invest in real estate

How To Be A Millionaire By Retirement

Retire with a beautiful view. Photo credit: Unsplash. Thank you Alexandre Chambon @goodspleen

Updated December 16, 2024. Many of us dream of a beautiful house that is in a fantastic location, awesome vacations, and millions of dollars in the bank. Many people would like to become millionaires, but few know the steps it takes to reach this goal. Most self-made millionaires got there through hard work, disciplined saving habits, and investing wisely. If you want know how to be a millionaire by retirement, you are about to find out how to do it.

Most people would like to eventually retire and know that they have enough money to live comfortably in their retirement years. If you have already achieved the milestone of having accumulated $1 million dollars, congratulations! I invite you to continue reading this blog as a way to increase your wealth by focusing on developing multiple streams of income.

How Much Money For A Similar Lifestyle?

The big question that so many people have been asking is: how much money is needed to have the same lifestyle in retirement? If you try to research by looking online or talking to a retirement expert you will find that the answers vary widely.

Basically, this question of becoming a millionaire by retirement can be divided into two sub-categories. One: how much money is enough for retirement? Two: how to be a millionaire by retirement?

How Much Money Is Enough For Retirement

The 4% Rule

The widely accepted financial rule of 4% states that your savings should last for at least 30 years without exhausting their portfolio.

Many experts say that your retirement income should be around 80% of your pre-retirement salary. Suppose you make $100,000 a year at retirement. In this example, you would need at least $80,000 to have a comfortable lifestyle after you leave the workforce.

Of course, the $80,000 amount annually can be adjusted depending on your other sources of income, like Social Security, pensions, and other part-time employment. To have the $80,000 necessary, you would need a nest egg of about $2 million dollars. To calculate this using the 4% rule, simply take $80,000 and divide by 0.04. Also, keep in mind that this strategy assumes a 5% return on your investments.

If you are like many adults, you have probably thought of taking an early retirement at some time in your life. If you are thinking about an early retirement, is it possible to retire on $500,000? Let’s do the math. Using the widely accepted financial rule of 4%, the $500,000 will allow you to access $20,000 for 30 years.

If you have saved and invested your money wisely, the $500,000 would last you 30 years, assuming a 4% withdrawal strategy, for $20,000 a year. Say you live to be 85 years old if you are in good health. If you wait until age 55 this strategy could work.

Key Takeaways

If you retire on less than $1 million it could affect your quality of life.
Retiring abroad in a country outside the US in a country in South America may be more affordable in the long-term.
Retiring before you reach 55 years will hinder you from your prime earning years that could potentially increase your Social Security benefits.

Ways To Become A Millionaire By Retirement

Would you like to retire and have the lifestyle that you already have, but you don’t have enough money to make it happen? In my opinion, $20,000 or even $40,000 is really not enough money to live on comfortably even if you live in a South America country. For instance, our family has been living for more than eight years in Colombia, South America, and the value of $20k to $40k is more or less equivalent to $80 to $100k in where we used to live in Charlotte, NC. The $80k to $100k in Charlotte, NC will pay your bills, but many people won’t have the vacation lifestyle that many are dreaming of.

Who wants to have financial stress in retirement? As we all know, people are living longer in the last century than they ever did before and we need to plan for this to happen as well. If you want to have more sources of income, I have researched some of the best ways that you can increase your cash and have the kind of retirement that we all dream of.

Money Rules To Help You Reach $1 Million

If you are motivated, then follow these rules of how to be a millionaire by retirement:

Become financially savvy. Learn as much as you can about money. Read websites and books about saving money, investing, generating multiple streams of income. Every piece of information will help to guide on your quest to become a millionaire.
Live like you are poorer than you are. Be careful and frugal about things you buy on a daily basis. Be humble and don’t show off to your friends or on social media. Live in a modest house. Make your meals at home. That way when you do go out to a restaurant you can really enjoy it and also do so on a modest budget.
Build an emergency fund. Start by saving a month’s worth of expenses. Then build toward having three to six months. Just be conscious and do not use this money for vacations. This fund can only be used for emergencies.
Manage your debt. The less debt you have the quicker you’ll be able save and not have to pay off credit cards and other monthly debt bills. If you have credit cards, many of these have high interest rates. Pay off these credit cards as rapidly as possible. Certain kinds of debt like a home mortgage are necessary and can help you move ahead long-term. The key is to find a house that fits within through budget.
Save daily. Each week contribute to a savings account or a 401(k) account. Try to save at least 20% of your after tax income each year.

Extra Rules To Really Increase Wealth

Invest in real estate. Make inflation your friend, not your enemy. Research areas that you are strongly interested in retiring to. My family moved to Colombia, South America. The big cities of Medellin and Bogota are beautiful and they are an outstanding places to retire. You will find that the prices are, by US standards, very reasonable and I could go far as to say cheap if you live in a major city in the US. For example, if the value of a property goes up 3% in a year due to inflation, that’s a 15% ROI. In addition, if you are from the US, take advantage of the ways you can avoid US taxes.
Consider utilizing a conservative approach to value investing. If you think of the value stock market investors today, most likely you will think of Warren Buffett. Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, and Charlie Munger, vice chairman, are value investors that only invest in a handful of the best value stocks. Take an in-depth look at what many consider to be the best passive income investment stock: Berkshire Hathaway B shares (BRK.B). Warren Buffett and his team and his successors have purchased and are continuously investing in the best value stocks so that you don’t have to. On top of that, Berkshire Hathaway has an incredible record for the last 55 years of 20.3% annual compound interest! (link)
Earn more money. First try to maximize the money that you make in your day job. For instance, ask for a pay increase, work overtime, or consider switching jobs and finding a more lucrative position. Look for side hustles that you can do. This could be anything from driving for Uber or Lyft to selling things online.

Increase Your Wealth

If you are the type of person who realizes that just because you reach a certain age you really don’t want to retire. Maybe you have seen other people retire and watched them lose all their energy. If you are one of these people, chances are you said to yourself, I don’t ever want that to happen to me.

If this is the case, then probably you have an entrepreneurial spirit. Rather than watch your retirement wealth decrease, you see the opposite. You want to increase your wealth in retirement. At Financial Goodness, we are the same way. We are entrepreneurs at heart.

Owning your own business means that you directly reap the benefits of all the hard work that you have put in. When you work for someone else, working harder does not necessarily mean more money in your pocket. As a business owner, you also build equity in your business. You are calling the shots. Basically, you can work on the things that are important and add more to the bottom line and ignore everything else.

Finally, I would like to share with you the millionaire behaviors that are directly from The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco. The ideas for starting a business that are listed below are the thoughts and behaviors that you need to have to achieve the millionaire mindset.

Ideas For Starting Your Our Business

Agency business models: flat-fee retainers to projects, performance-based pricing, and hybrids
Appliance Repair
Blogger
Coach
Computer Training
Consultant
Desktop Publisher
Digital marketing
E-commerce or online seller
Editorial Services
Electronics Repair
Financial Planner
Freelance Graphic Designer
Home Inspector
Import / Export Specialist
Interior Decorator
Marketing Copywriter
Personal Concierge
Personal Trainer
Photographer
Real Estate Investor
Solar Energy Consultant
Website Developer
YouTube video maker

Updated December 3, 2023:

The good news is this: after the COVID-19 coronavirus, the U.S. estimates that people working for themselves will increase to around 40%. What even better is that many of these ideas you can do from the comfort your computer in your home!

The Bottom Line For Success

Many of the steps to becoming a millionaire are not overly difficult. However, they do take hard work, discipline, time, and perseverance. But, it’s the emotional side that prevents many people from reaching the millionaire mark. Perhaps the most important two factors are time and perseverance. Without these two, new ideas and new businesses will struggle and possibly fail.

Make the decision to focus on your goal of how to be a millionaire by retirement and write down your plan of action. With your plan of action of the key steps you will have the confidence needed because you know exactly how to be a millionaire by retirement.

Then put in the work and you will be surprised at how your net worth grows over time from your multiple streams of income. Through the hard work, discipline, and through your preseverance you will be grateful at the end result you and your family have achieved.

Last Updated on December 16, 2024 by Financial Goodness

Financial Goodness

George Alexander Roy III and our team are experts in helping you to seek wealth through investing and tips on how to succeed. Join us at FinancialGoodness.com to increase your knowledge and skills through education in the areas of personal finance; real estate; investments; digital marketing; comparison of the best states to form LLC’s and comporations; and the best AI app for increasing your fluency in English.

George has been an owner of a residential real estate investment business that focuses on wholesaling, fix & flip, and long-term buy-and-hold property strategies with a consistent increase of annual revenues. Undoubtedly, the tax laws in the United States and Colombia, South America offer some very favorable tax incentives for owning real estate.

Consequently, as an entrepreneur, researcher, writer, and speaker I have sought the truth in everything I do, no matter how difficult. Hopefully this value and service will help each person achieve their financial freedom sooner.

Buying Stocks Versus Real Estate Investing

Stocks Versus Real Estate. Photo credit Pixabay.

Which Is Better?

Updated December 16, 2024. Which is potentially better? Buying stocks versus real estate investing. The best answer is that the stock market tends to increase in value faster than real estate. Historically, from 1968 to 2009, the S&P 500 has resulted in returns of 7.5% annually. But real estate prices head in the direction of outpacing inflation, but just slightly. After accounting for inflation, home prices have increased by 1.5% per year.

But, after accounting for inflation, stocks have returns of approximately 7% per year. Remarkably, the stock market gain of 7% is 4.65 times the rate of real estate. But there is more information to think about. In reality, stocks have experienced more peaks and valleys, making them a far riskier investment.

But numbers don’t tell the whole performance story. You also have to look at the impact of tax advantages, income yield, and the fact that real estate investments often allow for significant leverage.

Which investment is best depends on more than just their returns; other factors must be considered. But if history is an indicator of future performance, both stand to produce attractive gains in the long run.

The Benefits of Investing in Real Estate

In real life, real estate has higher risk-adjusted returns than the stock market. Despite their potential to generate sizeable returns, stocks have no tangible value; on the other hand, real estate is a valuable, tangible asset and profit generator.

The Big HOWEVER…

One reason why real estate as an investment has better annual returns is leverage. With real estate, the investor can do a significant amount of financing to leverage the property and purchase the property without adding a lot of risk to the investment.

However, real estate as an investment has a much stronger return POTENTIAL, especially with rental properties. Not to mention the awesome tax advantages.

Tax Advantages of Rental Properties

Operating expenses are deductible
Mortgage interest is deductible
Depreciation deduction of 27.5 years for buildings
Defer capital gains tax
Owner expenses are also tax deductible
Avoid FICA taxes
Qualify for pass-through deduction

Two Real Estate Investment Scenarios

This leverage can amplify small returns greatly. Let’s say you decide to buy a house or apartment for $100,000 using your own money. Say the value of the house increases by 3%. $100,000 times 3% equals $103,000. This means you have earned $3,000 on your initial investment of $100,000.

Now let’s say you find a house or apartment and purchase it for $500,000. But you only invest $100,000 of your money. Then you finance the other $400,000 with a mortgage. Let’s say again that this property increases in value 3%. $500,000 times 3% equals $15,000 profit.

Leverage Your Way To Big Profits

So, let’s take a look at difference in the potential profits. In both cases you have made a $100,000 investment. The big difference is the leverage that you use. In the first scenario, you purchased the house with your $100,000 and did not ask for a mortgage because you already met the buy price.

Conversely, in the second scenario, you also invested $100,000, but you asked for a mortgage of $400,000. The $400,000 mortgage that you asked for here will give you more leverage when you own the $500,000 house or apartment.

In the second scenario, you are using more advantageously using leverage. In the second scenario, you have now increased your potential profit to $15,000 versus the $3,000 with the same $100,000 investment in both cases.

Big Difference In Returns Is Leverage

In the second case, the leverage increased your returns by $12,000 for the same initial investment. Not bad…. But keep in mind that when you borrow money from a lender you usually have to pay the lender an origination fee at the closing as well as possibly other closing costs. Also, usually you will have to make monthly payments for each month that you own the property.

Nonetheless, most people choose to use leverage. When dealing with real estate, leverage can completely increase your returns when looking at potential investments. The idea behind leveraging real estate is to use other people’s money to increase your returns without having to put as much capital into buying the property yourself.

Many people still ask the question of which is better: buying stocks versus real estate investing? Real estate has a much stronger return POTENTIAL because of leverage. For myself, I like leverage. You can have $0 dollars and no credit. All you have to do is find the right property and put it under contract and the leverage of real estate will make you a nice return on that property.

Rent Out The Property

The other big reason that investors choose real estate is that investment properties can be rented out to generate more income. Look at the total money needed to make the mortgage and other payments each month. If you can justifiably increase the rent to cover the cost of the property, the rest is profit before taxes.

Real Estate Has Greater Potential Returns

In my opinion, real estate investments have a much greater potential return over the stock market if you look at the long-term returns. However, be that as it may, investing in real estate is arguably time consuming.

You or your management team will need to factor in the time spent to maintain your properties in order to justify having a portfolio that includes real estate. But if you take the time to set everything up properly, the investment returns on your real estate properties will dramatically increase your wealth for the long-term.

Greater Initial Time Commitment For Real Estate

If you are looking to buy houses or apartments that need to be renovated before you sell or place a tenant to rent out the property, going through this process is very time consuming. If you are perhaps younger, and have a lot of energy, this could be feasible way to invest and make nice returns. In addition, in many countries real estate investors also have enjoyed greater real estate tax advantages than have the investment in stocks.

Perhaps Best Scenario Is Invest In Both

On the other hand, if you already have a job or other time commitments, you might not have the time or energy to focus on real estate investments. I completely understand this perspective. In this scenario, maybe it would be better to focus on the stock market and buy the S&P 500 on dips.

Which is better: buying stocks versus real estate investing? Real estate has a much stronger return POTENTIAL because of leverage. Honestly, I would invest in both.

Invest On A Regular Basis In Stocks

Investing on a regular basis rather than trying to time a lump sum investment can help you become a more disciplined investor. You’re forced to invest regardless of whether the price is high or low. This takes some of the emotion out of investing and avoids any delays in putting your money to work. Most financial planners advise saving between 10% and 15% of your annual income. If you want to learn some key stock market investment strategies, please read my blog on How To Invest Wisely In The Stock Market.

Conceivably the best scenario is to invest in both real estate and the stock market. This way, if you have some rentals and regularly invest in the stock market, no matter what happens to the economy annually you will have a better chance of coming out ahead in the long run for retirement.

However, time is always a factor and many people have to choose. Which is better: buying stocks versus real estate investing? If you feel you are in this category, then we highly recommend real estate. We would say real estate because it has a much stronger return because of the leverage factor.

What popular articles and blogs do you recommend?

A strategy that works very well is a combination of wholesaling and then balance that with rehab to resell. This way you are always flipping properties. Please read my blog on the Real Estate Investing Strategies That Work Every Time. With this strategy you can build up enough cash and capital so that you can start buying some residential rental properties. The residential rentals can then create long-term wealth.

If you have ever wondered if there is a way to get more money from your rental houses, please read this blog on the three ways to Boost Your Rental Property Cash Flows. This article goes in-depth into the three kinds of rental properties that you could be making more money are student housing, vacation rentals, and my favorite: rent to own. This will make your rentals into a real estate cash flowing machine.

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