Fastest Way to Make $1 Million? 8 Real-Life Strategies That Worked Preview: First Three Way’s If you invest $400 a month and make 7% annually, this investment return calculator says you’ll have a little over $1 million in 40 years. Let’s say you’re 30 years old and you give up movies, Starbucks and dinners out for four decades to save that $400 each month. At age 70, you’ll have a million bucks and be ready to retire, right? But wait! An inflation calculator shows that $1 million today has the spending power of about $229,207 in 1975 dollars. If we experience similar inflation in the next 40 years, your future million will also be worth just $229,207 in today’s dollars. Then, if you keep making 7% annually, it will provide an income of… $1,337 per month (measured in today’s dollars). So you’ll be a millionaire, but it won’t be quite like you imagine. Of course you’ll probably have some other income from social security or a pension, and $1,337 is a nice addition to other monthly income. But what if you don’t want to wait 40 years to make your first million? What if you don’t want to wait even 10 years? Here’s how to make a million dollars-quickly — with a little luck. 1. Sell Something
Maybe you didn’t want to hear this, but it could be time to learn how to sell.One of the surest ways to wealth is to see what people need and want and provide it. But you still have to convince them that it’s your something they need. That’s sales.
That’s how Dani Johnson went from being homeless to a millionaire in less than two years. At first she rejected the idea of selling a weight loss program, as if it was beneath her. Then she realized she was homeless, drinking, using cocaine and worse, so why not sell something? She didn’t even have a phone, but with a $15 voice mail service and a handmade flyer put up in a post office, she started getting orders for the program. When she called the manufacturer to get her inventory, she had to borrow the address of a liquor store because she had no place to accept delivery. From that start, she built her business and later sold it, becoming a multi-millionaire in the process. Other examples of people who made $1 million fast by selling something include:
Fraser Doherty He was 14 years old when he started making and selling “SuperJam,” and within a few years he had annual sales in the millions.
Cameron Johnson He sold greeting cards at age 9, then moved on to selling Beanie Babies, software and advertising, and by age 15 he was making more than $300,000per month.
Alicia Shaffer Within three years of opening her shop on Etsy she was making close to $1 million annually selling handmade clothing and accessories. 2. Invest in Real Estate
When Julie Broad and her husband decided to buy their first income property they had just $16,000 saved up. Seven years later, they were millionaires and she retired — at age 31. Broad says one of the things she likes about real estate is the potential leverage:
“If you have $16,000 to invest (which is what I started with seven years ago), you can buy $16,000 worth of stocks and bonds. But, if you buy real estate, you can buy a property worth $160,000 (which is exactly what I did). If your stocks go up in value by 5%, you’ve made $800. But if your property goes up by 5% you’ve made $8,000!” You make money with income property from rents, appreciation and equity gains from the tenant’s rent paying down the mortgage. You also get to exercise creativity and control with real estate investments. Broad points out that if your stocks drop in value, your options are limited buying more or selling more, but with real estate,
“…there are plenty of creative techniques to try… Some people rent out the garage separate from the house… you can add vending machines or laundry facilities… you can change the usage of the property to sell it to someone who can make better use of it… There are dozens of ways to turn a simple house into a money making machine with creativity.” Many real estate investors have similar stories to tell. For example, in his book, 2 Years to a Million in Real Estate, Matthew Martinez relates how he made his fortune in rental properties after quitting his 9-to-5 job. 3. Gamble
Mortgaging the house and betting $29,000 on number 17 on the roulette table probably isn’t a good plan. But not all gambles have to be that crazy. Consider poker. A recent article from the Mirror profiled seven people who made more than $1 million playing poker in 2014. There is risk, but on the other hand, there is also skill, and you can parlay your profits into bigger ones without risking much to start. Another option is gambling on the popularity of new currencies. Using $1,000 he got as a gift, Erik Finman made $100,000 on Bitcoin at age 15. He then used the money to create an online tutoring startup he hopes will make millions. And yes, buying a lottery ticket is a terrible bet, according to statisticians. But it is one of the fastest ways to make millions, and buying a ticket or two each year probably won’t break you. Just don’t add yourself to the long list of lottery winners who lost everything.