For many people, reaching a $1 million net worth is usually through stocks, real estate and entrepreneurship. However, for April Stewart, it was through changing her lifestyle.
Growing up, Stewart was not taught about money aside from money being difficult to come by. She later discovered that her big problem was her lifestyle as she began to learn more about managing money. And to fix that, she started budgeting.
Determined to change her money situation, she started learning about personal finance, educating herself about money and implementing what she learned.
RELATED STORIES
Through her saving habit, she turned her six figure salary from her full time job into a $1 million net worth in her 30s. In a short period, she had more money than she realized.
“I felt like I got an instant raise once I started budgeting,” she told the Business Insider. “Once I realized that, I was able to take my money and apply it to my goals.”
Stewart said becoming a millionaire was accidental as she did not have a goal of becoming one. She noted that it was the result of doing smart and intelligent savings.
“And that’s where the accidental part comes in. I didn’t have a goal to become a millionaire. It was a result of doing smart and intentional things with my money over time. It wasn’t until I did a net worth calculation that I realized I had hit the million-dollar mark,” she noted in a blog.
According to Forbes, her millionaire journey resulted in releasing the weight of her overwhelming debt, building a 12-month emergency fund and drawing a monthly guide to help her achieve her goal.
In 2008, she achieved her goal of settling her $25,000 debt and then invested in stocks and profited from the compound interest. “In 2008, I became debt-free having paid off $25.5k in 8 months. I committed to becoming debt-free and haven’t looked back. My house is next up and will be paid off by December 2020! Paying off your debt is an important part of the equation that gets ignored,” she said in a blog.
Stewart is now focused on teaching others, particularly women, on how to become millionaires using five simple steps. These steps are cultivating a Millionaire Money Mindset, Millionaire Spending Plan, Debt Elimination Plan, Cash Reserve Plan and a Wealth Game Plan.
“Every woman deserves to build wealth,” Stewart wrote on Instagram. “Once I gained insight into exactly what I was doing with money, I was able to transform my relationship with it. Through the right approach to budgeting, debt elimination, saving, and investing, I became a self-made millionaire in my 30s.”
“Now I teach high-achieving women how to create a plan to become millionaires using your income alone,” she added.
