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While joining the millionaires club may feel out of reach for many young Americans, the power of compounding can make it possible.
It’s simple: You invest a small amount each month in a low-cost index fund. When you earn dividends, you automatically reinvest those earnings to buy more shares, and your returns grow over time.
But there’s a catch, says personal finance YouTuber Mark Tilbury: Magic only actually happens after You’ve invested your first $100,000.
“Don’t worry about making millions,” Tilbury said. “Instead, focus on the first $100,000 because, after that, your net worth will be crazy.”
But Tilbury was not the first to note the significance of this milestone.
Billionaire investor Charlie Munger is often credited with popularizing the importance of the first $100,000, once describing it as “ab—-, but you have to do it” because “after that, you can ease off the gas a little bit.”
But hitting the $100,000 milestone is difficult for today’s young Americans — especially when you consider the rising cost of living and high home prices. About 56% of Americans believe the cost of living is too high, according to a Politico poll last month (1).
While it may take you longer than previous generations to reach this milestone, it’s still worth pursuing.
Here’s why that first $100,000 is so important and how to get there fast.
After you hit $100,000, “compound interest stops being lame,” according to Tilbury. “The key is to get the money as quickly as possible. […] Once you get to this point, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll get rich if you invest in a low-cost index fund.”
To get there, Tilbury suggests people follow what he calls the GROWTH method:
G: Get control of your finances.
R: Root your investment.
O: Optimize your tax management.
W: Erase your debt.
T: Tap into additional income streams.
H: Increased self-discipline.
Read more: Warren Buffett used 8 solid, repeatable money rules to turn $9,800 into a $150B fortune. Start using them today to get rich (and stay rich).
Gaining control of your finances is critical to achieving long-term financial stability and reaching your goals. And according to Tilbury, there’s only one way to gain control over your finances—budget. Once you’ve evaluated your budget, there may be ways you can eliminate some unnecessary dollars and avoid unnecessary expenses.
For example, according to CNET’s annual subscription survey (2), the average American spends just $1,080 a year on subscriptions—about $200 wasted on unused ones. By canceling memberships you no longer use, you can save hundreds each year — money that can be invested toward your $100,000 goal.
Budgeting apps like Rocket Money can be a great tool for tracking your spending and meeting your financial goals.
The app tracks all your expenses – including subscriptions – monthly, allowing you to see where your money is always going. Plus, their concierge service lets you easily identify and cancel unwanted subscriptions.
Rocket Money’s Financial Goals feature allows you to automate your savings, helping you build your nest egg in the background without any extra effort.
And for a small fee, their concierge service can even negotiate lower rates on monthly bills like cell phone and cable bills.
When it comes to building your investment portfolio, Tilbury advocates a ‘routing your investment’ model, which prioritizes investing a certain amount each month, whether it’s $50 or $500.
One way to route your investments is through automated portfolios like those offered by Acorns.
Spending money is inevitable, no matter how careful you are with your budget. But tools like Acorns—an automated savings and investment app—can route your investments while you spend.
Acorns helps you build your investment portfolio by rounding up each purchase on your credit or debit card to the nearest dollar. From there, Acorns automatically invests the excess change in a diversified portfolio of ETFs. This way, your daily expenses also become part of your consistent investment strategy, helping you to root your investments and grow your wealth over time.
If you sign up today, you can get a $20 sign up bonus to help kickstart your investment journey.
Another way to root your finances is by diversifying outside of the stock market, and gold can be a solid option, especially when it comes to saving for retirement.
Gold — often touted as a safe-haven asset during economic hardship — was the best-performing asset of 2025. The price of the yellow metal hit a record high of more than $4,300 per ounce in October, ending the year with a 65% increase (3).
And amid increased uncertainty over tariffs, gold could be a valuable asset. Goldman Sachs predicts gold prices will reach $4,900 an ounce by the end of 2026.
“Gold is now an institutional asset and is seen as a hedge for ‘everything,'” Tim Seymour said in an interview with CNBC (5).
A gold IRA is a type of individual retirement account that allows you to invest in physical gold and other precious metals.
One way to invest in gold that also offers significant tax benefits is to open a gold IRA with the help of Thor Metals.
Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, thereby combining the tax benefits of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.
To learn more, this free information guide includes details on getting up to $20,000 in free metals on qualifying purchases.
Once you’ve made your money work for you, it’s time to optimize your tax management by doing things like claiming all available tax credits and deductions, maxing out your tax-advantaged retirement accounts and tax-deferred savings accounts, or starting a business and taking advantage of write-offs.
A qualified financial advisor can help you with all of these and more. With Advisor.com, you can find the best advisor for your needs – both in terms of providing them with your finances, and charging them for doing the work for you.
Advisor.com is a free service that helps you find a financial advisor who can create a plan to help you reach your financial goals. By matching you with a curated list of the best options for you from a database of thousands, you get a pre-screened financial advisor you can trust.
Then you can set up a free, no-obligation consultation to see if they’re the right fit for you.
To build a strong financial base and move closer to achieving a high net worth, eliminating debt should be a top priority. For example, the current average annual percentage rate (APR) for a new credit card is a staggering 24.92%, according to LendingTree (6).
Carrying high-interest debt can seriously hamper your ability to grow your wealth and secure your financial future.
A personal finance YouTuber suggests diversifying and increasing your income by starting a side hustle. If you want to opt for a low-effort side hustle with high return potential, real estate may be your answer.
Tilbury recently posted on X how he used the proceeds from his latest business deal. “From that one deal, I made enough to buy a rental unit, which generated a lot of passive income for me,” he said.
If you want to generate investment income from the real estate market, there are plenty of investment opportunities without having to find and buy a property yourself.
For example, crowdfunding platforms like Arrived allow you to enter the real estate market with up to $100.
Arrived gives you access to shares of SEC-qualified investments in rental homes and vacation rentals, curated and vetted for their appreciation and income potential.
Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrive makes it easy to fit these assets into your investment portfolio, regardless of your income level. Their flexible investment amounts and simplified process allow accredited and non-accredited investors to take advantage of this inflation-hedging asset class without any additional work on your part.
Another option is Mogul, which allows you to invest in the top 1% of single-family rental properties across the country.
Founded by former Goldman Sachs analysts, Mogul’s team examines every single asset, offering a minimum 12% return even in negative scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Their cash-on-cash yields average between 10% and 12% annually.
You can earn monthly rental income, plus real-time capital appreciation and tax benefits — all without the need for heavy downpayments or 3 AM rental calls.
Each investment is secured by real assets, not dependent on the platform’s viability. Each property is held in a standalone Propco LLC, so investors own the property – not the platform.
Getting started is easy – just sign up for an account and browse the available properties. Once you verify your information with their team, you can invest like a mogul in a few clicks.
With high self-discipline, reaching this financial milestone can set your net worth on an upward trajectory. Tilbury emphasizes that you must “find your inner discipline” to put all these steps into practice.
“Discipline is the currency of success,” Tilbury said. “The more you mint, the richer your future will become.”
The first step is saving – and saving your money takes discipline.
One way to start saving is with a Wealthfront Cash Account, which can help you build an investment base through a combination of high interest rates and ease of access.
A Wealthfront Cash account may offer a base variable APY of 3.25%, but new customers can earn a 0.65% increase in the first three months for a total of 3.90% APY provided by program banks on your uninvested cash. That’s eight times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s December report.
With no minimum balance or account fees, plus 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds are always accessible. In addition, up to $8 million in WealthFront cash account balances are insured by the FDIC through program banks.
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