Watching Millionaire Inside

Sorry typo

1. I don't really hate my job, but I DO think it is time for a change at some point to seek new challenges.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

btw Maserati Grantrismo is a 2 door car and defintely not for uncles.

Gran Turismo is Grand Tourer in Italian or GT. Typically this stands not for a sports car, but a comfortable and luxurious 2 door long distance car, which is what the Maserati Gran Turismo is. GTR stands for Grand Tourer Racing and that is for some grand tourers that were adapted for racing. In the US a lot of retirees buy Grand Tourers to drive around the country.

Thanks for the definition of GT. But GTR and 911 not my kind of car, too loud for me. Guess that makes me an uncle.

John

That's good stuff! I'd love for you to email me, and tell me your story in detail. I am going to be a millionare alsol and I agree with everything you said.....

Originally Posted by whizzard---

Its actually not that impossible.

When I was an undergrad, I had to take loans for my tuition and hostel fees. Upon graduation and once I was gainfully employed, I started paying off the loan. Added to this, I was renting a room to stay and commuted to work everyday.

Along the way, I was pretty careful in the way I spent money and diverted much of what I had left over into investments instead, some with mixed results - but the important point is, I learnt. My friends were having a ball, wining, dining and holidaying in Europe and US i.e. investing in their lifestyle, whilst I led a much more modest & disciplined lifestyle and invested in income generating investments.

Today, at 40, I am happy to say that I can "retire from formal employment" and live off my investments, if required. My family and I stay in a landed property in district 10, own 3 investment properties, have more than $1 mil in our bank account, stock & unit trust portfolios, own 2 continental cars of which 1 is a convertible, are members of country clubs and best of all, we have no bank loans. We still eat at hawker centres besides the usual fine dining establishments and take an average of 3 holidays abroad each year as a family.

The idea is to save and invest as wisely as you can when you are young - the temptation to spend & enjoy is always there. Then, when you reach a certain stage of your life when you have more and are more comfortable, you can start having a more lavish lifestyle.

Nobody owes us a living. Its all a matter of choice and balance. Rome wasn't built in a day. Patience, discipline and sacrifice are indeed virtues. Everyone wants to have their cake and eat it, but that's not possible unless you have rich parents who are willing to finance you or have a very high paying job at a young age. For most, its really a matter of choice. At the end of the day, hard work, sacrifice & perseverance are necessary pre-conditions but not a guarantee for success. Well, luck and timing play a part too - but as the saying goes, fortune favours the prepared mind.

my email, by the way, is [email protected]

Originally Posted by whizzard---

Its actually not that impossible.

When I was an undergrad, I had to take loans for my tuition and hostel fees. Upon graduation and once I was gainfully employed, I started paying off the loan. Added to this, I was renting a room to stay and commuted to work everyday.

Along the way, I was pretty careful in the way I spent money and diverted much of what I had left over into investments instead, some with mixed results - but the important point is, I learnt. My friends were having a ball, wining, dining and holidaying in Europe and US i.e. investing in their lifestyle, whilst I led a much more modest & disciplined lifestyle and invested in income generating investments.

Today, at 40, I am happy to say that I can "retire from formal employment" and live off my investments, if required. My family and I stay in a landed property in district 10, own 3 investment properties, have more than $1 mil in our bank account, stock & unit trust portfolios, own 2 continental cars of which 1 is a convertible, are members of country clubs and best of all, we have no bank loans. We still eat at hawker centres besides the usual fine dining establishments and take an average of 3 holidays abroad each year as a family.

The idea is to save and invest as wisely as you can when you are young - the temptation to spend & enjoy is always there. Then, when you reach a certain stage of your life when you have more and are more comfortable, you can start having a more lavish lifestyle.

Nobody owes us a living. Its all a matter of choice and balance. Rome wasn't built in a day. Patience, discipline and sacrifice are indeed virtues. Everyone wants to have their cake and eat it, but that's not possible unless you have rich parents who are willing to finance you or have a very high paying job at a young age. For most, its really a matter of choice. At the end of the day, hard work, sacrifice & perseverance are necessary pre-conditions but not a guarantee for success. Well, luck and timing play a part too - but as the saying goes, fortune favours the prepared mind.

[whizzard]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Sorry typo

1. I don't really hate my job, but I DO think it is time for a change at some point to seek new challenges.

I admire your energy cos that's what changing jobs will entail. Nobody cares who you were and what you did in the past, it's really like starting all over again but with the benefit of experience and skill set.

Winning over colleagues, especially the inexperienced ones who think they know a lot and that their way is the best. It takes a lot of patience, humility and good temperament to let them have their say, gently work behind the scenes especially when there's differing opinions on the approach and then delivering the results your way yet not wanting to take any glory for it. All these when in the past, all you need to do is to instruct and your words are heeded.

I won't put myself through it again unless the money is really obscene or I am so sick of my current workplace or job.

[whizzard]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

That's good stuff! I'd love for you to email me, and tell me your story in detail. I am going to be a millionare alsol and I agree with everything you said.....

I am not good at story telling and sometimes it may get taken the wrong way, so I'll just summarize the principles below, if you don't mind.

I am a career employee and my parents are comfortable but not rich. They gave me a university education which I had to partially fund via tuition loan. Hence, whatever I have or do not have is all from my employment income and investments, not inheritance.

(1) I tried my best to spend within my means and have some spare cash left over from my salary each month. (2) I accumulated the spare cash and invested it instead of spending it off. I didn't make money on all my investments, but on the whole, I did well enough to grow this a little. (3) I re-invested most of the profits instead of rewarding myself by spending it all away. I did reward myself though, but sparingly. This I repeated over the course of many years, over and over again.

Good luck to your quest!

Originally Posted by whizzard

I am not good at story telling and sometimes it may get taken the wrong way, so I'll just summarize the principles below, if you don't mind.

I am a career employee and my parents are comfortable but not rich. They gave me a university education which I had to partially fund via tuition loan. Hence, whatever I have or do not have is all from my employment income and investments, not inheritance.

(1) I tried my best to spend within my means and have some spare cash left over from my salary each month. (2) I accumulated the spare cash and invested it instead of spending it off. I didn't make money on all my investments, but on the whole, I did well enough to grow this a little. (3) I re-invested most of the profits instead of rewarding myself by spending it all away. I did reward myself though, but sparingly. This I repeated over the course of many years, over and over again.

Good luck to your quest!

Would you also attribute your success to (4) getting a high income job?

If a person earns 1/4 of your income, with all other things equal - eg. that person generates same % return on investments as you, he would have only 1/4 of your wealth. That is a big difference.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Would you also attribute your success to (4) getting a high income job?

If a person earns 1/4 of your income, with all other things equal - eg. that person generates same % return on investments as you, he would have only 1/4 of your wealth. That is a big difference.

I think you forgot to key point, Person A who makes 4x more than Person B may not spend 4x of Person B. Therefore, Person A will be able to save >4x Person B. With more savings and more capital, you will have more guts to invest more and it exponentiates.

For example, I used to make $4K/month today and today I make $20K/month. At $4k/month, I had hardly any savings because my expenses then were about $3K/month and so I saved $1k/month. Today I make $20K/month, my expenses are about $10k/month including taxes, so I save about $10k/month. Therefore although my income grew 5x, my savings grew 10x. After a point, every additional dollar will fall directly into savings.

But your view is right, the right career and high income generation plays a critical role in networth generation.


John

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I think you forgot to key point, Person A who makes 4x more than Person B may not spend 4x of Person B. Therefore, Person A will be able to save >4x Person B. With more savings and more capital, you will have more guts to invest more and it exponentiates.

For example, I used to make $4K/month today and today I make $20K/month. At $4k/month, I had hardly any savings because my expenses then were about $3K/month and so I saved $1k/month. Today I make $20K/month, my expenses are about $10k/month including taxes, so I save about $10k/month. Therefore although my income grew 5x, my savings grew 10x. After a point, every additional dollar will fall directly into savings.

But your view is right, the right career and high income generation plays a critical role in networth generation.


John

I absolutely agree that high income, and not low expenses, plays the most critical role in networth generation.

When your income is low, there is only so much you can save, and even the most essential expenses will take up a disproportionately large portion of the income. Despite being a skinflint, it took me almost 15 years to save just $1 million and in the process deprived myself of many things which I now look back with regret.

However, unlike the majority of people in this thread who have a structured career path leading to a high-paying income, mine involved a very high element of chance. Therefore, there was no way I could know in the past what the future would hold for me, and that $1 million I saved could very well be the only million I have.