A spin-off from another post I made, let's talk about good ideas on building wealth, saving money, and handling money. I'm a big advocate of Dave Ramsey's program: the Total Money Makeover. He has 7 steps:

Step ---> Goal
Step 1 ---> Emergency fund of $1000 in the bank not to be touched except ONLY for emergencies
Step 2 ---> Debt Snowball - pay off all debts smallest to largest except for the house
Step 3 ---> Fully funded emergency fund of 6 months of bills and expenses not to be touched except ONLY for emergencies
Step 4 ---> Put 15% into retirement fund (Largecap, Midcap, Overseas, Aggressive Growth) & ROTH IRA's
Step 5 ---> College fund for the kids with an ESA
Step 6 ---> Pay off the house
Step 7 ---> Build wealth - have fun, invest, and give
a) Enough money to pay bills (break even) off interest (assumes 08% return)
b) Enough money to make comparable income off interest (assumes 08% return)

I'm almost half-way through step 6. I hope to have my house paid off in the next 3 to 5 years which would have it paid off in less than 11 years from the day I bought it. Then it's time to build wealth!

Some other thoughts: NEVER EVER EVER use credit cards. Don't fall into the trap that EVERYONE needs a credit card - STOP making banks rich! If you can't afford it, don't buy it. Don't buy new cars and save up cash to buy any vehicle - drive a $1000 beater if you have to. Cars go down in value VERY quickly. Don't fall into the trap that EVERYONE has a car payment. Don't run up tons of student debt. Save up or work as you go. Your wealth is your greatest income building tool. Either get a nice high paying job or get several small paying jobs and pile up the cash. Clip coupons. Limit eating out. SELL STUFF! Use EBAY, Craig's List, or have yard sales! I'll think of other ideas later.

Your real life bankroll is a lot like your poker bankroll, when you start off, it seems very small and like it will never grow, but if you stick with it, it will SPIRAL towards wealth similar to how good poker players spiral up the stakes from $2NL to $200NL. By making bad decisions, it's a lot like all the bad players who take shots and constantly make bad decisions and wonder why they keep getting knocked down or think it's rigged.

The average millionaire is not the flashy athlete or Hollywood star. The average millionaire clips coupons, drives a used car, and doesn't borrow money. It is usually someone like your next door neighbor who you wouldn't even think has over a million dollars.