There are more than 10 million millionaires in the world and I want to be one of them. It isn’t to brag or boast to all my family and friends. Being considered a millionaire wouldn’t change the way I spend money, the car I drive, or the clothes I wear.
It’s just personal.
Never had a millionaire in the family (at least I never heard of any). We all came from the working middle class doing our best with money. It wasn’t taught to any of us, we just had to learn about it through trial and error.
Could you imagine logging down your net worth and you see a whopping million there?
I’d probably flip out! But then I’d be able to share with the next generation how it was done so they could continue passing the knowledge to their next of kin. It’d be a site to witness.
A single income family man becoming the first generation to have a million dollar net worth? Sign me up for the challenge.
But how does one go out and set a goal to become a millionaire? Well the first word that comes to my head is strategically. A plan needs to be laid out and followed if this has any chance of succeeding.
Let’s breakdown the process of setting goals with a personal goal of mine, becoming a millionaire.
Table Of Contents
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Timely
- Conclusion
What is the plan to become a millionaire? First I’ll have to create a goal. Just saying “I want to become a millionaire” isn’t enough, there has to be more to it. I need to have checkpoints that tell me where I am on the timeline and am I behind or ahead of my perceived schedule.
That’s where the S.M.A.R.T. method comes into play. Sure by now, everyone’s heard of this process of setting goals but if you haven’t, here it is.
SMART
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Timely
Specific
The first step in setting a SMART goal is to state the goal as clearly and specific as you can be. I want to become a millionaire is clear and very specific enough, in my eyes at least.
Don’t make it complicated.
Once my net worth has two commas and seven digits, clearly that means I reached my goal. Anything less than that, well that means I still have a ways to go. So this is pretty specific and clear for the first step.
The harder parts of setting goals come later after this step. This step just lays the foundation of what’s to come.
My Specific millionaire goal is I want to become a Millionaire!
Measurable
The second step in setting a SMART goal is the ability to measure any progress, gain or loss, in some way.
For example, just as a marathon runner passes the 13-mile mark, they’ve measured that 50% of the race is behind them or they’ve passed the halfway point. They know to complete the marathon, they have to finish 26.2 miles. Every mile they complete gives them a measurement of how much they have left to the finish line.
Applying this same concept to my goal of becoming a millionaire is fairly simple. I’ll be tracking my progress every month when I calculate my net worth. It’ll be done at, or near, the end of each month probably until forever.
I thoroughly enjoy updating my net worth. It’s a natural FI-high for me.
Tracking the progression of my net worth will give me cues whether I’m heading in the right direction or something is happening and needs further attention. It will be treated like “mini-checkpoints” on my way to becoming a millionaire.
My Specific and Measurable millionaire goal is I want to become a Millionaire! I will track my progress every single month as I update my personal net worth tracker.
Achievable
The third step in setting a SMART goal is making it realistic and achievable.
Everyone wants to dream big right? But having big, audacious dreams, while good to have, could deter one off the path simply because it isn’t remotely achievable at all.
Becoming a millionaire is achievable. How do I know this? Like I stated earlier, there are over 10 million of them in the world today. I wouldn’t be the first one to achieve it nor will I be the last.
So many others have paved the way so I know for a fact I can to.
The other thing I need to think about is has it been achieved in my family before or will I be the first? It’s never been done in my family, at least not to my knowledge.
To be the first generation millionaire in my family would be a huge achievement. As huge and lofty as that sounds, I’m up for the challenge.
Besides, telling myself that it isn’t possible only instills a limiting belief which I’m not about to have. That fixed mindset is not what I need to become a millionaire.
How much will I need to invest each month to become a millionaire?
According to this investment calculator, I’ll need to invest at least $2,240 per month for 10 years to reach a million dollars. The average annualized return for the stock market is about 10%. That seems pretty achievable at the moment.
But there is a slight caveat here.
I’ve only calculated what was in my retirement account. The other assets aren’t shown in the calculator because it would have taken a lot more work to figure out. You can see those listed separately every month.
So to keep it simple, I can safely say that with my retirement account alone, the millionaire status is within reach if I give myself at least 10 years to achieve it.
The world will have at least 10 million and ONE people in the world soon 10 years from now.
My Specific, Measurable, and Achievable millionaire goal is I want to become a Millionaire by consistently investing $2,240 every month with returns of at least 10%. I will track my progress every single month as I update my personal net worth tracker.
Relevant
The fourth step in setting a SMART goal is finding the importance of the goal as it pertains to you. Having goals that benefits others but not yourself won’t supply the fire to tackle the goal day in and day out.
Seeking importance in a goal comes down to asking myself, who is this goal for?
I guess simply put, it’s for me. It’s a personal goal to be considered a millionaire. To say that I’ve reached that point in my personal finance would rock my world. But then I think to myself, once I become a millionaire, then what?
When I think of that question, the reason why I’m doing what I’m doing has to go deeper than just for me. The power of asking yourself “why” helps peel back the layers and expose the real reason for the goal.
Why do I want to become a millionaire? Being a millionaire, to me, means to be wealthy.
Why do I want to be wealthy? I want to be wealthy because wealth gives me freedom.
Why do I want freedom? Freedom means time. Freedom is opportunity. Freedom allows me to freely do what I want when I want.
Why do I want more time? I want to be present in my family’s lives. I want to see my children grow up and not miss important events because of work.
Why is being present for my family important to me? It shows my kids and my wife that I am there for them, through thick and thin. They can rely on me knowing I did everything I could do to be there for them.
Why? Because without my family, I am nothing.
So on the surface level, being a millionaire would put me in an unimaginable realm of wealthy people whom no one in my family has ever been a part of. It’d be a nice little feather in my cap.
But the deeper, more internalized reason for achieving the goal of becoming a millionaire means I have the freedom to spend with my family whenever I want. Time is rare – having more of it would grant me more memories with those I love.
My Specific, Measurable, Achievable, and Relevant millionaire goal is I want to become a Millionaire by consistently investing $2,240 every month with returns of at least 10%. I will track my progress every single month as I update my personal net worth tracker. Achieving this would give me more time and more freedom to spend with my family, whom without them, I am nothing.
Timely
The fifth step in setting a SMART goal is applying the “when” portion to the goal. In other words, the amount of time that is realistically required to complete this goal.
Just saying “I want to become a millionaire” doesn’t explain how long I plan to take. Will it be 5 weeks, 5 months, or 5 years? No matter what period is chosen, it needs to be close to what is possible. Otherwise, just picking a time out of thin air won’t help the goal stick.
What would be a good timeline for my goal of becoming a millionaire?
That’s fairly easy – since I figured that out in the Achievable step of setting goals.
It should take me an estimated 10 years to achieve my millionaire goal. This is solely based off of my retirement account, and nothing else. I’d say that is highly possible.
So 10 years from today puts me just shy of turning 44 years old. That’s my timeline then. Before my 44th birthday, I want to become a millionaire.
My Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely millionaire goal is I want to become a Millionaire before my 44th birthday by consistently investing $2,240 every month with returns of at least 10%. I will track my progress every single month as I update my personal net worth tracker. Achieving this would give me more time and more freedom to spend with my family, whom without them, I am nothing.
Conclusion
There it is – all laid out – in cyberworld for the world to see. My SMART goal of becoming a millionaire, the plan to achieve it, and the length of time I’m giving myself to accomplish it.
Setting a SMART goal is extremely vital to achieving success. It sets your personal GPS to a pre-set destination. Fall off track a little then just recalibrate to align again. But the goal needs to be determined first before setting out on the journey.
Hopefully you gained some insight to setting SMART goals to become a millionaire or anything you dream of becoming and can take away a fragment to help with your goals.
Have you set goals for yourself using the SMART method? How will you measure your goals? Is your goal truly achievable? What is your “why”? How much time do you have to achieve your goal?