How to Save One Million Dollars in Ten Years

You wouldn't believe how easy saving one million dollars in ten years is.

I didn't, until I did a little research. It's possible, very possible, for everyone to do with a little discipline.

With everybody's 401K on shaky ground, and Social Security, Medicare, and basically all government programs on life support, we have to look after our own retirement.

The sooner you take this to heart, the better. Here's how to save one million dollars in ten years.

1. One million dollar calculator below. (Tell me in comments if link ever goes bad. You never know with the Internet.)

   Under "Resources" I have a link to a one million dollar calculator that you can use to calculate exactly what monthly payment you have to save in order to save one million dollars in ten years.

   Follow that link and fill in the appropriate blanks. I would assume a 5% interest rate if you don't know a lot about investing, and at least a 30% tax bracket, to be safe. Always overestimate expenses and underestimate profits.

   Write that number down and come back for step 2.

2. Pay yourself FIRST to save one million dollars in ten years.

   After you know what monthly payment you will need to save, you can make plans to set aside that money.

   Save this money before you pay rent, taxes, car note, anything. Do whatever you have to do to save it, and put it somewhere where you can't touch it.

   If you get discouraged, remember that both Jim Cramer and Robert Kiyasaki were homeless at one point, because they were willing to do anything to save money. As Dave Ramsey says, "If you live like no one else is willing to, later you can live like no one else can." Something like that.

3. Save your monthly payment towards your one million dollars by residual income.

   To make the saving easier, separate your accounts into living expenses, and net worth account. You will never touch your net worth accounts until it reaches your one million dollar goal.

   Make your monthly payment towards your one million dollars easier by dedicating yourself to getting that money residually, rather than taking it from your living expenses every month.

   That means invest your money into things that pay back without you having to work directly. This could be anything from savings bonds to vending machines to renting out real estate to writing for eHow or Associated Content.