How Many Years To Become A Millionaire?

 

OK, a billion is too out of our reach...

Let's take a million Sing dollars then. 

How many years do you intend to achieve it?

Some don't mind 30 years slow and steady grind (tortoises?) - the CPF 1M65 voluntary savers?

Then there are the super aggressive achievers like those crypto youths (hares?) who became millionaires in less than 5 years (I'm sure there are some who took profits like those old fogeys who took profits before the 2000 Nasdaq crash or recent Tech rout).

That would leave the rest of us who are into equities or properties falling somewhere between 5 to 30 years to achieve our first million?

To some youths, a million can be too abstract... No worries! Don't feel left out.

I noticed a number of youths are playing this how I saved my first $100K (before 30?) flexing game...

Just remove the saved to include earned and saved. Wink.

Just the other morning, I was having breakfast at McDonald's when I overheard 4 civil defence NSF flexing their investments in Tesla!?

I'm impressed!

    

In case some of you are tempted to become too money minded, do remember money is just an enabler -  a tool.

We should be the master who wields this tool; not the other way round where money owns us and we the slave...

100X versus 99%

 

Percentages can lie, don't they?

Its a lot easier to manipulate others and own self lie to own self - when we count in percentages.

For those not into cryptos, you can google "Luna crash" to discover for yourself why cryptos in general have crashed more than equities this week.

No, this post is not about cryptos. Just using them as an example.

Have you ever heard the "spin" that its better to long stocks than short stocks?

I mean if we long stocks, there's no cap or limit on how many times our position can double - 2X, 10X, 50X, 100X!!!

But if we initiate a short on stocks, the theoretical max we can make is 100%.

 

(For newbies unfamiliar with shorting out there, we cannot short and hold forever OK? If a stock get suspended or unlisted, how do we collect our winnings?

An added bonus when you do shorting is you'll learn and appreciate the discipline to take profit as in covering your short position before a stock gets suspended!

Its like driving with a metal spike on the steering wheel instead of airbags!

This "market timing" discipline would definitely benefit your long positions too.)

 

Let's take any asset, be it cryptos, stocks, bonds, etc.

If we buy at $1, and that position moonshot to $100, how much have you make in real dollars if we take profit?

On the flip side, if we short at $100, and the position cratered to $1, how much have made again in real dollars when we cover our short?

100X versus 99% gains. Which is easier to spin to unsuspecting "bei kambings"?  (Hope someone can spot the mind manipulation I'm doing right now)

Its the same with stocks indexes.

Would you be better off  if your chosen "passive" index has only declined by -9% recently from all time highs, while you gloat at others who have invested at another index that have declined by -28% from its all time highs?

What if you had bought the STI in 2018 at 3500 while others bought Nasdaq in 2018 at 8000?

Eh...

Of course I can also make STI look good, better, best than Nasdaq just by datamining to find a start date that suits my "thesis"!

  

Moral of story?

Trust but Verify.

And never believe any statistics that you've not personally manipulated yourself!

 

All Time Highs; All Time Lows

 

It doesn't matter right?

I mean if you are not going to take any action whatsoever.

Veterans will get this "poke". 

If you still new on your journey, don't worry. 

You'll learn soon enough!