From $0 to $100k Invested (starting from scratch)

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Going from $0 to $100k invested can:

- Lower your stress.

- Improve your mood.

- Give you more options.

Unfortunately, times are tough.

 

The Struggle

 

Most millennials and gen Z were told a successful life means:

- Going to school.

- Getting a good job.

- Working hard 40 years.

And that leads to a fruitful retirement.

It's the path our parents took, and their parents.

And it worked well for a long time.

 

But many people following that path these days don't feel like they're getting ahead.

Raises at work are small.

Yet...

Groceries cost more.

Insurance costs more.

House prices are booming.

And the stock market is zooming.

 

 

At 29, I remember laying in bed eating a pint of Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream every night.

I was let go from my job at Verizon and hadn't worked in 9 months.

To top it off, I had $50k in debt on my credit cards.

I was feeling sorry for myself.

And felt completely stuck.

 

But eventually life took a turn for the better.

I got hired at a bank.

And started learning more about money and investing.

Watching what wealthy people did with their money for 10 years felt like a cheat code.

A cheat code that helped fix my broken finances.

 

Years later.

In my late 30s, I found myself quitting my banking job at Chase Bank with $1M of investments.

Eager to start working on this little online education business part time for myself (Millennial Wealth).

Many people often ask what I would do if starting all over again from scratch.

 

The Money Reset

 

Here's the 5 steps I'd take to destroy my credit card debt and get to $100k of investments as quickly as possible while working my 9-5 job.

Hope it's useful.

Let's dive in.  

 

1. The Money Guide

 

Using a money guide is the first step I'd take to start fixing my finances.

When I was $50k in credit card debt.

I wasn't using a system to keep track of my money.

Each month I was just "winging it".

But doing that wasn't working.

So I started using a money guide like this one:

 

 

(​you can access the free money guide I use here​)

Using a money guide for 30 minutes each month means you have a plan for your money and helps get rid of money anxiety.

 

2. The Debt Avalanche

 

The Debt Avalanche is the tool I'd use to help get rid of my credit card debt.

It works like this:

1. Make a list of all your debts.

2. Sort the list from highest to lowest interest rate.

3. Keep making all of your minimum monthly payments.

4. Focus on paying off your highest interest rate debt first.

 

For example:

If these were my credit card debts—

This is how I'd pay them off:

Credit Card

24% interest rate (pay 1st)

Credit Card

21% interest rate (pay 2nd)

Credit Card

19% interest rate (pay 3rd)

The Debt Avalanche method is a step by step plan that helps you save the most money when paying off debt like credit cards.

 

3. The Investment Picks

 

To keep things simple, I'd invest in 3 ways.

 

Way 1:

If my job offered a retirement account.

And they matched a certain amount of money I put into the retirement account.

I'd start putting money into it right away (even while I was paying off my credit cards).

According to Fidelity Investments, most companies offering a retirement account match up to 5% of your annual income on average in your retirement account.

So if you're making $70,000 a year and put 5% of each of your paychecks into your retirement account.

And your employer matches that 5%.

That means your employer will put $3,500 per year into your retirement account.

($3,500 is 5% of a $70,000 annual salary)

I wouldn't want to pass up that "free" money.

The retirement rules are a bit different with each employer.

So it's important to read through the rules.

 

Way 2:

After my credit cards were paid off, I'd open a 2nd investment account outside of work.

And I'd put the money that was going towards my credit cards each month (that are now paid off)..

Into the new investment account each month.

I'd invest the money in an S&P500 fund like VOO (The Vanguard S&P500 Fund).

I'd invest my retirement account money at work in an S&P500 Fund too (most retirement accounts have this option).

It includes 500 of the largest companies in America like:

- Apple.

- Google.

- Amazon.

- Microsoft.

- Mastercard.

+ 495 other companies.

Money invested in the S&P500 has been doubling in price every 8 years on average since the 1990s:

 

^{Stock market history: s&p500}

Way 3:

I'd start working with a loan officer to figure out how I could qualify to get a home loan.

But I would make sure the loan officer knew I was planning to get a lot of homebuyer money so I wouldn't have to save up a bunch of money by myself.

(​you can access the playbook I use to get $30,000 in homebuyer money here​)

The price of a home has been doubling every 14 years on average since the 1990s:

 

^{Real estate history}

I wouldn't want to make the monthly home loan payment on my own.

So I'd find a home with a separate area I could rent out.

Like a 2 bedroom condo.

Or find one of these homes:

3 Homes That Pay You (what to look for when buying)​ 

The stock market and real estate are the 2 most common ways people invest to build wealth.

 

4. The Easy Mode Approach

 

Automating my investments would be the next thing I'd do.

Planning to invest when there's "extra money" each month..

Doesn't work very well.

I've tried it.

Money in a checking always manages to get spent (or maybe it's just me).

What I've found works better..

Instead of having all of my paycheck go into a checking account.

I'd split it up:

1. Some money would go into my retirement account at work.

2. Some money would go into the investment account I opened.

3. Some money would go into my savings account for buying a home.

And the rest would go into my checking account.

 

 

Most employers will deposit your paycheck in 2 or 3 different accounts if you login to your employee website at work and make those changes.

Automating your savings and investing helps make things easy and ensures those important things get done.

 

5. The Double Down Investor

 

After helping over 20,000+ people while working in banking for 10 years.

I watched all of the different ways people try to save and invest more money.

So I created a list of the many different ways:

 

 

(​you can access the cheat sheet I use to save and invest more money here​)

Saving hundreds or thousands of dollars per month means getting to $100,000 of investments faster.

 

The bottom line

 

Over the years I've noticed there's 2 big things when it comes to success with money.

Thing 1:

Knowing what to do.

And..

Thing 2:

Actually doing it.

What most people struggle with is Thing 2.

Finding the motivation:

- To save money.

- To invest the money.

- To keep doing it each year.

It's something I've struggled with too.

 

And the best way I found to motivate myself to do these things was to think about:

1. The day I'd tell my boss I was quitting.

2. The places I was going to travel because I no longer needed to work a 9-5 job.

3. The work I was going to do part time for myself after quitting my job because I still wanted to have a purpose and make money...but at a slower pace.

Thinking about these 3 things helped fired me up when I was working my 9-5 job.

To do the things I needed to do with my money so I could leave 9-5 life early..

Even when I didn't feel like doing them.

 

So if you've ever struggled to find the motivation to deal with your money.

I'd suggest this.

Imagine walking into your bosses office Monday morning with a grin on your face.

And telling him or her that you've decided to quit your job.

That it's been swell...but you're on to new things.

That you have enough investments that you've decided to just work part time for yourself.

That you've decided to celebrate this new chapter of your life by..

Taking a month long vacation in Hawaii.

Then taking a 2 week cruise through the Mediterranean Sea.

And after that, taking on a 3-week trip visiting different countries in Europe.

Then you'd start working for yourself part time doing something you love.

 

Imagining these different things motivated the heck out of me to get my money right.

And to invest as much money as I could every month.

I hope this little hack to stay motivated works for you too.

That's all for today.

See you next Saturday.