[vintagetoppsguy]

Everyone in this country today has the opportunity to become a millionaire no matter your race, your background, your circumstances or whatever.

Let me recommend a book to you. It’s called “Everyday Millionaires” by Chris Hogan. He has another book too titled “Retire Inspired” which I read a few months ago.

In “Everyday Millionaires,” Chris debunks all the myths that are associated with millionaires such as: millionaires make a lot of money, millionaires inherited all their wealth, millionaires went to prestigious universities, etc. None of this is true based on Chris’ study of over 10,000 millionaires - the largest study ever of millionaires. These are only society’s preconceived notions.

The truth is, you probably wouldn’t recognize most millionaires based on the typical stereotypes. Most millionaires don’t flash a lot of cash, they don’t live in expensive homes, they don’t drive expensive cars, they don’t buy expensive clothes, etc. The Everyday Millionaire is probably your next-door neighbor, your co-worker or maybe even a family member - people you would never suspect of being a millionaire.

In his book, Chris tells you how anybody can become a millionaire by building wealth, and it’s not hard. There is no magical secret. But first, you have to understand the difference between getting rich and building wealth. Most people want to get rich. They want it now - either by some get rich quick scheme, winning the lottery, risky fad investments, an inheritance from some rich uncle they never knew about, etc. - they don’t want to put in any time or effort, and unfortunately this is why most people never acquire millionaire status.

By contrast, most millionaires Chris studied built their wealth over a long period of time by investing in their employer-sponsored retirement plan (401k, 403b, etc.). Did you know that if you invest only $100 a month @ 12% interest from the time you’re age 25 to age 65 (40 years), that will make you a millionaire? Do that math. If you’re in your early to mid-twenties and you start investing that amount RIGHT NOW (or even more if you can do it), you are guaranteed to be a millionaire (and maybe even a multi-millionaire) by the time you retire. And that’s not even factoring in a company match (assuming your employer offers a match). There, I just showed you how to become a millionaire. Sure, it will take some time, but anyone is capable of doing it.

Anyway, the book has been a great inspiration to me and shows that anybody can do it. Chris shows how to overcome all the excuses and the victim mentality by factual statistics through his research.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, especially with the youth, their motto is “fake it to you make it.” But by trying to look rich and keeping up with the Jones’s, you’ll never will make it. Newsflash: The Jones’s may have all the stuff you want - fancy house, nice cars, fine clothes - but they’re flat broke, drowning in credit card debt and eventually they're headed for bankruptcy.

If you don't retire a millionaire, that is YOUR FAULT and nobody else's!