Personal Finance

I moved to the US about 11 years ago and I went from making $7k in a foreign country to having $3 million today

Maurie Backman

Published: February 4, 2025 7:33 am

A lot of people end up wealthy by virtue of starting out wealthy. I’m sure we all know at least one or two people who were born into well-off families, got their fancy colleges paid for by their parents, used their family connections to get great jobs, and are now sitting on a few million dollars.

But not everybody’s story goes like that. Some people come from nothing and have to work their way up to being wealthy.

That’s the situation for this Reddit poster. They went from making $7,000 a year in a foreign country to earning a large salary in the U.S. and building their net worth to a little more than $3 million.

They got to this point through hard work and savvy financial decisions. And if they can do that, do can you.

It’s a matter of hard work and setting priorities

I know plenty of people who grew up without a lot of money and are much better off today than they were as kids. And I’ve noticed one thing about all of them — they’re willing to work hard, and they’re also willing to live below their means.

If you’re in a similar situation to the poster above, you should know that you don’t need to be born into a wealthy family or privileged environment to do well for yourself. What you really need to do is build skills to get a good job and work hard at it. In time, you can set yourself up to earn a nice living.

From there, it’s a matter of being smart with your money. That means not spending all of it and getting into the habit of investing. The sooner you do, the more wealth you stand to accumulate.

It’s also important to not fall victim to lifestyle creep. If you upgrade your car and electronics every time your paycheck rises, you may not have much money left over to save and invest. Those things might bring you joy in the near term. But in the long run, being financially secure might bring you even more happiness.

It’s perfectly okay to get help

I have a friend who truly came from nothing. His parents received government assistance when he was a kid and he almost didn’t go to college because he couldn’t even afford the application.

Now, he makes a few hundred thousand dollars a year. He also lives in a nice but modest home and doesn’t stress about surprise bills because he’s saved for them. And, he’s on track to retire with a few million dollars like the poster above despite not having any sort of advantage early on.

One thing he did years back was sit down with a financial advisor and get some guidance on how to manage his money well. And I think that’s a good thing for everyone to do.

It’s a big misconception that financial advisors are only for the wealthy. Working with one could help you become wealthy, so don’t hesitate to get some help in making financial decisions.