Watching Millionaire Inside

There’s a quite informative and definitely entertaining “edutainment” show on CNBC (Starhub cable channel 15) every Saturday night. It’s called “The Millionaire Inside“.
Tonight, the show hosted 4 guests who had these pointers on “how you can also be a millionaire”:

1. Pay yourself first. Put away a sum of money, say 10% or more, every single month to an interest-bearing tax-free account (i.e. any good savings account).
2. Don’t rent a place to stay. Own your home. It’s better to pay for a mortgage than to make your landlord rich.
3. Invest in property, especially during a property slump. Apparently one of the gurus - Barbara Corcoran - said the US is currently experiencing a property slump. So it’s time to invest there now (well, if you are living there…)
4. Invest in stocks of well managed and well known companies that are “on sale”. The self-made millionaire stock expert Phil Town did not elaborate much on how to identify stocks that are “on sale”, except to say that sometimes when big funds sell out certain stocks, their prices will nosedive. I suppose you gotta identify stocks that are selling at below their actual values. Easy?
5. Be an entrepreneur. Start on the side part-time, build up your business, and then take the plunge when ready.

What is not expressly mentioned in the show is that it takes money to make money. How are you going to make the downpayment of your house (in Singapore, you have to put at least 10% down), buy shares, start a business, or even pay yourself when you have little or no income?
First things first. You gotta find a job that pays well. Then you find ways to grow your money. Get your priorities right.

its almost impossible in singapore

we have it tough here. As you said, if you are'nt well off, and your parents are not able to pay the full amount for your degree, you have so much loans to pay when you graduate. Including high living standards..we have to slog and slog and slog. pathetic.

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.

It's not the matter of WHEN but it's the matter of HOW ??? I agree with Bree that everyone has so much loans. How and When are you going to pay off the loans??? Of course, it'd be great to have investments and savings but there're so many living expenses nowadays. Look at the costs of gas, house & medical insurances, they are outrageously high !!! It'd be great to have a extravagant living style but above all, I'd prefer to have a healthy life & happy marriage

thks "whizzard " for the great advice... will take ur words to heart..

I like wat whizzard said.. but it is always so so tough.. and good suggestions? hahaz

Just read your story Whizzard. It is a very inspiring one albeit ambiguous and slightly implausible.

To be worth approximately close to SGD 10m at 40 (say you started work at 20), it would require continued success at work (salaried folk would only probably be able to attain that success in their mid 50s if at all), a successful business, some inheritance and/or financial windfall, and all investments succeeding exceptionally (highly improbable).

Or a combination of all of these, WITHOUT any fiduciary liability (loans, bills, etc). It would also mean that you had no kids as everyone knows how expensive they are to raise.

For the average person anywhere in the world who had a basic family,it is a shot in the dark. Your statement of saving wisely and investing, while fundamentally good advice, is vague in attaining anywhere near the kind of success you claim to have.

You sound like an old fart using cliches to encourage the myopic youth to change their decadent ways. Had you said you were worth half that, I might have believed you.

In summary, while I won't begrudge you your success, I'll take your words with handfuls of salt!

PS:I am employed in the financial sector earning a larger than average salary in SG, with my own investments etc, so there you go... the main article itself is rudimentary in its advice, but then again, who wants to divulge real money making secrets??

What Whizzard was saying is that it's always wise to live within your means. Of course no doubt he's earning a LOT also lah. But maybe if he copies his friends, despite earning so much he still wouldn't have all that he has now. Makes sense?
Becoming rich is like standing on two legs: one leg is the "save and invest wisely" leg, and the other is the "increase your income significantly" leg. One without the other won't work.
Anyway, if you feel it's an old fart trick then keep spending your larger than average salary lor. Then wait till you're 40 and write back here. OK? :-)

Howcome - I did not say that its an old fart "trick" and that I would spend willy-nilly, I simply said that while the advice is sound, it is simplistic and cliched.

Anyone can be wealthy living within their means and by investing wisely etc etc etc. Everyone's heard that ad nauseum. Who's really giving away their real tips for success?

Dear Whizzard,

It would be useful to share with us how you generated your networth. Let's be honest, savings will not get you anywhere. Either you had generated super returns or you had a relatively high income. It is not easy to generate consistent outside returns in stock market, property is easier due to the leverage effect. It will be useful to hear yourside of the "income" generation bit instead of just the "savings" bit.