Becoming a billionaire takes a lot more than just wishing and wanting and adding a couple zeros at the end of your pay cheque. It involves tremendous hours of hard work, investing wisely, creating opportunities for yourself and saving. Adhering to these tips will ensure your rise from nothing to something!  That is not all it takes though. For more instructions see step 1.

Study Up. People do not become billionaires by accident. It is advised that you take a course online or at a University in finance, entrepreneurship and business management. Start reading books on investing, and know the rules. Studying finance, entrepreneurship or business management will allow you to better identify  marketing and consumer needs. This in turn will help you develop business models based on those needs.

Read about successful billionaires and how they made their fortunes, such as Warren Buffett or Jon Huntsman, Sr. Being wise with your money is the surest way to amass more of it.

Start Saving Money. It takes money to make money. Its always advisable to take a certain amount of money out of your paycheck and put it into a savings account! This money can now be used in future investments or just to collect interest, its up to you. Start by deciding what percentage you can afford to spare, it doesn’t have to be to much, a simple $20 in the beginning can go a long way in the next 4-5 years.

Start an Individual Retirement Account.  IRAs are customizable financial plans that you can set up to start saving for the future. IRSs are usually available from most financial institutions. If you want to end up saving an amount of money that ends with nine zeroes, you need to do this as soon as possible. You’ll accumulate interest on your savings and elect to take an amount of risk in investments to make money off the money you have. Depending on the financial institution, you may or may not need to invest a minimum amount of money to get it started. Research your options and talk to your financial advisor.

Make a five- year plan.  Keep your plan urgent. You need to calculate an estimate of how much you intend to save in the next five to ten years.  Once that is done, you need to now decide what is the best way to use your money. Note well, I did not say spend your money, I simply said use your money. Whether you use it to start a business, invest or just collect interest it’s up to you, but you need to start a five year plan for that money, or else it will diminish, and you won’t even know!

 Pay off any credit card debts. Student loans and credit card debt needs to be paid off as soon as possible! It is the most difficult thing to get ahead and you have debts hanging over your head.

Buy Real Estate. An excellent way to make more money is to invest in real estate! Property will generally appreciate in value over time, and might give you a good return on your investment. Be wary of investing in an artificially inflated market, and make sure that you can easily pay the monthly mortgage. If you don’t know much about the 2008 sub prime mortgage crisis in the United States, it might be a good idea to read up on it and learn from a few cautionary tales.

 Invest in a business. Create or choose a company that offers a product or service that you would buy yourself, and put your time and money toward improving it. This is a great and sure way of making money over a lengthy period of time. Become knowledgeable about the industry you wish to go into and learn to differentiate between good and bad business investments.

 Buy and sell stock. The stock market can be a great place to grow your fortune. Watch the markets carefully before you start to buy and pay attention to which stocks do well; this will assist you in making smart purchases in the future.

 Put your money into Money Market Accounts (MMAs). These accounts have a higher minimum account than a regular savings account, but accrues twice the rate of interest of a savings account. High-yield MMAs are somewhat risky–your ability to draw on the money and your ability to affect its investments are limited–but it’s a good way to let your money grow by doing, essentially, nothing.

Diversify your investments and portfolio. Don’t keep all your money in one place. By diversifying your portfolio and investing in stocks, real estate, mutual funds, bonds, and other investments recommended by your brokers, you’re both ensuring that your money will be isolated in different markets that behave differently.

Know when to get out. At a certain point, you’re going to have to know when to pull the trigger and get out of something before it collapses from under you. If you’ve surrounded yourself with smart brokers, listen to their advice, but also know when to listen to your gut. If you see an opportunity to sell big and make a profit, do it. Profit is profit. Even if that stock ends up appreciating in the next year, you’ve still made some coins that you can reinvest elsewhere. There’s no one way to invest.

Make smart financial decisions. The Internet is full of penny stock schemes and get-rich-quick hokum that preys upon the ignorant and forces gullible people into making bad financial decisions. Do the research and commit to a lifetime of investing and making money. There’s no such thing as an overnight billionaire.

Act the part. If you’re going to be a billionaire, you’ve got to act like one. Surround yourself with moneyed and cultured people, picking up advice and know-how from the experienced.

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