producing investments. Do not be discouraged when you take a hit or suffer a setback. Persistence is the key to long-term success.

As you can see there is nothing here that any average individual cannot accomplish just by following this simple framework. Time, planning, commitment and knowledge will give you the future you desire. You can do this and you should. Start now.