With the right strategy, you could be raising $ 1 million or more sooner than you think.

Many people dream of becoming millionaires but assume that goal is out of reach. However, if you go into it and make sacrifices, it can be done. Here’s how to do it at 50.

1. Start investing young

When it comes to growing wealth, time is perhaps the most valuable tool at your disposal. And if you start investing at a young age – ideally, as soon as you have a regular salary – you can set yourself up to rack up a lot of money.

To be clear, you shouldn’t start investing until you have a solid emergency fund that is enough to pay for three to six months of living expenses. But once you’ve ticked that box, put all the extra money you can into an investment account.

Better yet, build this into your budget as a line item so it’s not an afterthought. Just as you might set aside $ 1,000 per month for rent and $ 300 for your car payment, set aside a specific amount to invest.

2. Choose the right account for your investments

There are several types of investment accounts. An IRA, for example, allows you to take advantage of tax benefits in your investment.

Traditional IRA contributions are tax-exempt and investment gains are tax-deferred, which means you’re only taxed when you make withdrawals from that account. A Roth IRA works in reverse. Contributions are not tax exempt, but investment gains and withdrawals are tax free.

Both types of IRAs, however, limit you to $ 6,000 per year in contributions ($ 7,000 if you are 50 or older). So you may want to maximize your IRA and then invest your remaining funds in a traditional brokerage account. Or you can decide to put all of your investment dollars in a traditional brokerage account.

Whatever your choice, finding the right brokerage account is essential. You might want to look for an account that doesn’t charge a fee for each transaction. You can also avoid accounts that impose minimum balance requirements or charge an inactivity fee.

3. Be prepared to take risks

There is no such thing as a risk-free investment. But in general, stocks are considered riskier than bonds. They can offer higher returns, however, and if you want to become a millionaire at a relatively young age, that’s a good bet.

You can also diversify beyond stocks. Many investors are successful in buying cryptocurrencies, but this is usually an even riskier prospect than stocks, so if you are unsure about digital coins, stocks may be a more suitable choice.

Reach $ 1 million

Let’s take these three steps and apply some numbers as an example of how you could become a millionaire.

First, let’s say you start contributing $ 1,000 per month to an investment account at age 22, and put that amount monthly until age 50. Let’s also assume that your investments in this account produce an average annual return. by 8%. That’s a few percentage points below the stock market average, so it’s a reasonable assumption for a 28-year savings window.

In this scenario, you will have $ 1.14 million by the age of 50. Equally impressive, you will have done it by contributing just $ 336,000 to your investment account ($ 12,000 per year × 28 years).

In order for you to hit that million dollars, there are certain factors that need to line up. Let’s look at what could happen if they don’t. Suppose you started investing your $ 1,000 per month five years later, at age 27 instead of 22. That would leave you with $ 731,000 – a staggering sum, even if it’s not $ 1 million.

Let’s see what happens if you invest your $ 1,000 per month starting at age 22, but invest more conservatively by sticking to bonds. In this case, you might only see an average annual return of 4%. That would leave you with $ 600,000 at age 50. Once again, this is an amount to be proud of, even if it is not a million dollars.

Becoming a millionaire at 50 is more than possible. But you need to make a commitment to achieving that goal early on, prioritizing investments over other expenses, funding your retirement plan and / or brokerage account consistently, and investing fairly aggressively. If you stick to this plan, you could end up with a lot of things to celebrate as your 50th birthday arrives.