How to become a millionaire with ordinary income?

Becoming millionaire for an ordinary person with ordinary income may seem impossible and most people do not even try. I thought the same way when I was 22 years old as my first professional career starting salary was only $37,000. At that time, I thought that only way to become rich was to earn more.

In order to earn additional income, step I took was stock trading and I made a bad investment. I was too young and greedy that I went all-in in high risk oil exploring company hoping to become a millionaire before I hit 30 years old. The company, of course, failed to find a new oil field and price became $0.13 per share from $4.50 per share within 6 months since I invested. I lost more than $50,000 in the investment and it was all of my savings since 2009 to 2012.

I finally managed myself to re-start personal financial planning from the scratch in early 2013. I opened up the Excel, and started to plug in realistic yet maximum possible amounts I can save per year. Even with conservative view, I realized that becoming millionaire without having a chance to go beyond ordinary income level is not only possible but also much easier than I thought. It definitely requires hard work and patience, but good news is everyone can do it.

What you have to do can be easily explained, yet taking real action continuously will be very challenging.

Step 1: Figure out your maximum possible saving amounts
Step 2: Use automatic deduction upfront to force yourself saving
Step 3: Invest your initial saving of $18K in 401K (maximum contribution in 2017 is $18K)
Step 4: After maxing out in 401K? Open up Roth IRA, and/or invest in CryptoCurrency/Stock [What to consider when investing in cryptocurrency for long-term?]

Before you invest with your saving on any investment, you should max out your 401K first. 401K gets invested with your pre-tax income. This means that if you put $100 into 401K, your paycheck only gets reduced by $60~$80, not $100.

If you max out your 401K contribution for 25 years, your 401K account balance will be million dollars even at conservative scenario assuming 5% annual rate of return. As of now, I am 32 years old and my 401K balance is $130K and my wife's 401K balance is $150K, and I am certain I will become a millionaire. I welcome readers to leave comments not only asking questions but also providing enhanced advice and experiences to me and to all other readers.