In theory, I should be able to obtain at least 1 million dollars 10 years from now.  As long as I stay frugal, and invest using principal of dollar cost averaging, and occassionally rebalance my portfolio (this is currently my biggest weakness), then I should be able to conquer that million dollar milestone.

How did I start believing that I could achieve financial independence? 

I started by reading “The Millionaire Next Door” when I was young and just starting college.  The problem with the book (at least the edition that I read), was that the numbers were a little dated, but the principals still rang true!

What is helping me focus on my goal of becoming financial independent?

• Automated investments.  Using this technique, I’m saving for my Retirement and my kid’s future college expenses.
• Statistics on the rich and the bell curve distribution of wealth in American…  This feedback helps me gauge whether I’m behind or doing okay.
• Spreadsheets to track my progress.  Today, there are online site that can accomplish this now, like www.mint.com and www.networthiq.com.  I also keep a milestone spreadsheet just for motivation.
• Quality books like “The Millionaire Next Door”.  Examples of the wealthy in “The Millionaire Next Door” gave me hope.  After reading this book, I realized that one don’t have to be born into wealth to achieve it.  In the past, I read about the exceptions, but I always thought that I’d have about as much a chance of getting rich that way as I would getting rich via winning the lottery…, pretty slim.  “The Millionaire Next Door” gave me hope and enabled me to Believethat in it was possible after all!
• Picking the perfect risk model for my core investments (especially those in my 401(k)).  Although, I still do play with a little bit of cash in speculative investments.
• Saving more than 20% of my salary.  It takes a little bit of sacrifice now to payoff later.

What tools are you using to obtain the financially independent goal?

-MR