Name: Baby Steps Millionaires
Rating: 3.9 (303 reviews)
Author: Dave Ramsey

What’s in it for me? Turn your million-dollar dream into reality.

How come your paycheck slips through your fingers faster than sand through an hourglass? If only you were a millionaire, then life would be so much easier… But alas, you weren’t born rolling in dough. Making seven figures is nothing but a far-fetched fantasy. Or is it?

In this Blink to Baby Steps Millionaires by Dave Ramsey, you’ll discover that hitting a net worth of one million dollars isn’t far-fetched at all. Many have done it before, and no, you don’t need to be blessed with any special advantage to do so.

If you’re ready to find out how to turn your financial situation around and get that seven-digit net worth, let's jump straight in.

Becoming a millionaire is well within your reach.

How many of your peers have told you that they’d be a millionaire by the age of 55? Not a single one? Well, that isn’t surprising. After all, it’s a common belief that becoming a millionaire is about as likely as finding a dodo bird in your backyard. Translation: it’s impossible.

But the truth is, hitting seven figures is actually very attainable, and all you really need to do is two things: change your belief and follow the Ramsey Baby Steps.

What do we mean by “change your belief?” Well, firstly you have to stop thinking that being a millionaire is getting to live the lavish life of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Those two are billionaires, not millionaires, and yes, there is a world of difference between these two terms.

For starters, billionaires typically run at least one national company. Millionaires, on the other hand, are found in more common professions like engineer, accountant, and teacher, as reported by the National Study of Millionaires by the author’s company Ramsey Solutions.

Billionaires own multiple houses on sprawling estates and drive top-of-the-line car models. Meanwhile, millionaires have a house in your typical residential neighborhood and only two cars.

Billionaires go dining and shopping without asking for discounts. On the flipside, the Ramsey Solutions’ study found that most millionaires still use coupons.

See the gigantic difference? Millionaires are just as ordinary as you are, and if they could do it, there’s no reason why you can’t do it too.

Aside from drawing a clear line between millionaires and billionaires, part of changing your belief is also switching from a sense of helplessness to a sense of control. If you think that you can’t become a millionaire because you’re poor, an immigrant, a person of color, or buried in six figures of debt, then think again. Everyone faces their own set of challenges, but only those who take ownership of their life emerge to become millionaires.

In Ramsey Solutions’ millionaire study, not all of the 10,000 millionaires they surveyed come from white privileged families. Instead, they were composed of different races, education levels, and backgrounds. This just goes to show that no matter the kind of situation you’re in, it’s possible for you to reach millionaire status. You don’t need to graduate from an Ivy League, get an executive-level job, or have a six-figure household income.

What you need is to stop letting the odds hold you back, and start believing that you can and you will. Once you’ve done that, then you’re ready for the second step to becoming a millionaire: following the Ramsey Baby Steps to a tee.

Start the Ramsey Baby Steps by covering your debts.

Humans are impatient. You hate waiting for your meal to be served. You hate being stuck in traffic. You hate counting the days until Christmas. The same is true for building wealth. So if you want to have a million bucks, you’d rather take the fastest way to get there. Lucky for you, that’s what the Ramsey Baby Steps are.

The author claims that this seven-step plan is the quickest and most surefire way of helping you build that million-dollar net worth. It has already helped thousands of people in the last three decades, regardless of what their situation was when they first started. By following this process, you, too, can join the ranks of the many other Baby Steps Millionaires.

Complete the Ramsey Baby Steps by investing long-term.

So you’ve sorted out your debts and saved for your emergency fund. Now it’s time to really build your fortune.

Baby Step #4 is taking 15% of your household income before taxes and placing that into retirement accounts. But how exactly? Your first priority is maximizing what your employer is putting into your 401(k). Say they offer a 5% company match, then you invest 5% of your pre-tax income into your plan, as well. After you maxed out your company match, move on to contributing to your Roth IRA. Finally, any amount left over from your 15% should be invested into a traditional work-sponsored tax-deferred plan.

Baby Steps Millionaires are Ordinary People.

Over the last three decades, the Ramsey Baby Steps have turned several hundred people into Baby Steps Millionaires. And their stories are here to inspire you into achieving your first million, too.

One of those Baby Steps Millionaires is Tiffany. Before stumbling upon the author’s seven-step plan, Tiffany was a new single mom with two kids to feed and $60,000 of debt to pay off. She was living off of a $30,000 annual income that could only put ramen noodles on the table. It was admittedly a messy phase of her life, but Tiffany knew she had to get out of it and fast. So she decided to follow the Baby Steps, which eventually led her to a whopping net worth of $1.85 million two decades later.

Final Summary

Becoming a millionaire is just within your arm’s reach. It all starts with you believing that you can have a seven-figure net worth, and then following through with the Ramsey Baby Steps.

Baby Step 1 is to set aside $1000 into your starter emergency fund. Step 2 is to settle all your debts, except for your home mortgage. Step 3 is to save three to six months’ worth of emergency funds. Step 4 is to put 15% of your income into your retirement plan. Step 5 is to create your kids’ college funds. Step 6 is to fully pay off your mortgage. And Step 7 is to be generous with your wealth.

Key ideas in Baby Steps Millionaires