I want to be the first millionaire in my family — here are 3 things I’m doing to build wealth as a first-generation American – CNBC

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Money is a tool that can help you afford to make life decisions that best suit both your needs and wants. It can buy you a much-needed vacation so you can recharge from a stressful period. It can give you the security to leave a job for a while to focus on raising your children.

Money can also help you afford things like a car or a personal trainer that can make your life easier and give you more time to focus on the things you love.

I hadn’t previously thought of money this way, but once this clicked in my head, I knew that I needed to start building my wealth more intentionally. I also knew that it might be a bit harder for me to do so as the oldest child of immigrants.

When my parents came to America, they didn’t receive some instruction manual for building wealth and properly managing their money in this country where a credit score can practically make or break your financial life – not even long after they became American citizens.

I didn’t know anything beyond the basics of paying down debt and saving money, which is what my parents emphasized whenever we talked about money.

We didn’t know the importance of investing — let alone how to invest or save for retirement or what types of money management tools existed to help us with these goals. This is very common among immigrant families.

But during the pandemic, I became more interested in building wealth. I started learning everything I could about money on my own by doing research, reading books, listening to podcasts and even transitioning into a career as a financial journalist.

Now, I’m teaching my family what I’ve learned. While I’m only a year and a half into my wealth-building journey, the strategies I’ve been following have already helped me increase my net worth on the road to becoming my family’s first millionaire. Here are the strategies that have been making a difference for my finances.

1. I followed a zero-based budget to maximize my savings

I had tried budgeting methods where I made detailed spreadsheets and even paid for software that could help me create a comprehensive financial plan. But writing in a spreadsheet each month was time-consuming, and the software wasn’t as easy to use as I thought it would be.

I like having an idea …….

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/select/first-generation-american-becoming-a-millionaire/