Many people are under the misconception that you cannot attain wealth from the average job. They believe that true wealth is only obtained from owning great businesses, finding the one great stock pick, or getting lucky with the lottery. Contrary to popular belief, however, is the fact that there are millions of millionaire households in America right now and many of them achieved their wealth the old-fashioned way: by simple investing. And, yes, it is possible to become wealthy from your normal everyday job.
The other day I had someone call me that I used to work with. He called me for business purposes, but at the end of the conversation, he wanted to thank me for giving his some simple, good advice: for telling him to invest in the stock market many years ago.
This man is an emergency room nurse. He is practical and good at his job. When I first met him, however, he had been dabbling in investing but hadn’t gotten serious. At the time there were a few people I was talking to in the ED about investing. About how small, consistent contributions can really add up especially over a lifetime.
We had talked about retirement and how our future is really only in our hands. There aren’t many of us (if any) that are going to get a big inheritance. I know I’m not. We had also talked about how Social Security probably won’t dissolve but will possibly be reduced in our retirement years. Which means the government isn’t going to take care of us either.
It’s our responsibility to take care of our retirement.
And unless we want to live in a poverty state when we retire (look around you, many older adults live on very limited means) we have to invest our money. That can take the form of real estate, stocks, or other legitimate avenues.
A Milestone Was Passed
So this nurse called me and told me that he had passed a “milestone” recently. He had been investing consistently for about 15 years now. And no, we’re not talking about some fancy day trading strategy or swing trade system that netted him 100% gains per year that all those financial commercials and advertisements online like to spout either.
We’re talking consistent and boring investing. Putting in money each and every paycheck into a simple fund like the S&P 500. Nothing more. Nothing fancy or elaborate. It’s something you can do in your 401(k), 403(b), or even in your regular brokerage account through Fidelity, Vanguard, or TD Ameritrade.
Now, this nurse didn’t tell me what his “milestone” was. So I had no idea how much money he actually accumulated. But for him it was impressive and he was certainly appreciative. And of course, none of it was from my efforts at all. It just stemmed from a simple conversation about the need to invest that he took seriously. And then he took action.
Let’s Take A Look At The Stock Market
If we look back at a few charts of the S & P 500s returns for the past 15 years, you might see a few different results. Some include dividends and some do not. Dividends matter in my book so let’s include those.
| Year | Total Return |
| 2020 | 7.48 |
| 2019 | 31.49 |
| 2018 | -4.38 |
| 2017 | 21.83 |
| 2016 | 11.96 |
| 2015 | 1.38 |
| 2014 | 13.69 |
| 2013 | 32.39 |
| 2012 | 16.00 |
| 2011 | 2.11 |
| 2010 | 15.06 |
| 2009 | 26.46 |
| 2008 | -37.00 |
| 2007 | 5.49 |
| 2006 | 15.79 |
If my nurse friend had been contributing let’s say $500 per month for the first three years, then upped it to $750 per month for the next five years, then finally to $1,000 per month for the next 7, his results can certainly be fairly impressive.
By adding in this monthly income each and every month and just letting the money ride with the market, no fancy tricks, his result during the last 15 years could well be over $350,000!
Now, I’m not saying that you should just stick 100% of your money in the S&P500 index and forget about it – everyone’s situation is different, but the idea is sound. Had he ignored this advice 15 years ago, he very well could have never gotten serious. Guess what his portfolio “could” be worth then?
Zero.
Yep, he could have never gotten serious until late in life. By then, it’s much tougher to amass a decent retirement account.
Now, let’s take this a bit further. If this nurse had another 15 years before retirement (and he just kept the $1,000/month contribution) and only averaged an 8% gain in his portfolio, where would he roughly end up?
$1,450,037.
Now, there might be a lot of arguments about the math here. Or the “average return” that is in this case consistent for the later 15 years. And we’re not accounting for negative years. All of these are true. He might have more. He might have less.
The actual point, however, is that he felt this was good advice. Enough that at this point he had passed his “milestone” whatever that amount was.
And he is relatively young. He probably has more than another 15 years to work. But he also might just be able to retire at an earlier age because he had taken this advice seriously and started investing.
Investing In A Normal Job Gives You Options
He now has options. Many more choices than he had 15 years ago. And I believe he’ll have even more options in another 15 years. So much that his life is changed because of his consistency today. My friend has passed a wealth milestone. In his mind, he has become wealthy from his normal everyday job.
Can this nurse become a millionaire? Most certainly.
Can you? I would argue that if this nurse was able to then your options are certainly optimistic, don’t you think?
So, find your inner good advice. Let your normal job create an avenue of wealth for yourself and your family.
Happy investing.
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