Wealth Accumulation: How to Save a Million Dollars

Millions of people have already saved a million or more dollars. According to the website of U.S. Senator's Bernie Sanders of Vermont, in 2009 7.8 million people were millionaires in the United States despite the economic environment. The characteristics of these people have, that would be millionaires don't have add clues to how to save a million dollars. If it were easy to save a million dollars, many more would have already done it, but how to save a million is not really a secret at all.

• Return on Investment (ROI)

Money is a resource like oil, labor and time. When money sits idly by doing nothing or isn't optimized for efficiency that resource incurs opportunity costs, becomes subject to inflationary pressure and lowers potential income. Making proper use of money such as through astute business and financial decision making can lead to returns on investment well into the double or even triple digits.

• Compounding, and Capital gains

Financial principles are the concepts behind economic thinking and day to day finance. Understanding principles like leveraged hedging, business cycle, capital appreciation, and compounding are stepping stones to implementing them in one's financial plan. Financial plans don't have to be complicated, and simple often is better, but either way a financial plan that correctly employs financial methods that work is essential to save a million dollars.

• Assets minus liabilities

Net worth is a financial concept that claims what goes out should be less than what comes in. If at any level this is not the case, saving a million dollars will likely not be possible in any conventional sense. The formula for net worth is easy to understand but hard to do, but is a way to save a million dollars.

• Vocational decisions

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, surgeons, engineers, scientists, lawyers and pilots all receive over $100K per year. Saving 50 percent of this amount every year without any ROI or compounding will save a million dollars after 20 years. Some millionaires may work hard toward their goal and simply earned their way to wealth through a high paying job or lucrative business.

• Financial instruments

A wide variety of financial instruments and methods exist to become wealth. When used correctly becoming a millionaire is only a matter of time, skill and know how. From annuities to zaitech, a wide range of investment and asset allocation methods exist that have made many millionaires. Keep in mind some financial instruments do involve considerable risk.

• Tax protection

Paying unnecessary taxes is a way to slow down wealth accumulation. To save a million dollars tax strategy can come in handy, and a number of legal tax shelters and financial techniques exist to reduce taxes thereby decreasing money paid out. For example, deferring unneeded income to future dates lowers taxes in the present.

• Use a financial plan

Sticking to a financial plan provides a good way to save a million dollars. For example, $999 USD that is added to by $99 per month for 60 years at 7% is equal to $1,031,070.37 with compounding once a year. If this interest accumulates and is contributed to within a traditional retirement account, tax will not have to be paid on it until withdrawal. Naturally, acquiring a high interest rate in as short a time period as possible is the challenge when using a savings method like this.

Knowing how to save a million dollars isn't necessarily difficult, implementing the steps that allow one to save a million dollars does require financial discipline, skill and usually effort. Limitations on people's income, high cost of living, financial obligations and unforeseen expenses can all drill holes into an otherwise solid financial plan. Overcoming these obstacles by utilizing one or more of the above steps will increase one's probability of saving a million dollars.

Sources:

1) http://bit.ly/daFpxy (Vermont Senator)
2) http://bit.ly/dWWXh (MoneyChimp)
3) http://bit.ly/cP6bBX (Bureau of Labor Statistics)