Eight Steps to Seven Figures The Investment Strategies of Everyday Millionaires and How You Can Become Wealthy Too

You Can Be a Millionaire InvestorI think my experience proves that you don't have to be smart or have any special talent. Time and consistency are the key factors. John Conmed, New York, $5.5 million investment portfolioThere are some eight million millionaires in the United States. My guess is that you are not one of them. That doesn't have to be the case. Anyone can invest his or her way to a million dollars. Anyone. How? By following the eight simple steps in this book. You Don't Have to Kill Bugs to Be a Millionaire Notice I said anyone can invest his or her way to a million dollars. A lot of books have been written in recent years about millionaires. Where they live. What they wear. What they drive. In short, we know a lot about who they are. We know less, however, about how they got their millions. Oh sure, the books tell us that typical millionaires live below their means. They make building wealth a priority. They possess college degrees. Still, at the end of the day, many of these millionaires gained their wealth partly through means not available to most of us. For example, in their bestselling book The Millionaire Next Door, Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko write that two thirds of millionaires are self-employed. More than one fifth of the typical millionaire's wealth is tied to his or her private business. These millionaire entrepreneurs are welding contractors, auctioneers, rice farmers, and paving contractors. They own mobile-home parks and pest-control services. So there you have it. In order to be a millionaire, you have to be a bug killer. Fortunately, that's not the case. You can be a retired college professor, like Millie S., fifty-eight years old and single, who has an investment portfolio worth $1.6 million. How did she do it? Simple. Millie started investing at age fourteen. She bought industry leaders, such as McDonald's, Walgreen, and Exxon. Stocks everyone knows. Stocks everyone could own. She held her stocks for ten years or longer. Or you can be an engineer, like Pat J. Pat, fifty-seven, lives with his wife in Virginia. He's worked for the same company for thirty-seven years. Pat, who began investing at age thirty-two, has an investment portfolio of nearly $2 million. How did Pat do it? He bought quality stocks. Pat's largest stock holdings are such familiar names as AT&T, Dell Computer, Lucent Technologies, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Stocks everyone knows. Stocks everyone could own. Pat also took full advantage of his employer's 401(k) retirement program. In short, Millie and Pat got rich using vehicles and strategies available to anyone, including yourself. You Can Be a Millionaire Investor How do I know anyone can invest his or her way to a million dollars? Because I've seen it done over and over again by individuals who are probably a lot like you. Individuals like Millie and Pat. Or like my friend Saul. Saul is seventy-six years old. Saul has $2 million in stocks and bondsa nice portfolio by any yardstick. What is especially noteworthy about Saul's seven-figure portfolio is that Saul didn't start investing until he was in his sixties. "I didn't have any money to invest prior to that," says Saul. Saul built his portfolio using basic approaches that you'll find in this book. Saul focused on quality stocks that were leaders in their industriesProcter & Gamble, Exxon, General Electric, Intel. Nothing fancy, just solid companies with solid prospects. Saul reinvested dividends. He bought stocks on a regular basis. He held them for a long, long time. "Sometimes I wondered if I knew what I was doing. Sometimes I still wonder," says Saul. His $2 million portfolio is evidence that Saul knew enough. Or coCarlson, Charles B. is the author of 'Eight Steps to Seven Figures The Investment Strategies of Everyday Millionaires and How You Can Become Wealthy Too' with ISBN 9780385497329 and ISBN 0385497326.