How To Make A Million Pounds From Nothing

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I'm Steph, mum of three! 👋
Here, I share practical insights on making (and saving!) money. With a knack for budgeting and a passion for financial freedom, I've picked up lots of tips & tricks along the way. And I can't wait to share them with you here!

Have you ever asked yourself how to make a million pounds from nothing? There’s no rich Uncles or Aunts, no family business you’re about to inherit and no sign of a lottery win. Time to start thinking about exactly how possible it is to make a million pounds form nothing.

how to become a millionaire from nothing

How To Make A Million Pounds

Want to make a fortune? I believe that achieving financial success is not just about wishful thinking.

It requires a change in mindset, a clear understanding of one’s priorities, and a strong desire to reach one’s goals and a willingness to look at alternative income streams aside from the day job.

For many people, the idea of becoming a millionaire may seem like an impossible dream. You might think, ‘I’m not smart enough’ or ‘I don’t have the right connections’ but the truth is, anyone can become a millionaire if they set their mind to it.

Changing your mindset is the first step towards achieving financial success.

Instead of thinking about money as an end in itself, focus on what it can do for you. Think about the freedom and opportunities that come with financial stability. This shift in perspective can help you stay motivated and committed to your goals.

Money Money Money

When it comes to making a million pounds, it’s important to know why you want to do it. Find your WHY.

Is it to provide a better life for your family? To travel the world? To start your own business? Having a clear idea of your motivations can help you stay focused and driven.

While money may be a means to an end, it is important to remember that wealth can bring tangible benefits.

The freedom to make choices without being bound by financial constraints is one of the most significant benefits of achieving financial success. Being able to help others and contribute to worthy causes can also be very fulfilling.

Of course, becoming a millionaire takes hard work and dedication. It’s not a quick fix or a get-rich-quick scheme. But with the right mindset, a clear plan, and a commitment to your goals, it is achievable.

So, don’t just spend your million in your head. Take the steps necessary to make that dream a reality. Start by changing your mindset, defining your priorities, and staying focused on your goals. With dedication and perseverance, you too can achieve financial success and the lifestyle you desire.

More Money Making Posts

How To Make A Million Pounds From Nothing

I know I have spent my million in my head many times over.

It used to seem like a rather impossible dream, but now I understand how it’s done, I now realise it’s not impossible, but achievable.

If you can change your mindset, you can change your world.

Many millionaires say they don’t want money for the sake of having money. After all, it’s pieces of paper. None of us want more paper.

It’s the lifestyle that is the real pull, and not only sitting on beaches in sunnier climes than the UK has to offer: it’s freedom, helping the people you love, being able to make choices without being governed by a ‘job’ that takes all your time up.

If you know why you want to to make a million pounds, it’s easier to envisage what it’ll be like when you get there. And you will get there if you want it enough.

how to get rich from nothing

How To Become A Millionaire UK

It’s a funny thing isn’t it, the way this topic and that title just seems so, well…spammy.

You read it and it brings some hope that maybe you CAN make a million, because the given train of thought is that you CAN’T make 1 million pounds.

I’m here to tell you it’s not impossible. It’s unlikely you’re going to get any free money let’s be realistic, but extra money that turns longer term into passive income either by building either online business or using a savings account to build your money is doable. It really is.

I’m here to tell you it’s not impossible.

Not only is it not impossible, it’s entirely POSSIBLE. It’s not even hard. Making a million pounds is not some sort of crazy idea that surely MUST require some secret magic!

I promise you, anyone can make 1 million pounds….and all it takes is a little know how, a lot of dedication and some serious staying power.

What IS hard (for most of us, anyway!) is making a million pounds in some get rich quick scheme (has anyone, ever, anywhere, got rich quick using one of those schemes!?).

That’s not what this is about. This is about making choices that allow you to *save* a million pounds.

Read on, I’m going to lay it all out for you and then afterwards, you either make the choice to find financial freedom or go a different route. But at least you’ll know it’s possible, and within your reach.

how to get rich

As a side note, before you start any plan to make a million, it’s a good idea to start off on the right footing.

If you’ve had bad debt in the past, make sure it’s cleared before you get going.

You can see everything the 3 main credit reference agencies hold on you here, for free, and if you’re looking to pay off debt while saving your first million, you’ll know exactly where you are once you know what’s on your file.

Make sure you cancel as soon as you’ve checked your file, otherwise you’ll be charged!

Personal Finance

I started to get interested in the whole ‘financial freedom’ thing about 3 years ago, despite the whole thing initially feeling like a minefield to me. 

I’d heard all the terms: affiliate marketer, some elusive and confusing portfolio i should have built (as if i even really knew what that was!) rental propertyrental incomecash flowhedge fundsstartupslow interest rates, high interest rates, pre-taxtax-free, taxable income and whoa!!! It’s no wonder so many of us switch off.

At the time we were not in the healthiest place with our finances, although we appeared to have plenty coming in.

It seems insane to me now, but at the time I just didn’t see things for what they actually were.

And what they actually were, were terrible financial choices that meant we were always paying back money we’d borrowed, always chasing our tails, treading water trying to stay afloat.

It was exhausting, worrying and I couldn’t see a way out. The last thing I wanted to do was thing about a second property to rent out when we struggled to pay for the first one. There needed to be a better way.

How To Become Rich UK

If you’re serious about becoming rich, and assuming there’s no trust fund lurking in the background about to mature, you’re going to need to have a solid plan in place along with some rules.

Anyone can become rich. I really believe that.

The problem is that most of us don’t have enough knowledge about how to do it, or believe that you need to have money to start with.

Or the biggest one: wanting it to happen to fast and not accepting it’s going to take time.

Short of some sort of windfall, becoming rich is going to take some time. What we can do though, is to make a plan, and know that we’re doing everything we can to get there!

Success Habits Of Millionaires

Before we go on, I wanted to share with you some statistics, a couple of which I found really surprising:

  • Millionaires make a budget and stick to itThe Millionaire Next Door authors Thomas Stanley and William Danko found that even after becoming wealthy, millionaires still kept to a budget, and often refused to budge!
  • They DIDN’T get rich quick – getting rich quick is not something the majority of millionaires did. American entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk makes the point that no one gets truly wealthy without some SERIOUS work
  • They know when to take a holiday – what a shocker….I thought they must work ALL the time! Turns out they don’t, they know when to stop and take a breath…making them WAY more productive when they get back to it!
  • Millionaires make goals – having a goal makes it 78% more likely that you’ll achieve it. That’s huge. Millionaires put timelines on their goals and then plan them out
  • Bankruptcy – the average millionaire goes bankrupt 3.5 times before they eventually succeed (hopefully not something I’m looking at!)
  • Millionaires don’t carry credit card debt – It’s probably not too much of a surprise that the rich don’t carry a credit card balance

I suppose what this tells us is that it’s all about the decisions we make, and it seems that financially successful people are making the same sort of choices.

How To Become A Millionaire From Nothing

It’s a commonly held belief that in order to become a millionaire, you have to have one of two things: a super high income, or come from a wealthy family who have helped you out.

Neither of these are true.

Over 80% of millionaires did not inherit ANY wealth previous to making their own money, and their super high income came AFTER they’d set the wealth wheels in motion, so to speak!

making a million from nothing

What does this mean for then rest of us?

It means that whilst it’s not strictly true to say you can become a millionaire from nothing, you really don’t need anything more than a job…a regular income…and a plan!

So…if you don’t need a high income or family money behind you, then what IS the plan to make a million? Read on…

The way to make a million pounds is something that is quite simple. The first thing you need to make sure of is that you have an income. After that, it requires just two things:

  • Spend less than you earn
  • Earn more than you spend

You spotted it right? They’re the same thing….the point here is that you need to find some spare income each month to invest.

For me, I used both these ways of looking at your income to increase our monthly take home money.

Firstly, I cut right back on most things we used to spend money on. You can read about that here.

Secondly, I did anything and everything I could to bring in extra cash each month, which went straight to pay our debts. Some of the ways I did that, you can read about here.

The most important thing here is that you need to create some extra cash. So what are you going to do with all that extra cash? And how on earth is it going to turn into a million pounds?

How Much You Need To Invest Monthly To Become A Millionaire

How much you need to invest monthly to become a millionaire depends almost entirely on how many years there are until you want to be able to take an income from the invested money.

For example/ say I want to retire in 10 years, I’m going to have to invest way more than someone who’s 20 years younger and has 20 years longer than I do to let their money grow.

This is the nature of compounding.

Compounding works well over a fairly short period of time, but it works REALLY well over a longer period.

Bare in mind that I choose to invest in an index….you need to get all the information in front of you, and make the best decision for you.

There is a great guide here that explains index funds way better than I could, have a read if you need a better understanding of index fund investing.

I’ll tell you now that I have zero expertise on investing or the stock market or anything remotely related to it. That’s why I invest with an index fund.

To give you an idea of how much you need to be putting away each month, have a look at the table below.

It’s based on a monthly saving of £1000. Sounds like a lot huh? Keep reading!

£1000
monthly saving
5%8%10%12%
5 yrs£68,289.44£73,966.70£78,082.38£82,486.37
10yrs£155,929.29£184,165.68£206,552.02£232,339.08
15yrs£268,402.65£348,345.14£417,924.27£504,576.00
20yrs£412,746.31£592,947.22£765,696.91£999,147.92
25yrs£597,991.00£957,366.57£1,337,890.35£1,897,635.09

Looking at this chart, you can see that by saving £1000 per month, you really need a longer period of time and a higher interest rate to be hitting that 1 Million Pound goal.

Why?

Because the brutal truth is that putting away £1000 a month, towards your dream of financial freedom is not actually that much.

This is where we need to ramp things up a little, and find out where this £1000 is going to come from in the first place and if you need to be saving more, where you can get that from too!

Finding £1000 A Month

Remember earlier we said financial freedom is all about choices? Now it’s time to make those choices!

Here are a few ways you could find £1000 a month you don’t think you have:

  • Pay off your debts – this is the fastest way to free up money each month to put towards your savings goals. A couple of loans and a credit card might be eating up £500 of your monthly income. That’s money that could be going towards financial freedom.
  • Save on grocery shopping – think this can’t make that much of a difference? The average UK household spends £91 weekly on food (source). Saving just 20% of this cost, means an annual saving of £946.40. That’s almost one month of your saving goal taken care of!
  • Get a side hustle – find a side hustle and stick with it. Need a couple of hundred pounds more to get to your savings goals? The world is at your feet if you’ve got an internet connection.

Have a read through these posts if you need some inspiration to get a side hustle started:

Work from home jobs that’ll bring you in some extra cash

25 Ways to increase your income

Get the kids making their own money so they stop spending yours!

My Plan For Becoming A Millionaire

Every millionaire has a plan right? I’m definitely not a millionaire right now, but do I plan on being one? You bet I do!

Clear Debts

Problem number one for us was debt. We had a pretty huge amount of debt. It HAD to go. There is zero point in starting any wealth creation strategy until you’ve cleared your debts.

It’s quite a daunting issue, finally coming face to face with your debts. It’s scary, it’s pretty un-nerving and frankly, it’s way easier not to do it. But…if you want to get started on your way to a million, it’s something that needs to be addressed, ASAP.

Have a read through these posts if you’re in debt and have no idea how to get out. It needs 100% focus to get out of debt fast, but it can be done!

Create Savings Each Month

Every single month, we go through our expenses to check that we’re not overpaying for something dull that we could get cheaper.

Who wants to over pay a utility bill when that money could be going towards something you’re actually going to get some enjoyment out of.

Creating savings for us means:

  • Meal planning – do you meal plan? If you don’t, it’s likely you’re spending more than you need to be in the supermarket. The food shopping, after our mortgage, used to be our biggest expense. Now, it’s still a substantial bill each month, but no where near where it used to be.
  • Finding bargains – bargains are great, but make sure it’s something you actually need. It’s not a bargain if you weren’t going to buy it in the first place! Shop around, check online for prices before you commit to buying something. Make sure you’re paying the lowest possible price for the things you buy.
  • Using vouchers – there are vouchers for so many things these days. I actually set up a separate email to subscribe to websites I didn’t want to use my personal email address for. Some of the sites I used included:
  • Living social – great for discounted treats (we all need these occasionally!)
  • Money Saving Expert – not a discount site of course, but the forums often have awesome deals I couldn’t find anywhere else.
  • Money saving apps for the food shop – these do not save you huge amounts of money, but every penny counts right?

Get smarter with my money

We’ve established that you don’t have to be a high earner to make a million pounds, right? It’s true…you don’t. However, that said, you also cannot keep spending like you might do if you weren’t saving up a million pounds.

You need to get smarter with your cash. Some of the things I was forced to get real about include:

  • Our lease car – we had a £300 monthly car payment, for a car we would never own. Ouch. I did like it a lot, but I prefer the thought of being a millionaire
  • Quick evening trips to the supermarket – these were a terrible habit and I’m glad I reigned them in. I hate to think about how much they added up to.

I guess we all have some habits we could stop. It’s all about choices.

Investing the money I’m saving each month

We set up a direct debit to invest our saved money each month on the same day as payday. I do not even see the money in my account, and so I do not have to see my balance go down when it leaves.

You will have set up the amount you want to invest each month, based on when you want to retire or at least be financially free, so you know how much is coming out.

And really, that’s all there is to it:

  • Clear your debts
  • Spend less than you earn or earn more than you spend
  • Get smart with your money
  • Invest your savings

Writing this post makes the task of saving up one million pounds sound easy, but you know what? It’s not really that hard! I honestly believe we tell ourselves that it cannot be done because it’s easier than facing our spending habits and perhaps admitting to ourselves that we need to change.

I can tell you from the heart, I never thought I’d be able to get into the mindset where I believed this was at all possible. I couldn’t even imagine a time when we would be debt free. And I know from experience that when you’re right at the start of your journey, the road ahead looks long.

So I’ll leave you with this. Here are some other things that have happened in my life that I couldn’t ever have imagined happening:

  • Meeting Mr.Right – it happened
  • My kids growing up and not needing me like they used to – it happened
  • Paying off our debts and becoming debt free – it happened

And if they happened…..then why can’t this?

How to make your first million pounds?

Making your first million pounds may seem like a daunting task, but it is achievable with the right mindset and approach. Here are some tips on how to make your first million:
Start with a clear goal: Before embarking on any journey, it is essential to have a clear destination in mind. Define your goal of making a million pounds and set a timeline for achieving it.
Identify your niche: Find a niche that you are passionate about and in which you can excel. This could be a skill, a talent, or a particular industry. Once you have identified your niche, focus on mastering it.
Build a network: Surround yourself with like-minded individuals and industry experts. Build relationships with people who can help you grow and succeed.
Take calculated risks: Making a million pounds requires taking calculated risks. Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone and invest in opportunities that have the potential to yield significant returns.
Continuously learn and adapt: Keep yourself updated with the latest trends and developments in your niche. Continuously educate yourself and adapt to changes in the market to stay ahead of the competition.

How hard is it to make a million pounds?

Making a million pounds is not an easy feat. It requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and often a bit of luck. While some people may be able to achieve this goal quickly, for others it may take years of effort and perseverance. Additionally, it is important to remember that making a million pounds is not the same as keeping a million pounds. Managing wealth and maintaining financial stability is a whole other challenge in itself. However, with the right mindset, determination, and a solid plan, it is possible to achieve financial success and reach the million-pound milestone.

What is the easiest way to make a million?

There is no one definitive answer to the easiest way to make a million, as it largely depends on individual circumstances and opportunities. However, some potential strategies could include starting a successful business, investing in real estate or stocks, winning the lottery or other high-stakes games of chance, or becoming a successful influencer or content creator. It’s important to remember that while there may be easier or quicker ways to make a million, they often come with a high degree of risk and may not be sustainable or reliable over the long term. Ultimately, building wealth requires hard work, dedication, and a willingness to take calculated risks and make smart decisions.

How to become a millionaire UK?

To become a millionaire in the UK, there are several options to consider. Starting your own business and becoming an entrepreneur is one route that has worked for many UK millionaires. Investing in property, stocks, and shares can also lead to significant financial gains over time. Developing a high-demand skillset or pursuing a lucrative career in industries such as finance, technology, or law can also increase your earning potential. It’s essential to have a clear financial plan, set achievable goals, and stick to a budget to build wealth gradually. Building a strong network, seeking mentorship from successful people, and continuously learning and improving are also critical factors in becoming a millionaire in the UK.

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