Any millionaires on PEgym (or soon to be)?

[TheSperminator Member of the Month Oct 12 Find all posts View Profile Close TheSperminator]

Tell us your story.. Any advice for us?

[Dangler Senior Administrator☼ Wizard ☼ White Tiger Award 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Dangler]

Save. Budget. Don't spend foolishly. Invest for the long term. Maybe some diversified mutual funds. Live frugally.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

Save. Budget. Don't spend foolishly. Invest for the long term. Maybe some diversified mutual funds. Live frugally.

Hmm truth is these days a clerical worker in the public service can have a million is superannunation.

[kickinthemebs Senior Member Member of the Month Feb 2014 Find all posts View Profile Close kickinthemebs]

Damn, I wish! I would probably find it difficult to work if that rich.

[Ellford Senior Member Member of the Month Sept 2019 Find all posts View Profile Close Ellford]

Being a millionaire is a mindset that most people don't have. One just has to look at the Black Friday consumerism in the USA as a perfect example of a screwed up society. Here's my advice, but know that 99% of the people on here can't do it as they've been brainwashed by marketers into this consumeristic mindset.

1. Never buy a new car - it's worth half its value driving off the lot. Most people with a net worth over $1 million drive a 10-15 year old car.

2. Let all the fools drive their Mercedes and Audi, etc. Drive a cheap, paid for, reliable vehicle that gets you from point A to B. When their broke living on federal pension money and working till 65+, you can ask them if driving that flashy car to impress who was worth it.

3. Stop spending beyond your means - make a weekly budget and stick to it. Se a financial planner for assistance if required. Continue to update your budget each week.

4. Stop with the flashy vacations. You might as well just burn your cash (seriously). You're going into debt for nothing. Instead vacation locally; Save for a big vacation and when you do - do VRBO and NEVER stay in a hotel or resort. While you go to these all inclusive resorts and NEVER really see the area or talk to the real people, you miss out in life.

5. Big tip - get rid of all your credit cards except two (1 Visa and one M/C). Make SURE they're paying you for using the card, meaning travel miles or cash back. Set all your household bills to auto-debit the main card so you gets points/cash - PAY THIS OFF IN FULL each month. If you can't then you're spending beyond your means and repeat #3 above. Use this card for everything - gas, groceries, etc.

6. STOP blowing cash at Starbucks. I kid you not my wife and I were spending $80/week on Starbucks when we were first dating. Take that cash and put it into a savings account each week and make your own drip coffee - this alone will pay for a summer vacation in 12 months.

7. STOP eating out! Treat yourself to 1 dinner out every week or two weeks, but otherwise eat healthy at home. Also stop wasting food - I have a family of 4 that play high level sports and eat like crazy. Shopping at Costco is a waste as we can't consume all that food - be smart! If you do have a Costco membership - do the math and determine if you're actually saving money or not (include all your yearly food waste and THEIR fee to shop at THEIR store).

8. Cell Phones - biggest over-indulgence the world has ever seen. Do you really think everyone around you cares that you have the latest and greatest phone? Did you know that if you got rid of your smartphone, the monthly bill would pay for a nice tropical vacation every two years? Buy a used phone as there's always a moron that has to have the latest because reasons? and then get the cheapest plan possible (usually pay as you go).

9. If you're young - get an education. People can take your money, take your house, and take your job, but they can never take away the education you earned. A degree earned can open up doors in any country. Always research scholarships and bursaries. I know so many people (single moms/dads) that have had their education paid for (and living expenses), by just doing the research and applying on scholarships. I received several, but wish I knew more about this when I was younger.

10. Disposable income - when you get paid, pay your bills and whatever is left, save 20-30%. Put it into a registered retirement plan, no matter your age - I started when I was 17 - the younger the better as time is more on your side.

11. Investments - It takes money to make money and you can't play in the leagues of Buffet or Trump. When you have multi-millions you can access things the majority of the public can't. Instead, invest in Exchange traded funds that track the market, or mutual funds that have holdings in companies/sectors you like. Stocks - don't play pink sheets as most are scams (watch wolf of Wall Street as its so close to what really happens). I've made and lost a bunch with those and learned a hard lesson. Invest in stocks that give you a dividend - re-invest the dividends into other stocks or the same investment. Eventually you'll get to a point in your portfolio where you get "access" to information the rest of the public doesn't have (or at least you get it hours/days before they do). The stock markets are very corrupt and it's really tough to make a buck unless your a big swinger, as the enforcement of scam companies is non-existent. I could tell you more on stocks, but it would take way too long. This is not a get rich quick area.

12. Invest in YOU - this means eat healthy, exercise and spend quality time with your family. You don't need to spend a fortune here as local hiking areas are free and a great way to spend an afternoon with your family. Same with fishing or bike riding - these are the things your kids actually remember doing WITH you. You also do t need an expensive gym membership.

Esentially, most people don't have what it takes to be financially independent. My wife and I are set to retire very well off at age 55, but we didn't do like others. We also live in the most saught after place in our country with the highest cost of living (by far) so if we can do it, anyone can.

I see so many people in the "see me; see me" syndrome with buying flashy expensive things that cause them to live beyond their means. Most "must have" that flashy car ~ what would their friends think if they drove up in a 15 year old Focus... Or skip the Starbucks? Horrors! The cell phones - never... They're essentially saying "I want to work till I'm 70 and be miserable, but at least I have my Starbucks". If you're going on expensive vacations each year and have a line of credit or credit card debt you bought into a fools paradise...

[NOWHARD Banned Find all posts View Profile Close NOWHARD]

Look around on here and your see we are all millionaires? why because we all have a million laughs on here.

NOWHARD

[Ellford Senior Member Member of the Month Sept 2019 Find all posts View Profile Close Ellford]

Hmm truth is these days a clerical worker in the public service can have a million is superannunation.

Not where we live. In Canada our government employees (the ones that do the work, not the "managers"), got a raise of 0.013%, which was based on a clerical workers salary. This equated to an average wage increase of $20 after taxes every 2 weeks.

The public service unions historically bargain for 2% wage increases or less - normally on a 3 year collective agreement it's a 0% wage increase the first year; 0% the second; 2% in the third year. All this with a national inflation rate of 2.25% or higher.. This means the public sector worker (not manager) is losing 4.5% of their pay per year in inflation alone. My wife's wage increase last year was less than $10 a paycheque.

Benefits used to to be the best in the 1970's and have been eroded to nothing but a joke now. Any extended health visits (chiropractor, massage therapy, physiotherapist) they get $8 back on a $60 visit. Hardly worth filling out the paperwork.

The public service pension plan is also not stable. The net return on investment is shocking (anyone can do better even with stock bank mutual funds). I have the numbers here where we are and it's nothing more than a forced savings plan with a sub-par rate. The unions even fuk'd their own members by now penalizing them 23% if they plan to draw their pension prior to age 60. I'm surprised these unions weren't shot by their members over this, but decades of poor Union negotiations and mismanagement of members dues has made everyone so checked out.

You CANNOT live on the public service pension plan alone here in Canada. Most public service workers are stunned at what they've paid into for decades and receive so little. If you're private sector and have an employee matching retirement plan then you will easily double the retirement income of a government employee based on dollar for dollar and compounding interest on your investment. Bank mutuals return approx 5.5-8% annually, whereas the public service pension plan returns 3-3.5% annually.

i can't speak to other countries, but here, I would not recommend a public service job to anyone any more.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

I don't live in Canada .
The concept holds many many people who have worked steadily for many years at an average job can have a mil in super .
Likewise many people who buy a house in a burb that later became trendy are now millionaires.

[not2big Senior Super ModeratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close not2big]

Smart move 1. Start saving when you're young.

The best way to live well when you're old is to save when you're young.
If you can start saving $405 per month by age 25, an average annual return of 7% means you'll have $1 million by age 65.
But wait until you're 30 to start saving, and you'll have to put away $585 per month to reach that goal.

If your employer offers a matching 401k, make sure you invest at least to the max amount of the matching limit. That is a 100% return on your investment.

[CUSP82 Administrator Admin of the Month Dec 2014PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close CUSP82]

Spend whatever you have; don't become rich. If you do become rich people will hate you because you worked hard and saved and no rich guy pays his fair share.

[Wildflower Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Wildflower]

I am young. 28. Pro and i together are well off. We both work full time jobs and have our 6 kids. We own 2 homes and live in another home. 2 house payments as my 1st is yet to be paid off. But we both save what ever we can. We work hard cook at home almost always. But still have a date night on average about 1x a month. We are well off, but not monetarily wealthy by any means. When it comes time to retire ill have a good nest egg in savings as well as a mutual fund and a good 401k that ive contributed to since i was about 23. ( i started at 18 but my ex husband took all that money out before he divorced me. So started over at 23)

Eventually we may even get to go on a honey moon. Haha. (Thats a bit of a joke i doubt it) but i will say pro helped me a lot in this area. I was debt free when we got together. Which was pretty huge for me. My ex husband left me with 1,000s in debt to gov. And private companys. It took me a long time to pay it off. When pro and i became a team we went from doing well. To being well off.

Its important to note to the young ones like me. I worked 3 jobs as a single mom to pay off all that debt. I missed years of my daughters lives to do it. It was EXTREEMLY hard! Emotionally, physically, and mentally.

But this year at back to school shopping. My girls got to buy new clothes for the first time in their life. They got the pretty pencils that they wanted and they own back packs that made them feel beyond special. It was for sure a splerge on my part. Hehe but well worth it. Learning to be a hard worker and set the goals you want is a process that takes some hard years but is well worth it in the end.

Also i only hold 1 paid job now. And were looking at me dropping down to part time so i can be home with the kids more now. We will see. The extra savings is really nice but im finally at a point where i can choose to be with the girls more often and finally focus on my own education which would be really very nice too.