10 interesting ways to make your first million

Many Australians are looking for financial freedom by finding the best investment property – others just want to become a millionaire.

So this article in the Sydney Morning Herald offering creative ways to reach your first million caught my eye.

While I don’t agree with many of them I thought I’d still share them with you…

1. Purge family possessions

Sell anything that you do not need or use, on eBay or Gumtree.

2. Become a market research source 

Register with market research companies that pay anything from $25 to $100 per hour to find out you how you feel on certain subjects.

The work often comes with free food and drink.

Sign up with a range of market research firms because probably none will invite you to more than two sessions a year.

3. Enter competitions

Don’t overlook the various potentially lucrative contests you can enter, which are advertised in shops, online and across the media.

You could win anything from a $100 Myer gift card to about $1 million through lotteries like Scratch2Cash and Powerball.

4. Join a paid clinical trial 

Sometimes, biotechnology firms, government agencies and pharmaceutical companies need to test new medication or medical procedures on volunteers.

Any healthy person may be eligible for a trial, says Tong. Some work also exists for people with particular ailments, he adds.

No experience is required – you just need to be game to play the role of a specimen that is tested, poked and prodded.

Usually, patients are obliged to stay on-site for between 1 and 30 sessions.

The payment is anything from hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on factors including the duration of testing and risks.

5. Nail every cent

Regardless of your income, wise up about where your money goes.

6. Drink tap water 

In a 2010 report, the environment group Clean Up Australia noted that a litre of bottled water costs twice as much as a litre of petrol.

The report also described Australian tap water as “world-standard”.

So why bother with the bottled kind that imposes an exorbitant mark-up?

7. Drink plonk

Another consumption tip widely shared in the frugal living community is that, instead of splashing out on fancy wine, you should just get cheap plonk.

Research shows that people cannot tell the difference between cheap and expensive varieties.

So why not just extract some low-cost wine from its bottle and pour it into a decanter – nobody will know.

8. Have an amateur haircut

Another Spartan tip is that you should skip the salon and cut your own hair. If you are male, a regular no-frills buzz cut must be the easiest cost-cutting option.

If you are a woman, you might want to give yourself a simple blunt cut in front of the mirror with a pair of scissors.

9. Forget the gym

Nobody needs a gym membership.

So, instead of paying to pump iron, consider bay walking, bush walking or body weight exercises in a park or at home.

10. Skip having kids 

Australian parents now treat their children like little emperors, paying for costly toys, technology and lessons.

The result: the price of raising a child is extortionate – over $1 million, according to social researcher Mark McCrindle.

So you might want to curb any nurturing urges you have and stay child-free – think about that six-figure saving.

My thoughts:

Once again I don’t really agree with these “money saving ideas”, but I do know that the only way to become wealthy is to:

1. Spend less than you earn
2. Invest the difference
3. Keep up steps 1 and 2 and reinvest your returns until you build up a substantial asset base

This is the time tested way to grow your wealth.