Can You be Rich in 2 Minutes

It’s unlikely unless you do these 5 things.

Life didn’t give you a framework other than go to school, get good grades, and go to college. That works for some who went on to become doctors and lawyers and then you have the 1% percenters who played a sport. Among these professionals, only a small fraction retire rich.

To let you know up-front, skipping your Starbucks coffee is not one of the five options. David Bach talks about that but is that realistic? Will skipping one Starbucks coffee increase your net worth?

This will help but not by much. This is when you need to come up with a gameplan to change your future.

Create a budget

Just like a business has a budget, you need a budget. Whether you are rich or poor, you need a budget. It is too easy to blow all your money as many former millionaires have done. Look at former Boston Celtic Antwoine Walker who blew $110 million buying frivolous things, bad investments, and giving much of his money away.

Pay off your debt

With college debt and credit card at record highs, you need to find a way to pay them off as fast as you can. When you have debt, that is less money you can invest. Debt doesn’t allow you to invest as you should.

Invest in yourself

Third, you need to invest. This doesn’t matter if it’s stocks, mutual funds, real estate, or cryptocurrencies. You need to pick one and go all in. I’m pretty sure in 20 or 30 years, you’ll double what you have today. Double is better than nothing, right? Too many people can’t retire because they’re broke.

Practice delayed gratification

You have to control yourself from making bad purchases. We have all done this at one time or another. Eventually, the stuff you bought ends up on eBay or a garage sale. Instead of buying stuff, invest the money.

Hustle harder

You probably didn’t expect to see the word hustle in order to be rich. I honestly have to say, if you want to be rich, you need to hustle. You could reach seven figures in your retirement account but do you want to wait until your 60s to enjoy your money?

You deserve to enjoy life now. Life is too short to work until you retire. Work a side job by delivering food. Start an eBay business selling items online. Create an Etsy store and sell designer masks. The opportunities are endless.

What tip do you like best?

Tom Handy is a top Writing, Finance, Investment, and Bitcoin writer on Medium, and the father of two kids. He retired from the Army and sits on several non-profit boards. You can find him on Twitter @tomhandy1.