Become Middle-Class PLUS: Insert Growth Multipliers into Your Life

Most people fear becoming rich. Somewhere along the lines, they adopted a belief that rich people are bad; therefore, they avoid the path to wealth.

However, it’s still not wrong to make a little more money. The problem is that most people cannot fathom earning income outside of a 9-5 job.

Most times, people’s jobs are their only source of income, leading to fear and anxiety.

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I propose keeping your day job and making yourself extremely comfortable in the middle class. Additionally, if you so choose, you’ll set yourself up for massive wealth opportunities in the future.

What is the middle class? Let’s first define being middle-class so we are all on the same page.

1. Own a home
2. Low debt
3. Can pay all bills from cash flow
4. A small amount of savings
5. A small amount of discretionary income

Do you have to own a home? Unfortunately, you must own a home to be middle-class because you cannot control your own destiny as a renter.

We bought a home in Florida in 2017. My military housing allowance then was $1,600, and our mortgage was $1,000. This is a recipe for building wealth.

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Today, in 2023, that same house can rent for $2,000 (I rent it for $1,800), and the military housing allowance is $2,000. This is a recipe for being broke.

It’s hard to be middle class when someone else dictates your housing payment every year. Step one of becoming middle-class is owning a home.

Reviewing a middle-class budget. The rest of a middle-class budget is fairly straightforward as long as we live below our means.

Things can get out of whack when a middle-class family (making $100,000) wants to drive an Audi SUV and a Tesla Model X.

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Let’s say a $100,000 family lives in a small city, drives $20,000 cars, and has an affordable house. They save and invest $500 per month and have $1,000 in discretionary income—living reasonably well.

Do not become complacent. The problem with this picture lies in the future. With inflation and capitalism, we cannot predict the costs of goods and services.

Things like health care, college, food, gas, insurance, vacations, and property taxes can all rise on a moment’s notice.

We cannot depend on a pay raise as the only way to increase our income; we must insert growth multipliers into our lives.

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What is a growth multiplier? A growth multiplier is anything that leverages the power of compounding in your favor.

Compounding growth differs from linear growth because it grows exponentially, not linearly. Let me explain.

Look at college prices over the years. What if colleges went up $1,000 per year for 40 years? How about if it went up 10% every year for 40 years? Do you see the difference?

We can harness the power of compounding to ensure we always outpace inflation and the expensive nature of America.

The most accessible growth multiplier. A dividend portfolio is the most accessible way to harness the power of compounding.

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If you invest $500 per month into your dividend portfolio, you will see tremendous results in a short time (say three years).

I subscribe to three ways to invest for dividends, all with their own risk tolerance: Index Funds (safe), Dividend Growth Investing (medium), and Income Investing (not for the faint of heart).

Every middle-class family should have a dividend portfolio—ensuring they have the education and resources to beat the economy at its own game.

We started investing for dividends in 2019 (four years ago), and today we earn $1,500/month in dividends. That is a nice chunk of change to go alongside our middle-class income.

Get creative and start a business. Becoming a creator and an entrepreneur will keep the income moving in your direction. 

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Content creation takes time to take hold, but it leverages compounding even more than dividends. It may take five years to see massive results, but it’ll skyrocket your cash flow when it hits.

You can start a small business like an ATM side hustle, walk dogs, grow a garden, or create a mentorship group.

All you have to do is think outside the box. What do you love doing? How can you help others enjoy it?

I love talking about dividends, royalties, rents, and passive income. I started releasing books on Amazon in January 2021, and I make more money each year. 

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One day, there will be a catalyst to push my revenue through the roof. In the meantime, I keep building my extensive back catalog (900+ high-content books thus far).

Rents are moving up very fast. Lastly, you can leverage real estate as a growth multiplier. Cash flow from rents is moving exponentially, and you want it going in your favor (not against you).

You don’t need to have a rental property to leverage rental income. I like to rent rooms in addition to our two rental properties. 

My rule of thumb is that you can rent a master suite for half the cost to rent the home. So as house prices increase, so does the value of rental rooms.

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You can also rent your yard, storage shed, RV hookups, or accessory dwelling units. Remember about Airbnb as a way to make good money during the business season.

Putting your growth multipliers together. You don’t have to be particularly great at any one growth multiplier. You don’t need the best returns on the stock market or buy real estate during a crash.

You just need to buy and hold, keep a long-term mindset, and continue to live below your means. Eventually, something will break in your favor, but most people will call it luck.

We bought our house in Arizona in 2008, and it immediately went underwater. We kept it, and finally, in 2021, it started moving in our favor quickly. Now, it is doing good things for us. To recap, that is 15 years later.

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Conclusion. There is nothing wrong with wanting to stay in the middle class. You may want to stay in the same city as your family or avoid big city life (I don’t blame you).

However, don’t settle on having one paycheck from your job. Even in a small city, you’ll need multiple income streams to survive.

The law of compounding requires time as its primary catalyst; the sooner you start, the faster you reap the benefits.

Don’t let your income today fool you; it won’t be enough tomorrow. You cannot work enough hours to keep up with inflation; you’ll need assets to do the work alongside you. Good Luck!

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