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While joining the millionaire club may feel out of reach for many young Americans, the power of compounding can make it possible.
It’s simple: you invest a small sum of money each month into a low-cost index fund. When you earn dividends, you automatically reinvest those proceeds to buy more shares, and your returns grow over time.
But there’s a catch, says personal finance YouTuber Mark Tilbury: the magic only really happens after you’ve invested your first $100,000.
“Don’t worry about earning millions,” Tilbury said. “Instead, focus on the first $100,000 because, after that, your net worth will go crazy.”
But Tilbury wasn’t the first to note the significance of this milestone.
Billionaire investor Charlie Munger is often credited for popularizing the importance of the first $100,000, once describing it as “a b—-, but you gotta do it” because “after that, you can ease off the gas a little bit.”
But hitting that $100,000 milestone is tough for young Americans today — especially when you consider the increased cost of living and sky-high home prices. About 56% of Americans believe the cost of living is too high, according to a survey conducted by Politico last month (1).
While it might take you longer to reach this milestone than it did previous generations, it’s still worth pursuing.
Here’s why the first $100,000 is so important and how to reach it quickly.
After you hit $100,000, “compound interest stops being lame,” according to Tilbury. “Getting that chunk of money as fast as possible is the key. […] Once you get to this point, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll be wealthy if you just invest in a low-cost index fund.”
To get there, Tilbury suggests people follow what he calls the GROWTH method:
Gaining control of your finances is crucial for achieving long-term financial stability and reaching your goals. And according to Tilbury, there’s only one way to gain control of your finances — budgeting. Once you’ve assessed your budget, there may even be ways you can shave off some unnecessary dollars and avoid unnecessary spending.
For instance, the average American spends nearly $1,080 a year on subscriptions alone — with about $200 wasted on unused ones, according to CNET’s annual subscription survey (2). Just by cancelling a subscription you no longer use, you could save hundreds each year — money that could instead be invested toward your $100,000 goal.
Budgeting apps like Rocket Money can be an excellent tool for tracking your spending and meeting your financial goals.
The app tracks all your spending — including subscriptions — monthly, allowing you to see where your money is going at all times. Plus, their concierge service lets you identify and cancel unwanted subscriptions easily.
Rocket Money’s Financial Goals feature allows you to automate your savings, helping you build your nest egg in the background without any extra effort.
When it comes to building your investment portfolio, Tilbury advocates for the ‘rooting your investment’ model, which prioritizes investing a set amount of money each month, whether that’s $50 or $500.
One way to root your investments is through an automated portfolio like one offered by Acorns.
Spending money is inevitable, no matter how careful you are with your budget. But with tools like Acorns — an automated savings and investing app – you can root your investments as you spend.
Acorns helps you build your investment portfolio by rounding up each purchase on your credit or debit card to the nearest dollar. From there, Acorns automatically invest the spare change into a diversified portfolio of ETFs. This way, even your everyday spending becomes a part of your consistent investment strategy, helping you root your investments and grow your wealth over time.
Another way to root your finances is by diversifying outside of the stock market, and gold can be a solid option, especially when it comes to saving for retirement.
Gold — often touted as a safe-haven asset during trying economic times — was the best-performing asset of 2025. The price of the yellow metal hit a record high of over $4,300 per ounce back in October, reaching a 65% increase by the end of the year (3).
And amid heightened uncertainty over tariffs, gold could be a valuable asset. Goldman Sachs predicts gold prices to reach $4,900 per ounce by the end of 2026 (4).
“Gold is now an institutional asset and seen as a hedge for ‘everything’,” Tim Seymour said during an interview with CNBC (5).
One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Thor Metals.
Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, thereby combining the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.
Once you get your money working for you, it is time to optimize your tax management by doing things like claiming all available tax credits and deductions, maximizing your tax-advantaged retirement accounts and tax-deferred savings accounts, or even starting a business and making the most of write-offs.
A qualified financial advisor can help you with all this and more. With Advisor.com, you can find the best advisor for your needs — both in terms of what they can offer your finances, and what they’ll charge to work for you.
Advisor.com is a free service that helps you find a financial advisor who can co-create a plan to reach your financial goals. By matching you with a curated list of the best options for you from their database of thousands, you get a pre-screened financial advisor you can trust.
To build a solid financial foundation and move closer to achieving a high net worth, eliminating debt should be a top priority. For example, the current average annual percentage rate (APR) for a new credit card is a staggering 24.92%, according to LendingTree (6).
Carrying high-interest debt can severely hinder your ability to grow your wealth and secure your financial future.
The personal finance YouTuber suggests diversifying and growing your income by starting a side hustle. If you’d like to opt for a low-effort side hustle with the potential for high returns, real estate might be your answer.
Tilbury recently posted on X about how he used the earnings from one of his latest business deals. He said, “From that one deal, I earned enough to buy a rental unit, which has since generated a lot of passive income for me.”
If you want to generate investment income from the real estate market, there are plenty of opportunities to invest without having to find and purchase a property yourself outright.
For instance, crowdfunding platforms like Arrived allow you to enter the real estate market for as little as $100.
Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived makes it easy to fit these properties into your investment portfolio regardless of your income level. Their flexible investment amounts and simplified process allow accredited and non-accredited investors to take advantage of this inflation-hedging asset class without any extra work on your part.
Another option is mogul, which allows you to invest in the top 1% of single-family rental properties across the country.
Founded by former Goldman Sachs analysts, mogul’s team vets every single property, ensuring they offer a minimum 12% return even in downside scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Their cash-on-cash yields average between 10% and 12% annually.
You can earn monthly rental income, as well as real-time capital appreciation and tax benefits — all without the need for a hefty downpayment or 3 A.M. tenant calls.
Every investment is secured by real assets, not dependent on the platform’s viability. Each property is held in a standalone Propco LLC, so investors own the property — not the platform.
Getting started is easy — just sign up for an account and browse available properties. Once you verify your information with their team, you can invest like a mogul in just a few clicks.
With heightened self-discipline, reaching this financial milestone can set your networth on an upward trajectory. Tilbury stresses that you need to “find your inner discipline” to put all these steps into practice.
“Discipline is the currency of success,” Tilbury said. “The more you mint, the wealthier your future will become.”
The first step is saving — and saving your money requires discipline.
One way to begin saving is with the Wealthfront Cash Account, which can help you build an investment base through a combination of high-interest rates and ease of access.
A Wealthfront Cash Account can provide a base variable APY of 3.25%, but new clients can get a 0.65% boost over their first three months for a total APY of 3.90% provided by program banks on your uninvested cash. That’s eight times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s December report.
With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, Wealthfront Cash Account balances of up to $8 million are insured by the FDIC through program banks.
