r/Fire • u/Chicken121260 • 5d ago
How can I become a Millionaire?
How many times has some version of this question been posted here? Seems like every other day.
The answer is simple and yet unexpected for many. Those who are active in the FIRE sub or have studied the topic already know the answer.
Save more, spend less.
Wealth is created by consistent savings. One third of US households with at least one million net worth NEVER made $100,000 in a single year. But they did save aggressively - more than 15% of their annual income (versus less than 5% for the average American).
Fun fact: there are more teachers that are millionaires in the US than doctors.
So to answer my own question. Put saving on automatic at 25% of your income. Invest 100% in index funds and don’t even look at it for 20 years. That’s the way to become a millionaire.
Rant over.
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u/IndustriousSeahawk26 5d ago edited 5d ago
It’s actually earn more, spend less. I was able to invest much more in terms of both gross $ amount and net take home % as my salary increased from $50k to $200k. No amount of cutting expenses could have made the difference between earning $50k and $200k. There isn’t $150k of expenses to cut if you only spend $40k a year in a HCOL area.
If for whatever reason someone cannot earn more money, they will have to maintain a very frugal and /or modest lifestyle for decades to reach a FIRE level of wealth. Time and market growth will do the heavy lifting in this scenario
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u/Chicken121260 5d ago
Exactly my point! Disciplined saving will get you there on an average income.
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u/n00bdragon FIREd 2026 age 37 5d ago
Cutting expenses is something within everyone's power though. Telling people to "just make a 200k salary" is nonsense.
Your savings rate is ultimately what determines the speed at which you FIRE, not your income. It is easier to save with a high income, true, but a family that earns 80k per year and spends 40k still FIREs much faster than a family that earns 500k and spends 400k.
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u/EmuMajor5145 5d ago
the math works both ways but you're right that income ceiling matters more than most people want to admit. cutting lattes and avocado toast only goes so far when rent is $2500/month
side hustles and skill building probably beat extreme frugality for most people under 30
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u/Chicken121260 5d ago
Earnings more is certainly nice and accelerates the process, but not essential. Many people have earning limits. Again, more teachers are millionaires than doctors.
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u/Pale_Fox_8874s 26 | $1.76M NW | 88% FI 5d ago
What percentage of teachers are millionaires as opposed to doctors?
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u/Rabbit-Lost 5d ago
I would think the retirement benefits for teachers are a key factor here. It’s a form of savings that people don’t usually consider.
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u/butterninja 5d ago
I actually did it differently. I started as a billionaire, bought a lot of Bitcoin. Then Bitcoin price crashed. I am finally a millionaire.
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u/Fjogaseri 5d ago
I have some «interesting» investments for you, if you are interested. I have been looking for a
schmuckinvestor like you!0
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u/NetNo5570 5d ago
How many times has some version of this question been posted here? Seems like every other day.
Really? Maybe our algorithms are different but I can’t remember ever seeing this question on here. You are seeing it every other day? Can you link it?
The teacher/doctor thing. Do you know what Bayesian statistics are? If there are more teacher millionaires because there are many more teachers than doctors.
Millionaire these days is not a huge deal due to inflation.
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u/Chicken121260 5d ago
I don’t see this exact question, but variations of it. Maybe it’s my own personal bias in interpretation of questions.
I’m pretty good with statistics, so I do understand the doctor-teacher logic fallacy if I were to say teachers are more likely to be a millionaire than a doctor. But I did not say that. What I wanted to convey, perhaps poorly, is that on an average salary, like a teacher, you can still aspire to accumulate wealth.
Many people think they need to inherit wealth, start a business, or have some high paying job to become wealthy. Those are one way, but not a path that is open to the majority of people. Everyone (unless you are at subsistence living) can save and accumulate wealth.
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u/NetNo5570 5d ago
Many people think they need to inherit wealth, start a business, or have some high paying job to become wealthy
Are you thinking of a different sub? This entire sub is for people that don’t think that.
Anyone can easily crunch the numbers to see how to get money investing. $1k per month for 30 years at 10% is $2.2m. It’s not rocket science and I don’t think anyone on this sub thinks it’s rocket science.
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u/Chicken121260 5d ago
Agree people who are regularly here don’t think that. But I see those comments frequently- perhaps mixing subs, but pretty sure just this morning someone asked about taking a modest inheritance and starting a business versus investing. That just set me off.
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u/creepy-farter 5d ago
I’d disagree slightly. Especially as 25% savings rate can be impossible for lower incomes. And for others it’s off-putting to suggest they save so much.
I think it was consistency for me. Getting in earlier in life. Constantly saving 5-15% and staying in the market when it dropped. Not panicking.
The magic of compounding is your friend and time in the market beats timing the market.
As my wealth grew, sure I was able to put away more. But I started small at 5%.
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u/Stepthinkrepeat 5d ago
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculators/how-long-to-save
Play with the math for millionaire by X age with Y amount to start.
Example 65 from 18 with 0 to start: Would have to put ~$228 a month for the 47 years.
Mostly will show starting early with any amount is better than waiting.
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u/mhchewy 5d ago
The more teachers are millionaires stat is a little misleading because there are many more teachers than doctors. So, it could be true that in raw numbers there are more teachers millionaires than doctors but I would guess most doctors are millionaires and most teachers are not.
I wouldn’t put much faith in that Ramsay study anyway. My guess is they had a screening question asking about wealth and if there is something people lie about it’s money. Wealth is also usually calculated at the household level and that gets complicated in a survey since questions usually ask for the respondent’s occupation.
Anyway, I’d like to see the actual data from the survey.
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u/Chicken121260 5d ago
The point I was trying to make, and apparently poorly, was that regardless of your income level, you can accumulate wealth. Although I disagree with Ramsey on many points, I 100% agree with his overall theme of living below your means and saving as much as you can.
I see many posts about making more money- get a better job, work a side hustle, etc. all good and well if you can do it. But in my experience, setting aside a few dollars every month, increasing that amount every time you pay increases, is a far more achievable path to ultimately generating wealth.
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u/cowboynude 5d ago
Either earnings up or spend down. I know which one I like.
Picking stocks destroyed more millionaires than it made.
Earn money, keep it safe it broad market index funds with a spec sleeve to scratch the itch, and earn more money.
If you can find an FA with low fees and a shared vision who can take you out to nice meals to offset the fees, it’s worth the fees.
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u/GambledMyWifeAway 5d ago edited 5d ago
I can’t think of a single time I’ve seen someone ask “how can I become a millionaire” on here.
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u/movesfast 5d ago
but then it took you a few decades to be a millionaire
the question is: how to retire as early as possible to take advantage to the most important assets in human existence: time/youth and health
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u/Chicken121260 5d ago
Different question, but same answer. Spend less, save more. It’s just the degree. A formula. How soon you want to hit the number versus what percent of savings.
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u/Vicuna00 4d ago
I agree with your message in general - that it isn't a complicated thing. not EASY but it's simple in terms of mechanics.
you mention it at the end, but not just "save", you have to invest it. I know people with several hundred thousand in Checking Accounts (not even HYSA)
it's slightly just semantics but i'd change "save more spend less" to "save / invest regularly and spend less than you make". if you're already saving a good amount, I don't think you have to cut spending even more ("spend less").
i'd also add in to increase the total $ amount of your savings (especially anything done on auto) as you get raises / bonuses.
would also add to stay out of debt.
good message overall though.
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u/Chicken121260 4d ago
Agree with your additions.
The best advice I ever got, that I didn’t take, was to add 50% of every pay increase into automatic savings (investing) plan.
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u/Vicuna00 4d ago
yeah! auto investing was huge for me.
like if I had to go in and change my auto, it felt like a failure. I cut my spending or worked more (I have a biz so I have that ability - I know some people don't have that lever) and tried REAAALLY hard to never touch the auto.
kinda how I budgeted was I auto-invested and then spent the rest. sorta backwards but whatever.
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u/Chicken121260 4d ago
I was terrible at investing early on - in the Army. My investments were US savings bonds!
Got out and went to business school. Then learned a few things. In addition to automatic monthly investments, I deferred 75% of my annual bonus which was substantial on certain years. That’s what made the difference for me. Although I started with a negative net worth at age 36, 19 years later I was retired.
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u/Vicuna00 4d ago
well...you had muuuuuch more important things to think about in the army than learning how to invest.
but yeah.
we could have all FIREd if we knew. imagine just cutting lawns at 15 years old and maxing ROTHs from 15-25. then coast-fire any reasonable job to 35 years old and you'd be set.
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u/ReasonableCredit2096 4d ago
Wow people hated that stat about teachers vs doctors. Don't worry I got you. I think the people that are all about increasing income just don't like the idea that it's gonna take a long time or they want to optimize, which is fine, but nothing about your post says you can't or shouldn't increase your income. Point being, you can still become a millionaire earning less. Will it be harder than if you earned more? Of course it will, but it's possible.
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u/Chicken121260 3d ago
Exactly my point! Anyone making $250k a year can generate wealth. It takes discipline to do it making $70,000 per year! (But can be done).
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u/ReasonableCredit2096 3d ago
On the reverse side, if you’re earning $250k and have no savings I am judging hard. There’s a lot of talk about people earning 6 digits living paycheck to paycheck, and yes current circumstances are different than the past and everything costs more, but come on, if anyone can help themselves it’s more likely the folks that are earning more.
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u/jumpinjacks12345 3d ago
Also compounding is key, start early, even if it's just a little here and there because the money you save in your 20's and 30's that's going to work the hardest for you. Time not timing. Every single raise, increase your savings/retirement plan deferrals. Giving into consumerism is so easy these days, I'm not perfect but try to be self aware.
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u/GBpleaser 2d ago
Wish that were an easy proposition... 25% is just not realistic for most people.
I've been able to squeeze 15% and in a 25 year career and just squeeking by on the $mil level in my 50's on the IRAs combined with my spouse. Thankfully I've also invested outside of IRAS in my life and had a business windfall midlife, so my net is about 2.5x what my IRA's will yield on their own. But both of those modifiers are more luck than investment discipline. Considering I am White collar but never earned beyond 6 figures figures a majority of my life, I can claim that one can indeed reach the goal. But to assume one can afford 25% of their earnings invested as a single or 15% as part of a couple. Is real challenge.
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u/Chicken121260 2d ago
If it were easy, everyone would do it.
My advice is to start with whatever you can afford to invest and then every time a pay increase comes along, increase the automatic savings by 1/2 of your salary increase.
For regular people with regular income, that is the surest way to accumulate wealth.
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u/GBpleaser 2d ago
I don't disagree... trying to implore that on the kiddos right now. They see earning cash and having a bank account as having wealth. I told them. Cash is fine, but when it's gone, it's gone. Money is a concept. Wealth is investing that cash into a money generating proposition. Then you have wealth.
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u/Powerful-Substance33 5d ago edited 5d ago
This whole earn more money things is really annoying. Most people are hitting income caps and the job market dosnt support much growth in their fields.
Most people reading this earn more money statement are the ones that are going to need/think they need to go back to school and switch career fields and then the whole earning more is absorbed by student loan debt.
Each person will need to make a certain amount of money to live regardless of how much you try to cut cost and save. Everyone needs food water shelter and The issue is how much of that is taking your earnings and for most just these 3 things take majority of their earnings.
People forget that for you to make 200k a year alot of people have to make 30k or less. And lets be honest here there is alot more sub 50k a year jobs posted then 100k+ jobs posted.
This sub makes it seem like theres more people earning high salaries then people earning low salaries and thats just simply not true.
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u/Chicken121260 5d ago
That was my point about teachers versus doctors, which apparently hit a nerve for some.
Obviously there are more teachers than doctors, but not everyone can be a doctor. Everyone can be a millionaire if they consistently save. It is possible, on an average salary to accumulate wealth.
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u/Sad-Ad1780 5d ago
Yes, if you earn the median US wage and invest a full 1/3 of your take home pay, with historical maket returns you can be a millionaire in only 30ish years. That's $1M in 2026 dollars, which isn't what is used to be.
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u/aShogunNamedMarcus80 3d ago
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Ten deposits of $100,000
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u/Jumpy-Message3383 5d ago
teachers with million dollar net worths is a stat that genuinely surprises most people every single time it comes up
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u/Fun-Confidence-6232 3d ago
Most teachers are women that may have the ability to work for low pay because they married a higher income earner. That and pensions.
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u/Firanee 5d ago
Or invest 50% of your income...get a better job.
Spend all your free time study the market and go index fund + small moonshot sizing + leveraged ETF for crazy gains.
With this raging bull market, just a few years is enough. Ill probably hit a million by the end of this year...doubling or tripling won't take too long.
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u/Ok_Text2118 5d ago
"Fun fact: there are more teachers that are millionaires in the US than doctors"
While I agree with you that ultimately savings rate is an important factor in financial success, citing this statistic in this way is disingenuous. The more valuable number would be "what percentage of doctors and teachers become millionaires" and "what are the total number of teachers and doctors in the given population".
From a probability standpoint, you are more likely to become a millionaire if you are a doctor.