How to make a million

These days, people seem to need about $1 million to retire comfortably.

Withdrawing a safe 4 percent a year would give them $40,000, and that plus Social Security should do the trick.

An interesting article in the March edition of SmartMoney Magazine suggests how a 40-year-old couple earning $120,000 a year, together, might accumulate $1 million in 10 years.

To begin with, there’s:

•Luck. Try winning the lottery. Bet on only the biggest pots. Use scratch-off cards, which return the highest percentage.

Try inheriting money. The most common reason for losing out: failing to send a thank-you note, one lawyer says. She adds: “Last one on the scene gets the money.”

Or pick the new Microsoft. Your odds, warns the magazine, “border on zero.”

Or marry up. Way up. The magazine’s advice: Avoid meeting the family “until you’ve got her hooked.” Just her? No him?

•Health. Spring for a good diet-and-exercise program. Health and wealth go hand in hand. The unhealthy work less, and pay far more for medical treatment and insurance.

A RAND study of 35- to 44-year-olds during a decade found that those who said they were in excellent health in 1984 nearly doubled their household wealth during the next 10 years, to $194,000. Those who reported poor health saw their wealth grow only by $9,000. Those whose health declined lost money.

Another RAND study found that overweight people pay 10 percent to 36 percent more a year on hospital stays and ambulances. Smokers spend 20 percent more.

Losing weight can boost your pay. An Ohio State University economist found that even a modest weight loss is linked to a 37 percent increase in wealth. (Perhaps their bosses think more highly of skinnier people. Or successful dieters are successful people in general.)

Overweight people also are discriminated against. Take two men, similar in most ways, and the thin one will earn on average 3 percent more. Take two women, and the thin one will earn 6 percent more.

Smokers are victims, too. They earn 4 percent to 8 percent less than their peers, even when their race, sex and education are about the same.

•Spending. Various tactics:

Leasing a new $20,000 car for three years, then leasing another for two years, would cost $32,000. It would cost only $20,000 to buy and maintain a new $20,000 car for five years, counting the trade-in value.

Buy a used car, and your five-year costs sink to $16,000. So, buy a used car every five years. In fact, get into the habit of buying secondhand stuff, such as watches and furniture.

If you plan to move in a few years, consider switching to an adjustable-rate mortgage — if the interest rate would fall by at least 1 percentage point.

Pay for everything with a card that gives you a cash rebate. Best for small spenders: Citi Dividend Platinum Select. For big spenders: American Express Blue Cash.

•Saving. Participate in your employer’s retirement plan. Save 15 percent of your salary every year.

•Investing. The bulk of your money should be in low-cost index funds, with maybe only 10 percent in actively managed funds. And beware of funds with loads (sales charges).

Asset allocation recommended for a 40-year-old: 60 percent in a U.S. stock fund, 20 percent overseas and the rest in fixed-income.

•Career. Go above and beyond your job description. Exceed your expectations.

A woman is quoted in the magazine article: “If you just do your job, you don’t get a raise and you don’t get a bonus; you get a paycheck.”

As you mull these suggestions, keep this in mind, however: Shouldn’t you enjoy life a little while you’re young, too? Do you want the pleasure of driving a new car only when you’re old?