4 Practical Ways to Wealth
Losing $10,000 to learn the hard way
Read on Substack
Read time - Less than 5 minutes
Are you tired of those "make $5K a day trading" ads?
Scroll through social media and see those flashy posts promising to turn you into a “trading millionaire” overnight…yeah right.
As an ex-forex trader, I will share with you what I’ve learned and the 4 practical ways to wealth.
These fake gurus often advertise their so-called "secret trading systems" and then slap a ridiculous price tag (like $4,997 or even $55,000) on their mentorship.
But ask to see their combined trading profits & losses over the past five years and I bet they won't dare to share (because they probably lost more than they earned).
As a former forex trader for 3-4 years, I can tell you firsthand there's no shortcut.
Remember, get-rich-quick schemes are exactly that:
A scheme where someone else gets rich...off you.
Having made the mistake of engaging in such activities, I lost over $10,000 and learned the hard way.
I came up with these 4 practical ways to save you from making the same mistakes:
1) Increase your income
A higher income provides more resources for saving and investing.
How to do it:
Negotiate raises
Take up skill upgrading or certifications
Explore freelance work, online businesses or part-time jobs
2) Live below your means
Spending less than you earn is crucial for building savings and fostering discipline.
How to do it:
Segregate your income into 60% expenses (if you find it hard, this can help you), 20% savings and 20% investments.
Priorities essential expenses and cut back on unnecessary spending.
Practice delaying purchases to reduce expensive impulse decisions.
3) Regularly invest in a low-cost index fund
Investing allows your money to grow over time and outpace inflation while index funds offer diversification and low fees.
How to do it:
Dedicate a portion of your income to be automatically transferred to your investment account.
Select a platform that offers low-cost index funds and a user-friendly interface.
Start small and be consistent because regular contributions can grow significantly over time.
4) Harness the power of compounding
Compounding is the process of earning returns through accumulation, over a long period.
How to do it:
Start early, the earlier you begin investing, the longer your money has to compound.
Reinvest your dividends (instead of withdrawing) to further accelerate the compounding effect.
Stay invested for as long as you can and trust the market (avoid emotional decisions like watching the news headlines and pulling your investments out).
Conclusion
Building wealth takes discipline and patience, and these strategies are practical ways to reach your financial goals.
Don't be lured by the shortcuts; focus on steady, sustainable growth.
To recap, here are the 4 ways:
Increase your income
Live below your means
Regularly invest in a low-cost index fund
Harness the power of compounding
See you next week.
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