The Truth About Millionaires
What do you envision when you think of a millionaire? Maybe you think of an expensive yacht floating around the warm, sunny Caribbean Sea. Perhaps you are thinking of a beautiful home in Hollywood, California. Or maybe it’s a high-rise apartment overlooking Times Square in New York City. Regardless, when most people think of being a millionaire, they imagine luxury and riches that they could never hope to attain.
The truth about millionaires is entirely different. Shockingly, according to a 2024 study conducted by Ramsey Solutions, one-third of millionaires never made six figures in any single working year of their career. Even more shocking, 62% of millionaires graduated from public universities or state schools. To surprise you even more, 79% of millionaires have never received any inheritance. These people don’t seem to have anything more than the rest of us have been given by God, so how do they achieve such wealth?
The Illusion of Luxury
First, the life of a millionaire is commonly not the life of luxury one would expect. Ramsey Solutions’ study further reports that almost 85% of millionaires rely on a shopping list to some degree. Discipline in how one spends their money is one of the keys to financial success.
In our world, there are endless ways to spend your money. Almost a third of Americans earning more than $200,000 a year said they were living paycheck to paycheck, according to a PYMNTS survey from 2024. You must take every step to avoid this if you want to build wealth in the future.
To achieve this, we need to recognize that there are expenses in all our lives that are not required. Just because an expense is unnecessary does not mean it is bad, but if done excessively, it can hold you back from your financial goals. For example, as of 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average household spent more than $325 monthly eating out. The millionaires in the Ramsey Solutions survey reported that they spend $200 or less at restaurants every month, saving more than $100 every single month compared to the average. If you analyze your financial plan carefully and avoid living above your means, you can free up a significant amount of capital.
Investing In Our Future
Now, what should one do with that capital? The self-made millionaires in the survey did not just sit on their resources. In the parable of the Talents, Jesus describes a master giving harsh criticism to a servant who buried money in a field and waited for his master’s return. These millionaires invested their money to ensure that they would be able to succeed in the future. 75% of the millionaires surveyed cited regular, consistent investment over a long period as the reason they succeeded.
The power of investment over time is incredible. Although starting early in life will yield the best results, there is no time like the present to invest the income you have freed up due to careful expense management. Over just a few years, your money will compound itself into many times what you put in. If you invest just $1000 now, in ten years, assuming the historical 30-year return of the S&P 500, that money will be almost triple what it was. If you include a contribution as small as $10 to your monthly investments, the money will grow to nearly $5000.
Beware of Lifestyle Creep
However, as your investments and salary grow, you must be wary of the temptation to increase your lifestyle. The temptation to spend more when we make more can be powerful. However, these habits can be disastrous if you lose your job or encounter turbulent economic times. The most sinister thing is that these lifestyle changes often creep in slowly over time. To reiterate, this is not to say that you cannot spend the resources God gives you on things that are not strictly needed. However, reviewing your financial plan or budget regularly to ensure these added expenses will not threaten your financial future is key.
The millionaire lifestyle is not generally filled with luxury, but the good news is that almost anyone can achieve it through sound financial decisions. It is critical to remember that these resources are not ours; they are God’s. We should not strive for economic success for our own gain but for the gain of God’s kingdom.
Faith & Finance Perspective
The treasures we can gain through careful financial planning are not ours, nor can we take them with us once we pass away. However, we can use those financial resources to store up treasures in heaven for ourselves by giving generously.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21
God has graciously given us ways to gain significant resources in our world. We should use those resources not to hoard earthly things but to bring all of Jesus to all the world. When we place our treasures in the work of Christ, that is where our hearts will lie.