One million is not so much these days. As many of those who commented on my previous article “Are you a millionaire in the making” said, P1 million can hardly buy you an SUV.
But that P1 million figure remains a psychological milestone, one that gives status and encourages a person to do more. Certainly, someone who has hit a net worth of P1 million will not stop there.
I found myself going through online groups reading how people have made their first million –- and it’s pretty addictive! Heh.
So, those who have hit that first million, why don’t you share your story? Who knows, it can be a source of inspiration to those who are still on that journey. You can begin by considering the following questions:
- Did you inherit your money?
- Did you inherit properties?
- Did you marry someone rich?
- Did you start a business and became successful?
- Did you do it by saving regularly?
- Did you do it by investing aggressively?
- Did you make your first million by working as a professional overseas?
i dont knwo why anyone would admit 1-3? there's nothing special about it.
4-6 is what i'm doing.
my dad did 5 & 7.
Did you start a business and became successful? My family and I started a lending business and the profit is good.
Did you do it by saving regularly? I also did it by saving regularly from my salary when I was still in the Philippines.
Did you make your first million by working as a professional overseas? Part of my first million is from me and my husband working abroad.
I did it by the long usual and normal way! After graduating from college, I invested my time and effort for 8 years in a local job which I know that the same job in overseas pays 10times greater or more for which I am currently in.
Now that I have the resources, I would like to do another but hopefully this time by the short way.
OMG, i made mine a couple of months back. I was set back a few months since I spent a big chunk of my savings in my wedding and regular travels (backpacking still costs money though my blog earns money to pay for my trips now)
it's quite easy if you have the discipline, don't have kids yet, double income and still practice practicality. much of my salary goes straight to condo payments that'll be over in a year's time.
me, just 5,6,7.
Win Lotto... just kidding, this was not mentioned in the considerations.
5&7 for me.
Planning to do 4 in the future.
I made my first million pesos at 24 by diligently saving and then investing in stocks, and my first million dollars 10 years later by studiously continuing to save and invest in stocks. That figure has since then tripled and I'm now 41. I've also expanded to real estate and now own homes in different countries -- some of which I rent out for income. I didn't inherit anything but I had the good fortune to also marry a very rich man who is himself a millionaire in dollar terms many times over. But still I manage my own money and work hard every day at my day job. It's nice to be financially independent from either family or spouse.
I did my first million working as professional overseas in just a matter of 4 months. but unfortunately i was not able to taste cents of my earnings becasue my salary is going and deposited directly to my mothers account in the philippines, i may only be able to enjoy and invest my money if i take my vacation from my work.
Almost there, its a mix of 4 & 5
my 1st million is essentially half from showbiz windfall (the eventful, exciting half :D ) and half from professional career (d dull n boring half). Not much even then but hey! crossing 7 digits already buys you bragging rights hehehe :D
I knew this "1-M pesos isn't enough" thing will come out someway. I remember reading of a millionaires' club in Shanghai requiring a minimum of 2M yuan ($290k). In which case the best million to aim for these days is more like a million Malaysian ringgit ($310k or P 13.5M).
i did it by saving regularly... made my next million by investing... next one after that, i inherited (property)... and now, i am also able to add some more by being able to work overseas... life is great. i'm blessed : )
im currently busy getting my first million. =)
it's tough, but i'm doing it the 6 & 7 ways.
www.myfirstmillion.info
1 to 4 is a NO.
i got my first million with 5 and 7 PLUS 6 with my mother's help.
I got my first million by pathway nos. 5&7 (eg. by working abroad and saving my income regularly). Im planning to get a couple more from these pathways (5&7) depending on my "lifespan" working abroad, and later maybe include pathways nos. 4&6 to get me another couple or more of those million$$.
As to pathways 1-3, hmmn...no way, not even in my wildest dreams.lol
I worked hard at #3
My wife and I saw our first million in our bank account as OFWs. That was the easy part. For us, the barrier was our small appetite for making riskier investments other than those offered by banks.
We assessed that investment properties are for us as they carry acceptable risks. We made a breakthrough last year by making our first purchase. Now, we are in process of closing the deal for two more. All paid in cash. The best thing about this is that we are now free from regular monthly remittances as these properties covers our family support expenses.
earned it the old fashion way, saving regularly (5)..
At 13, my neighbor washed clothes for PhP5/day to help out her family. Fetched water from the well for 25 cents/pail to earn school allowance. At 16, she worked as a maid for relatives in Manila who promised to send her to college, never happened. At 18, went to HK to work as a maid so she can send her siblings to school. At 22, she met a kindly expat who petitioned her on fiance' visa to the US. Two months later, they had a lovely hotel wedding with his family and friends. She was by herself. Fast forward 8 years later... She picks me up at the airport in a BMW to bring me over to her $2M Orange County beachfront house that she shares with her businessman husband, 3 children, and a large dog. She is currently acing her college subjects, and still supports her family in the Philippines. She still does the laundry, cooks meals, and cleans the house, but she now holds the pursestrings. She did 7 as a stepping stone albeit as maid, got 3, and 4 by default. I still think there is something pretty special with her story.
i (half-conciously) made my first milliion before the age of 30. i was then a striving OFW.
until now, i am still an OFW and constantly focused on the item no. 5 of your list.
you are right, when you hit your first million, you'll never be content to have a savings lower than that.
keep saving folks, it's one of the closest path to having a fat bank account.
john in china
5 and 7
I broke the 1 million barrier by working five years in the Philippines and two years abroad.
I'm partially doing 6 right now.
By saving regularly and investing aggressively. Raised 400k in 1991 to acquire a lot and build a house. I bought the lot cheap since it was a newly developed subdivision and the construction cost was low since I bought the materials myself and no contractor. After 3 yrs. its market value rose to 1.5M. My net worth exceeded 1M. I was 25. Now it’s 40x more.
5, 6 and 7.
I got my first million when I was 29.
Planning to do # 4.
first million came from 5-7.
esp #6: stocks, stocks and stocks!
Passive income coming from cash paying telco companies.
keep texting guys! =D
@DB
wow nice rags to riches story, it really pays to dangle yourself to rich would-be spouse. The story is really special and "hesitantly" inspiring. Kaso lang Parang half-baked. Iba pa rin if you made it on your own.
Nevertheless if ever i win lotto, to heck with 1-7, it all goes down the drain.
saving as much as i could consistently was main method of gaining first million; investing in stocks helped, too.
right now, lying-low in stocks. just saving regularly...slow process, but every peso counts baga...
also wishing like dinarman for a windfall! :-)
mine via 5 and 6
my husband via 3 but he doesnt know it.
My family was not well off but by hard work of my mother our family business which started in a wet market grew to where it is now. I was only 5 years old when I started working for our family business . When teenagers were doing gimmicks I had my own business which was earning me 50k a year
Even before i went to college , our family business awarded me and siblings of breaking that 1M mark.
Now I am a executive working aboard and earning very good salary . I still invest and save infact my phone is only worth $35.
I am able to expand my net value by things I learned from our business and my mom.
Hard work , study hard , pay your credit card in full, invest and living within your means.
5,6 and partly 7 since I had several work assignments abroad (US and Europe). Achieved it several months ago at age 29. Some say that's a little late but considering I have some friends older than me who are barely surviving paycheck-to-paycheck, I'm quite happy where I am.
Goal is to achieve increase it 15x in the next 4 years.
Key thing: Make sure you work hard for the money at the same time your money is working harder for you.
I just made mine just a few months ago with no. 7. Now I realize that it is still not enough. It'll be gone the instant I buy a new car. Maybe 10 million is the new 1 million mark.
me? we'll i won a million dollar case - how about that?!!!
you guys are very inspiring! :) with hard work and money-smart, i hope to be a millionaire like you :)
just don't forget to pay-it-forward to the less fortunate so that we may have a better world.
In a 3rd world nation rife with corruption, greed, extreme inequality...honestly, I don't think we're there yet to be asking this question since most surely have utilized questionable means to attain the status further enslaving the nation. Perhaps, more appropriate would be to ask "How did/do you spend the million you've earned"...all would benefit from knowing who's the idiot who'd feed their greed and lust with amassing status symbols and those who would share it with his/her employees and enrich the lives they are responsible for. It may indeed not be so inspiring if all answered honestly but that embarassment in itself should become a source of inspiration to help change our damaged culture and bring our poor bretheren (God's living angels) to an enlightened and more dignified life.
i make mY millIons by being a nurse overseas and all started when i was 25. i was working here in irelanD as a nurse and that is a dream come true after the hard work and dedication. i made a challenge how to get rich after seing myself to my family in dire needs of money since life is so difficult in the province. after my experience as a nurse in mandaluyong,i applied for a job in ireland and got it. surprisingly, the pay in ireland is soaring high as you could bring home the bacon as big as 20000 clean.that is how big nurses in ireland earning and i would strongly say that ireland is the best in the world for pay scale given to the nurses.US no more.
from then and there, i did save a lot. after being tired of saving, i did enjoy buying expensive high end clothes and mens blah blah blah like paul smith, gucci, kenneth cole and everything i can afford.
before, i am a plain, simple guy wearing cheap clothes with single shoe for the whole year, ngayon, i am fully equipped with expensive blings and the gadgets.
back to story, i make this money by working 7 and with 6, i think i am earning good now as well since my euro account were in the most major bank of europe and ireland.hehehe
to save and to play and to savour life, i made balance of both the work, the financial and my social life. this stage of my life, maginhawa na. easy easy nalang si mader fader pati mga kapatid ko.
sa ibabaw ako noon, sa itaas naman ako ngayon,ganyan ang buhay ka ganda.
sorrY po mali yung figure ko above,it is actually 200000 po.promise.sana nakainspire ako sa mga nurses na nasa pinas ngayon. no matter what happens, huag umasa sa kamag anak. apply lang ng apply para makalabas.thanks
personally, i would love to have 1 and 2..... but life did not give it to me....... i hoped for number 3, but i fell in love with somebody else....... my parent taught me number 4 and 5...... i figured how to make number 6 work...... so no need yet to go number 7
earn my 1st million at age 30, it was slow getting there since had to do it thru#5. and only working locally. but just to share my story, savings do work it might not get you there as fast as other means but it does pay to save. I started saving when i was 15 and manage to save 200k by graduation.
then when i started working, i save about 60% of my monthly income...instead of the other way around i try to live w/in the 30-40% of my income. by age 28 i aggresively bought a lot and after a year decided to build a house although i borrowed money my net worth skyrocketed from 400k to almost 2million right after i finish the house. I was able to pay up the load by age 33. and now working abroad i'm looking forward in earning my 1st hk$ million in 2-3yrs again thru savings... i tried the stocks but i got burned so word of caution to all those thinking of investing in stocks dont just dive in to it...study the market and ask advice 1st before investing. and dont invest too much...just what you can spare or gamble.
good luck to all and final word, save save save...that will earn u ur 1st million.
am proud to say that after 11 years of being employed and at the age of 30.
I will be able to hit 1M this year thru savings only.
kuripot daw ako... pero at least me 1M na ako :)
nag start na rin me investing..planning to go stock trading soon.
I will get my first million next year!
5, 6, 7 (savings, invest and work abroad). I earned my first million when i was 22 yrs old working while studying at night time in the Philippines, but 7 digits mukhang dipa ako satisfied kaya i tried my luck to work overseas, 3 months of working aborad makes my bank account triple pero nabawasan din dahil sa mga di maiwasang gastusin. But i'm looking forward to make more or save more and invest sa real estate this coming months and years.
Tips? Invest and live simple.
Will Power, Determination and Personal Finance Lesson and some luck are what it takes to arrive at your first million.
@Romeo - di ba pareho lang ang "ibabaw" at "itaas"? :D
tanong lang..eh kung mamamatay kayo..sino ang mag eenjoy sa pinagpaguran niyo? tama naman si kabayan. Tayong mga Pilipino ay mahilig mag brag samantalang kung anong meron tayo..marami sa populasyon natin eh below povertly line..tsk tsk..sa lahat na mga milyonaryong nag post dito..mag ambagan naman kayo at idonate niyo sa mahihirap para pag interview portion niyo kay San Pedro eh passing score naman..kainis!
@Dinarman. In an informal survey of about a dozen well traveled and educated Filipino bachelors/bachelorettes in their 30s who are self-made multimillionaires (with just a sprinkling of some who could have just relied on inheritance but still made out on their own and some who came from humble backgrounds) mostly by starting their own businesses, there was a general consensus that when it comes to marriage, the ‘intended’ must enhance the wealth and not take away from it so the plan is to look for a close economic and intellectual equal. Prospects can ‘dangle’ all they like, but they need to bring more to the table than just that. I am not sure my neighbor had much to “dangle”, but she has a good heart, is an excellent cook, a good mom, and I cannot really find any fault in her. I still say “kudos” to the “danglee” who could look beyond the alleged “dangler’s” shortcomings if indeed poorness is a shortcoming, and the “dangler’s” perseverance because she still had her work cut out for her. The 12 think it is a shortcoming because they do not want to marry a “dangler’s” entire family responsibility as well, so each to his/her own, I guess. As one of the metrosexuals in the 12 would say, “Cheers!”
hardwork, determination, working abroad, saving and knowing how to manage you money, taking risks, getting involved in real estate is what made me a millionare. naks!
Hi... the topic says making your 1st 1M...
Would working locally (satble job) and getting paid for it regularly counts?
Then I already made my 1st 1M when I was around around 30 already. But minus the taxes and the share for the payment of utilities, things/necessities for decent & healthy living, not much goes to my savings kasi tama lang para mabuhay ng maayos.
1-2 may apply sana, kaso hindi naging masinop ang aking ama sa pag papahalaga at pag-aasikaso ng mga ari-arian due him nung nabubuhay pa sana sya.
btw, great blog, I visit this regularly at times. More power!!
it takes a lot of drive, focus and action on one's part to reach your first million. in my few years of living/working in singapore, i managed to save this and more...on top of the savings we have here and in manila, my hubby and i managed to buy a flat here paying the first 20% of the purchase amount without taking out any personal loan. this is a milestone for us and indeed we are proud of this achievement.
i don't know which number will apply to me ... saved money since my first year in college (1992) and was able to put together around 150k. Right person, right time is what happened to me. Helped a friend sell his property, he gave me 2M for my effort, that's how i made my first M.
Invested a sizable amount of my 2M in plenty of things: real estate, the stock market, time deposits. But best investment was start our own business. Got my 2M 3 years ago, getting near 5M last time i checked.
Lucky, huh?!
I made my first million when i reached 30 yrs. old by saving 20 percent of my salary abroad.
Making A Million is Easy, here's how.
1.0 Save at least 10% of your gross earnings. The higher the better. This seems to be easier said than done but this is the most important of all to become rich. Develop the right attitude and let it grow continuously in you.
2.0 Control your expenditures, for whatever you do to spend, you must limit your expenses to 70% maximum of your gross income.
3.0 Make your savings grow. Invest it wisely!
4.0 Don't be foolish on your investments, avoid the get rich quick schemes or scams, go for safer investment vehicle if you don't like high risks. For whatever investments you entered in, make it your utmost objective to protect your money from losses.
5.0 Try to make your house/home an additional source of income. If you are paying mortgages on it, try to come with some home business that will help offset regular monthly bills.
6.0 Insure for a future income. Prepare for a blissfull life when your age turn golden. This is were another 10% of your gross income will come in.
7.0 Increase your potential to earn. Keep on learning. Study investing on other vehicles like stock market, they offer high potential of earnings for those who knows the ins and out of the trade. Invest on your skills and knowledge.
8.0 Give and you shall recieve! Tighting and donating to your favorite charity/ies. As we all know, money has a way of attracting itself to those who valued it best. Remember the parable of talents in the bible??
There you go folks. I am sharing these tips to all who care to make a difference in their life. Towards a blissfully blessed life.