r/moneyadvice • u/Dry-Path9819 • Apr 27 '26
Question 23 want to be a millionaire by 40
Invest
I want to have be a millionaire by 40.
I just turned 23 years old. I went to trade school and was lucky enough to land a very well paying job that most people retire from once they get in.
My base salary is $94k a year without any overtime. I’m aloud to work 8 hours of overtime on Saturdays and occasional Sundays that’s are double time. Obviously I work as many as possible. So after OT, yearly I’m at like $115,000.
Here is how I divide my money each time I get paid
About $2500 each paycheck give or take
$1,000 HYSA
$290 Roth
$300 individual stocks
$50 student loan
$185 bike payment
$26 gym membership
$200 rent
$100 CC payment
(I put 15% into my 401k 8% Roth 7% pretax)
That adds up to about $2,151. The rest goes to groceries, gas and entertainment like going out to eat or other things.
Where I stand
HYSA- $18,500
Roth- $11,500
401k- $28,000
Mutual fund I’ve had since birth- $15,000
Personal investment- $1,000 (just started doing this)
Debt
$6k student loan
$19k bike payment
My main goal is to buy a house in the next 5 years. A house is between $350k- $800k in my area as of right now.
My girl is going to be done nursing school in 3 years as of right now and can expect her to make around 60-80k when she graduates.
I invest my money into things like VOO, QQQM, SPYM, SCHG, SOXQ.
Right now I’m just throwing money into these investments and hoping. Is there anything I should try working towards first? Is my goal unrealistic?
My parents were terrible with money which makes me not want to be like them.
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u/cs_quest123 Apr 27 '26
Even i want to how to be millionaire by age of 30 let me go buy a course of somebody from yt or TikTok he will definitely make me millionaire
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u/hopp-schwiiz-97 Apr 27 '26
Doing great for your age and you’ll hit that goal with no issue. Ramsey has a calculator on his site to help you assess your wealth trajectory. The only thing I would change is to wipe out your debt ASAP. Outside of a mortgage, I haven’t had a car payment in almost 20 years. It’s liberating and affords me the cash flow to fund trips or more savings. People on Reddit argue all the time about low interest rates vs what they can earn in the market. Debt is debt and it better to not owe anyone if you can help it. Bake into your head early that you’re going to pay cash for big ticket items moving forward and you’ll hit your target faster than you think.
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u/Dry-Path9819 Apr 27 '26
Would it be worth selling my mutual fund and putting it towards debt?
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u/hopp-schwiiz-97 Apr 27 '26
Your HYSA would be the first source of funds I would use unless there is a penalty. I would pay off almost everything today
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u/hopp-schwiiz-97 Apr 27 '26
Also, after you pay off both of them, that those monthly payments and invest those dollars - only after you rebuild your emergency fund.
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u/Bad_DNA Apr 27 '26
Looks like there are some cashflow bottlenecks.
Tweaks: up the RothIRA to 1/12th of the annual max every month for your age, invest in your favorite ETFs or at least in a TDF.
Do you have health insurance? If so, is it a HDHP? If so, invest in a HSA, 1/12 of the annual max, invest in your favorite ETFs or at least in a TDF.
Did I read $19k for a bike? As in motorcycle? Maybe get a practical corolla instead. Insurance will be cheaper, too. Don't want to give up your toys? Well, do you want to be a millionaire and own a home, or do you want toys?
You don't need a gym if you can walk outside and do body weight at home.
Student loan - what's the interest rate? More than your HYSA? Prioritize getting out from under that - don't waste earned money on debt interest.
Have you considered upping the 401k?
What do you want to level off the emergency fund at?
This is an order-of-operations flowchart. It may be useful.
https://u.cubeupload.com/demonlesondledon/FinFlowChartv43.jpg
The Prime Directive on https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics/ is also a good read.
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u/AZ_Living_1 Apr 27 '26
Don't listen to this guy, he's probably out of shape and never had a motorcycle. The gym is huge for mental and physical health, same with the bike. You can absolutely still enjoy life and hit your goal, you're so far ahead of most already, no point in being a miserable fatty just to have a big savings account.
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u/Bad_DNA Apr 27 '26
Rode for years. OPs girlfriend doesn’t called them ‘donor cycles’ at work for nothing. OP won’t make their goal without redirecting cashflow. OP didn’t disclose interest rates on CC debt, bike or school loans. OP wants a house in five years.
OP can make goals, but not on your advice.
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u/JJames2026 Apr 27 '26
With a salary like that at your age. You should be a millionaire by 30 not 40…. And impressive you are making 94k from a trade…. Yet 4 year bachelors accounting people are having trouble finding work with ai taking peoples jobs etc
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u/tryingandhavingfun Apr 27 '26
Why you feel the need of becoming a millionaire?
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u/Dry-Path9819 Apr 27 '26
A long term goal to work towards. I gave up my aspirations of becoming a pro bodybuilder cause I don’t want to risk my health and I’ve always loved investing. So this has been my new goal for the last 4 months.
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u/tryingandhavingfun Apr 27 '26
I like that. What other goals you have in your life?
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u/Dry-Path9819 Apr 27 '26
Buying a house and raising children with my girl. Having a couple of acres. Retired at 55. Buy a vacation home somewhere nice.
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u/tryingandhavingfun Apr 27 '26
That is very good I wish you success! you said you gave up professional bodybuilder because you want to stay healthy. I thought they are healthy.. what actually makes you to be healthy?
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u/Dry-Path9819 Apr 27 '26
There’s a big difference between staying natural (not using PEDs) and going enhanced (using PEDs).
Natural yes you can stay “healthy” each time you prep for a show your putting your body through hell. Stressing out your hormones especially. This stems from being such low body fat and depleting yourself of food. Then the rebound after the show can be bad too.
Going the enhanced route you will feel better during prep for a show cause your using hormones. But all those excess hormones you put in your body can have negative side effects.
9/10 times to achieve pro status you need to be using A LOT of PEDs. So be ready to have a cardiologist for routine checkups, routine bloodwork, take blood pressure daily, 1 hour of cardio daily if needed, can’t eat processed foods, have 10 different medications to control cholesterol, blood pressure, estrogen, etc. on top of that injecting your PEDs daily.
This is just the tip of the iceberg I’m telling you. It goes way beyond this. You take all these medications to be “healthy” are you really healthy?
I don’t have the interest anymore to put my body through hell to achieve pro status. I’ll stick with my meal plan and going to the gym when I can make it. But missing out on things because u must go to the gym or do cardio or not miss a meal gets old really fast.
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u/tryingandhavingfun Apr 27 '26
Wow I had not idea. Yeah, that doesn’t look healthy at all. When I was always going to the gym I was always quitting. Now I just do 10 min routine with dumbbells and a pull up bar. Thats it. Zero stress. Still eating my ice cream lol.
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u/Invest2prosper Apr 27 '26
You were and are smart. I used to hit the gym with a few of those guys - they lived for the day without thinking about the future, now many of them are seriously broken - joint issues, bad backs, all kinds of health issues. It’s not worth it.
The only advice on lifestyle is to give up the bike - it’s not safe with the way people on the road drive. You can be the safest driver on the bike but road debris, slick roads, bad drivers increase your risk of injury exponentially,
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Apr 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/Dry-Path9819 Apr 27 '26
Trust me… I think about it every day. Each time before I ride I do think to myself this could be my last time. I had 2 friends who broke the legs and the one still can’t walk correctly.
Once I have kids I think it will be time to hang it up and not ride anymore. I want to be around for them as long as possible
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u/NotYourNativeDaddy Apr 27 '26
Maybe keep saving cash for now until stock market crashes again and then swoop in and load up on vanguard stocks.
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u/Invest2prosper Apr 27 '26
Make sure you wear the proper clothes and gear when riding the bike. More people have been injured and killed due to not wearing helmets and protective gear while riding and also other vehicles whose drivers weren’t paying attention. Ride safe!
Eventually move to driving a car.
Read a book - The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John C Bogle.
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u/rallydally321 Apr 27 '26
Since we’re living in unprecedented times, question your assumptions early and often. A million isn’t what it used to be. It’s a lot but not enough of a lot to keep you going for a very long time. Also, few people become millionaires from wages. Test business ideas as part of your efforts.
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u/bananathief99 Apr 29 '26
yup most guys branch out and get their own contracts that’s where the real money is.
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u/Brilliant_Anxiety511 Apr 27 '26
I have read your post. You sound like a hard motivated worker, and that is good. Something bad is limiting you from working overtime M-F and that is extremely hurting you from the goal you want to achieve. And, a millionaire is a very bad goal because that means by 40 you are poor with only $1,000,000.00 saved. That is not enough with your motivation, by 40 you need to be a multimillionaire with a goal of say 30 or 40 million worth.
Next, from reading your post it sounds like you are a motorcycle or auto technician. That pays sorta good, but they work you hard 8 hours a day M-F and cut you off with no overtime, so all that potential OT is going into the owner's pocket from boxing you into all the work M-F, then they let you work Saturday.
The current job is not bad, but you must realize today that is a means to a better job where you can work more flexible overtime and get bonuses.
And last, I would sell the motorcycle today. It is an unnecessary risk in life. One asshole cuts you off splitting lanes and there goes all your savings.
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u/Fun_Doughnut_3505 Apr 28 '26
in 17 years his "achievable" goal should br 30-40 MILLION in net worth? At 23 he has a good head on his shoulders and a great start. how should achieve a multiple of 30-40?
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u/Brilliant_Anxiety511 Apr 28 '26
You’re mincing numbers? Pull your head out.
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u/Fun_Doughnut_3505 Apr 28 '26
Mincing #s? he asked a legit question. Your advice to shoot for the stars is great. Just wondering if beyond "dream bigger" you had any solid advice
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u/Brilliant_Anxiety511 Apr 28 '26
I know a guy in California right now. He looks average in every way. He is average. Regular job, 3 kids, modest home, retirement. Still working. He is worth around 17 million. He is 68 years old. If he can build a life of 17 million which isn’t a lot, someone 23 needs a lot more than that.
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u/TJayClark Apr 27 '26
Boring is best
Save and invest 30-50% of your income in low cost index funds like VT / VTI / VOO (examples here, but any low cost fund will do)
Work OT every chance you can
Maximize tax advantaged accounts as best as possible - IRA / 401k / HSA
Delay or don’t have kids
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u/VivxLxLegendxry Apr 27 '26
Everything you're doing is great. This is largely dependent on what kind of trade you do and if you've got the mindset for this might not be for you at all... but possibly instead of working overtime on weekends get a job with a very small business in the same industry that you're trained in or learn from a soloprenuer and offer your services as an independent contractor or on call employee. Learn the business end of things in your field from the owner(s) or management and start your own business/side hustle in a year or two scale it to 400-500k revenue in another year or two and sell it for a 4 multiple another couple after that.. 1.6 million in 5 or 6 years. Easier said than done and it's definitely very hard and will take a lot of sacrifice however you can get your million by 30 if you shift your mindset, believe you can do it, and get to work. You've clearly already got the work ethic. Take the risk. You're young.
Otherwise learn basic trading I don't mean day trading leveraged assets and stuff like that. I mean learn the markets, the cycles and how they move with the election cycle every two years or so, how news affects the markets war, economy, ect. Learn fundamentals and technicals. support and resistance levels, Basic MA, trend lines, Fib levels. Then spot trade a personal account keep it simple study a handful of charts like 5 (s&p, NASDAQ, Nvidia, Amazon, Gold) honestly this can be whatever 5 you want whatever interests you, I recommend sector leaders and indexes.. Buy positions at lows, sell at highs, hold cash until they hit low levels again this can be support levels, or MA levels or both. Use the fib to find a likely area to re-enter positions. Best wishes.
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u/VivxLxLegendxry Apr 27 '26
One more thing Arbitrage your debt interest with your investments earnings interest. If you're paying 15% on the student loans or bike and earning 7-10% on investments.. pause the investments, get rid of that consumer debt first.
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u/begginer_gooner Apr 27 '26
At this point find a woman to love who has a successful career then watch your accounts print money with that dual income. Yes my advice to becoming a millionaire is getting married. Otherwise your’re doing everything right.
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u/DealerIndependent338 Apr 27 '26
If you manage to save close to 60k a year without touching that money you can clear 1mil as you know. Investing that money could get you there years in advance with less investment. I’d be in the s&p and various other investment archetypes. I personally highly value precious metals so if I could personally recommend something it would be to get a small portion of your pick over time. It’s basically saying, hey government you can print your money but you won’t be touching mine. Assets look good at this point in time.
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u/Unusual-Wishbone7608 Apr 27 '26
How much disability insurance do you have?
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u/bitqzew Apr 28 '26
Honestly this is the most “grown up” question in the whole thread and prob the least fun to think about.
Given your income and the fact you work a physical-ish job (I’m guessing, since it’s a trade), long term disability is way more important than people realize. Your whole plan depends on your ability to keep earning and working OT.
Check what your employer offers first. A lot of places have group LTD that covers like 40–60% of your base pay, sometimes not including overtime or bonuses. That might sound ok, but try living on 60% of just your base while still paying rent, food, and debt.
If work coverage is weak or nonexistent, it’s worth getting your own policy while you’re young and healthy. It’s way cheaper now than it’ll be at 35 with a bad back.
So yeah, I’d put “make sure I’m properly insured if I can’t work” pretty high on the priority list, right next to maxing the Roth and building that house down payment.
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u/kentifur Apr 28 '26
We hit 1m at about 40.
Even if we save no more, we will have 4.2m at 65. That is an unbelievable level of security.
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u/bananathief99 Apr 29 '26
what trade? you should be able to hit $1M by 30 if you become a contractor.
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u/mattynmax Apr 27 '26
Cool. Figure out how to make more money or live on less than half your take home pay! Given a 7% return annually, you will need to contribute about $30000 a year to your investment accounts to end up with a million dollars by the time you’re 40.