Five Ways to Make a Million Without Getting a Second Job

1. Live below your means.

   In order to have money to invest, you have to learn to spend less so that you have more at the end of each month. It may mean finding a less expensive place to live, driving an older car longer, giving up coffee shop lattes, whatever. The point is to keep as much as you can out of every paycheck so that you have something to work with.

2. Maximize employer retirement plans.

   Any plan offered by an employer for retirement is worth participating in. Some employers even match your contributions. When these contributions are taken from your paycheck before taxes, you save even more.

3. Buy stocks and reinvest the dividends.

   It is easy today to buy stocks and inexpensive to do this online. Pick a variety of companies that you’ve researched and start with a few shares. You can later buy shares directly through the company when you want to add more. To get more bang for your investment buck, buy more shares when the stock price is down. Dividend reinvestment plans are a good long-term vehicle to build your portfolio and then sit back and watch them grow.

4. Buy real estate.

   Read more in Personal Finance

   « How to Make a Lot of Money Quickly

   Save Before It’s Too Late »

   There are several ways to invest in real estate. You can buy with the intention to “flip,” or to hold. Flipping, where you buy a distressed property at a low price, fix it up, then immediately sell it, can be a risky if a property doesn’t sell right away and then loan payments become a burden. Holding real estate means you’ll need to be prepared to be a landlord or hire someone to do that for you. What works in one part of the country may not work in another, so make sure you investigate your own market and take the changing economy into account.

5. Start a business.

   Do you have a hobby or interest you think would make a good business? Keep your day job, but in a few hours of your spare time start working on a business plan and launch yourself! You can get good ideas for how to set up your business by searching online sites, or check into SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) for advice and mentoring. Businesses today come in every variety and especially with an Internet-based business, your work hours can be any hours of the day or night.

You won’t make a million dollars overnight, but over the course of several years, the above ways can maximize what you have and help you create a wealthy future.