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It’s easier than ever to become a millionaire. So what’s the secret? Don’t laugh, but it’s plain old saving. Getting an early start on your savings coupled with the right investing strategy will bring you up to millionaire status. The catch? You’ll have to wait a few decades.

According to the MSN Money article Start on your first $1 million at age 16, the simple recipe to become a millionaire has five simple steps:

• Work 4 summers, from age 16 to 20
• Save the income in a Roth IRA account
• Invest in a simple, low-cost equity portfolio
• Wait 47 years
• Collect at age 67, untaxed and ready to spend (maybe on a new hip by this point)

The article takes into account that, starting from age 16, a person earns $2000 each summer for four straight summers. Then if invested in a Roth IRA, it will grow, tax-free, for as long as the account exists. All withdrawals from the account after age 59 1/2 will be tax-free. The money grows to $25,917 by age 30, $197,943 by 50, $547,037 by 60 and finally gets over one million by age 67 or $1,114,423 to be exact.

Two problems I see right away. First, getting an average return of 10.7% isn’t as easy as the article says it is. But, then again, some people say the opposite. The article also states that if you invest in small company stocks, whose long-term annual return clocks in at 12.5 percent annually, you will have even more money. Nice to know. Read more…

Staying out of debt can be tough. Spending less than you earn is the best way to ensure your personal finances won’t suffer. But to avoid risk in other ways you must learn to find the best deals for the things you buy. This means looking for the best deals and sometimes buying used instead of new. To help you out with this task, here is a list of things that you should never buy new.

CDs, DVDs and video games can all be bought used to save up to half of the retail price. You can find used media and games at Gamestop stores and online at SecondSpin and Wherehouse. If you are a frequent DVD renter, think about renting online through Netflix or trade them with other people through Peerflix.

Used books can be bought through the usual sites: Amazon, SecondSpin and Half.com, as well as sites like bookfinder.com and abebooks.com. You may have not thought about this but you can borrow books for free from your local library. Libraries still exist and good ones can be found in every major city. Textbooks usually carry a high price tag so it pays to buy used or rent them. So if you’re a college student and are looking for textbooks, try Chegg.com. Here you can rent books by receiving them through the mail. Simply return them when the semester is over. This is ideal for textbooks since they almost always go unused as soon as the class is complete. Read more…

If you’ve been paying attention for the last 4 or 5 months you should already know that the government is sending out rebate checks to everyone who filed their income tax. For students who were claimed as dependents by their parents, sorry but you’re out of luck. But for those who filed separately, its likely that you will be receiving a crisp $600 check in the mail sometime soon. For couples who file jointly, that number doubles to $1200 and you may add an additional $300 for every dependent who is claimed. About 116 million American families will be receiving the economic stimulus rebate in the coming months. So here’s the million (more like billion) dollar question: When that check arrives, what will you do with it?

This economic stimulus plan was announced some time ago and the first checks have just started to be sent out. The plan is intended to address economic worries coming from a long reaching financial crunch created by the mortgage and credit crises. The plan did face opposition from fiscal conservatives when first proposed for fear of ballooning the federal debt. But in the end it was passed without much trouble.

Back to the question: How will you spend your government rebate check? The options are almost endless. Spend. Save. Give. Invest. If you are a lucky college student who is getting a check you may put it back into your education by buying supplies, books, housing or tuition. Ramen is always an option, lots of it. But a word of advice: Don’t throw a party! Invest in something tangible or save it for a rainy day. Read more…

Besides tuition and housing, gas may be one of the biggest expenditures that you will have to face while attending college, especially if you live a long distance from your school. And with the rising cost of fuel this summer, its always a good idea to adopt new ways to conserve gasoline. Here are some great tips and tricks to help save gas money this summer. Read more…

Grocery shopping may be the farthest thing from your mind when you are a college student but when you enter those automatic doors there are a fews things that you can do to be aware and save some green. Warning: This guide is not for healthy eating while you are in college. This is the grocery shopping guide for the person who wants to save the most money and doesn’t care how they do it. Now, let’s begin.

By now its a cliche but the best, and cheapest, food item you can buy is Ramen noodles. Cheap, easy and fast all it a convenient package. You can’t get any cheaper than Ramen at about 22 cents a pack or about 88 cents for a pack of 6. Ramen is the staple of a college student’s diet so get used to it. Read more…

College, for most, is that special time in life that will never be forgotten. New people, new experiences and being exposed to new ideas is what college is all about. But unfortunately college usually gives way to a huge burden of debt upon graduation. Books, food and all the other things taken for granted in the past can add up fast to put a strain on a student’s bank account. But fear not! It is true that college may be the single most expensive time in someone’s life, but that doesn’t mean that students have to leave college with huge debt or any debt at all. Here are the 5 easiest things a person can do to save money while attending college.

Manage your money the smart way. As soon as you can start a checking and savings account and if possible start a high-yield savings account. This will not only help you to save money but it will also let you put money aside for an emergency. But watch out: always keep track of your bank accounts to avoid costly overdraft fees. Signing up for Upromise is an easy way to earn money toward college tuition. By making everyday purchases, a percentage can be put toward paying your students loans which means less you’ll have to pay back later.

Rent or borrow books instead of buying. Let’s face it, books maybe the highest expense you will face during college besides tuition. A Department of Education study found that since 1986, textbook prices have risen almost 186 percent, or 6 percent a year. Compare this to other products in the same market which rose only 3 percent during the same time frame. Here is a tip: never buy books from your college’s bookstore. On average they have higher prices than outside bookstores and online stores like Amazon.com and Half.com. Check out Chegg.com if you are interested in renting books. And keep on the lookout for frineds that have had the class you need to take next semester. Its likely they will let you borrow his or her old book. Read more…