The American Dream Costs $10 Million: How To Get It at a Discount

The American Dream costs $10 million, which is a lot of money. In fact, most Americans will never achieve that level of wealth.

However, when things are expensive, we can wait for a sale. In this case, we can redefine our dreams and go about reducing the costs of achieving them.

Today, I want to describe the American dream as dollar sense, and give you ways on how to achieve it faster and better—at a lower cost. Let’s begin.

A Life Worth Living is Worth Recording

What is the American dream? The American dream is to get married, own a lovely home in a great neighborhood, and have two kids.

You and your spouse would both have a college degree, and you could provide your children with a college education. You could also have one nice vacation a year.

How did I arrive at the $10 million number? If you invested $10 million at a 4% interest rate, you would receive $400,000 annually, or approximately $33,333 per month.

I think most people would be able to live on $33,000 a month of passive income. That’s right; the true American dream involves passive income.

What is passive income? Passive income is money you generate from assets. The American dream is to live on passive income, not earned income from a job.

10 Creative Ways to Beat Inflation

The American dream is expensive. As you can see, the American dream costs more than you can imagine. It could become even more expensive to spend on the zip code you decide to live in.

However, what goes up can also go down. That means you can significantly reduce the costs of your dreams by using your critical thinking skills, while also enhancing your quality of life. Yes, I’m for real.

Let’s go line by line on how to reduce the costs of our dreams. We can achieve everything we want for pennies on the dollar with a bit of elbow grease and sweat equity. Let’s begin.

Getting yourself educated. Let’s assume you are starting from a good family that has no money. They taught you the value of hard work and discipline, but couldn’t provide you with anything else financially.

In this case, joining the military would be the best bet. Everyone needs a sugar daddy, so it may as well be the US government. 

What is Financial Independence?

The military can help you achieve many of your goals, including passive income, education, medical care, and a home down payment.

Whether you serve for four years or twenty, the military will help you achieve your college education through tuition assistance (while you are in service) or the GI Bill (after you exit).

If you can’t join the military for whatever reason, you’ll need to grind hard in high school to get a scholarship. You can attend a junior college for two years (I’m currently in one), and then transfer to a low-cost four-year university. You don’t want any college debt.

Getting married. Many people say they don’t want to get married; however, I’m not buying it. Marriage is a great option, and it’s worth considering.

What Type of Investor Are You?

I’ve been married almost 20 years, and I would highly recommend it to young people. However, marry someone with great core values, not because of their profession or looks.

Getting married doesn’t have to be expensive. My wife and I never had a wedding, but now we own five homes; which would you prefer?

Have a small wedding in a park. Buy a Samsung Galaxy Ring as your wedding band. And save for your home down payment. You don’t have to make things more costly than they need to be.

Having kids. Everyone says kids are expensive, but your kids reflect your spending habits. Kids are not that expensive; parents just want them to have everything.

My wife and I bought all second-hand things for our kids, except car seats. You can also purchase new things and sell them as they become obsolete. 

Real Estate Investing in Your 60s

You don’t need to spend tons of money on your kids to entertain them. They seriously just want to spend time with you.

If you want to flex on social media on how much your kids travel and explore, go ahead. However, it’s better to raise well-behaved and respectful children.

My oldest son is leaving for the US Marine Corps next month, and I couldn’t be prouder. He had a good childhood; however, we didn’t go on two international vacations every year. We just spent a lot of time together (when I was home).

Buying a home. Now for the big one: buying a home. This is the part of the program where people start to go broke.

Imagine having student loan debt, wedding debt, and credit card debt, and then buying an expensive home on top of that. That’s a recipe for disaster. 

Build a Dividend Growth Investing Nest Egg

Unfortunately, that’s the meal that America wants to serve you. You must reject the idea of spending a lot of money on your home.

Here are some ways to reduce your housing costs. You can use the VA loan to avoid paying a down payment; however, you should get a small home. You don’t want to get in over your head.

Live with your parents until you can afford to purchase a home outright. I recommend buying a small plot of land first, then setting a manufactured home on it (pay cash for both).

Split your family for a while. We know that the high-paying jobs are in the city. However, that’s also where the most expensive housing is as well.

You can send your family back home while you work in the city (and rent a room). If you do this for five years, you’ll have enough cash to choose your next step.

Retirement Planning for the Average Person 3

The moral of the story is to avoid getting a massive mortgage and being beholden to a job for 30 years. There are many better and safer ways to become a homeowner.

Retirement and passive income. Ultimately, you’ll need passive income if you want to retire and enjoy a fulfilling life. There are many ways to obtain passive income; you’ll just need to choose your path.

I would recommend starting a dividend portfolio. It can be a dividend growth investing or income investing portfolio, whichever suits your needs.

Happiness Isn’t Free 2

The good part about income investing is that you can generate a 10% yield on your invested assets. That can significantly reduce your travel time to earn your retirement income.

Putting it all together. Let’s say you join the Marines for four years to get your GI Bill education benefits. You attend school and find a spouse at age 25.

You get a good job in San Diego, California, earning $150,000 a year. You send your spouse to live with their family in South Dakota.

In five years, you have two kids, and you purchase an acre of land, then drop a four-bedroom, three-bathroom manufactured home (all paid in cash).

At age 30, you decide to work in San Diego for another five years to save $500,000 inside your income investing portfolio.

Build a High-Yield Emergency Fund

At 35, you rejoin your family in South Dakota. You all have a paid-off home, land, and $50,000 per year in passive dividend income.

Now you and your spouse can start home-based businesses around your children’s schedule. You are living the American dream, without spending $10 million.

To some, living in South Dakota on $4,000 per month of passive income is the American nightmare. Avoid these people. You know what you want, so go get it.

My wife and I stopped working at ages 39 and 42, respectively. I write books and attend college, while she homeschools my youngest boy and knits. 

I am living the American dream. A dream I couldn’t have imagined when I joined the Marine Corps with $10 in my pocket back in 1999.

Only you can decide what dream you want to bring to life. The flashier the lifestyle, the higher the risk of debt, divorce, and despair. You choose how much your American dream costs. Good Luck!

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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it.  I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. All Right Reserved Military Family Investing