The Frugal Gene family is pretty late to the party but thankfully this party is on a nonstop roller coaster and we’re totally psyched! This fledgling’s pledging for The Million Dollar Club founded by J.Money. Rock on!
Hey, who doesn’t want to be a millionaire?
This is a response to J$’s Million Dollar club via BudgetsAreSexy. There are now 189 club members and it’s all because of the shiny looking badge you get from that mohawked man with the shiny coin collection. Neat huh!
I am a firm believer that anyone can become a millionaire. In fact, I have a pretty good feeling that most people can become multi-millionaires if they tried. This is a mindset problem, not a money problem, you know what I mean?
People say, “when I get a million dollars, then I’ll be happy because I’ll have security,” but that’s not necessarily so. Most people who acquire a million dollars want another and then another. Or they could be like a good friend of mine who made and lost every dime of a million dollars. It didn’t bother him a bit. He wasn’t excited about it, but he explained to me, “Zig, I still know everything necessary to make another million dollars, and I’ve learned what to do not to lose it. I’ll simply go back to work and earn it again.”
– Zig Ziglar
You need a learned skillset to build wealth and have enough dexterity in your character to keep the wealth. The timeline and method don’t matter. The stock market doesn’t matter. They can help. What’s important is the promise you make to keep hustling and saving. Everything else is just a matter of time. There is security in nothing else. None. Do you know the phrase castles in the air? It means at one point or another our dreams are far more rooted in fantasy then execution. We’re all ‘castles in the air’ before we learn there’s nothing & no one else to bet on but ourselves.
⭐ Related Reads:
- 3 Signs When Being Frugal Doesn’t Work & What To Do About It
- Why Rich People Penny Pinch When They Don’t Have To?
- At What Age Does Being Broke Stop Being Cute?
In order for us to become millionaires, we pledge to the following for as long as our brains and bones are whole:
1. Fully Fund:
- Employees sponsored 401K
- IRAs
- Solo 401Ks
- HSA
No better hobby like maximizing your contributions. Everything above should total out to be about $60K a year that we have to throw in. Bye-bye money, see you later hopefully.
2. Sell Stuff We Don’t Need Anymore
Everyone has purchases they regret right? Yeah, buddy me too. I have an entire closet of regrets. I have an $800 electric unicycle (trial and error of living car-free)…a cotton candy machine (are you really surprised I have one? Do you know me at all?!)…and I would say about 25 dresses that I do not wear (because I have nowhere nice to go.) Craigslist has been my savior so far because I can sell things without a merchant fee or shipping fees. I need to make time to start selling that stuff!
3. Work Smarter & Earn More
There is Hubby’s work bonus (an annual grant of $20K if the hubby is good). I’m keeping an eye on Airbnb and making sure that this winter I will have a higher occupancy rate than last winter. It was only 95% last year because I adjusted my calendar’s way too slowly. Plus last winter was particularly snowy in the Pacific Northwest. Hoping for better luck this year!
I also need to step up in the passive income department thanks to Passive Income MD who has opened my eyes on the real challenge at hand. 7 streams!
4. Continue To Never Pay Retail
The last time I paid the full retail price for something was 7 years ago. There’s no cable bill or anything frivolous like that.
⭐ Related Reads:
- 7 Reasons You Shouldn’t Feel Embarrassed To Attend Community College
- How I Paid Off $20,000 In Student Loans Working Part-Time
- 15 Money Things Young Adults Overlook That Matter
5. Continue Paying the Mortgage
My husband snuck an extra mortgage payment in last year because he’s on team ‘paying it off early.’ We have a pretty good 4% interest rate so I’m not set on paying it early yet. We don’t have a mortgage thanks to Airbnb.
I can understand his thought process though. Hubby is risk-averse and I am more bratty with my cents. If I can get a higher return on a dollar, I will. Thankfully now that we have enough equity that even if the market tanks 30% as it did in the last miserable bubble – we’d still be in neutral. Hmm, I’m definitely not set on paying it off, I believe our local market in Seattle is driven by visual signs of the fundamentals.
? Related Reads:
- The Hefty Financials Costs Behind Owning a McMansion
- The Confessions of a Houseporn Addict
- 30 Tried-and-True Hacks To Lower Your Electricity Bill
6. More Credit Card Reward Hacking
Nope, not a typo! We churn credit cards so the extra pledge here is to churn responsibly. Never shall we leave a balance unpaid at the end of the month. Never shall we leave the fine print of a credit card…unread. (Seriously, read the fine print on all those offers and screenshot it for proof later if something doesn’t match up! They can be sneaky.)
7. Save More Money To Invest
This is the section we’re just not very excited about. I am fully behind the mindset of what Rocco’s motto, “just set it and forget it.” That’s because I don’t know what else to do with it but #TeamBogle. The exception is I take about $20K a year that is my play money and I throw it into fun stuff I don’t care about like BPT and TZOO. I tend to think of wealth beyond what we sack away in retirement as something that will forever be ambiguous.
8. Stay Married 🙂
I wake up every morning with everything I hold dear near me. My sweet brilliant rising star genius angel boy of a husband is next to me and Grace is curled up on the foot of the bed like a snarly toothed angel. What I can work on that has no ambiguity is my love for my two idiots: the hub and the pup.
(My husband and I have no children (yet) – but we will by March 2020 if this pregnancy goes well, ha!)
⭐ Relevant Reads:
- Frugality Is a Lifestyle That You Might Be Doing Wrong
- Facebook Bragging Can Be Annoying – And Ruin Your Finances Too
- Download Our Free Google Budget Sheet ?
9. More Dumpster Diving & Thrift Shop
Heh…heh…we’re a family of scavengers… This past weekend Hubby found two solid wood tables and my dad found a beautiful wardrobe in wonderful condition all within 3-4 blocks from our house. We’ve been hoarding the things we find hoping to restore it to either profit or use. That’s how we got our little dining set. Staining furniture is relaxing!
10. Learn To Do More House DIYs
My husband is amazing. He fixed the towel bar that an Airbnb guest pulled off the wall. He fixed all the leak and drains in our plumbing. Not to mention, he fixed a gasket on the roof and the shower three times on three different properties! He installed Nest thermostat after getting it new for just $50 (instead of the usual price of $200.) I’m totaling close to $800-$10,000 he has saved us in the past year from DIYs alone.
⭐ Recommended Reads:
- 10 DIYs For The Most Common Insect & Pest Infestation (On The Cheap)
- DIY Solutions To Common Plumbing Problems to Save Money
11. Focus More On Blogging & Online Projects
Blogs very rarely make good money, the majority of blogs do not make even a quarter. It takes a lot of effort and time to do it “professionally” by which I mean building a brand, gaining trust with readers and offering valuable content.
I pledge to keep The Frugal Gene and all of my other projects online trucking on until I’m old and gray!
I think I can offer value and even The Frugal Gene never gain traction when I’m a millionaire toothless 90 years old, I would be pretty amused to read the ramblings of a once young me!
You can become a millionaire with these set of things: correct mindset, handwork, money smarts & leverage….dumpster diving optional. That’s up to you.
⭐ Recommended Reads:
- How I Made Over $2,400 on MTurk With This Survival Guide
- 11 Real Ways You Can Make Money With Your Car?
- Can Being a Friend-For-Rent Really Make Extra Money? – Rent A Friend Review
Summary
The skillset required to be a millionaire is just as important as the long journey getting there. If we save the knowledge, hold the intent and the build the character – buddy, buddy everything will be just fine.
Awesome pledge! And with a NW or $800K, I have no doubt you’ll hit your goal soon 🙂 I like the dumpster diving and DIY aspects to you goals. Mr. AR and I have found some of our favorite possessions on the side of a road or made them via DIY projects.
Thank you Mrs. AR! I saw your pledge and I thought woop, better get started too hahaha. I love dumpster diving and DIY stories if you wanted to share!
At least you listed your hub before the pup. I live in constant fear that if my wife of 39 years had to choose between me and her Charlie (100 lbs of teeth and muscle) that I’d sure miss them.
Hahahaha it’s never fun being the 3rd wheel. I know how you feel! Our pup’s very close to my husband and much less me. I heard male dogs like female owners and female dogs gravitate towards the male partner. So far so true!
Wow this is a fascinating post. Great job, Lily!
I didn’t know the club existed. I need to look into it to see how Mr. FAF and I can join. It reminds me of The Giving Pledge list where billionaires pledge to give most of their wealth away. Mr. FAF and I have been dreaming about doing that haha (unlikely to be billionaires but likely to give more when we’re more financially established 😉 ).
We got a ton of furniture from dumpster diving. My in-laws also joined us in this adventure when we bought our house. It was so much fun! You hub sounds like a great handyman. I am the handywoman in the FAF household (with the help of Youtube and Google). 😀
Lol I missed this comment. Omg yes you are. YOU’RE FREAKING INCREDIBLE. I have so much respect for handy women because I’m not one at all.
Thanks for posting. I too had not heard of this club but will be joining.
What do you mean by by IRA x 3 under fully funded? Does that include some kind of SEP IRA in addition to a Roth/Traditional?
Here’s the link Grant! 🙂 can’t wait to read your pledge! http://www.budgetsaresexy.com/my-millionaire-to-do-list/
I wrote this way too late at night…oops. I meant Solo 401K not Sep. We have my dad’s IRA (traditional) so it’s 3 but there’s also the contributions towards a mega roth through the employee match that I didn’t specify.
Oh, Lily. You made a simple country trash-picker upper in North Carolina very happy. Thank you so much for the shout out. And I totally concur with the message of this post. Anyone, providing he or she is disciplined and is of sound mind and body, can become a millionaire. One of my co-workers from my public service days became a millionaire by the time he was forty. He wasn’t brilliant. He only had a high school degree. And he didn’t have a monster salary. I think he was making around $45K at his government job when he crossed the millionaire threshold. So what was his secret? He worked his butt off at his side-hustle and he was a voracious saver. He had a landscaping business that netted him an additional $20-$25K annually. And just about every dime he made from landscaping went into his brokerage account mutual fund. Yes, it’s amazing what hustle, discipline, and time can do for one’s net worth. Great freakin’ post, Lily. You and Jared are an inspiration.
Oh my gosh Mr. G, you are just the *sweetest* (and Mrs. G too!) But you’re not a trash picker upper silly!!! It’s called cleaning up the planet!!
Awesome post Lily!
Just by having this mindset and the hustle you have, you will be there for sure one day. It is awesome you have found a great support system to help as well. My wife surely has helped me on the path to FI.
The trash panda line had me rolling! I have considered doing this a few times but just never done it. I read about the guy that would dumpster dive businesses and make six figures and thought it would be a fun adventure to try out.
Can’t wait to see the progress! Your site and posted budget definitely push me to get better and I may consider getting my budget put out there for all to see! Thanks for the post!
Lily great post!
It looks like with your amount of hustle you will be at your goal in no time! It is awesome to have a great support system as well. My wife has helped me so much in our journey to FI.
The trash panda line had me rolling! I have considered doing this a few times but never actually gotten to it. I read about a guy that scavenges business dumpsters and makes 6 figures. Crazy!
Your budget and goals are definitely pushing me to add my budget to the internet to make myself even more accountable. I can’t wait to see the progress you make on this goal! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you SSDD 🙂 did we read the same article? I read that too! This guy brought old fridges and washing machines etc. fixed it up and sold it! Makes huge profits!
You don’t have to but it’s not that scary. I was hesitant about adding our budget and worth too but after doing it once and it’s like “heyyy, not so bad.” I like to peek at other blogger’s budgets too so it’s only fair hehe.
You’re almost there and I have no doubt you’ll hit your goal! Sounds like you understand that it takes both reducing your expenses and increasing those income streams. Where’s Jared’s DIY blog? That’s your next income stream… boom! You’re welcome haha…
He’s working on the DIY post right now actually! And we both read your crowdfunding post! Argh, so unattainable!
So unattainable??? Why do you say that?
The minimums are really high. I think you need $1 million in assets (not including primary residence) to qualify? @_@! I’ll be 40 by then!
I think the biggest skill set for me to become a millionaire is living with less so that I can live with more later on 🙂 I think too often people are looking for the hot stock tip to help them become a millionaire when in reality adjusting your spending will get you there a lot quicker 🙂 But that’s boring and doesn’t sell newspapers!!!
Exactly MSM!! Exactly!!! Our entire focus is wrong. If you did get rich quick, you’re much likely to get poor quick too.
Wow you guys are doing awesome. So true that it is often a mindset problem…not a money problem. I’m interested in hearing more about the rental property and AirBnb. Do you use the rental property as an AirBnb or do you rent out a portion of your primary residence?
Thank you Andrew! We do both! Our primary and rental are both AirBnBs, we love it that much! I’m writing a 3 part series about AirBnB, it’s taking lots of time but it’s coming up 🙂
Wow, you’re so close to being a millionaire. I’m not overly frugal but to me it’s all about saving as much money as I can each month while still having the freedom to enjoy life. As long as I’m maxing out the 401k, the ROTH and putting any extra cash into stocks or other investments, I’m happy.
I’ve also gotten the fiancee on board and she’s maxed her Roth for the past three years and is contributing more to her 401k(although her 401k is pretty crappy) so that’s exciting on that front!
That sounds like the right idea TITM ?
I have trouble with my own…frugality sometimes and I believe in balance. As long as you’re saving money and having fun, I don’t think the extra dollar amount is worth it. That’s why I’m refusing to cut anymore off our food budget. My belly loves food!!
Good luck. You’re almost there.
Thank you!!