What it's ACTUALLY like to be a Millionaire in your 20's

I think there’s a very false idea of what it’s like to be a Millionaire in your 20’s…so here is an honest, real-world experience of what it’s like to be a self-made millionaire by the time I was 26. Enjoy! Add me on Instagram/Snapchat: GPStephan

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So let’s start with the positives from it all:

Hitting a million was a bit of an ego-boost. It was a sense of accomplishment. In terms of achieving a goal, it felt good - but nothing changed. I don’t buy designer clothes. I don’t travel first class. I don’t eat out at expensive restaurants. I buy most of my clothes on Black Friday sales. I shop around for the best deals. I make eggs for dinner. I don’t buy anything I don’t need. I keep my expenses low…and that’s how I like it. And it was these habits that made me a millionaire in the first place.

The biggest aspect of hitting this milestone was a sense of freedom. It was the freedom of knowing that as long as I had this money invested, I’d never have to work a job I disliked and I’d never have to do anything I really didn’t want to do. Just knowing that you could decide to pursue anything is just as enjoyable as pursuing anything. Once you have the freedom or choice to walk away, it leaves you in a position of being the decision-maker in life. And just as a byproduct of that, you tend to enjoy things more and coincidentally, you tend to do better and make more money.

But now lets talk about the bad…just kidding, there is no bad ;) But ok in all seriousness…

It took me awhile to think of this part, because I haven’t really noticed any downsides yet. I don’t think I’ve been at quite the level where money really has a big impact negatively, so I had to stretch this a little just to come up with something…

The first is that I’ve gotten used to a larger-than-normal income, so it doesn’t seem like a lot me. What I consider a bad month of income could be someone else’s best month ever, and it’s difficult to put that in perspective when you’re used to earning a certain amount, and everyone you’re around earns a certain amount, and you lose touch of what’s normal.

On the other hand, because I never really “spend” my money, my tolerance for what I consider “a lot” is really, really low…so even though my income is high, the idea of spending $35 on a dinner just seems absurd to me. Or spending more than $20 on gas at a time just seems like a waste…and this is because even though my income went up, I’d get used to it, but I’ve kept my spending at the exact same level as when I was 20 or so. So there’s a big disconnect between what I consider a lot in “income,” and what I consider a lot in “spending.” But if I didn’t have those frugal spending habits to begin with, I wouldn’t have saved and invested so much, so it was a bit of a necessity.

Which brings me to my second point…one thing that comes up that sometimes annoys me is that frugality is now somehow frowned upon once you can afford something. Like if I’ll go out and only order one drink because I don’t want to spend the extra money, I get the “oh dude, just get another, you can afford it.” But the only reason I got to this place was because I was hyper-focused on my money and how I spent it. If I ever resist spending money, I’m somehow cheap. There’s a reason why lotto winners go broke…the spending habits to become a millionaire are the exact same to STAY a millionaire.

But besides those few small things, really, nothing changed. I didn’t change my spending habits, it was really quite uneventful. In fact, I’m sure it’d be rather disappointing for anyone who expects there to be some magic thing that happens once you cross the million dollar mark. The reality is that you hit it, you figure you’re doing something right, so you continue to do what works while building up a bigger nest egg.

For business inquiries or one-on-one real estate investing/real estate agent consulting or coaching, you can reach me at GrahamStephanBusiness@gmail.com

Suggested reading:

The Millionaire Real Estate Agent

Your money or your life

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Think and grow rich

Awaken the giant within

The Book on Rental Property Investing

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