pegang kuat-kuat erat-erat

Tak rugi kalu baca peringatan ini byk kali. Pegang kuat-kuat erat-erat. Masa pencen tu le anak nak masuk university, anak nak kawen, rumah rasa dah lama, etc. Sekiranya diberi pilihan, aku tetap mahu duit aku lump sum bila pencen nanti. Tak mau scheme pencen. Sebab aku ada byk rancangan. Dan rasa aku boleh menghadapi godaan dan cabaran yg sentiasa akan cuba memisahkan aku dgn sekelompok duit itu.

***********

Beberapa tahun lalu, satu kajian telah dilakukan oleh Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP) mengenai simpanan pencarumnya.

Kajian itu mendapati sebanyak 70 peratus daripada mereka yang bersara (umur 55) hanya mampu menyara hidup seharian mereka dengan wang simpanan KWSP selama tiga tahun sahaja dari tarikh mereka bersara.

Ini merupakan satu fakta yang sungguh menakutkan. Di sinilah juga kita mendapati bahawa ramai daripada mereka yang telah bersara terpaksa bekerja semula.

Bayangkanlah jika kita diberikan kesihatan yang baik selepas bersara sedangkan wang simpanan KWSP sudah habis digunakan. Pastinya kita akan berdepan dengan masa depan yang sangat gelap selepas bersara.

Kebanyakan kita amat bergantung harap kepada simpanan KWSP sebagai salah satu daripada dana yang akan menyediakan wang perbelanjaan harian setelah kita bersara kelak.

Bekalan persaraan kita boleh juga diperoleh daripada sumber lain seperti:

*Akaun simpanan/akaun simpanan tetap
*Lembaga urusan tabung haji
*Unit-unit amanah saham nasional
*Wang kutipan daripada sewa rumah atau pejabat
*Wang ihsan daripada anak-anak

Pihak KWSP dan kerajaan acapkali menasihatkan pencarum-pencarumnya agar tidak mengeluarkan simpanan mereka sesuka hati sewaktu masih bekerja.

Namun, apa yang menyedihkan kebanyakan pesara atau pencarum menggunakan simpanan KWSP mereka untuk pelaburan berisiko tanpa mempunyai ilmu pelaburan yang mencukupi.
Jika tersilap percaturan ia menjadikan simpanan yang dikumpul selama ini hanyalah sia-sia.

Persoalan yang pasti bermain di minda kita adalah bagaimana melaburkan wang simpanan yang betul dalam skim-skim kewangan seperti Unit Amanah (Unit Trust), Unit Modal Terjamin (Capital Guarantee Funds) atau sebagainya.

Beberapa fakta yang perlu kita ketahui ialah, pencarum yang di bawah umur 55 tahun boleh mengeluarkan simpanan mereka dari Akaun 1 (jika simpanan mereka mempunyai dana minimum sebanyak RM 55,000) untuk dibuat pelaburan dalam unit amanah yang diluluskan oleh panel pelaburan KWSP.

Pelaburan minimum yang boleh dilaburkan dalam unit amanah ialah RM1,200. Tetapi jika kita ingin melaburkan wang kita melalui akaun yang diuruskan oleh badan pengurusan, pelaburan minimumnya adalah RM25,000 ke atas.

Setelah kita melakukan pelaburan, kita perlukan banyak masa untuk memerhatikan agar kaunter-kaunter unit yang dilaburkan akan mendatangkan keuntungan.

Untuk itu, kita kena pandai membeli unit-unit saham apabila harganya rendah dan menjual unit-unit itu ketika harga melonjak tinggi.

Dengan keadaan ekonomi yang mencabar sekarang, untuk menunggu harga unit naik ke tahap untung, akan mengambil masa yang lama.

Hanya dengan melakukan jualan-belian pada masa yang baik, menjadi rahsia dalam membuat keuntungan dalam unit amanah.

Tetapi, jangan lupa kerana bagi yang berumur 45 tahun ke atas, jika anda melakukan kesilapan ia merupakan kesilapan yang sungguh besar kerana boleh menjejaskan masa depan anda.

Selain itu, kebanyakan pelaburan dalam unit amanah meletakkan kos pendahuluan yang tinggi.

Satu lagi fakta tentang pelaburan yang dilakukan melalui unit amanah, ialah kita perlu memberikan masa selama 10 hingga 15 tahun untuk melihat keuntungan yang tinggi dan memuaskan.

Oleh itu, pada pendapat saya sebagai perancang kewangan, jika masa merupakan fakta yang paling mustahak dalam kita membuat pelaburan, kita perlu sentiasa memerhatikan harga-harga unit amanah untuk mendapatkan keuntungan segera.

Bagaimanapun jika anda tidak bijak dalam urusan pelaburan lebih baik mendalami ilmu pelaburan sedalam-dalamnya terlebih dahulu.

Jika tidak, lebih baik membiarkan saja simpanan KWSP itu agar ia menjana pulang yang konsisten. Apa yang paling penting adalah wang yang kita simpan di KWSP itu selamat.

Jika masih teringin melakukan pelaburan dalam unit-unit amanah, saya nasihatkan biarlah konsep - wang menambahkan wang (money makes money) dilaksanakan.

Bagaimana? Satu cara yang terbaik ialah, pada akhir tahun apabila kita mendapat dividen-dividen daripada Amanah Saham Nasional atau Lembaga Urusan Tabung Haji atau Simpanan Tetap yang telah matang, jangan dimasukkan semula.

paragraph yg last sekali nie aku xberapa faham...

kaya dan bahagia

Bukanlah kekayaan itu dengan banyaknya harta benda tetapi kekayaan sebenar ialah kaya hati.
(hadis riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

Apabila hati menjadi tenteram, tenang dan merasa cukup serta bersyukur terhadap nikmat yang dimiliki, maka apa juga masalah yang melanda, kita akan mampu tangani secara bijaksana dan waras.

Janganlah benda atau keinginan material itu terlalu menjadi tekanan kepada kita. Contohnya, meniru atau membanding-bandingkan gaya hidup kita dengan orang lain seperti jiran, rakan sekerja atau sedaramara.

Keperluan kehidupan itu walaupun perlu ada tetapi biarlah ia berpadanan, berpatutan atau berwajaran dengan kemampuan yang kita ada.

Malah walaupun kita sebenarnya mampu, adakah ia adalah satu benda yg betul-betul kita perlu? Jika tidak perlu tetapi kita tetap mengingininya, itu adalah satu pembaziran.

gaji lumayan?

Footballer Ronaldo example of 'sky is the limit' for earning, but ...

Monday Starters - A weekly column by Soo Ewe Jin

CRISTIANO Ronaldo is now the most expensive football player in the world. The 24-year-old striker will be paid 13 million euros per season following his move to Real Madrid. And that’s not counting the money he will make through advertisements, sponsorships, and a share of merchandise sales.

That’s Real-ly a lot of money.

There is no doubt that Ronaldo is extremely gifted and can mesmerise all of us, on or off the pitch, but is he worth that much?

Why is a striker worth more than a goalkeeper? After all, the game’s result can be determined as much by the goals scored or the goals prevented. And what about the other nine people in the same team on the pitch?

The legendary Pele has urged Fifa to introduce a salary cap for players and warned that the vast sums of money changing hands in the game could taint its image for future generations.

“You get a player today that they announce in Manchester United, Real Madrid or Milan or any other team, and they kiss their shirt,” he was quoted in a news report.

“The next day, he goes to another team and he kisses that shirt. This, I think, is something we have to pay attention to for the next generation.”

This is the harsh reality of today’s world, be it in the world of sports, or in the corporate world.
We are always told that in a company, we are all part of the same team, and that everyone is an essential cog in the organisational wheel.

Still, within the same company, some people can earn more in a day than what the lowest paid worker gets in a month.

It is very hard to define what an honest day’s wage for an honest day’s work mean these days.
After all, it is very much a fact of life that some people can and do command astronomical incomes in certain positions.

From sports stars to celebrities and corporate high-flyers, the sky is literally the limit when it comes to making money.

and bla bla...

bla bla...

bla bla...

So whether you earn 13 million euros like Ronaldo or RM600 as an Indonesian maid, the reality of life and death is still the same.

yg last sekali nie yg aku rasa best sikit. sekurang2nya sejuk sikit hati aku. untuk rasa bahagia di dunia ini kita mesti berasa kecukupan dan syukur dgn apa yg ada. Mati x akan membawak satu sen pun. Biar lah mereka mendapat bahagian mereka di dunia ini. Kita perlu mengawal perasan tamak itu. Tetapi itu tidak bermakna kita tidak perlu berusaha...

hadiah hari jadi

Bolehkah anda buat mcm nie kat anak anda? Bila birthday ke 18 bagi duit RM1 juta contohnya. Terpulang bagaimana dia nak guna duit itu utk mencorakkan hidup dia. Huh! mesti best kalu dpt buat camni kannn..

AKTRES, Emma Watson tidak tahu dia mempunyai wang simpanan sebanyak RM58 juta sehinggalah dimaklumkan oleh bapanya pada hari ulang tahun kelahirannya yang ke-18 tahun lalu.

"Bapa saya tidak pernah memberitahu berapa banyak yang saya peroleh sepanjang berlakon dalam filem Harry Potter.

Kemudian, pada hari jadi saya ke-18, dia berkata: "Saya ingin kamu faham bahawa wang kamu bukan sesuatu yang berkonsep abstrak. Saya mahu kamu tahu nilainya dan apa yang kamu boleh lakukan dengannya'," katanya, dalam temuramah dengan majalah Elle baru-baru ini.

Kata Emma: "Ketika berusia 13 atau 14 tahun, ada remaja seusia saya datang menghampiri saya dan bertanya: 'Berapa banyak yang awak dapat dengan berlakon dalam Harry Potter.'

Memang saya terkejut dengan soalan itu kerana pada usia semuda itu, saya tidak dapat menilai betapa pentingnya wang sebanyak itu. "Dan apabila mengenang semula soalan mereka, saya rasa takjub, walaupun sebaya saya, mereka lebih tahu untuk menilai wang."

Nak tolong masalah kewangan diorang?

Eh! syok pulak aku paste article from Yahoo! kt sini. Sgt menarik utk dibaca dan sebagai peringatan untuk sapa2 yg nak beringat di masa hadapan atau masa yg terdekat nih. Nak tolong sedara? Nak tolong kawan? Tolong anda diri sendiri dulu...

What do you do when a family member becomes unemployed? Or suffers an unexpected injury and can't work or has insufficient insurance to cover mounting medical bills? How do you respond when you learn a loved one can't pay their bills?

Let's take a look at a few options you can consider to help your family members (or friends) in trouble - without hurting yourself financially.

1. Give a cash gift.

If your loved one is having a short-term cash flow problem, you may want to give an outright financial gift.

Decide how much you can afford to give, without putting yourself in financial jeopardy, and then either give the maximum amount you can afford all at once (and let your loved one know that's the case) or perhaps give smaller gifts on a periodic or regular basis until the situation is resolved.

Make sure it's clearly understood that the money is a gift, not a loan to be repaid, so you don't create an awkward situation for the gift recipient.

2. Give a personal loan.

Your family member may approach you and ask for a short-term loan.

Talk frankly, clearly write out the terms of the loan on paper, and have both parties sign it. This helps both parties be clear on the financial arrangement they're entering into.

Some loan details you'll want to include are:

• the amount of the loan
  
• whether the loan will be one lump-sum payment, or if it will be divided and paid out in installments upon meeting certain conditions (i.e. securing another job, paying down existing debt, etc.)
• 
  the interest rate you will charge for making the loan and how it will be calculated (i.e. compound or simple interest)
• 
  payment due dates (including the date of full repayment or final installment due)
  a recourse if he or she doesn't make loan payments on time or in full (i.e. increasing interest charges, ceasing any further loan payments, taking legal action, etc.)

3. Co-sign on a bank loan. (ahah! Ini namanya jadi Guarantor kt Malaysia nih!)

Your loved one may be interested in obtaining a loan or line of credit (LOC) to help with short-term financial needs but what if his or her credit requires getting a co-signer?

Would you be willing to co-sign on a bank or credit union loan or LOC? Before simply saying "yes" and essentially lending a family member your good credit, it's important to realize that there are legal and financial implications to co-signing on a loan.

The most critical thing to understand is that you are legally binding yourself to repay the loan if the other borrower fails to do so.

The lender can take legal action against you and require that you pay the full amount, even if you had an agreement between you and your family member (atau kawan baik kamu tu) that you would not have to make payments.

This delinquent loan will also now affect your personal credit. So if your sister/brother/uncle/friend/parter fails to make payments on the loan on time and in full the lender can report the negative account activity to the credit bureaus to file on your credit report which, in turn, can lower your credit score.

Co-signing a loan is serious business. The fact that your family members need a loan co-signer means that the lender considers them too great of a risk for the bank to take alone.

If the bank isn't sure they'll repay the loan, what guarantees do you have that they will???

It may also mean that you could have more difficulty getting a loan for yourself down the road, since you are technically taking on this loan and its payment as well. Before co-signing for a loan, make sure you:

• Ask for a copy of your family member's credit report, credit score, and monthly budget so you'll have an accurate picture of his or her finances and ability to repay the loan.
• Meet with the lender in person (if possible) and be sure that you understand all the terms of the loan.
• Get copies of all documents related to the loan including the repayment schedule.
• Ask the lender to notify you in writing if your family member misses a payment or makes a late payment. Finding out about potential repayment problems sooner rather than later can help you take quick action and protect your own credit score.

4. Create a budget and help create a bill-paying system.

Often, people in a financial crisis simply aren't aware where their money is going. If you have experience using a budget to manage your own money, you may be able to help your family in creating and using a budget as well.

To break the ice you may want to offer to show them your budget and your bill-paying system and explain to them how it helps you make financial decisions.

As you work together to help them get a handle on their financial situation, the process will point out places where they can cut back on expenses or try to increase their income to better meet their financial obligations.

5. Provide employment.

If you're not comfortable making a loan or giving a cash gift, consider hiring your family member to assist with needed tasks at an agreed-upon rate. This side job may go a long way towards helping them earn the money they need to pay their bills, and help you finish up any jobs that you've been putting off. Treat the arrangement like you would any other employee - spell out clearly the work that needs to be done, the deadlines and the rate of pay. Be sure to include a provision about how you'll deal with poor or incomplete work.

6. Give non-cash financial assistance.

If you're uncomfortable or unwilling to give your family member cash, consider giving non-cash financial assistance, such as gift cards or gift certificates. You'll have more control over what your money will be used for and you can easily buy gift cards in varying amounts at most stores.

7. Prepay bills.

You may want to consider prepaying one or more regular bills your loved one receives (i.e. rent/mortgage, utility bills, insurance premiums, etc.) to help them during their current financial crunch. Offering to do something, such as paying their car payment may help them avoid a short-term crisis and give them the little extra time they need to work out of their situation.

8. Help them find professional assistance and local resources. You simply may not wish or be able to provide your family member with financial assistance or hands-on help. But you can still play a key role by helping them find local professionals that can steer them in the right direction, such as:
Career counselor and employment agencies
Welfare agencies and similar services
Credit and debt counselors
Lenders who can provide short-term solutions

Conclusion

As always, the most important step is sitting down with them and asking specifically what help they need to work their way out of their current situation.

From there you'll have a better idea of the type of information and assistance they need. For example, if they need to make more money you could help them lookg for jobs and update their resume.

If they need help repaying credit card debt, you could call local credit counseling agencies to learn what services they offer, how much it costs and how it could benefit your family member.

Family members and money aren't always a good mix. But, in tough economic times or when faced with unexpected emergencies, your loved ones may truly need your financial assistance.

Before you commit to helping, be sure to think through what you can and can't afford to do.

Remember, if your own resources are limited, there are meaningful, effective, and creative ways to help your family member(s).

kawan2 atau sedaremare nk pinjam duit kamu?

Kadang2 mmg kita berdepan dgn masalah delicate mcm nih. Bila nak pinjam mmg sume janji mcm2. Manis muka dan sgt2 baik dgn kita. Bila dh bagi hutang buat2 lupa pulak. Xkan kita nak follow-up tiap2 bulan. Kena bagi reminder sms bagai.

Pulak tu ada yg aku buat loan tolong kasi dia berniaga. Tapi bulan2 lambat bayar. Sapa yg serve interest kt bank tu?! Loan atau agreement mmg kena tulis! Aku dh belajar dari pengalaman aku!

Personal lending, that is making or taking loans with friends and family, has been going on for just as long, but firm guidelines haven't developed because each circumstance is unique.

Reasons Against Personal Loans

There are strong reasons against giving a personal loan to family or friends. The biggest has to do with your own personal finances. Most people aren't really liquid enough to lose that money, and by assuming that all the money loaned will be lost, you'll quickly realize what size of loan you can reasonably make.

If you're dipping into a retirement account, emergency fund or other necessary fund to make the loan, it's not a loan you should be making. Family strife, tax problems and complacency - especially complacency - are some of the other things to worry about.

If your family or friends come to you for loans simply because you lend at a low (or no) rate, you are hurting your own finances to subsidize theirs.

A loan from a bank will help them build a good credit score, as well as financial responsibility. On the other side of the coin, when interest rates begin eating away at a borrower's paychecks, the bad habit of living outside of their budget may be broken.


The Difference Between a Loan and a Gift

The reasons against personal loans often evaporate in the face of emotional considerations, when one of your loved ones "needs the money."

In this case, you have to make a clear distinction between a gift and a loan. A gift has no expectation of repayment; a loan should be paid back in full, including any interest, and must be written down.

Giving a gift is a personal choice based mostly on emotion; making a loan has to be done in a logical manner.


Before Saying Yes

Before you give them the keys to the safety deposit box, however, you're entitled to ask some questions:

What is the money for?
Regardless of whether the loan is large or small, you have a right to know how it will be used. If the reason doesn't sit well with you (a vacation, rather than a mortgage payment), point your prospective debtor to the nearest bank.

How long will it take to pay back?
If the loan is a bridge loan to the next paycheck, you may feel comfortable with a zero-interest, no terms handshake. If the loan is of a significant size or will take more than a month to pay off, get it in writing.

Memories of the original agreement usually fade over time, so you will need documentation.

What's the prospective debtor's current financial situation?
Although this is often overlooked, you have a responsibility to yourself and the other party to make sure that he or she is in a decent financial situation before loaning money. It can be uncomfortable, but remember that the borrower came to you for money - not the other way around.

Think like a bank and, if their situation is too far gone, say no.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't help. Maybe you can offer to help pay for a financial planner rather than give a loan. One of the major flash points in personal loans is that the lenders realize too late that they've poured cash into a leaky boat. This leads to meddling after the fact. Since you no longer have bargaining power when the deal is done, nothing can be gained but resentment.

Coming to Terms

Verbal contracts hardly ever end well. Problems crop up even with small, short-term loans. For example, if the payment comes two months late and you had to put all your groceries on the credit card, then you actually lost money because of the loan - money you'll never get back, because there were no terms.

Writing up contracts for even the smallest loans will discourage people from constantly coming to you. Both parties should work together on the terms before signing.

Repayment Schedule

This should outline the size and date of each payment. It should also state what happens in the case of a missed payment.

You may choose not to have any penalties for late payments, but that can result in the loan payments taking the lowest priority in the monthly budget - and possibly being bumped in favor of less-than-necessary expenses like a night out on the town.

Conditions

Clear conditions need to be written up in the case of the death of either the lender or debtor. With family members, this is especially important because of the dispersion of the estate. If one child has received a $10,000 loan, and the estate pays $30,000 to each child regardless, then you've just turned your wake into a family feud.

You may want to add additional conditions according to the situation. For example, if you're lending to help someone buy a home, you can secure the loan to the property.


Make it Official

After getting the loan in writing, it's worth running it through a professional. Your lawyer or accountant will probably have some good advice on conditions and may act as a third party for the signing.

Small loans, may not be worth the cost of notarizing the contract, but large loans should be part of the legal record.

Conclusion

Personal loans can be a nightmare, if either of the parties fail to approach it seriously.

In the worst-case scenario, you've only loaned money you were prepared to lose and, if you choose, you have a legal document to back up a claim.

Macam mana nak dapat RM1juta yg pertama

Wei! Aku nak jadi kaya wei! Tapi... mcm mana nak dapat sejuta yg pertama nih? Nak dapat RM100,000 yg pertama pon susah...

Kepada mereka yg obsess article2 utk jadi kaya dijemput baca tulisan ini...

The Millionaire's Mindset

When your grandparents lamented that a dollar just isn't a dollar anymore, they weren't just bellyaching. Inflation attacks the value of a dollar, reducing it as time goes by so you need more dollars as time goes on.

That is one of the reasons that $1 million is often thrown around as a retirement goal. Back in 1900, a $1 million retirement would include a mansion and a bevy of servants, but now, it has become a benchmark for the average retirement portfolio. The upside is that it is easier to become a millionaire now than at any time before. While you won't be buying islands, it is still a goal worth shooting for. Read on for 10 ways to make your first million.

1. Stop Senseless Spending

It's easy to spend your way out of a fortune. Fortunately, the opposite is also true - you can save your way into your first million.

Most people working in North America right now will earn well over $1 million during their working lives. The secret to saving $1 million lies in keeping more of what you earn.

Just as extending your earnings offers a unique perspective, doing the same with your spending sheds a ghastly light on the waste. If you spend $5 every day of your working life on coffee, snacks, etc., you lose $73,000 of your lifetime earnings, making it that much harder to hit the $1 million mark in savings.

2. Prune Your Purchases

When you do have to spend, try to get the most utility, not simply the most you can.

The difference between great value and utility is a fine line. Buying too much house or too costly a car comes from confusing the two. If you shop for what you need and buy it cheaper than you'd planned, that's a great deal. By keeping the end use of large purchases in mind, you can avoid this drain on your cash.

Before paying more than you can afford, remember that Warren Buffet, a man who constantly jockeys for richest person on earth, still lives in his humble Omaha abode.

3. Target Your Taxes

Another leaky hole you need to plug is the parasitic drain of big government.

While you are expected to pay your taxes, it's the right of every taxpayer to try and reduce their tax bills to the absolute minimum allowed by law. Increasing your tax awareness means making taxes a quarterly chore rather than an annual scourge. Keeping abreast of allowable deductions, changes to your withholding and changes in tax limits will allow you to keep more of what you earn, so that you can put that money to work for you.

4. Crafty Compounding

Time is on your side when you've got compounding working on your savings.

The earlier you start saving and the earlier you get your savings into a financial instrument that compounds, the easier your path to $1 million will be. You may be thinking of tenbaggers or hot issues that return 10 times their value in a few weeks, but it is the boring, year-on-year compounding that builds fortune for most people.

5. Build Through Your Boss

If you're looking to save $1 million dollars for retirement, look no further than your boss.

With matching contributions, your employer can be your best ally when it comes to building up retirement funds.

If you think you need to squirrel away 20% of your income for retirement and your boss puts up 6% in matched contributions, then you're left with a much more manageable 14%. Even if you are your own boss.

6. Ramp-Up Your Retirement Savings

Rather than letting your boss's contribution lessen your load, try to put a little extra into your retirement plan whenever you can.

Automating your account contributions will make setting your money aside that much easier.

That said, making extra contributions a priority will speed up your journey to $1 million and make your golden years that much more golden. You don't have to eat cat food to do this, just keep your retirement in mind when you've got extra cash on hand.

7. Incremental Investing

If you've got your retirement portfolios where you want them and are ready to start a pure income portfolio, then incremental investing is an excellent way to begin.

You don't have to jump into the market with your life savings to make money. Even relatively small amounts can result in decent returns. The important thing to remember with your income portfolio is that capital gains taxes will be applied yearly to any income you pull out. Again, improving your tax awareness will help reduce the bite, but it takes time and knowledge to make one million solely from a taxable portfolio. Still, it has been done and will be done again.

8. Dare To Diversify

If your portfolio is made up entirely of American companies or is even all held in stocks, then you may need to diversify. In the first case, more and more financial activity is out there in the wider world. This doesn't just mean investing in emerging economies like China and India that are producing huge gains, but recognizing that there are companies in Europe and Asia that are just as good (maybe better) as investments in the U.S.

Diversifying also means not putting all your money into one type of asset.

Being a financial omnivore opens up that much more opportunity in times of growth and makes certain you won't go hungry when one source dries up.

9. Reconsider Real Estate

Owning real estate provides equity and diversity to your investments.

If you own your own home, then paying your rent builds up equity. If you invest in real estate, then someone else's rent builds up your equity.

Real estate investing isn't for everyone, but it has built fortunes for many savvy people.

Owning your own home, however, is usually a good idea regardless of your opinion on real estate bubbles. Peter Lynch, one of the greatest stock investors of all time, believed that you should own your first home before you buy your first stock.

10. Increase Your Income

There is nothing terribly romantic about becoming a millionaire while working a regular job, but it is probably the avenue available to most people.

You don't need to start your own business to pull in a high income, and you don't even need to pull in a high income if your saving, spending and investing habits are sound.

Asking for a raise, upgrading your skills or taking a second job will add that much more to your savings and investments and subtract that same amount from the countdown to your first million.

If you are entrepreneurial at heart, starting a business on the side can actually decrease your overall tax bill, rather than putting you in a higher income tax bracket.

************

The Three Ps

Persistence, patience and purpose are common traits that you'll find in every millionaire from John Jacob Astor to Bill Gates.

Even though inflation has brought the value of $1 million down from its lofty perch, you still need these traits to reach it. Why isn't everyone a millionaire? Maybe because it is easier to spend now, buy big and put off saving and investing than it is to sacrifice to reach the goal of becoming a millionaire.

Using the tips given here can help you on your way, but you have to be brave enough to take the steps - first, final and all the hard ones that lay in between.