What It Takes to Become a Millionaire

In most cases, the road to financial security in retirement comes with steady savings, strategic investing, and probably a later retirement date than you may have envisioned at the start of your career. Keep these three rules in mind: First, you need to live within your means. Next, you have to commit to saving a certain amount every month and stick to that goal. Then, you have to make sure your investments are in a diversified portfolio—a mix of stocks, bonds, and alternative investments (commodities and real estate) and rebalance that mix to attain your goals for growth.

So how long will it take until you're a millionaire?

If you start with an initial $10,000 investment and your portfolio grows by 5 percent every year, here's how much you need to save each month to reach your $1 million goal by age 70.

• 25-year-olds have to save $450 a month. That's just $15 a day for the rest of your working years.
• 35-year-olds have to save $850 a month.
• 45-year-olds have to save $1,700 a month.
• 55-year-olds have to save $4,000 a month. (Of course, with an average inflation rate of 3 percent, that $1,000,000 nest egg will only be worth $642,000 in today's dollars. So that means you'll likely wind up having to save even more.)

Extracted from: Sharon Epperson
http://www.cnbc.com/id/44559645