In this thread I will explain how to get rich. Personally, I got rich by writing posts on this forum, selling an e-book, and becoming a dating coach. Straight cash, homie!
Haha, yeah fucking right...
Making money is a lot like game. The first rule is you actually have to try, rather than hope.
Here's how it actually works:
Step 1 - Stop Wasting Money on Stupid Shit. Profit = income - expenses. Simple, right?
Your average dude makes $50k - $75k. Then he buys a car and make payments on it, a big house, a 70 inch TV, cable television, dinners out, designer clothes, etc. Oh, and a wife who wants her own car, and kids. Can't afford something? Credit cards!
If you make $100k in a year and spend $90k, you've made $10k. If you make $60k in a year but spend $30k, you've made $30k. Stupid shit adds up - Netflix, Cable, Starbucks every morning, etc. I can't tell you how many people I represent that make six figures yet live paycheck to paycheck.
I drive an old truck that looks cool (no payments), I don't have cable, and even though my mortgage payment is low I Air B&B my place out from time to time. When I leave the house, I turn off the lights and the heat, because it's the difference between a $40 electric bill and a $140 electric bill. I don't have any credit card debt (Credit cards are only good if you can get free airline miles and pay them off right away. Otherwise, avoid).
I'm not saying to never do anything or take vacations. I go out to lunch almost every day of the week and take lots of vacations. I've also structured my lifestyle in a way that allows me to do these things without much of a financial impact.
The goal is to accumulate as much cash as possible, especially when you're young. Don't live paycheck to paycheck. Cash in the bank is true security, and freedom.
Step 2 - Get a Real Job That Makes Money. Some jobs that make money and are worth getting an education for? Engineer, lawyer, accountant, architect, dentist, doctor, computer programmer, database monkey, IT, etc. Some other jobs that make decent money and don't require a formal education? Electrician, plumber, the military, contractor, etc.
There is nothing demeaning about entering the skilled trades. Some of the wealthiest dudes I know, who make a lot more money than I do despite all my education, didn't go to college.
I wouldn't focus your career on what you're passionate about. Teachers and social workers make okay money but rarely crack six figures, making it hard to become serious about investing. Instead, you can do something that generates a higher income, and mentor kids on the side or something, if that's what you want to do. It's hard to be serious about investing when you're not making enough money to pay for your basic necessities. $30k - $45k is just enough money to pay your bills, but little else. You need to be generating about $75k a year to pay your bills and have money left over to do stuff with. Add some student debt into the mix and you're fucked.
Outside of professional trades (business, engineering, healthcare, finance, technology, accounting, etc.), a college degree is mostly worthless. If you forego a formal education to enter a trade or start a business, more power to you. You're way better off than someone who has $100k in debt and a degree in Feminist Studies, now working at Starbucks.
Art, music, philosophy, creative writing, etc. are all great things, but you can do them on the side once your affairs are in order, and without going into debt. Personally, I'm passionate about writing and teaching. I run one of the most successful legal blogs in the country because writing is what I enjoy. That's why I start these threads. However, it's a side hobby, and something I'm able to do because my other ventures are financially lucrative.
Step 3 - Start a business. The reason I recommend "professional" jobs is because it's relatively cheap, and comparatively lucrative, to open your own practice. I wasn't creative or smart enough to create an app like Uber, so I started a law practice. It makes decent money, and it gives me enough flexibility to do other things because I don't have to answer to anyone except my clients. It's not Dan Bilzerian money, but making $200k a year from your business is better than the teacher who makes $45k a year, and has to physically be somewhere 40+ hours a week. Professionals in private practice make about $150k - $350k a year. In addition, many of these professional skills are also useful. I like never having to pay for legal representation if I don't want to.
That said, there are a lot of businesses that make money - jewelry stores, cigar shops, car washes, corner markets, you name it. I wasn't clever enough to get into any of these businesses, though I represent a lot of them, and they make more cash than I do, believe it or not. Businesses are the best way to make money, contribute to society, and have flexibility.
Running a business isn't rocket science. Boiled down, you need to get the work, do the work, and then count the money. Eventually you can get people to do all of these functions for you.
Once your business is successful, you can hire people to work for you, which frees up your time to...
Step 4 - Invest money. In my view, real estate is still the best and most failproof way for regular people to get wealthy. I bought my first property for $119k at short sale, and sold it about 7 years later for $240k. While I sat on it, tenants paid the mortgage. Yeah, I had to do some unsexy, unlawyerly work like lay floors, expose brick (that was a fucking bitch), fix toilets, and lay tile, but hey I'll take $120k.
I don't do the stock market, but I'm sure there are other bros on here who do and make money at it. My legal practice is mostly real estate - I don't recommend investing until you actually understand how the market works. I don't do the stock market because it's outside what I know about.
That said, you'll never become a millionaire saving $2k a year for 10 years for retirement. The only real way to make a lot of money is to smartly invest it into things that will make you money. Even if you are a professional making $200k a year, and save $200k, that's basically 4 years of retirement. Instead, invest your money, create passive income streams, and develop wealth. That BMW might look cool, but in 5 years it's worth less than half of what you paid for it.
Required reading: The Richest Man in Babylon. Gary Keller's "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent." Think and Grow Rich. David Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. Tony Robbin's Unlimited Power (all his books are worth reading). Gorilla Mindset by MikeCF. The E-Myth.
And now for the rest of the day I'll be swinging a hammer and hanging sheetrock today. Because bricks and sticks is where the money is at.
Your mileage may vary.
Haha, yeah fucking right...
Making money is a lot like game. The first rule is you actually have to try, rather than hope.
Here's how it actually works:
Step 1 - Stop Wasting Money on Stupid Shit. Profit = income - expenses. Simple, right?
Your average dude makes $50k - $75k. Then he buys a car and make payments on it, a big house, a 70 inch TV, cable television, dinners out, designer clothes, etc. Oh, and a wife who wants her own car, and kids. Can't afford something? Credit cards!
If you make $100k in a year and spend $90k, you've made $10k. If you make $60k in a year but spend $30k, you've made $30k. Stupid shit adds up - Netflix, Cable, Starbucks every morning, etc. I can't tell you how many people I represent that make six figures yet live paycheck to paycheck.
I drive an old truck that looks cool (no payments), I don't have cable, and even though my mortgage payment is low I Air B&B my place out from time to time. When I leave the house, I turn off the lights and the heat, because it's the difference between a $40 electric bill and a $140 electric bill. I don't have any credit card debt (Credit cards are only good if you can get free airline miles and pay them off right away. Otherwise, avoid).
I'm not saying to never do anything or take vacations. I go out to lunch almost every day of the week and take lots of vacations. I've also structured my lifestyle in a way that allows me to do these things without much of a financial impact.
The goal is to accumulate as much cash as possible, especially when you're young. Don't live paycheck to paycheck. Cash in the bank is true security, and freedom.
Step 2 - Get a Real Job That Makes Money. Some jobs that make money and are worth getting an education for? Engineer, lawyer, accountant, architect, dentist, doctor, computer programmer, database monkey, IT, etc. Some other jobs that make decent money and don't require a formal education? Electrician, plumber, the military, contractor, etc.
There is nothing demeaning about entering the skilled trades. Some of the wealthiest dudes I know, who make a lot more money than I do despite all my education, didn't go to college.
I wouldn't focus your career on what you're passionate about. Teachers and social workers make okay money but rarely crack six figures, making it hard to become serious about investing. Instead, you can do something that generates a higher income, and mentor kids on the side or something, if that's what you want to do. It's hard to be serious about investing when you're not making enough money to pay for your basic necessities. $30k - $45k is just enough money to pay your bills, but little else. You need to be generating about $75k a year to pay your bills and have money left over to do stuff with. Add some student debt into the mix and you're fucked.
Outside of professional trades (business, engineering, healthcare, finance, technology, accounting, etc.), a college degree is mostly worthless. If you forego a formal education to enter a trade or start a business, more power to you. You're way better off than someone who has $100k in debt and a degree in Feminist Studies, now working at Starbucks.
Art, music, philosophy, creative writing, etc. are all great things, but you can do them on the side once your affairs are in order, and without going into debt. Personally, I'm passionate about writing and teaching. I run one of the most successful legal blogs in the country because writing is what I enjoy. That's why I start these threads. However, it's a side hobby, and something I'm able to do because my other ventures are financially lucrative.
Step 3 - Start a business. The reason I recommend "professional" jobs is because it's relatively cheap, and comparatively lucrative, to open your own practice. I wasn't creative or smart enough to create an app like Uber, so I started a law practice. It makes decent money, and it gives me enough flexibility to do other things because I don't have to answer to anyone except my clients. It's not Dan Bilzerian money, but making $200k a year from your business is better than the teacher who makes $45k a year, and has to physically be somewhere 40+ hours a week. Professionals in private practice make about $150k - $350k a year. In addition, many of these professional skills are also useful. I like never having to pay for legal representation if I don't want to.
That said, there are a lot of businesses that make money - jewelry stores, cigar shops, car washes, corner markets, you name it. I wasn't clever enough to get into any of these businesses, though I represent a lot of them, and they make more cash than I do, believe it or not. Businesses are the best way to make money, contribute to society, and have flexibility.
Running a business isn't rocket science. Boiled down, you need to get the work, do the work, and then count the money. Eventually you can get people to do all of these functions for you.
Once your business is successful, you can hire people to work for you, which frees up your time to...
Step 4 - Invest money. In my view, real estate is still the best and most failproof way for regular people to get wealthy. I bought my first property for $119k at short sale, and sold it about 7 years later for $240k. While I sat on it, tenants paid the mortgage. Yeah, I had to do some unsexy, unlawyerly work like lay floors, expose brick (that was a fucking bitch), fix toilets, and lay tile, but hey I'll take $120k.
I don't do the stock market, but I'm sure there are other bros on here who do and make money at it. My legal practice is mostly real estate - I don't recommend investing until you actually understand how the market works. I don't do the stock market because it's outside what I know about.
That said, you'll never become a millionaire saving $2k a year for 10 years for retirement. The only real way to make a lot of money is to smartly invest it into things that will make you money. Even if you are a professional making $200k a year, and save $200k, that's basically 4 years of retirement. Instead, invest your money, create passive income streams, and develop wealth. That BMW might look cool, but in 5 years it's worth less than half of what you paid for it.
Required reading: The Richest Man in Babylon. Gary Keller's "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent." Think and Grow Rich. David Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. Tony Robbin's Unlimited Power (all his books are worth reading). Gorilla Mindset by MikeCF. The E-Myth.
And now for the rest of the day I'll be swinging a hammer and hanging sheetrock today. Because bricks and sticks is where the money is at.
Your mileage may vary.