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what are the steps to make a million dollars at a young age?

young kid from California in the 12th grade at Balboa high

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Christy’s Answer

There are lots of ways to make money, and I hope people have ideas for you! Here are my top two suggestions:

1. Starting a business or creating a product (preferably that sells for a lot)
2. Investing from a young age.

Starting a business that someone else wants to buy is difficult and could be costly, its not for most people but you can make a lot of money this way. My suggestion would be to start investing as soon as possible and learn a bit about personal finance. Investing is not difficult or scary once you begin. I tried picking up books in college on investing and, like most books on investing, they were unnecessarily complicated and very overwhelming, so, I thought I was too dumb to understand. I wish I had asked around and learned about low-cost index funds when I was 18.

Here are the books I would recommend to learn more:
*The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins (about low-cost index funds and the power of compounding - he will even tell you what to buy from where)
* I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi (personal finance simplified and easy to read, you will also learn about retirement account options)
* if you make it through those two, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki (He's a bit out of touch) but has some helpful hints about finances, life, making and keeping money.

Here are some podcasts I would recommend:
* Choose FI - this is about getting to financial independence
* So Money - all things personal finance
* Financial Feminist
* Money with Katie

If you're itching to be more entrepreneurial a few good podcasts to listen to:
* The Side Hustle Show with Nick Loper
* My First Million
* The Jordan Harbinger Show

Cheers
Thank you comment icon This was super helpful, thank you! Evan
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david’s Answer

Dennis,
That's a nice thought, having a million dollars at a young age. Speaking from life's experiences, I can state that such a lifestyle must be high-risk. A regular job, regardless of salary, will never come close. Starting a typical small business also won't get you there unless it is unique and attracting heavy buying activity and you're open to a quick sale. Whatever approach you decide, you must be prepared for significant loss. That is true for anyone, regardless of age, who wants a significant spike in income over a short period. For example, you might invest $1,000 on margin. Overnight, you might have $10,000. But you could also wake up $10,000 in debt instead. I admire your enthusiasm, but I encourage you to also consider the risk. All the best to you.
Thank you comment icon Thank you for sharing your perspective. Evan
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Anthony’s Answer

Hello Dennis,
There is no step by step to get there.
If there is, everyone will be millionaire by just follow it. And if I have a step by step to make you a young millionaire, I will make a fortune selling it.

If you have a million-dollar idea, you can make millions of ollars at any age! Do you have one?

The desktop computer created a lot of opportunities and a few young millionaires/billionaire (Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Michael Dells to name a fews.) These people had big ideas and worked on them.

The Internet/WWW created the dot-com opportunities and another list of young millionaires/billionaire (Jerry Yang, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin...)

Then the cellular phones (smart phones) created the mobile apps opportunities and another millionaires/billionaire list (Jack Dorsey, Evan Spiegel, Mike Krieger, Kevin Systrom.)

And recently in the news (in the last few years) Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning are making headline. So, what is your million-dollar idea for this coming opportunity?

Explore the opportunities. Use your knowledges. Dream big and aim for the moon. If you miss, you will land among the stars.

Good luck.
Anthony
Thank you comment icon Thank you, this is really helpful. Evan
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Andrew’s Answer

A more likely scenario is to save a million dollars by a young age. I've included a great place to start. ChooseFI, standing for Choose Financial Independence, is part of the FIRE movement - Financially Independent Retire Early. I've included the link to their "essential list" from their podcast library. However, pick what interests you; that would be a great place to start.

I've also included a link to some articles about building wealth at YOUR AGE. If I had to pick one thing I wish I had known about when I entered the military at 19, it was house hacking - buying a 2-4 unit house and renting to my friends. It would have been the greatest leap toward being a millionaire at a young age.

Read up, and good luck on your journey!

Andrew recommends the following next steps:

https://www.choosefi.com/podcast-essential-listening-guide/
https://www.choosefi.com/read/blog/?_tag=second-generation-of-fi
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