Being a millionaire by 40 is …well, it’s a goal. I would argue that it isn’t a reasonable or actionable one, but hey: you do you, reader. Because obviously some people HAVE accumulated over a million in wealth, so it’s certainly possible. It’s just damn unlikely for most people out there.
u/Goddammit_Vennie over on Reddit asked millionaires to share how they really got their money. Here were some of the best responses.
1. Lucky job
“In my 20s, I was a computer programmer just as the web started exploding in popularity. I could wire up websites and databases back when internet technologies were new, and tooling was still primitive. I never hit it big with a viral website like Facebook or Amazon, but I did charge a lot for programming services. And I used that money to buy houses at first, and ultimately an apartment building in coastal California.
“In my 40s now. I don’t feel very wealthy really. Oddly, I still check prices when shopping, and I plan to drive my old Jeep until it dies. When I travel, I often pay to fly first class; and I do enjoy the nicer hotels. But, other than that, I live (and spend) rather simply. —u/yanojal
2. Inherit
“Well, last year my fiancé’s grandparents won a stupid amount of money in the lotto (double digit millions). They were generous enough to share with the family. I grew up below the poverty line, so my life is nuts rn. —u/synesthesiah
3. Good Investments
“I enlisted in the army when I was 18. I liked it. I asked to become an officer, and they let me. The army sent me to college and I graduated. My officer pay was way higher, and in the army you don’t have very many bills. I found I could save in between $1K and $5K every month of my life. “After my second deployment, I was sitting on about $200K. I hired a financial manager; he did well a few years. I’ve bought and rented out a couple houses.
I’ve got 17 years in the army. Creeping closer to a portfolio worth $2 million and a good pension in retirement. I’m about to make Lieutenant Colonel. I’m in my late 30s.
I should add that this job really sucks and I hate it a lot of the time. But due to the peaks and valleys of monetary motivation, I have to do it for a few more years. —u/udayserection
4. Savings
“Always saved up a lot of money (40% of my pay) and continually put it into stocks. Investment returns have outdone my savings for quite a while.
5. Rental property
“I live in Eastern Europe. In 1990, I took out a huge loan and bought 10 apartments and furnished them. I rent them out to people, and with the money I earn from them I pay off the loan payments. I do this every 10 years. I now have 30 apartments and one employee who I pay to maintain them and make sure payments and maintenance are handled. The key is finding good tenants and maintaining a good relationship with them. It is not that hard but a key to this strategy. —u/hamoct
6. Consultant
“I sell overpriced consultancy time to CTO’s who don’t know any better. —u/yanman_be
7. Just the 401k.
“I am on track to being a millionaire just from investing in my 401(k). I started my career at 20 years old right after graduating from college and started investing the minimum to my 401(k). Never really thought much of it until I used an investing calculator and realized that since I started so young the compound interest on any investment account with a decent return would be huge.
“I would recommend you just put anything away. Everyone tells you to max your investments, but honestly not everyone can invest $20K a year. Do the math of how much $200 a month will grow in 30 years. This might not be the exact answer, but this will easily get you to be a millionaire at some point. —u/nerfezoriuq
8. Literal luck
“I actually hit big at a casino a while back. Not enough where I can afford to quit my job and buy a mansion, but I’m comfy and my son will be, too. —u/5meterhammer
9. Frugality
“Being frugal. Not buying new cars, not caring about what others think. Saving and investing and doing it again. Not making knee-jerk investments. Letting them ride long term and not freaking out at every market correction. For me it was a slow game, but fun to watch it take off. —u/yoyoyo—
10. No lifestyle creep
“I basically kept the same habits I had when my income was $12K a year for a family of three. I make coffee at home, I still forage for food, and I still shop at thrift shops for clothing. My car is 14 years old, and I try not to use it if I can use my bicycle instead — including biking to work when I wasn’t carpooling. Even when I was a single mom on a $28K salary, I put what I could in my 401(k), and every raise I got went to that ’til I at least got the full employer match.
“When I got a new job and found out there was no similar retirement plan there, I met with the directors and a financial advisor and got one in place.
I make my own laundry detergent and use cloth wipes/napkins. I spend about $20 a week for two adults for food. Yesterday I really really wanted an orange but didn’t take it from the fridge because I paid for those for my husband’s packed lunches, and pears from the yard are free. I have a million dollars, but I won’t eat an orange if I have a free pear. On the one hand, that’s pathetic. On the other hand, that’s why I have a million dollars and don’t have to go to work anymore. —u/ductoid
11. Sold the company
“I sold 18% of my company for a large sum of money, and we worked together to expand. —u/kaden18356
12. Parents
“I was born… It all came from my parents. I get a lot of crap from my friends in college, LOL. My parents, on the other hand, went from living in lower-middle-class India, came to California for their master’s and PhDs, and worked for massive tech companies for about 30 years. My dad went up to executive director or something. They invested a lot of money and bought houses in India and rented them out. The house they bought here in California went from $1.1M to about $3.5M. —u/rttr123
13. Married well
“I married an awesome businessman. He was broke when we met. I stood by him during the recession, when we had to put our house and everything we owned on the line. We were in danger of losing everything but got through it together.
14. More inheritance
“My grandparents invested a small amount of money in each of their grandchildrens’ names when we were little kids. The stocks they chose for me were Microsoft, Cisco, Starbucks, and most importantly Amazon. I became a millionaire from those stocks shortly after my 21st birthday, last year. Honestly, I feel terribly guilty about it. I didn’t do any work to deserve it, and frankly, my brother and my cousins haven’t been nearly as fortunate with the investments made in their name. —u/concrete_isnt_cement
15. ..more inh..eri…tance. And kind of a judgy dick about it:
“My dad died, and my sister and I split a $1.6 million estate down the middle. After court fees from an unrelated incident, taxes, realtor fees, balancing dad’s bank debt, and paying off some of mom’s debt, we brought home $720K each. I’ve since turned it into around $950K. My sister, meanwhile, pissed it away on brand-new cars, cruises, an exorbitantly priced wedding, and having children. —u/sanshaxii