Millionaire Extraordinaire

This week, I had the pleasure of attending an appreciation party for all of the savvy investors (who invested at least one million dollars in deposits, CDs, stocks and bonds) at my town’s high-end local bank. We sat atop the 12th floor of the swanky executive party room, enjoyed a resplendent array of fresh fruits and delicious appetizers, sipped wines and mixed drinks, watched the activity on the Mississippi River and chatted about local news.

I, of course, was not one of the lucky millionaires in attendance (not yet anyway!). I was invited as a guest, and I enjoyed every minute of being treated like a millionaire. Ah, how the other half lives…

My point is not to relive the delicious fruits and wine pairings but to share what I learned through observation and from the presentation. So let’s jump into the millionaire pool!

Millionaires Come in Surprising Packages

Attending the event was an eye-opening experience. I was surprised to learn that most of these millionaires were not doctors or lawyers. Sure, there were some, but most of the people at the party were low-end executives who invested wisely. In fact, if I saw these same people on the street, I would never guess they had multi-millions on deposit.

Our Own Millionaire Paths

Of course, when I think about it, my husband and I are on a path to be multi-millionaires when we retire. In fact, it is estimated that most people in their early thirties should ideally have saved one million dollars apiece to retire in comfort (check out CNN's retirement calculator to figure out your own goal). 401(k)s, IRAs, stocks and bonds can get us all to that million dollar figure. It’s just a long wait (about 40 years!) to that investor appreciation party in the end, huh?

Learning from the Millionaire Mentality

The party also offered a fantastic presentation for the investors, offering up some tips and tricks on the future of the stock market. While I furiously took notes, the savvy millionaires took in the advice simply with knowledgeable smiles; they already had their millions. I, however, want to make my millions, so I sucked in all of the knowledge like a finance Dyson. Now I would like to share everything with you:

• Interest Rates Will Not Rise This Year – In the next 12 to 14 months, it is predicted that savings interest rates will not increase more than 0.25%. With the presidential election approaching, rates tend to stabilize for political reasons.
• Treasury Market Will Pull Back 10% – This summer, it is predicted that in response to the small increase in interest rates, the bond market will decrease by about 10%.
• Global Markets Will Become More Important – As emerging markets become more industrialized, they may be one of the best places to invest. These countries do not have to contend with the defecits that established countries (like the United States) must. Therefore, they can afford to pay higher interest rates.
• Global Guerillas Will Continue to Perform – United States companies with huge global presences will perform well in the coming years. These include companies like Coca Cola and McDonalds; they are the companies that Europe, Asia and other countries have embraced.
• Dividend Companies Will Continue to Be Important – Still, even with all of the global trends, investing in dividend companies remains one of the smartest choices. These companies have proven track records of working hard for their investors…and of sharing the wealth with you.

So that’s the millionaire party in a nutshell. People who have millions are just like you and me; they just have fatter wallets. We all (really, truly) need millions to retire, so we can learn from these millionaires to stash our cash in smart stocks, including the global market, US-based global companies and dividend companies.

I hope the tips I learned can help you in the coming year! Let’s keep this share-the-wealth stock knowledge going with a few tips from our readers! Please comment below to share your own insight, tips and tricks:

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