One of the ‘advantages’ of inflation is that many people are closer to being millionaires than they might realise. And that’s because salaries and asset values tend to rise over time to keep up with elevating prices.
Nevertheless, I’m going to talk about a method for potentially getting there younger and faster. And it can be done from an armchair, kitchen table, study, or wherever we might go to access the internet.
It’s all about net worth
I read a post recently and the author said that all it likely takes to become a millionaire by our 60s is to avoid divorce and re-mortgaging. And to stick to a job with an average salary and a decent pension scheme.
And my mind started totting up paid-for assets. That includes the house, the SIPP pension, the new car, cash in the bank etc, etc. Do you know what, that poster could be right when we consider millionaire status as being all about net worth.
But I reckon a decent side hustle for potentially speeding up the journey to becoming a millionaire is to invest in equities within a Stocks and Shares ISA.
These days, the mechanics of investing in the stock market have become straightforward and inexpensive, thanks to the internet. Researching, buying, selling and holding stocks and shares involves just a few mouse clicks.
And it takes nothing more than a computer, tablet or smartphone to participate – equipment that most are glued to already these days. And we can do it from an armchair if we want!
Side hustle without the sweat
Now that’s the kind of side hustle I like. Not for me the act of starting some complicated internet business. Or rolling my sleeves up and doing some actual work. Although back in the day, my first ever side hustles were playing drums in a rock band and running a party disc jockey business.
But in my defence, the internet wasn’t an everyday feature of our lives back then. So modern folk have it easy – never forget that!
However, I digress. Let’s get back to the side hustles I’m engaged in now – in the era of the internet. One is sending out these articles to a long-suffering audience. And the other is investing in stocks and shares, as suggested.
So here’s how I’d get started if beginning all over again:
- Live below my means.
- Save money every month.
- Open a Stocks and Shares ISA.
- Select some tracker funds, or managed funds, or investment trusts, or all three.
- Divert money into my ISA account every month and have the account provider pay it directly into my selected investments automatically – usually at very low cost.
- When my investments have matured and the invested sum becomes sizeable, I’d think about shooting for higher returns. And I’d do that by investing in the shares of individual companies that I’d carefully researched.
And that’s it. There are no guarantees of a positive outcome. But if I keep up a programme of investment diversified over several underlying assets, history is on my side.
That’s because, over the long term, studies have shown the performance of stocks and shares in general has beaten all other major classes of asset. So I’m happy with my side hustle and plan to keep on doing it!
