As entrepreneurs, we know how important it is to make money. However, what does making money mean to you? Is it earning just enough to get by, or is it earning so you have an abundance?

In Season 6, Episode 43 of The Making Bank podcast, Tony Bradshaw talks about how at the age of 25, he was able to go from being in debt to a millionaire by the age of 40. Tony believes that there should be only two types of people — Millionaires and Future Millionaires. Tony didn’t come from a wealthy family, and neither did he have any plans to be rich until the age of 25. Tony realized that he had been mismanaging his money, and that’s why he had 16 grand in debt. Tony refers to that realization as his financial awakening, and that was when he came up with his millionaire plan.

You don’t have to be in debt to want to be rich; instead, being rich is a choice that’s entirely up to you. Tony shares that he read a lot growing up, and it was through reading that he discovered that making money wasn’t all that complicated. After going through years of learning about money and figuring out the process to become a millionaire, Tony is now focused on helping others make their millionaire choice.

What Is A Millionaire Plan?
Tony explains that many of his bad financial habits had originated from growing up in a family that wasn’t good with their money. However, through his financial awakening, he decided to change his financial habits and become a millionaire. Tony became a millionaire by creating a millionaire plan and sticking to it. The plan is based on what you need to do and change in your life in order to become a millionaire. To have an effective millionaire plan, these are the top 3 things that you need to focus on in your millionaire plan are:

1. Continue Learning About Money
One of the most essential parts of becoming a millionaire is being able to educate yourself on money. Learning how to earn more and multiply what you have is fundamental to becoming wealthy. However, there’s so much to learn about money that learning should be a lifelong process for you. Your financial literacy is what allows you to make the right financial decisions. If you don’t have financial knowledge, you won’t be able to make important decisions regarding your budget, debt, or what to invest in. There isn’t a surplus of millionaires because there is a lack of financial understanding. The economic landscape keeps changing, so in order to stay financially literate, you need to keep educating yourself.

2. Don’t Be Income Stagnant
The second most important thing is to increase your income. Don’t allow yourself to become income stagnant; instead, focus on how you can double your income. Look at how much you’re earning in a year and think about how to increase your income. It isn’t necessary to double your income. The most important part is growth — even if you can increase your income by a small percentage, that’s still growth. Many people may be living comfortably with what they’re earning, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t look to grow their income. Tony talks about having a scarcity mindset. He says that the first part of becoming rich is shifting from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset. Shift your mindset and create an income plan that helps you grow your income every year, and doing that will put you on track to becoming a millionaire.

3. Create A Multiplying Plan
Finally, you need to figure out how to multiply your money. A multiplying plan is exactly what it sounds like; taking the money you have and multiplying it. However, a multiplying plan is different from your income plan. Your income plan is based on increasing the money you make for your work in a year, but your multiplying plan is taking the money you currently have and increasing it without having to work for it. Today there are so many ways you can multiply your money, but they don’t churn out equal results. When it comes to multiplying your money, it’s important to look for investments that will get you considerable returns. Often people don’t really think about where they’re putting their money and settle for the lowest returns. That’s where your financial knowledge and understanding come into play; it helps you pick investments where you can earn more than double your money.

That being said, your millionaire plan wraps up your financial knowledge, income plan, and multiplying plan together. The point of having a millionaire is to put everything in numbers; you want your plan to be percentages on a spreadsheet to help you predict when you’re going to be a millionaire. It may have taken Tony 15 years, but many have done it in less time than that.

Becoming rich is in your hands — it’s all about your mindset, opportunities, and choices you make along the way.