How a financial advisor can help you save your first million

There is a reason why everyone is not a millionaire. Of the roughly 330 million citizens of the United States, only 18 million of them have $1 million or more. Saving $1 million is no small task, and if this is your goal, these numbers can be discouraging. However, while saving $1 million is challenging, it is not as difficult or impossible as it may seem.

Saving your first million

With the exception of the ultrawealthy like Jeff Bezos, no one earns $1 million overnight. Saving $1 million requires years of hard work and a dedicated savings strategy. If you want to have at least $1 million in your retirement account for you to enjoy when you are ready to retire, you need to maintain a solid investment strategy spanning a few decades.

Investing in long-term stocks and bonds as part of your strategy can help you reach your first million. The average annual return of the stock market is 8%, but there is obviously no guarantee this performance will repeat itself. For long-term investments, fluctuation in the market is usually no problem and works in your favor in the end. 

At this rate, if you invest the following over a 30-year period (assuming you start from $0), you can reach $1 million before retirement:

• $50 per month — $68,000
  
• $100 per month — $136,000
  
• $300 per month — $408,000
  
• $1,000 per month — $1.36 million

How a financial advisor helps you save

While saving up for your first million, you still have to live. You still need to take care of your family if you have one, pay for a vehicle, pay for your home, pay off your debts and pay for day-to-day expenses. Saving on top of all of this can be challenging, but a financial advisor can help you develop a strategy to manage your finances, assets and investments so you can save as much as possible. 

A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional can help you save to reach your goals without exceeding your risk-tolerance levels in investing. Financial advisors take an integrated approach toward managing your finances in a variety of areas, including your cash finances, liquid assets, nonliquid assets, retirement planning and debt strategies. Financial plans look different for everyone depending on their current circumstances, short-term and long-term goals, and risk tolerance, but the overarching goal is usually the same: to help you save so you can focus on enjoying life now while not worrying about whether you will have enough money in the future.

Talk to a ProVise CFP® professional about financial planning

Do you dream of having more than $1 million for your retirement or earlier in life? Reaching this amount of money is no easy task, but it can be done. However, you should not have to do it alone. At ProVise Management Group, our CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals can be by your side to help you develop a financial plan for reaching your short- and long-term financial goals, including saving your first million.

We work closely with you to get to know your current financial circumstances, goals, risk tolerance and personal values to help you develop a plan that works for you. We can create a written plan for you at a fiduciary standard of care. All our written plans come with an unconditional money-back guarantee. If you are unhappy with your written plan, you can return it to us, and we will refund 100% of the fee paid.

Are you ready to talk to a professional about saving your first million? Contact ProVise today to schedule a complimentary consultation.