What do millionaires do different than the rest of us? Education is the number one thing on which millionaires don’t hesitate to spend their money and their time.
Residents of New York State, you are in luck! We are the first state to offer free four-year college tuition to residents. The Excelsior Scholarship program (it even sounds like millionaire training!) begins this fall and is open to students whose families make less than $100,000 a year. That sounds like a lot of money to me, but not when you consider how much college education costs.
Between 1995 and 2015, average college tuition and fees jumped between 179 percent at private universities and 296 percent for in-state public universities. No wonder you need to be a millionaire to go to college these days—or risk being saddled with staggering debt for the rest of your life.
There are a number of states that offer free coverage of two-year college degrees. These programs are found in Tennessee, Oregon, and Minnesota. Another dozen states have proposed legislation that would do the same. Don’t knock free tuition for two years and then transferring to a four-year college. You would get a bachelor’s degree for half price. These are the calculations that current millionaires don’t have to make. If you want to be a millionaire, however, it’s a calculation you need to consider.
The next thing you have to do is show up. Showing up is 80% of life, according to Woody Allen. Yet, 10% to 40% of kids accepted to college never get there.
Show up already! And let people know what you need to make it work. That’s the other thing about millionaires: they’re not afraid to ask for what they want. Just keep talking to people who are in charge—right away. Honestly, they are probably the ones who most want you to succeed.
Oh yeah. It’s a lot of hard work. Just go for it, you millionaire-to-be.