You Can Retire a Millionaire — 3 Steps, Promise.

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

How many millionaires in the U.S.?

The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more reached a record 10.8 million in 2016, according to Spectrem Group’s Market Insights Report. 

Guess what? You can be one of them too. Three steps. Here's how: 

1. Be wary of the "next big thing" and don't fail to plan. 
2. Determine how much money you need in order to retire. Sorry, but if you're 30, $300,000 isn't enough.
3. Get Facet Wealth on your side.

Myths About Becoming a Millionaire

Remember that show, MythBusters? Kinda quirky, kinda wild? It offered a great glimpse into pervasive myths and set out to prove them (or disprove them) once and for all. Well, you'll hear lots of myths about becoming a millionaire! Check out a few:

1. The wealthy inherited their money.
2. The wealthy take big risks to make their money.
3. It takes money to make money.
4. The wealthy have better education/career opportunities than “regular” people.

These are so, so far from the truth. Instead, the wealthy: 

1. Typically make their money on their own.
2. Make smart money decisions, especially over time.
3. Often start with not a lot of money. 
4. May not have any better education/career opportunities than “regular” people.

A great book, The Millionaire Next Door, proves these facts and might just blow you out of the water.

Tips for Retiring a Millionaire 

Check out the mighty tips below to chart your own millionaire path.

Tip 1: The next big thing might not be just that. 

You can risk losing a lot of money in the stock market. Some stocks sound really good but they're often too good to be true. Any investment with the potential to earn a lot of money in a short time offers risk and those who earn a ton of money with the snap of your fingers represents the exception, not the rule.

The best investments grow consistently over time. Often, it's the best way to get closer to building long-term wealth.

Tip 2: Don’t fail to plan. 

Nobody plans to fail but many fail to plan. If you want to become the newest member of the millionaire's club, you need to plan your finances around that. If you don't save, you'll never reach your goal. 

If you're going the slow and steady route, consider investing in S&P 500 index funds. The S&P 500 has earned an average rate of return of around 10% per year. Index funds closely track the S&P and you invest in 500 of the largest publicly-traded companies in the U.S across a wide variety of industries. 

Investing in equities involves more risk, but you're more likely to tap into greater returns. Check your asset allocation. Pick the right mix of securities to solidify your investing strategy. 

Above all else, remember that compounding takes time. The sooner you get started, the more you'll have later on.

Tip 3: Boost your tax-advantaged accounts.

Don't forget about your retirement portfolio with multiple tax-advantaged accounts, like a 401(k) or a Traditional IRA and tax-free accounts (like a Roth IRA).

Your investing approach may change, depending on your age and income level. Younger investors may adopt a higher-risk strategy that gets more conservative as you age. However, if you're on the younger side when you plan to retire, you might want to pursue a more aggressive strategy for longer. 

Check out these Benzinga articles to learn more about mutual funds, target date retirement funds and other investments for retirement purposes.

Get Facet Wealth on Your Side

If you want to start planning for retirement but aren’t sure where to begin, reach out to Facet Wealth for financial advice. Facet Wealth's financial advisors can offer specialized advice on how to plan and prepare for retirement. Make sure you know your retirement goals before meeting with an advisor so that he or she can work with you to analyze your financial situation and help you come up with a manageable plan to achieve your goals. 

Retire a Millionaire and Join the Ranks of Millions 

Finally, don't forget to consider your lifestyle in retirement. The more lavish your retirement lifestyle, the more you need to save. Your goal depends on the type of lifestyle you imagine when you retire. 

Keep track of your expenses using a spreadsheet to help you identify and eliminate unnecessary expenditures. You can put that extra money toward your retirement savings.

Finally, readjust and monitor your funds using retirement tracking apps for your investments and savings so you know whether you're meeting your specific retirement goals. Tracking apps can help you get back on schedule, and so can Facet Wealth. 

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.