How to Get Rich With a Normal Job – Now it is true that anyone can be rich and make a lot of money, but how about the people who don’t have any money at all? Sure there are people with trust funds and rich parents that can go out there and spend like crazy without having to worry about money. But what if you aren’t born into such a situation, where do you start? What jobs out there can make you a billionaire?
There are always opportunities to make more money, whether it’s through your current employer, side jobs (websites, commissions), or starting your own business. So we will be taking an indepth discussion on this!
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Start Your Wealth Journey NOW
One fatal flaw of humans is our tendency to procrastinate. We put off saving for retirement, finding our dream job, or making changes that will bring us financial happiness because we feel as though we have all the time in the world to make these changes. However, the truth is that as a low-salary earner, one of your most powerful assets in building wealth is time and you must use the time you have to its full potential.
Don’t push things off or spend money carelessly today thinking that you can just flip a switch tomorrow, next month, or next year and be well on your way to your future rich lifestyle. Start building financial momentum now by establishing money-saving habits, curbing your spending, and employing sound financial principles into your day to day life!
Supplement Your Salary
As I’ve now proven, it is entirely possible to become rich while earning a low salary, however, it will take a significant amount of time. Luckily, for those who are not the most patient of people, there are ways to speed up your journey to riches and one way to do this is by supplementing your income.
This could come in the form of picking up a part-time job, doing freelance work, or starting your own business. As long as the income earned through these money-making endeavors are used to pay down debt or supplement your investing efforts, increasing your income will shorten the time horizon on your path to achieving true wealth!
Understand That A Frugal Life Can Be Enjoyable
As I’ve already mentioned, when earning a low salary, you must be diligent in your saving ways in order to grow your wealth but being frugal doesn’t mean your life has to be boring. Sadly, many people see those who save money as being just that, but this doesn’t have to be the case.
I believe that you can balance living a good life along with saving a comfortable amount of money. There are plenty of ways to entertain yourself without spending tons of money like watching Netflix or spending time with family or friends. In fact, I would argue that most free activities like the ones I just mentioned offer us more happiness than buying an expensive car or fancy watch ever could. Therefore, while earning a lower income, your path to riches may require you to be financially responsible but it certainly doesn’t mean you need to be boring!
Build and Stick To Your Budget
Everyone needs a budget, whether you have a million dollars already in the bank or are working for a moderate salary. Unfortunately, not everyone truly appreciates just how important budgets are when trying to reach your financial goals. A recent survey showed that more than 60% of households in the U.S. do not have a budget which if you ask me is a primary reason why more than 75% of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. And as a low-salary earner, you will need to be even more calculated in your budgeting ways than your high-earning counterparts since you have less income that you can afford to waste.
Now, many people see the creation and adherence to a budget as a chore but using this powerful financial tool offers many benefits. First, budgets allow you to track your progress towards the goals you’ve just created. Moreover, having a budget will give you a sense of financial control which will reduce the stress you associate with the overall management of your money. Finally, having to input your salary and expenses into your budget forces you to remain cognizant of your financial state which will lead you to make more financially beneficial decisions.
Eliminate High-Interest Debt
Besides overspending, having to pay debt interest payments every single month will be the biggest obstacle you’ll face when trying to become rich while earning a low salary. You see, while I often recommend that money not being spent on living expenses be invested to allow your money to work for you, in most situations paying down debt makes more sense. As of 2019, the average credit card interest rate was 19.24% annually, and earning this type of return in the market is very unlikely which means it is better to be paying down a high-interest debt than leveraging the power of the stock market to grow your wealth. And just how punishing can interest payments truly be?
As of 2019, the average American pays $8,037 in interest per year. Now, some of this interest is reasonable such as paying the interest on your mortgage or student loans but many other forms of interest can easily be avoided and can unlock cash that you can use to invest and ultimately grow your wealth.
The first step in eliminating debt is to realize why you have debt in the first place and this especially pertains to credit card debt. I believe that if you don’t understand where your problem with debt stems from, then it will be hard to make a positive change. Ask yourself, am I spending to deal with my emotions or am I trying to spend to show off to my peers? By finding the root cause of your debt issues, you can take action and eliminate any bad habits you may have built up over time.
After you realize why you are in debt (or why you keep going back into debt), the next step is to figure out how you will eliminate it. There are many different ways to attack your debt, and I think you are the most successful when you do the following 5 things:
1. Quit adding more debt to your life. You may want to cancel or freeze your credit card(s), think harder before each purchase, and avoid spending temptations like the mall.
2. Be realistic with your income and spending. If you have debt, then you either have an income or spending problem. You may need to start earning more money and/or start spending less if you want to learn how to become wealthy.
3. Decrease your spending and expenses. Depending on how quickly you want to get rid of your debt, there are different things that you may want to cut out. You could cut out Starbucks, lower your restaurant spending, or find a cheaper way to workout.
4. Make more money. By earning more money, you will have more money to pay off your debt, which speeds up the debt elimination process.
5. Pay more than the minimum. If you have debt, you should always be paying more than the minimum so that you can lower the amount you are paying towards interest.
Ultimately, paying off your debt will lessen your stress levels and allow you to have money to put towards something more worthwhile things like investing. When making changes to your current financial lifestyle, maintain your momentum by imagining how much more money you will have to put towards your goals when you stop paying high-interest fees.
Start Investing
Up until now, all the previous steps have set the foundation for becoming rich while earning a low salary, but it is the power of investing that will ultimately allow you to accrue the funds that will make you a millionaire. You see, as someone earning just a moderate-sized income, the strategy of collecting your paychecks and saving them until you have a 7-figure balance in the bank is just not going to work. For instance, if you are earning $40,000 a year and save $5,000 a year, it would take you 200 years to save up $1 million and that’s before inflation erodes the value of your money. Therefore, as you can see the only way you can build wealth on a low income is to invest.
Investing works so well in the creation of wealth because it relies on what’s called compound interest. Compound interest is when your interest is earning interest and this can turn the amount of money you have saved into a much larger amount years later.
This is important to note because $100 today will not be worth $100 in the future if you just let it sit under a mattress or in a checking account. However, if you invest, then you can actually turn your $100 into something more. When you invest, your money is working for you and hopefully earning you income.
For example, let’s say you’re 22 years old and earn $40,000 a year. If you can allocate just over 20% of your bi-weekly paychecks for investing, assuming you realize a 6% return, you will be able to amass $2 million by the age of 67.
Now that you realize just how powerful investing can be, here are some easy steps you can take to embark on your own investing journey:
First, set aside your money specifically for investing. In order to invest your money, you need to start setting aside money specifically for it. The amount of money you save for investing is entirely up to you, but in general, the more the better.
Second, do your research. Before you start dumping your money into the stock market and other investments, it’s a good idea to know what you’re putting your money towards. Reading about various investment-related tips and researching each investment will help you become more informed about your investing decisions, which will then help you make better decisions well into the future.
Third, find an online brokerage or someone to manage your investments. There are two main ways to invest your money. You can either invest your money yourself through a brokerage or you can find someone to manage your investment portfolio for you. You will need to take part in one of these options to actually start investing your money.
Next, determine how you will invest your money. Now that you’ve opened an investment account, you will want to decide where you will put your investments. How you invest depends on your risk tolerance, the time period for which you are investing, and more. Generally, the sooner you need your funds the less risk you will take on, whereas the longer your time period is, then the more risk you may be willing to take on.
Then, you should track your investment portfolio. The next step when learning how to get rich by investing is to regularly track the things you have invested in. This is important because you may eventually have to change what you are invested in, put more money towards your investments, and so on.
Finally, be consistent. As you’ve seen in the previously mentioned example, leveraging the power of investing to become rich takes years of consistent effort but as shown, the payoffs are well worth it!
Set SMART Goals
Whether you are earning millions of dollars a year or just a fraction of that amount, having financial goals is crucial to your overall success. Goals are beneficial for multiple reasons. First, having goals allows you to set out a detailed path to your success which reduces the time wasted trying to maneuver your way towards financial achievement. Second, they act as motivation, especially when reviewed daily. But what separates the use of goals by those who become rich and the average person is that they know the secrets that can exponentially increase the achievement of their goals.
One way to heighten the chances of achieving your goals is to use the SMART goal framework. This method requires your goal to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. For instance, as a low-salary earner, your financial goal could be, “Save and invest $6,000 in 12 months by setting up monthly investment contributions with my money manager”. Having a robust goal that satisfies all the elements of the SMART goal framework will make you significantly more likely to reach these goals especially when you compound this technique with another goal setting secret.
Conclusion
The idea of getting rich overnight, whether it be through money, fame, or love, appeals to many of us. Not having to worry about money and materialistic needs and instead focusing on the things we deeply care about is a dream come true. However, we all know that this ‘get rich’ thing doesn’t happen overnight. We all know that we have to work for it – but most importantly, we need to choose wisely.