10. Sticking With It

Even though this guide has just set you up for success, you have to actually follow it to become a multi-millionaire. Listed below are some of the common ways that you may mess up, so pay attention.

First, it's important to realize that every type of investing comes with risks. In general, the higher returns on your investments the higher the risks are as well.

Your investment accounts on M1 Finance will go down. In some years, they will drop by as much as 40%. It is important that when this happens that you do not pull out and hold strong.

As a case in point, let's again look at what would have happened to John had he started investing from @October 12, 2015 until @October 12, 2020 using M1 Finances "2060 Aggressive" option:

Over five years, John would have made over 48% return on his money! In simple terms, that means that if he had invested $100 five years ago, he would have about $148 dollars today.

But take a closer look a John's worst investing year, specifically 2020:

Between @February 23, 2020 and @March 23, 2020, John's would be $100 turned into $72.18. That's a decrease of 32.3% in just one month! If John had invested $1,000 dollars, he would have "lost" $323. If he had invested, say, $100,000 dollars then he would have "lost" $32,200!

The word "lost" is in quotation marks because in reality, John didn't lose any money at all. In fact, if you look at the rest of 2020 until @October 4, 2020, John's investment account is up 6.98%, quite a nice sum of money if he had invested $100,000 five years ago.

The stock market in the last 144 years has had as many as 47 recessions [1], and will continue to have them as long as humans are humans.

The image below highlights every single recession in the S&P 500—a common benchmark of the economy—since its inception:

Did you notice the trend? After every single recession, the economy has always recovered. This is the key idea you need to remember when you see your investment accounts go negative—which will happen!

Recessions and/or economic downturns happen (on average) every 10 years [1]. That means during your lifetime you will go through about 8 or more recessions. Do not fear them. They are to be expected and appear to be a natural part of the economic lifecycle.

The recent COVID-19 induced economic downturn is one such example of many. Between January 31, 2020 (the beginning of the COVID-19 economic downturn) and March 31, 2020 (the end of the COVID-19 economic downturn) John's saving accounts would have dropped 32.2%.

But just four months later, John's saving accounts rocketed past his previous "Final Balance" and would be—as of @October 12, 2020—worth $148. This huge increase is only because he did not sell and kept with his chosen investing strategy.

Let's go back to that previous image for a bit and take a closer look at John's recovery after the COVID-19 economic downturn:

At the lowest point, John's investment account would be worth $72.18, but as of @October 12, 2020, it would be worth $106.98! Because of the economic downturn, John's automatic investing strategy made him ~38.8% richer than if he had sold out at the bottom of the economic downturn.

Therefore, when you see a negative return in your savings account(s) for a year, rejoice! You will make even more money because of it. Instead of the usual dilemma that most stock market investors face about buying and selling, using a tactic of automatic investing allows John and you to get rid of the worrying noise and invest when the market goes down, sell when the market goes up, and profit all along the way.

This is a third time reminding you of this: Debt is the number 1 reason poor people never become millionaires [1]. Avoid it like the plague.

Should you be looking to take out of a loan for a car, a home, or anything else: Make sure that you are prepared to pay the interest on it. As an aside, the "How To Pick A House" guide going to be written soon. If you'd like to get updated when it gets published, make sure you are signed up for the newsletter.

The main reason that people fail to keep regularly investing in their savings accounts is due to poor budgeting. If you are struggling with it, check the

Getting more money

The worst thing that can happen if you don't regularly invest in your savings account is that you don't become a millionaire. The responsibility is on you to get there.

Timing the market is when investors attempt to enter and/or exit the stock market at a favorable time for them. Many people try timing economic downturns—a dip in the overall economy—to buy their preferred stock options at low prices.

While the economic market does move in cycles and while eventually dip down, no one knows exactly when it will happen. That includes you as well.

As an example, let's say that John refrained from investing in the stock market on @October 12, 2015 because he thought that another economic downturn would soon occur. If he waited just another year to start investing on @October 12, 2016, he would have lost 12% of his potential gains overall!

It does not matter if you are buying at an all-time high because the earlier you start investing the earlier your money will start compounding. And as you already know quite well, compounding your money is the secret sauce to your success.

Once you've made as much money as you want, check out the

Passive Income