Andy Slye Profile picture
Apr 16, 2021 23 tweets 6 min read Read on X
Today I'm officially a debt-free millionaire.

10 years ago I was a broke college kid with a student loan finishing my degree online.

Here are the lessons & resources that helped me along the way 👇
To start off:

I’m not a trust fund kid. I come from a lower middle-class family.

I didn’t get rich yolo’ing stocks or through crypto. And this is not financial advice.

If you’re like me and come from nothing but want to reach financial freedom, read on.
Looking back, I did many things right and some things wrong.

The basics of becoming a millionaire are simple, but not easy:

1) Maximize income
2) Minimize expenses
3) Invest the difference
4) Wait

But also, luck plays a factor.
I can’t deny that even though I lived in trailers all of my childhood and only had $5,000 just 8 years ago, I'm still lucky.

If you’re on Twitter reading this from your smartphone or computer, you’re lucky too.

You're in one of the best times in history to become a millionaire.
My success so far is a result of these practical steps:

1) Craft a set of valuable skills
2) Work hard in your spare time to create extra income
3) Save as much income as possible before spending
4) Invest early & regularly
As I was finishing college I got a part-time job in my career that paid $16/hour.

I knew that would never be enough to reach financial freedom so I started learning about finance, business & entrepreneurship.

During my long commutes I listened to many educational podcasts.
I listened to @PatFlynn to learn about online business & affiliate marketing.

I listened to @DaveRamsey to learn about personal finance & avoiding debt.

I read “Think & Grow Rich” to help me realize how important desire & persistence are.
I read “How to Win Friends & Influence People” to help me realize that forming human relationships is the most satisfying and rewarding aspect of life.

I read “I Will Teach You to be Rich” by @ramit to learn the basic principles of saving & investing.
My longtime friend @sweatystartup has always inspired me.

He’s a go-getter, type A personality & jumps right into new things then analyzes the results.

I’m naturally hesitant & a perfectionist so seeing how he does things pushed me out of my comfort zone to be more assertive.
ALWAYS be looking to provide value.

For years I spent my evenings & weekends learning about cameras & videography which led me to start my own YouTube channel, which led me to start filming weddings.

I started filming friends’ weddings for free. Then I charged $500. Then $1,000
Now I’m consistently booking $5,000+ weddings.

I also still run a YouTube channel that brings in 6-figures a year.

This is all in my spare time while still working a full-time day job.

The reason I do this is so I can reach financial independence as soon as possible.
Financial Independence is when you can choose to never work again, while you live off of your assets.

It doesn’t mean you HAVE to stop working. It’s more about the FREEDOM to do whatever you want with your time.

I don’t want to wait until I’m 60 to have that freedom.
Building a side business has been the #1 best thing I’ve ever done to increase my net worth.

Don’t try to be a millionaire overnight.

Be CONSISTENT.

Find your strengths & build a valuable skillset to see if there are viable business opportunities that can benefit from them.
Set realistic short-term goals that you can easily track.

Keep It Simple, Stupid.

I regularly tell myself this phrase. Simplicity is underrated.

If you want to lose weight, it’s simple: move more, eat less.

The same applies to net worth: make more, spend less, and invest.
If investing sounds scary to you, I highly recommend reading “The Simple Path to Wealth” by @JLCollinsNH

It lays out a simple, straightforward investing strategy for anybody willing to be patient.

Shameless Amazon affiliate link: geni.us/efAt
Have an “abundance” mindset.

There’s an abundance of opportunities, once you start looking.

There’s an abundance of people you can meet to increase your worth, once you get out of your comfort zone.

There’s an abundance of time, once you start being intentional with your hours
You still need to sacrifice.

Instant gratification is your biggest enemy. Being able to wait years for results is unfathomable to the average person.

Not bingeing the latest TV show is hard.

Stoicism is a great way to stave off instant gratification & learn self discipline.
Have a ROUTINE

Building productive habits that allow you to get into deep focused work is an invaluable tool

I learn from the experts like @JamesClear, @AliAbdaal, @TomFrankly, @mattdavella

Read books like "Atomic Habits", "Deep Work" and "7 Habits of Highly Effective People"
Don’t rush into marriage or kids. Don't let people force their opinion on big life decisions.

Communicate with full transparency & trust your partner whole heartedly.

My wife came from similar humble beginnings as me and I couldn’t imagine being on this journey with anyone else
Live below your means as much as possible, but spend lavishly on things you deeply care about.

I bought a modest house 5 years ago for under $200,000.

The main reason I bought it? So I could have a garage for my $50,000 Tesla.

I missed out on market gains but worth it for me.
Life is short. Don’t let money run your life.

My wife & I decided we love to grow our own veggies & herbs to save money on groceries.

But we will gladly spend thousands on a trip to Switzerland, Italy, and Scotland.

Find what's important to you and don't feel ashamed about it.
Time and health are your most valuable assets in life.

It’s okay to be selfish with these two things.

Finally, there's no absolute right way to go about becoming a millionaire.

Like with all things in life, it's the journey that you'll remember.
Due to many requests, here are the most impactful books that affected my net worth: kit.co/AndySlye/favor…

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More from @slye

Oct 12, 2022
2 weeks ago a nurse called and said my dad was very sick in the hospital.

Soon I'd have to make an unimaginable decision of letting my dad fight for his life or die.

Some explainable things happened that compelled me to share the full story of my best friend and hero: my dad.
As a kid my dad had a newspaper route as his first job and competed in dirt bike races for fun.

He joined the Navy right after high school and eventually got a job with a major corporation.

Around this time he also got a patent for his toilet seat handle called “Mr. Lifter”
Unfortunately, Mr. Lifter never became a widely distributed product.

So my dad, in fact, did not become an overnight millionaire as he had probably once hoped.

Actually, quite the opposite happened.

After a brief marriage to my mom, they divorced when when I was 2 years old.
Read 47 tweets
Aug 22, 2022
Sleep is the most important thing we all take for granted (especially as a parent)

Leading up to the birth of my daughter I learned everything I could about optimizing a baby's sleep.

She has slept 12 hours straight through the night since 4 months old.

Here's how we did it 👇
I bought a $10 book instead of a $1,700 Snoo

Note: This is what worked for us (I can't promise it'll work for you)

Before my daughter was born I read this: amzn.to/3QHsRaA

It has valuable lessons & resources that helped us achieve sleeping-through-the-night so early on
Things we DON'T do:

We've never done "cry it out" sleep training (Ferber Method)

We've never bought expensive courses

We chose to take a more strategic gentle approach

The first 2-3 months we tried not to worry about optimizing sleep but rather keeping our baby healthy & safe
Read 12 tweets

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