Testing…1, 2, 3. Can you hear me out there? You listening? Good. Ah yes, I remember it like it was yesterday.
One of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) Bloggers that I had been reading was featured in Forbes. I remember thinking how did he do that. Well, when you go from $0 to $400,000 in seven years that does tend to get people’s attention.
The thing that really stood out to me was that he actually got to $400,000. I just knew if he could get there, then he could get to $1 million.
That blog was called Budgets are Sexy.
I had the pleasure to not only meet J. Money, or J$ for short, in-person just a few years after that article, but also got to interview him on this blog. He’s one of the most coolest and down-to-earth finance dudes you will ever meet.
Over the years, he has given his advice on how he basically went from nothing to something.
He regularly talks about his net worth on his blog and does not shy away from telling you about the highs and the lows of building wealth.
His transparency is why people gravitate towards him. He tells it like it is. He walks it like he talks it.
One of the best pieces of advice he gave me on the road to $1 million was to max out your retirement accounts. All of them. And if you can’t do that, then save as much as you can.
What J$ didn’t know is that his blog lit a spark for me.
If he started with nothing and could go to almost half a million dollars, then I could too.
We like to call J. Money the Godfather of FIRE blogging because he started back when it was just a small niche in 2008. There is even a joke on his site where he is called the Miley Cyrus of Finance! Ha!
All jokes aside, I was paying attention. Budgets are Sexy is the personal finance blog in which it is Greenback’s Magnet yardstick for building wealth. Like Visa, his blog is everywhere my blog wants to be.
Therefore, after reading that Forbes article, I decided at that moment that I wanted to get to $400,000 too!
So I put my head down and went to work. At one point, I was investing 25 percent of my income. I lived off rice and kale. No avocado toast for me. I wanted that sweet taste of freedom.
Every spare dime was put to work in my brokerage account.
This blog is also how I keep myself accountable to reach my financial goals. It didn’t matter if I had holes in my shoes, I kept walking in then until they literally fell apart. Nothing went to waste. I was reading 10 to 20 books on personal finance a year.
I paid off my car $450 payment in 2009. Then my personal loan that was costing me $333 a month. All the hard work and sacrifices paid off when I saw that my balance had grown from $50,000 to $375,000. Then within a few months, I was at over $402,000!
It also got picked up by some other sites like Yahoo and AOL.com.
I am still increasing my annual contributions every year. I won’t stop until I reach my target: $1 million dollars!
The one crazy thing I noticed in the comments section is that there were many folks saying that $1 million will not be enough to retire.
I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I simply was sharing how I set a goal and was working on reaching it. Man, that really knocked me over. Nevertheless, I recovered quickly. You have to have thick skin once you decide to put your name or work out there.
Unlike George McFly, I can handle rejection. The point of the story was to help and inspire not to hurt and discourage.
I felt like 50 Cent on that interview he recently did on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast where he says his first record deal with Shady Aftermath netted him $1 million and Dame Dash says that ain’t no money. Huh? When you go from nothing to $1 million, you bet your a$$ that is a sh*t ton of money.
50 Cent says Dame Dash has no money now and calls Dame Dash out for telling him that the $1 million he received from signing with Eminem's Shady Records was no money.
However, I digress. I just put my head down and went back to work.
No wonder people practice stealth wealth! Regardless of all the naysayers, I am still working toward my goal. Next stop on the million-dollar tour is $500,000. After that, it is $750,000. And of course, $1 million.
If being on Business Insider taught me anything, it’s not to let anything or anyone trip you up on the road to your dreams. It’s great to be acknowledged and to talk about your goals, but it’s even better to actually live out your dreams.
Don’t gamble! Take all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up, then sell it. If it don’t go up, don’t buy it. – Will Rogers.
In my last post, Down the Financial Freedom Rabbit Hole, I talked to you about having over $300,000 in retirement savings. In this post, Part 2, I will talk about the behavior you will need to use to get there.
One of the biggest lessons I learned about life is that you have to give to get. There is no free lunch. Nothing is free. You have to work for everything you have. And don’t let anybody tell you any different.
Even starting out with nothing, you can end with something.
However, it won’t happen overnight.
Little by little everyday you make progress. You have to set a goal. And you have to focus. Much like Obi Wan Kenobi’s Jedi Master in Star Wars said to a young Anakin Skywalker.
So without further ado, here are some of the behaviors that can help turn you into a millionaire. And we’re off…you can now wave goodbye to broke in the camera and say hello to financial freedom.
Learn to sit on a box until you can afford a chair. – money quote
Starting from scratch was not easy. The number one thing I did was make a goal. It does not matter how big or small, you have to start with a goal.
You cannot get to a destination without first knowing where you are going.
My ultimate goal was $1M USD. I then broke it into actionable steps.
Get a job that offers 401k’s with a match was one of them.
I also knew I had to increase my income. Whether it be sales, HVAC School, plumbing, teaching, or college, you have to find a way to make a living and bring some money home.
I took Dave Ramsey’s saying literally in when he says it is not what you are willing to do that will make you rich, but what you are willing to give up. And I gave up a lot. Nights out with friends, parties, vacations, you name it. But the sacrifice was worth it as it moved me closer to my ultimate goal: freedom.
I would spend my nights studying (sometimes up to 8 hours a day!) and doing my college work. Then I would spend my days looking for jobs that offered retirement accounts with matching contributions. Since I chose the college route, I knew that after I got my degree, that I would use that to negotiate a better job with higher pay.
I couldn’t just start in at the top. It’s like what the late rapper Young Dolph said on being wary of helping those who refuse to help themselves (“Million Dollaz Worth of Game” interview, 2021): Everybody wanna start at the top. Everybody wanna start at the top, and everybody wanna ball off the rip.
So true. How can you possibly start at the top? You don’t know anything. You have to put in the work if you want to get ahead and if you want people to respect you.
Dolph sounds a lot like one of my favorite Disney characters, Scrooge McDuck.
A panel from an Uncle Scrooge comic by Jack Bradbury. Character created in 1947 by Carl Banks.
So if you find yourself mopping floors, but earning the respect of your fellow workers and the CEO that leads to creating long lasting relationships, getting mentoring from those who played the long-game and won, you climbing that corporate ladder to one day being in the C-suite, count yourself fortunate to work your way up to the top you lucky duck! Pun intended.
Those that try to skip putting in the work miss out on opportunities and experiences that are necessary rungs on the ladder to success that are needed to stay at the top. You have to work late nights, get up early and be consistent. Nobody ever got rich sleeping all day.
Once, I got that magic 401k, I went to work investing in it. That was around 2007. However, my account was increasing too slowly.
I needed to figure out a way to free up some capital to make it go faster. That’s when I figured it out. One of the best ways to start investing larger sums of money with minimal effort. Change my behavior and attitude toward material objects. Namely; cars.
I would pay off my car and then not get into another car payment.
I would instead redirect that money to my investments. I gave up on the desire to having a flashy car in parking lot and focused on financial freedom. I paid off my car in 2009. I have not had a car payment since.
This along with paying off credit card debt, in my opinion, is the best ways to build wealth.
After that, my investments started to take off. I also opened up a Roth IRA around 2011 to invest even more money. I did this because when I did the math, it showed that if you max out your retirement accounts; $23,000 in your 401k and $7,000 in an IRA which are the limits in 2024, with a 10% return, you could hit $1 million in 15 years. That’s less than two decades! It takes the average millionaire about 27 years to get there.
Simple plan: Pay off car payment and max out retirement accounts. I just gave you the magic ingredients to the secret sauce.
Come on, let me get a 5-star rating for that advice like Nora got on Upload.
As of this writing, I am closing in on hitting my next target of $400,000 in investable assets. I was getting closer to my goal of $1M in retirement savings.
Getting so close to my goal made me realize that personal debt is the mortal enemy that threatens to suck the money out of your wallet and the joy out of your life.
I wanted to slay debt like my favorite Marvel comic book character Red Sonja does her enemies.
I wanted to strike first and show no mercy when it came to getting rid of and staying out of debt like Cobra Kai!
I felt like Carmen Sandiego when she meticulously plans her escapes…with style. I was leaving debt behind and flying toward freedom.
You can do the same. By changing your behavior to earn interest instead of paying it by investing. Until next time…
Top of the morning to you! Happy Monday! On this sunny day in December, Christmas is a mere 13 days away. Some people are already receiving excellent Christmas gifts in the form of overtime pay.
And I thought having that in my retirement accounts was good news. That is a Merry Christmas present indeed. Let’s get right to it!
I know some of you out there haven’t heard from me in the blogosphere for some time now. But you know what, I feel like Dr. Dre in Forgot About Dre.
I’ve been busy behind the scenes trying to get this blog off and my finances to newer heights! I never left you.
And to prove that I’m still here back better and stronger than ever, I will be posting some new articles here in the near future about climbing that millionaire ladder and moving on up to a deluxe apartment in the sky.
The stock market is minting millionaires every day. Let Mr. Market make you richer whilst you sit back and sip Mojitos letting your hard earned dollars work for you. Let the money flock to you like ducks to water or a moth to a flame.
Thanks to the IRS tax code, you can now contribute $20,500 in 2022 to your 401k. I’m going to ride that pony into the million-dollar sunset. TE-HEY! You should do the same. Save until it hurts. Invest until you owe so little in taxes you rival the tax returns of Jeff Bezos and Amazon for the last few year paying $0 in taxes.
That is because the more you invest, the less you pay in income taxes. But enough about all that. Let’s talk about these $300,000 sanitation workers shall we?
That was 2016. Many were left scratching their heads wondering just how could someone sign up for overtime almost every day, work 361 days in the year, and earn $162,000 in overtime pay. Not me. The system allowed no limit on overtime, so he got it. End of story.
Let’s say that after taxes was able to bank enough to max out his 401k for the next five years. In 2016, the IRS contribution limit was $18,000.
So, hypothetically speaking, if you invested that same amount annually for five years would invest that would be $90,000 cash in the market. During that time, $18,000 per year could grow into $124,431.47. If he let that money sit in the market without adding another dime of his base pay or overtime, that could turn into $1,003,205 over 20 years. He would become a millionaire based on one year of overtime pay.
Now let’s fast forward to 2021. Sanitation workers in NYC have earned upwards of $300,000 and receiving $153,000 in overtime pay. Cha-ching! Bank that money baby! They too can turn this windfall into riches by simply investing this money.
The NASDAQ has gone up 750% since 2009. No time like the present to invest. Brokerages have not only gone to $0 trade commissions, but companies have also recorded record high turnout in 2020 and 2021 of new customers entering the market and signing up on their platforms.
If these overtime kings put that money to work, they can make a fortune.
All this from one year of overtime pay. With many companies not even offering overtime, that is awesome that these guys are able to not only make a living but even build wealth off of it. Therefore, college admissions counselors everywhere beware! Haha! No $100,000 MBA required!
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was just starting out and knew I needed to look into saving for my future. I was beginning at ground zero with $0 saved for retirement.
This was in line with the average 401(k) balance for a young person starting out in their 20s. My employer was offering 50% for every dollar we contributed up to 6% of our salary. I was all set to start making some moves into investing for my future so I got started right away. Then boom! Barely into starting out on my journey, the housing market crashed in 2008.
The Great Recession rolled in and people were losing homes and jobs left and right. I got my pink slip in 2009. I felt like I had just put $2 in my account. Not only did I lose my job, but also my employer contributions including thousands of dollars due to the fact you had to be an employee for 5 years to be fully vested. I was discouraged, but not defeated.
I always keep an up to date resume so I started sending it out. It took months, but I finally got a new gig that allowed me to be 100% vested from Day 1. This has helped me grow my nest age from $6,500 in 2010 to past a quarter of a million ($250,000) over a fairly short time later thanks to a raging stock market!
Total Vanguard Assets beginning from 2010
After I read a Fidelity report that stated 401(k) millionaires are on the rise, I figured I could be one of them too.
According to numerous financial pundits, it is recommended that you even need a minimum of $1 million to retire.
First, I had to get to $100k and that put me on the path to eventually passing the $250,000 mark. So you see, you have to have a goal. This is what I did to make it happen.
1) Set a goal
You can’t get anywhere without first knowing where you want to go. Therefore, I set a goal for myself of $100,000. I did this because after doing some research, I found that the first $100k is the hardest.
However, once you reach this milestone you can stop contributing completely to your 401(k) and still become a millionaire in 30 years without adding another penny.
As long as the stock market continues what it has done over the last 40 years (1980-2020), then you can expect returns of 10% a year. This will get you where you want to go over the long term. I’ll show you.
In 2012, I had $25,000 invested and by 2015, I reached my goal of $100,000. I have more than doubled my money since that time. You see how much faster your retirement accounts go up once you reach $100k. That money is doing all the heavy lifting for me.
It can take 5-10 years to reach the first $100k, but the next $100k may take only 3 years. Therefore, every year the next $100k takes less time.
Fourpillarfreedom.com
2) Cut expenses
I learned about house hacking from listening to a podcast on Bigger Pockets years ago. House hacking allows you to cut your housing expenses by 25% or more. Basically, you rent out your property and decrease your mortgage payment by having renters and becoming a landlord.
The other thing you can do is move to a less expensive location in order to save and invest the difference. You can also do this with a partner or roommate as you will have shared expenses that lower your living expenses.
I got my expenses down very low which allowed me to go from a savings rate of $1 to $5 dollars a day or 3% of my income to eventually working my way up to saving and investing 40% of my income.
Around 2013, my savings rate was 15%. Then it went to 25% in 2015. And I got it to around 40% by 2018.
I would incrementally increase my savings rate by 1% a month or a year depending on what I had going on. This is one of the best ways to give yourself a raise without feeling like you are being deprived.
Sacrificing when you are young and loose like a mongoose is best. Limiting your expenses during the lean years are well worth it.
Consider this. According to Vanguard, while the average 401(k) savings balance is over $100,000, the median account balance is much less at $25,775.
There was a time I was paying $448.65 a month for a car payment. I also had a $20,000 personal loan at $333 a month. Talk about a money suck!
This was draining my ability to save more. Once I got those items paid off, I started redirecting that money to my savings and investments.
That allowed me to put money into an emergency fund, brokerage account, 401(k) and my Roth IRA.
4) Start an emergency fund
The only way to stay out of debt is to have money in the bank so you will not need credit in the first place. Access to credit can become a nightmare when you have to start paying a large percentage of your income toward managing it. Therefore, I found a good number to start with is $1,000.
Then I worked my way up to $5,000. Again, I moved this number up to $10,000.
My personal suggestion is for people to have at least a minimum 3-6 month emergency fund. You can keep the credit card debt off you, if you can have money set aside for car and home repairs that tend to pop up at exactly the wrong time.
5) Be consistent
No matter what, I made sure to put money in my retirement accounts . If the choice was between having fun on a vacation or saving $10,000 first, I choose to save. Responsibility first, fun later. That is what my dad always used to say.
I save and pay myself first before doing anything else. That includes paying the rent! After my 401(k) and Roth IRA contributions are made, then I pay the bills.
6) Keep increasing your income
I increased my income through both annual cost of living increases, asking for and receiving pay raises, or getting a promotion. I was able to increase my income by 50% from my early 20s.
Every time I earned more money, I increased my contributions. However, please know that income is not enough alone to build wealth. It’s what you save. Notice the Vanguard chart below shows that higher income does not correlate with a higher 401(k) balance.
Annual income
Average 401(k) balance
Median 401(k) balance
Less than $15,000
$8,260
$1,356
$15,000 to $29,999
$13,069
$4,020
$30,000 to $49,999
$29,740
$10,439
$50,000 to $74,999
$66,033
$27,630
$75,000 to $99,999
$113,143
$54,020
$100,000 to $149,999
$177,597
$91,470
$150,000 and above
$298,851
$154,989
7) Live on cash
I know you hear this all the time, but cash is king and it is best to stay away from plastic. Debt just weighs you down. That money could be put to work for you in Mr. Market.
America likes to reward investors and shareholders by paying dividends. The more you invest the more you earn. Without doing any additional work, you are making money from income you already earned years ago. That is truly how you work smarter and not harder.
8) Invest in growth stocks
I started with a few thousand bucks and put it into Amazon and Apple back in May 2013. You can see from below that was the prices they were selling for back then. Amazon was going for $258 a share.
AMAZON.COM INC
Buy
5.0000
$258.84
APPLE INC
Buy
3.0000
$463.66
After investing more with both companies, as you should not only buy the product but the stock as well, the stock splits and appreciation has caused my investments to go up. I remember being amazed that Amazon had gone up to almost $2k a share. I even took a picture of it. Cause you know, seeing is believing. Back then it was going for $1,897 a share.
Amazon is now $3,300 a share! That is inching closer to the S&P 500 price of $4,000. Keep in mind the S&P 500 is made up of over 500 stocks.
Amazon is just one company. Its evaluation is pushing closer to what the evaluation is for 500 companies. Amazing! That is when I learned growth stocks can make you rich.
9) Invest in index funds
I invest with Vanguard because they have the lowest expense ratios I have seen. You can invest in the VITSX or VTSAX and get a low expense ration of around 0.003% and 0.04%, respectively.
The goal is to keep maintenance costs low as this will eat into your money later when you take those required monthly distributions (RMD) .
That is a good reason open up a Roth.
10) Have a Roth IRA
The Roth has no RMDs. You can let it ride forever or whenever you do take money out it is tax-free. Instead of paying interest on distributions with your 401(k), you could get access to them for free with a Roth.
If you are unable to do a Roth due to income limitations, then you can do a backdoor Roth. This allows you to convert your 401(k) into a Roth with a conversion ladder. Due to the Roth allowing you to make after-tax contributions, this is the superior investment vehicle.
Find a way to get one and watch that money go in after-tax and come out tax-free because you have already paid taxes on it.
And there you have it folks.
As of this writing, I have continued to watch my investments go up and continue to invest regularly. It has been awesome to watch my money grow. It has been very rewarding making those early sacrifices in exchange for building more wealth.
I have more money and freedom than I have ever had. All the sacrifice was worth it in the end.
My next money goal is 401(k) millionaire.
Keeping track of my net worth, investment portfolio, spending habits and increasing my savings have all helped me get here.
So my advice to you all is to keep stacking that dough.
Had to take a break to batten down the hatches and get things under control at the home front.
Like many other folks out here, I had to stop everything and readjust to life in the pandemic.
March 13, 2020 will go down as a day in infamy.
It went from getting up and going about my day to lock everything down, close up shop, HIDE the wife, HIDE the kids, and LOCK THE DOORS!
Who would have thought that this would still be wreaking havoc on so many of our daily lives almost a year later?
The year 2020 sink into the abyss.
While the fat cats on Wall Street got richer, many of the regular working stiff got the shaft. I ain’t here to put anyone down. I’m here to lift people up.
I want to get you to the places where you want to go. So I am going to show you how the rich are doing it. I know that talking about building wealth during a pandemic may seem callous, but know this, one day the pandemic will end.
And if you are tired of living hand-to-mouth and paycheck-to-paycheck, then you better listen up. I’m trying to change your money mindset to one of sheer hope and abundance dammit!
I feel like Kanye and his song Jesus Walks when he rapped the lyrics,” I ain’t here to argue about his facial features. I’m here to convert atheist’s into believers.” Many will doubt me. But some will listen. And to those that do, your life will change.
I have so many posts on ice that I didn’t even know where to start. So I figured I would just dive right in.
My 5-step plan for surviving COVID.
Number One you need shelter.
If you are beefing or in any type of conflict with your roommates or partner, now is the time to kiss and make up.
This cannot be over-stressed that you need a roof over you head. I saw a ton of chatter online about people not knowing they need to sign a form and submit it to their landlord to stop any possible eviction due to limited funds or no income.
Reach out to local housing authorities, neighbors, 7 on your side or even your Congressman if it will help you. If you can’t afford an apartment, see if you can rent a room. This is top priority. You cannot stay safe without 4 walls and a roof.
Number Two you need food.
Whether it is a local grocery store, Instacart, or a food pantry, doesn’t really matter. You must have food to live.
Stock up on fruits, veggies, milk, bread, and eggs. Anything that helps you make a quick meal. You just need to survive this.
This too shall pass.
Number three you get the household in order.
Forget putting water in the pool, watering the grass, or landscaping.
You have to conserve everything.
You never know when a freak storm or accident could make things more difficult. So limit and cut any unnecessary spending and home maintenance.
Number four you need an emergency fund.
Don’t kid yourself into thinking the government or unemployment is going to save you. It’s not.
Any place you can pull resources from do it!
Even if you do cash advances on a credit card, a cash-out home refinance, or personal loan.
You need MONEY IN THE BANK!
Money is the only legal tender with which to pay bills.
My suggestion is to have a minimum of $5k at all times just in case.
Number five keep stacking that dough.
If you are one of the lucky ones that still have a job or are working from home (about 30 million Americans lost jobs), then you have something to work with.
Keep contributing to your retirement and savings accounts. Do not stop. This fund will be what allows you to one day retire.
Don’t slack now, if you do not have to.
I’ll leave you with this tidbit.
The stock market has averaged over 11 percent from 1975 to 2015.
Over those 40 years, the stock market has minted many millionaires. You could be one of them, as long as you keep stacking and stay the course.
And if you need motivation, tweet me. I’ll be @mjp2520 on twitter.
I like sports. Watching sports. Playing sports. It’s great exercise and a way to encourage team building, leadership, and character.
However, going to an actual sporting event is a whole other matter entirely. I did some research and found out that regularly going to sporting events can make you BROKE!
Going to see your favorite sports team could put your bank account on empty faster than a housewife with all-access to your credit cards!
I’m not talking $50 tickets here. Oh no. We are talking thousand of dollars to watch Brady, LeBron, and Bryce Harper do what they do best live and in person. It will cost you.
This year’s Super Bowl is coming up on Sunday and if you want to get into the stadium, you better be prepared to give up a couple mortgage payments.
Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming Super Bowl and how it can really cost you $2 million bucks!
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SUPER BOWL LIV
Super Bowl LIV: San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs Hard Rock Stadium – Miami Gardens, FL on Sun Feb 2 at 630 PM. 347 Don Shula Drive Miami Gardens, FL 33056
After doing some research on Super Bowl ticket pricing, I found a comprehensive listing of the event on vividseats.com. This information comes straight from their website.
Super Bowl Ticket Information
Your Super Bowl tickets are available at Vivid Seats – the football fan’s top destination for tickets to the biggest game in American sports. Buy Super Bowl 54 tickets for the grand finale taking place on Feb. 2, 2020 at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins. Vivid Seats has long been a trusted partner of football fans attending the NFL’s marquee game. Featuring an industry-best customer service center and flexible delivery methods, you can rely on our ticket marketplace as your hassle-free connection to great Super Bowl 2020 tickets. Call 866.827.7094 for personalized order assistance today with Super Bowl LIV tickets today.
Super Bowl Ticket Prices 2020
How Much Are Super Bowl Tickets for 2020? No matter what you’re looking to spend, Vivid Seats has Super Bowl 2020 tickets to fit your budget. Super Bowl tickets cost $7655 this year on average.
How much is a Super Bowl ticket for 2020? At Vivid Seats, we have tickets to the 2020 Super Bowl starting at $4815 with an average price of $7655.
Cheapest Super Bowl Tickets While even cheap 2020 Super Bowl tickets are going to be more expensive than most NFL games, there are still great deals to be found. Prices will fluctuate based on many factors such as inventory and demand, so be sure to get your cheap Super Bowl tickets before it’s too late! The cheapest Super Bowl tickets cost $4815.
How do you get tickets to the Super Bowl? Snagging tickets to the Super Bowl can be tricky, but at Vivid Seats, we make it easy to find your perfect tickets to the 2020 Super Bowl. Browse our wide selection of Super Bowl tickets today!
Who is performing at the Super Bowl 2020 halftime show? On Sept. 26, the NFL announced that Jennifer Lopez (JLo) and Shakira would perform at the Super Bowl 54 halftime show. Demi Lovato will sing the national anthem.
When Is the Super Bowl? Super Bowl 54 will take place on Sunday, February 2, 2020.
Future Super Bowl Locations Super Bowl 2021: Tampa, Fla. Super Bowl 2022: Inglewood, Calif. Super Bowl 2023: Glendale, Ariz. Super Bowl 2024: New Orleans
YOU HAVE TO PAY THE COST TO BE THE BOSS OR SIT NEAR THEM
What really jumped out at me was the average ticket price of $7,655. This is an insane amount of money to spend on one day for a few hours of entertainment. I would rather invest that money.
Matter of fact, I could invest in all the companies that are sponsoring the Super Bowl such as Frito Lay, Bud-light, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, Delta Airlines, Marriott Hotel, and Fox. All these companies have a stake in the game and are making a mint off all those SB parties and tailgating. Let me get in on the action too!
According to Marketwatch, tickets purchased through Ticketmaster LYV, -2.30%, the official ticketing partner of the NFL, is higher than any other year in the past six years, the company said Tuesday.
TICKET PRICES ON ALL THE MAJOR TICKETING SITES
It would be safe to say that there is a monopoly going on with where you can purchase tickets. Much like healthcare in the America, buying event tickets is starting to become a racket.
I know folks that say healthcare will cost their families $1,100 to $1,800 or more per month. That is outrageous!
It is eye-popping prices like that which case people to forgo getting teeth pulled and limping around on crutches for a month before finally getting that sprained ACL looked at.
Ticket gouging is all the rage and I feel the general public is being taken advantage of. However, if you do not agree with me that’s cool. I can only speak for myself in saying I am not willing to pay $5,000 on one event unless I had that much income or more coming in off my passive investments every month.
That being said, I am taking you behind the curtain of Super Bowl ticket prices.
Prepare yourself and gird your loins.
Ticketmaster prices ranged from $4,950 to $26,125 for VIP. That is what some colleges are charges for anywhere between one semester and four years of college!
Vivid Seats prices ranged from $4,900 to $14,136. And unless this was a typo, a 11-person suite would cost $327,020 each. Are you freaking kidding me?! That is the cost of a house! If you invest that money and let it ride, you could be a millionaire in like 12 years!
StubHub prices ranged from $4,945 to $49,000. Again, investing this money and letting it ride would make you a multimillionaire.
Over 40 years with a 10% interest rate, you could have $2,217,703.52 in your retirement account and be a 401(k) multimillionaire!
Granted most people are not willing or able to cough up this dough, but for those thinking able maxing out 10 credit cards to be treated like a VIP for like six hours you are giving up $2 million.
SeatGeek prices ranged from $4,448 to $17,425. You could send you kid to college or on a European immersive education endeavor to learn different cultures and languages.
Fun Fact: The late great NBA legend Kobe Bryant spoke Italian fluently as he lived abroad with his family as a kid while his father played in the NBA. May he forever rest in peace.
Super Bowl LII: New England Patriots vs Philadelphia Eagles
2018-02-04
$5,373
Super Bowl LI: Atlanta Falcons vs New England Patriots
2017-02-05
$3,976
Super Bowl 50: Denver Broncos vs Carolina Panthers
2016-02-07
$4,531
Super Bowl XLIX: New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks
2015-02-01
$4,268
Super Bowl XLVIII: Denver Broncos vs Seattle Seahawks
2014-02-02
$2,598
According to CBS, $40,000 Super Bowl tickets could get you admitted to the “72 Club,” so-named after the Miami Dolphins’ perfect 1972 season.
Their $40,000 ticket includes black car service to and from Hard Rock Stadium, a private lane on stadium grounds to bypass traffic, a private concert from an A-list performer, high-end food and booze, and even access to the field for the post-game celebration.
And if you want more luxury and exclusiveness there’s an even higher level for the V-VIPs: Nine open-air living room suites that Walls says feel “like sitting in the back of a yacht, only at the 50-yard line.” Priced at $750,000 per suite, it’ll cost about as much as a yacht, too.
Again, investing this money could make you a millionaire in like three years. Obviously, you have to be a high roller with a net worth of like $25 million to even consider this kind of excess IMO.
Here’s where most millennial’s are investing. You could do the same instead of going to sports events.
Heck, that $750,000 swanky VIP suite cost is my FIRE number as that amount spits off investment enough income for me to live off of and not have to work again.
I put my money into index funds and let it ride. You could put it into 500 index funds like me. The S&P 500 is up 200%! Get in on this market!
Especially, considering that 50% of Americans are not invested in the stock market and have $0 in savings and investments.
But this is your life. You decide. You want to spend $40,000 to watch football live or let that money ride in Mr. Market for 40 years and have $2 million in net worth?
Invest your money into you and your family instead of sports teams and their billionaire owners.
