Everyone says millennials have it easier compared to what adults faced decades ago. In some aspects, you can say that’s probably true. Thanks to all the technological advances we have today, all kinds of information are now within our fingertips — making life just a tad more convenient.
But that doesn’t mean millennials don’t have it rough as well.
A recent study from USA Today reveals that millennials earn 20 percent less than boomers did at the same age while a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey found that the unemployment rate among millennials in the Philippines stands at an alarming 50 percent — which is pretty bad as far as statistics go. Combine those with the costly living expenses and you’ve got yourself a millennial wondering if he or she will ever be financially secure.
The good news is that your dreams of affording to live the life you imagined isn’t impossible. It’s actually doable even though it does sound unlikely. Here are eight ways a millennial can follow to become a millionaire in five years.
#1 Learn
Devote time in reading about the stock market, investing, and money-management. Reach out to money managers and business experts as well. The key here is to collect as much information about wealth-building strategies as you can. This heap of knowledge will be essential to your success; it will lend you a fresher perspective about money and help you strategize better ways to make yourself a millionaire.
#2 Connect With A Mentor
According to John Boitnott of Entrepreneur.com, some of the most successful people in business today admitted that mentors played a significant role in their career growth. A mentor will prove to be beneficial as he or she can listen to you and help you focus on your goals. A mentor can also offer you insights based on his or hers personal experiences in climbing the job ladder.
#3 Save Money
Learning to budget isn’t something that comes naturally for anyone — especially for millennials — but if you want your millionaire dreams to become a reality, learning how to live within your means is a necessary sacrifice. Forget your luxury cravings for the time being and start setting aside a considerable part of your salary. Sacrifice early so you won’t have to sacrifice later.
#4 Don’t Settle For Less
According to Manila Recruitment’s research on Filipino Millennial Employees, 80 percent of millennials would rather take a minimum wage job than not have any job at all. But settling for less is actually doing a disservice to you and your skills. Do your research and find out how much other people in the same role as yours are making. If you are making less, better take it up to your employer. According to Grant Sabatier of Millennial Money, most people don’t get paid what they’re actually worth because they don’t ask. Don’t make the same mistake.
#5 Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone
One rule you have to remember is that you have to constantly grow, even if you are no longer in school. To do this, you have to push yourself and explore unfamiliar territories to gain more experience and knowledge. Take courses that challenge you or learn a new skill until you master it. You’ll find that people pay experts a significant amount of money for their skillset, and that you can use this to your advantage.
#6 Start A Side Hustle
Having a side job is a way to generate money aside from the salary you get from your job. This can be anything from driving for Uber, delivering pizzas, building websites or starting a blog. This is also a way for people, who currently hate what they do for a living, do what they love on the side.
Use the income you get from your side gig for starting up a new business that will not put a strain on your main income — or better yet, use the money for investing. The future value of your money will be exponentially greater than spending it today. Try using a future value calculator to check how much your money today will amount in the future.
#7 Start Investing
Investing has always been a high risk, high reward type of strategy but there’s no denying that it truly is the key to wealth. Apply the knowledge you have gleaned from books and professionals and use it to evaluate opportunities you might get from companies and their products. Put the money you have saved directly into an investment account or index funds and let it compound over time. You can also allocate a small portion of your money into a company you trust and believe in. Remember that investing the money you save is just as important as saving it in the first place.
#8 Practice Diligence
The road to wealth requires hard work, patience and a healthy amount of risk taking. It is a slow and steady process but it is well worth it. Most millionaires weren’t handed their wealth and only a few them stumble upon it by luck. You can’t rely on winning the lottery to fulfill your millionaire dreams — have perseverance and diligence.
