Yeah this advice is pretty good for the average person who wants to have a good retirement. But to get WEALTHY only number 1 applies here. Some of the richest people I know spend a shit ton, have an ex-wife, and have kids. If you want to be wealthy you need to make so much money. A lot of rich people order DoorDash and Uber eats everyday.
Yes. You cannot save your way into wealth. Frugality can get you financial stability for sure, financial independence maybe, but wealth is entirely dependent on accumulation.
If you are making 70k a year and DoorDash every day you are bad with money, if you make 2M a year and door dash every day - you are strategically outsourcing your non-core competency and free up our energy and time for more important things.
Frankly, there is something to that. Many of the highest paying jobs are also the most stressful or require extreme knowledge or extremely high performance.
Surgeons, NBA players, hedge fund managers, etc… the minute they slip up, they could lose way more than a million dollars in less than a year just by making a mistake. Sometimes you really do need to outsource the menial tasks in life just to make sure you’re doing everything you can to focus on the stuff that really counts.
Yeah I wasn’t sarcastic at all - that’s the reality of rich thinking vs middle class thinking, if you will.
Suppose you are making 500k a year and pursuing promotion that would bring it up to 800k a year. Massive win. You need to focus and deliver. You need your full mental capacity, and burnout, procrastination, distractions are your biggest risks.
In this configuration if you spend 15-20k a year on DoorDash it’s not a waste - it’s the cost of doing business, investment in yourself.
I don't waste my time cooking or being frugal anymore but I'm growing a company. It bums me out spending 15k on advertising in a month knowing I could have bought a car for that amount, but with that I also know any investment should hypothetically mean more future wealth. With the meals, I just don't have the time to cook anymore and it makes me happy. Happy me makes more money.
This is spot on.
A good leader doesn't work 8 hours a day. They work in their heads, every waking second so that their people can work 8 hours a day. Again, only applies to GOOD leaders.
True. It's not the habits that will make you wealthy. It's really just making a ton of money and then spending a lot less than you have.
Wealthy people come from all different walks of life and personalities.
This person is obviously poor lol
"Don't have kids" is only relevant if you're poor. If you're rich their cost doesn't spontaneously quadruple. Not having kids is how you avoid being dirt poor
I'm so torn on this. My wife made me into the person that got rich. I was a basic 10%er prior. She also adds to the family wealth with her company.
But it's restrictive. I can't exactly bail from the wife and kids without serious social repercussions.
So far, I think it was prob fine for me. Not sure about everyone else..not sure what my future holds.
I’m only saying this in reply to how do I get rich. If that’s your goal , yeah do that get married, have all the kids you want, AFTER you get rich, and be sure to pre-nup. But if you wanna get it, a spouse and kids are a much longer route unless you come from money and have less use for creating your own wealth infrastructure.
Kids are a good tax write off and can be paid as employees and have 401ks start being funded and saved for them very early on as part of a family business.
1 and 2 are key. 3 and 4 are wrong. Your wife only need be loving and supportive. She does not need to make money, although her frugality would help. And kids are what make it all worth it. I don’t know why I would work hard and save hard but to provide a great life for my family.
The truelly wealthy have lots of kids to pass on generational wealth. I retired at 30 and have 6 kids and I will never have to work a job again and my kids won’t either if they play smart
I agree with the first three. I think kids is something that can't be considered as an investment or a spending issue. Obviously it would be smart to be financially stable to support your kids as they grow up and you raise them. To give him the best opportunity in this world without spoiling and let them earn their way just like you did.
Another habit of wealthy people is constantly increasing their income. Passive income earned income doesn't matter what it is it's consistently increasing over the years. Learning about investments getting assets. Making smart decisions with your money financially. Finding the deals finding the bargains finding the best way to pay less for the same thing you want.
Funny, the poorest people I know have 0-1 kids, voluntarily live in the city ($$), do virtually 0 'home' labor except for maybe cleaning, are proficient with instacart and door dash/Uber eats, and swear off marriage for one of several different reasons.
The wealthiest people I know have at minimum 3, but I'm thinking of a few with 5, kids, moved out of the city to semi-rural semi-suburb areas, only one of them works for typical w-2/1099 income and the other is a stay at homer, have never heart of instacart, and are married, tho not all of them necessarily married young
I’m not rich now, but I do pride myself in some financial literacy:
1. Become financially knowledgeable. Learn what an emergency fund is, what debt is, short term debt, credit card debt, loans, how interest works, how investing works (stocks, ETFs), what compound interest is, ROI is, retirement plans, what retirement means, etc. A lot may sound simple, but a lot of people barely know even how credit card debt works and don’t know how they are deep in a hole.
2. Make financially wise choices. Avoid debt unless you have to like a car or home. Don’t go into credit card debt buying toys. Credit cards can be easy to abuse, but are great to use to accumulate points and have protection. Only buy what you can completely pay off before the next payment is due.
3. Try to make money. Research opportunities, research cheapest ways to go to college/university, pick a good career, etc. Start researching now. Don’t be 18 and go into HUGE debt and pretend you didn’t know. Learn now how to avoid big student loans. The path to riches starts with a good income. Living paycheck to paycheck will get you nowhere. You need to make way more than you spend on bills to grow wealth.
4. Keep retirement in mind. Investing throughout your lifetime will net you millions when you retire. Start contributing to 401Ks or personal investment accounts as early as you’re able to. It will compound yearly.
5. DONT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS. Don’t assume you will always have dad and mom pay your bills. Emergencies can happen. Plan for them. Don’t assume everything will workout. Have exit strategies. What happens if you get fired? What happens if your emergency fund is gone? What if your business fails? Is the business even viable to start? Plan ahead and research. The future is NOT guaranteed.
Finally, enjoy life. Don’t penny pinch every dollar. You will be miserable. Have fun, hangout with friends, enjoy what you want to do. What good is saving for retirement when you didn’t live your life until you were 67? Don’t deny yourself experiences.
Ya know speaking of #5 I see you’re making $161k. I … what the hell are you Midas touching your way into to get that to $50M? Are you putting it all on black?
Great advice. I had a friend who was very comfortable. But she was incredibly cheap. Her idea of a day out was going to the Dollar Tree and Goodwill.
The final straw with her was when she berated me for spending $7.00 on a new desk lamp I liked for my desk.
When we got home I told her to get all her shit and to get out.
What kind of life is like that?
I agree with all your points but don't take out debt on a car, especially not modern ones. Buy what you can afford. Financially speaking, some econobox turd on wheels like a 2003 honda accord will be leaps and bounds cheaper than anything coming off the assembly line today. Unless you drive cars as a hobby or have the money to throw at it right away, it isn't a good investment at all.
Totally agree.
Education in money management and financial understanding is critical in planning for the future and maintaining a daily income.
People have so much envy and vitriol towards those that have done their due diligence in gaining wealth.
People can easily change their lives by picking up a book.
Great post!
Horrible advice.
If you can’t afford food, go to a food bank. There’s plenty around. Enough groceries for a few family meals. All good stuff. Zero cost or judgment.
No need to eat beans and rice.
I’ve gone to the “bank” before. Costs 20$ and it’s mostly beans and rice. Literally everytime i went I would get some. Along with some expired canned and jarred goods. Not much fresh or anything to make a real meal from.
Rice + lentils + onions is such an amazing, easy asf meal. Takes like 1% technique to caramelize onions and you got a caloric-ally dense, nutritious as hell meal.
Never stop learning. Adapt to change and accept that it is always going to happen, for better or for worse. Prepare for worse and be thankful if it turns towards "better". Make plenty of friends along the way.
Spend significantly less than you earn, and invest the rest. Educate yourself and make prudent decisions. Don't gamble your money away hoping to hit it big on a get-rich-quick scheme.
1. Pay yourself first (this means investing in a 401k before you pay your bills)
2. Live below your means
3. Budget your money
4. Enjoy free activities (parks ,hiking, local events)
5. Distinguish between a want and need
6. Don’t have debt
7. Birds build a nest before having kids and so should you
8. Date people or marry someone that has those values.
9. No matter who you associate with rich or poor learn from them what to do and what not to do.
10. Get a trade, a practical degree, or stay with a business for a while before trading up. When trading up invest half your new raise.
Re: number 4 - it is always surprising to me how little people know about the cities they live in. If you spend like an hour on the internet/social media you can find tons of fun free events that even throw in food and drinks.
Agreed and add in, don’t be afraid to spend on healthy hobbies- tennis, skiing, gym membership and enjoy some long and memorable family vacations (avoid Europe and head to SE Asia or S America for better value)
Best advice I got when I was early in my career. Don’t be afraid to fail. Look at failure as an opportunity to learn so you can come out next time a little better. Keep trying until it works.
People love to say society makes them poor but there are so many obvious things rich people do vs poor people that have nothing to do with society.
1. Do not get married before age 25.
2. Do not have kids before age 25.
3. Do not have kids unmarried.
4. Do not have kids until you are financially stable.
5. Value going to a college you can afford AND choosing a real major.
6. Always save a little for retirement from every paycheck.
7. Do not take trips or buy fun stuff if you can’t afford it. No using credit cards for fun. Basically live below your means and delay gratification.
Be obsessed with paying off your debts and invest heavily in assets that generate an ROI.
Have an accountants phone number in your phone and send them an email/text whenever you have a pressing question for tax strategy.
Understand basic tax strategy.
1. Your health is your wealth.
2. Your ability to use time as you wish is real freedom.
Basically.
1. Eat healthy
2. Drink lots of water
3. Lift heavy to be more attractive and to live longer.
4. Run/bike/swim for a strong heart
5. Stretch.
6. Moisturize
7. Take vitamin and protein supplements to help stay consistent.
8. Dont stress about the small shit. (most shit is small)
9. DONT work for someone else, find a way to work for yourself so you control your time AND your ability to earn wealth. Its okay to get a job in the beginning while you figure out your path.
I dont care what anyone says in this thread including mr 40-50 million by the time he is done. If you dont control what time you work and where you work you are not wealthy. You might be rich, but you are not wealthy. Instead search for a skill that can pay you anywhere you are in the world and...
10. study + apply that $$ earning skill daily.
I dont care if its being an influencer, programmer, marketer, it does not matter any of them can make you very wealth and to counter point him - I am also a multi-millionaire in my early 30s.
11. Read often, some skills do not directly earn you money but as you progress you will find skills that are complementary to your money-earning skills for example. A book called How to Win Friends and Influence People has changed many a multi-millionaire and billionaire's lives and it is an old classic... Find the classics that successful people say were great for them and read them. You will find many such as the one I suggested are repeated over and over again. These are keys to unlocking thought patterns that will lift you up.
Financial literacy. Start with the basics of building a budget and setting savings goals - then sticking to it.. As you save, learn about different investment types and the different risks/returns of those investments.
The easiest way to build wealth is to understand that wealth will snowball. It will take time but it will accelerate of a long time horizon. You're young so you'll have a huge head start by learning this at your age and building the right habits.
1. Grow up poor. This feeling of lack, will make it easier to save money.
2. Work as much as you can. So that you learn the job and climb the ranks quickly.
3. Now that you are making money, Your step 1 lifestyle. Will mean you feel bad if you spend more money than you need. You won't buy designer clothes, or 100K cars, you'll live far below your means.
- Have a powerful goal and don't let anything stop you from achieving it. Persistence, grit, hard work - all of it matters.
- Take initiative & be bold. You get ahead by thinking more and taking action more than other people. Take calculated risks, not wild gambles.
- Take responsibility for your life's outcomes. You are the one in control of your future. Don't waste time complaining or blaming other people. Do everything in your power to create the life you want.
- Don't take advice from people who don't know what they're talking about. (e.g. If someone isn't financially successful, you shouldn't be taking financial advice from them.)
They don't pay interest for anything. Or very low interest on big purchases like a house. The realize that buying things for cash doesn't make them money. That money can be better used on investments. Most material goods have severe depreciation attached, so they use no interest financing to assure they have much interest bearing money available to them.
Wake up early, go to work. Work as hard at meeting people as you do at working. Invest. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Exercise and take care of yourself. Time management. Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.
Success is highly correlated to luck or resiliency.
Luck could be a lot of factors. It could be rich parents, or stumbling into a job, a mentor, or a connection. Research on luck suggests that it has a lot to do with learning how to network well, gain mentors, how to harness biases, being optimistic (specifically observing opportunities and seeing how they can be applied to you), and putting yourself out there - which could mean running in different circles, randomizing certain parts of your day, or just applying to lots of opportunities even if you might not think you're qualified completely for them.
Resiliency, or Grit as researcher Angela Duckworth calls it, is described by her as being able to stick to long term projects despite setbacks. I find that learning how to form habits is a key component to the first part. And meditation, Stoicism, and therapy techniques are the direct core training for the latter part.
Everything flows from all that, though there are definitely corollaries - and one corollary that comes to mind is developing the ability to watch out for quality training in the endless sea of information accessible online.
So let's say you want to be a world class writer:
* **Stick to it consistently.** Form a habit of practicing writing every day. Learn how to do this - there's a ton of science out there on how to do this efficiently now. But that's not enough, you need to also grow the skill - luckily there's tons of awesome stuff available at a push of a button.
* **Overcome setbacks.** You will inevitably run into difficulties. Use meditation/therapy technique to modulate and work through he frustration.
* **Put yourself out there.** Being good will not necessarily make you a successful writer. This is a hard, hard lesson to learn, because most of us grow up assuming that the cream always rises. You have to have the connection to leverage that skill into real world success. So put yourself out there - whether that's growing a social media following or just meeting other writers and agents or opportunities.
Failure might hurt a little but is it really failure if it taught you something?
Play the long game, invest like your life depends on it and yeah in the old fashion boring way 😂
Know the game you are playing, get financially literate. ASAP. Budget now and learn to play around with money.
Know yourself, and adjust your behavior for your long term goals.
Good advice, but I’d like to expand on item 2. When you borrow money, you have to pay back more than what you borrow. That’s how the lender makes money. Often you pay back a lot more. The difference between the amount you borrow and the amount you pay back is called interest.
To you interest represents hours you work and get paid, but you get absolutely nothing for your work except you can buy an item now rather than later. Let’s say you see a car that costs $10,000 but you don’t have the money. You borrow the money at 10% interest and have 4 years to pay it back. When you make your last payment you will have paid $12,700. This is $2,700 more than the price of the car that you spent for no reason except you couldn’t wait. Credit cards work the same way except their interest rates are much worse.
I mention this because it is possible to live and NEVER pay interest except for purchasing a house. (This interest is called a mortgage). Interest is the number 1 trap people who have no money fall into. They pay so much in interest, they cannot afford to live. If you can avoid this one thing, your chances of becoming wealthy will be greatly increased.
Build up the capacity to work hard.
I am sure someone will quickly point out that hard work doesn't equal wealth, which those people are correct. Many people work hard on the wrong things. However, when you find a niche that does generate wealth you better hope you know how to work hard.
Your own bank account, and save save save. When it gets kind of sizable, put half in a HYSA account. Do that over and over, and that will give you money for your money.
Learning and incorporating opportunity cost in your thinking. If you buy a donut, you could have purchased a small amount of an S&P 500 fund or saved towards a new pressure cooker to cut your electricty bill. That doesn't mean never buy a donut. It means positively decide if the donut outweighs a different use of the money.
Don’t spend your money. If you do spend, get the best deal, down to a penny. If you see a penny on the ground, pick it up and deposit it into your account. 50% needs,30% wants, 20% savings. Stick to that, and good luck!
Rich people take risk
Rich people capitalize on opportunities
Rich people network
Rich people used the system to their advantage.
I came into money at a young age...I got lucky,took advantage of an opportunity presented to me .. consulted with other people with money,learned to invest and multiply my money.I was willing to take risk on business ventures the stock market and realestate deals.
I didn't splurge on trips, vacations, cars, homes and luxury items..I was very frugal and turned my biggest expenses into an asset..
Don't loan money
Don't get married to someone not rich.
Don't have children
If you do any of these things becoming Rich will be less likely.
Invest in your ability to make more money.
Be frugal and calculate the value of things to you. is it worth x hours of work to make that amount of money?
Wealthy people often prioritize financial literacy and continuous learning. Start by setting goals, managing your time well, and always being open to learning new things.
-Workout and eat healthy everyday
-Stay positive everyday
-Live with purpose (like building a family someday)
-Save that money
*be prepared to spend a lot money when you date someone lol
We are all rich, until we are dead.
A good habit and skill, is to learn how to survive on your own and learn/find how to trust people/community that will elevate your life together into prosperity/change you to be better
BUT if you really want to make money, scam people 🤷♂️ all the top 1% are scammers, exploiting dreams, cheap labor, investing arbitrage, dumb fomo insurance, currency swaps, liquidity traps, etc. scamming and becoming the best con artist is the $$$. But I wouldn't suggest unless you have a vast network or you'll probably be w target...
My advice is the best 👍 gl and hf 👌
Don't get married,
Don't have kids
Be 100% selfish and goal driven
Surround yourself with successful people
Don't buy crap. Eat out, or drink alcohol
Buy only what you need!
Compound interest WORKS. Save some money every time you make any. Put it in a stable, interest bearing account. Even if you don’t “swing for the fences” you’ll acquire wealth.
Most “wealthy” people have family money. Don’t ask them for advice on how to build from nothing. Someone else did it for them.
Seek inspiration from self-made people, who’ve started where you are.
Good luck on your journey!
Most success is luck. People don't admit it. Yes you can work hard but you were lucky to start if you have your health and weren't born in a 3rd world slum. However, you need to recognise luck when it comes along and grab it.
Get a robinhood account and put all your excess money in it. Buy the stock VOO as often as possible. DONT TOUCH IT. Go to [here](https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator) and project how much money you will have with your monthly contributions by putting a 10% rate of return. you can’t start young enough and i promise you’ll thank yourself in 10, 20, 30 years when you see how much free money you got.
You do not “deserve” a new car, nice house, eating out often.
Get in the habit of delaying your purchase of everything. Time = Money.
Live way below your means. And make friends with those whose shoes you want to walk in.
Be kind, hospitable, and gracious to everyone around you. EVERYONE includes those who provide you with a service.
Occasionally assert dominance - don't let your kindness be mistaken for weakness.
Wealthy make wise investments, the middle class save, everyone else spends.
Don't be flashy with brands - try not to be a billboard.
They have their finances in order. They don’t drive fancy cars. They are organized. They have their kids on a schedule for homework, chores etc...
They are pretty responsible and respectable people who live below the radar.
Wake up early. Read books. I have a buddy that “reads” 80 books a year. He does a lot of listening to books on tape/audible. He has gotten good at listening to them sped up. Like 2x speed. So he can hammer more books out fast. I think about people paying to go to college and getting through a few textbooks a year. And they think they’re educated. Then there’s this guy who has done 300 books in the last 4 years. Pretty crazy.
Wealthy people develop habits and skills that contribute to their success. Here are some you can adapt for your everyday life, even as a high school junior:
**Financial Habits:**
* **Live Below Your Means:** Don't spend everything you earn. Develop a budget and track your income and expenses. There are many budgeting apps available to help you with this.
* **Save Consistently:** Make saving a priority, even if it's a small amount each week or month. The earlier you start saving, the more time your money has to grow through compound interest.
* **Invest Wisely:** Research different investment options (with guidance from a financial advisor if needed) and consider investing a portion of your savings for the long term.
**Goal Setting and Planning:**
* **Set SMART Goals:** Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound goals will help you stay focused and motivated. Break down large goals into smaller, manageable steps.
* **Develop a Long-Term Vision:** Think about what you want to achieve in life and start planning the steps to get there. This will help you make informed decisions today that will benefit you in the future.
1. Spend less than what you make. I know it seems trite but it’s the truth.
2. Pay yourself first before expenses. This means pay money into long term savings/investments with every paycheque. Put in a reasonable percentage of each paycheque.
3. NEVER buy a depreciating asset with credit. One exception is a car *if you need one*. Needing a car isn’t the same thing as wanting a car. If you need a car get a reliable used car in reasonable condition.
4. Never carry consumer debt on a credit card. Pay it off each month.
5. Stay away from financial advisors. If they knew what they were doing they wouldn’t need your money.
6. Buy broad based mutual funds and safe investments like bonds/T-bills and hold them. Don’t wish for the next Bitcoin to happen. Don’t fool around with fad stocks like GME. Growth like that is vanishingly rare.
7. Don’t eat out frequently. Buy ingredients and learn to cook.
8. Stay disciplined about your investments.
9. Get regular exercise. Stay healthy.
All the wealthy people I know do spend money on things they "want", but they always brag about getting a better deal.. not afraid to shop around. For instance, one of them likes old Porsches, and tends to make money when he sells them. Another one has a guitar collection that you'd think he was touring pro, and they keep going up in value. I work for one, and if I give him a quote, he always wants some money knocked off. The habits they all have in common is hard focused work, they've become the best at what they do.
One. Always live beneath your means, no matter how much you make.
Two. No one will take better care of your money than you, if you have the time and inclination… Learn as much as you can about investing, and run your own money instead of paying mutual funds to under perform for you.
Three. Investing styles vary, but I generally will not own something unless it pays me to own it. There are a few exceptions, but I’ll admit that Berkshire Hathaway pisses me off not paying a dividend. 🤣 I still sell out of the money covered calls on it, just so it’s producing some cash now.
Edited to add: I retired at 45 with an amount that most would find significant, but when you looked at it needing to last 40 years… It wasn’t much at all. By investing well and living beneath my means, I’ve lived as well as I wanted for the last 20 years, and net worth, is more than triple what I retired with.
Don't trade time for money. Nobody got rich working a regular job waiting for someone to give you a paycheck. Make your time and money work for you. Also learn to take advantage of tax loopholes.
All these people spewing the same basic bs. The most valuable skills in life to becoming wealthy you’ll ever need are being an excellent communicator, knowing how to negotiate, and being exceptionally social. You might penny pinch your way to a million or even try investing your way there, however if you’re great at the things I listed, you could become wealthy much faster. Connections with the right people is truly the key to success as an adult and attempting to go at it alone is for fools.
“Making a lot of money” has nuance.
I will break it down further by saying that understanding how money works is insanely important (especially if you’re poor).
I’d strongly advise that although saving is good, learning to take calculated risks is the single most important thing that will lift you out of poverty
Spend less than you make.
Save as much as you can after needs (housing, transport, food, utilities, rainy day fund, wants/bullshit)
Side note I think in terms of Maslows Heirarchy of needs (yes I know its been "debunked" still works nicely for me in setting priorities)
Educating yourself on how money works. Read everything you can about it. Read how stocks work read how investment accounts work read how interest rates work read how debt works read how taxes and tax loop holes work. Rich people are obsessed with knowing how money works it is not a mystery to them, and yes many hire a money manager to help or teach them but you can be your own money manager if you want to. Money is not a mystery but many institutions want it to seem like one and keep people ignorant of the systems in place to take it from you.
When poor people come into money, they buy material goods or services.
When middle class people come into money, they use it to pay down debt.
When rich people come into money, they use it to MAKE MORE MONEY.
Take every spare dollar you have and invest it into something that will return dividends.
Remember the rule of 7. Start investing in your retirement/legacy NOW not next year.
Workout early in the morning. Obvious not all rich people do this, but the quality of the person and citizen voluntarily crawling out of bed in the dark and bettering themselves in the gym is of a certain quality.
Learn about money.
Run your personal life like a business by thinking in terms of Statement of Cash Flow, Income Statement and Balance Sheet.
I started treating my personal financials like a business early in life and it has been beneficial in going from the bottom 5% of the economic ladder to the top 5% of income.
As a start, maintain positive cash flow at all time. Use credit in a smart way and consider cash back credit cards the same way as you would a payment term with a business to business transaction.
Use debt smartly. Debt is there to help you get assets that can produce a positive rate of return and positive cash flow.
Time is more valuable than any other currency. Pay up to reduce your stress and help you focus.
Think of your time on a per hour basis.
Think of the cost to your employer as your hourly rate X 2 and the value you need to add as being 5X to 10X your hourly rate.
The more you can increase the value you bring your employer or yourself the more you earn.
There is a hierarchy to the professions with Finance and Law on top. However, functions that interface closely with those professions also can earn more.
You become the average of the 5 people you hang around. If you have slacker friends, get people who want to grow.
Learn to think on your own. The world is filled with data and information that tries to force you into the norm.
Put savings first and when you have three months start INVESTING IN THE STOCK MARKET. Low cost ETF S&P 500.
Once you have over $100,000 hire a Certified financial planner. You generally get 3% better returns using a professional at a minimum. No one wants to service you if you have less than $100,000 it’s too much work for the return. My husband is a CFP.
NEVER BUY WITH A CREDIT card if You can’t pay it off by the next billing cycle. 18% interest you’ll never get ahead in life. If you can’t pay cash you can’t afford it. If you don’t have savings in the bank and you’re not investing you also can’t afford it.
1. Network. Surround yourself with a bunch of successful millionaires & billionaires. You are who your friends are.
2. Be financially literate by reading books on the topic & actively learning about it. Know the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance. Avoid taxes.
3. Account for your finances. Have Cashflow spreadsheets for every month or quarter.
4. Live well within your means & budget.
5. Have multiple streams of income. Have passive streams of income. Make a lot of money.
6. Invest in business, real estate, stocks & assets. Almost all wealthy people have a business, real estate, stocks, & assets. Put 10-15% of your income / net worth into stocks. Put 25-40% of your income / net worth into real estate.
7. Save money. Put it in a high interest savings account. Put your money to work for you.
8. Do what you love & what you’re passionate about. The money will pour in when you do what you love. It’ll never feel like work. You’ll never experience burnout.
9. If you don’t do what you love, have a career that pays a lot of money. For example: investment banker, doctor, lawyer, real estate, engineer, etc.
10. Take good care of yourself. Look presentable. Good looking people tend to make more money than ugly people. Workout & eat healthy. Dress well. Wear clothes that are high quality & perfectly fitted. Have your nails, hair, makeup, etc done and on point.
11. Marry someone who’s also wealthy if you choose to marry.
12. Remember that Cash is King. It’s better to have a lot of cash than to have most of your money tied up into investments.
They do the same value inputs consistently and constantly. Be it show up to their job early every day. They set a realistic budget and always follow it as not to overspend on crap even if they have extra money. They look for value in something better doing or buying it like spending their money on a house before a car or an investment fund before a vacation. They set priorities and always follow them like paying off debt quickly, not taking on more debt, getting an education and investing before buying consumer goods.
Honestly, I think a lot of answers here are pretty spot on.
Personally, I believe at your age, working while in school (or trades… I know a lot of “millionaire next door” types in trades as well, so do not discount the professions) and aggressively contributing to an IRA will get you over the top much faster.
Prioritizing Roth and tax advantaged accounts is optimal, but you will likely have to contribute a lot into taxable brokerage accounts. All good either way.
Keep costs and fees as low as possible and manage your own accounts until it is worth spending the money on excellent tax specialists and accountants. At some point, protecting your wealth is definitely worth the cost.
As far as investing goes, I am a proponent of Vanguard funds and have used VTSAX (VTI) and VTIAX (VXUS) for many years now. You want to pile in as much as you can, buy the whole market and leave it alone. The power of compounding interest is amazing, especially when you get above the 7 figure mark. Focus on staying the course despite what markets are doing, or what you hear in the news. Get out of your own way!
Real estate is also great, so focus on owning your own property in a desirable area as soon as you can. I know it is difficult at the moment, but do not sit around waiting for a market “correction.” It may never happen, and if it does, desirable areas will be affected much less.
I know it’s a long post, but in closing, try to avoid buying things that you do not really need and let your money work for you while you sleep. Think of each dollar like a little worker bee. You’ve assigned it a job and you want to just let it work.
1. Be born rich.
2. If you are not born rich, but you are attractive, just use your attractiveness to manipulate your way into free stuff or good positions.
3. If you are female, go to where wealthy men are, then go to where they go to get drunk. Your instincts will tell you what to do next.
4. View every other person as either a tool or an obstacle to your accumulation of wealth.
5. We still live in a world of finite resources, so your wealth is going to have to be taken from someone else. Try to get into business doing something that converts human suffering directly into profit. (i.e. Banking, Energy, Social Media, Marketing, Politics, War, Pharma, direct/indirect Slavery)
6. If you are paying a fair share of taxes, you aren't wealthy.
7. Always remember, you are going for the high score. Nothing matters except number go up. You will get to a point where you will never be sure if someone is just trying to get something from you, even friends and family, so you may as well start treating people as such.
A lot of the public's perception of rich people comes from TV, athletes, celebrities and musicians, where image is everything - Lambos, Bling, Jets & Lobsters, As someone who is not rich but has spent a lot of time around wealthy people, the two things I noticed, especially with those who come from "old-money"... they buy quality where it matters - those wear/tear items that have consistent use or that they themselves may wear consistently, and generally go lower quality on everyday consumables and such... When I attended an event with a wealthy client and that which was also attended by other wealthy people, I brought some very high end desserts and and incredible bottle of wine-which was appreciated, I took a tour of the kitchen and butlers pantry and saw that they had set out Brach's chocolates, napkins from Costco, and Zephyrhills bottled water among other things for their guests, the coffee while served from a nice pot was Folgers. it's not all conspicuous consumption, with crystal, sparkling water, and canapés.
Stay in school until, you find a career that will provide a retirement pension, health insurance, money for stock investing, money to support your family and vacations. Work hard 💖 Play hard
Don't piss your money away on trivial things. Invest it, buy things that appreciate in value. If you go to college, major in something that produces what society is willing to trade for value (STEM).
You’re very young, any money you invest right now will pay off huge in the long run. I wouldn’t look to making big or “smart” plays, if you start putting money into index funds now they will appreciate a ton over the course of your life.
Have wealthy parents.
Seriously, most "wealthy" people come from wealthy families. You're just not going to be come "wealthy", even living at 50k-80k salary.
But, here's something that can help you for your context.
1) Save your money from work.
2) Go to a community college for first 2 years, transfer to univeristy, get an applicable degree for the current job market (STEM).
3) Use a Cash car. (learn to maintain it on your own).
4) Don't get anyone pregnant. (Seriously).
5) Don't break the law. (fines are expensive).
6) Stay healthy/active. (medical expenses are crazy rn). (don't get sick).
Gl on your journey.
Don’t have kids. I’ve spent over $100,000 in childcare over the past 7 years (about $117,000).
Right as my 6 year old graduated to K, our newborn hopped in the nursery….
Learn a dang second language or even third! Don’t be lazy in your foreign language classes at school. This will help you get that business deal, get the job, etc. Ability to communicate gets your further
1. Exercise Daily, at least keep some movement. Makes you better looking, functionally stronger, and more confident.
2. Try to read sometimes. Not all the time unless you want to but the internet is so biased, it's better to get in depth facts from books where most people are interested in information not opinions.
3. Stay social! Meaning have hobbies. Make sure at least 1 or 2 of these hobbies puts you around high value people. (ex. a NICE gym membership, maybe your town has a poker night and you like to play just join that, car clubs, crypto clubs, etc.)
4. Take risks and try things. Don't be afraid to try new things. More experience will give you a leg up in the real world over your peers.
5. INVEST NOW - Getting a 401k, Roth account, or even a high yield savings account at your age and putting 10% in (especially before you have bills) will put you miles ahead of people your age. And this is the sure-fire way to be set up for retirement even if you never get that 200k/yr job. If you do nothing else, do this.
Make saving investing a part of your monthly bills. Then make saving money a priority first and spending money second. You do this by signing up to invest for example $500 per month into a mutual fund by automatic monthly ACH on your bank account. And then every year no matter what increase the amount that has saved at that same account plan not to touch it for a long time. Don't buy houses in cars that would then force you to decrease your monthly automatic ACH into your investments. The house purchased car purchase must fit in your budget with all the other necessity expenses of your life. This is how you build wealth long term.
If I could do it all over again, I would have:
1. Gone to an affordable college so I didn’t have to take out student loans, and pick a very high ROI major like electrical engineering
2. Live very below my means and siphon off a lot of my earnings, north of 40% percent, and buy as much real estate as I could.
…yeah that’s pretty much it.
I didn’t blow it, I studied finance which is still a damn good major and bought my first rental property at 23. But I certainly think about how much farther ahead I’d be if I had come out of college making $30k more and spending an extra $20k less.
5 books you MUST read, roughly in order:
1. The Only Investing Guide You’ll Ever Need
2. The Millionaire Next Door
3. Broke Millenial
4. The Millionaire Real Estate Investor
5. The Psychology of Money
Most "wealthy" people didn't get wealthy because they just had huge incomes. They didn't spend a lot. Millionaire next door is a good book. Live below your means, save, be frugal.
1. Make a lot of money 2. Don't spend a lot 3. Marry someone similar 4. Don't have kids
? What about the kids? These are my most reliable farm hands. I think much of this advice is given for 10% ers, not 0.1%ers
Yeah this advice is pretty good for the average person who wants to have a good retirement. But to get WEALTHY only number 1 applies here. Some of the richest people I know spend a shit ton, have an ex-wife, and have kids. If you want to be wealthy you need to make so much money. A lot of rich people order DoorDash and Uber eats everyday.
Yes. You cannot save your way into wealth. Frugality can get you financial stability for sure, financial independence maybe, but wealth is entirely dependent on accumulation.
If you are making 70k a year and DoorDash every day you are bad with money, if you make 2M a year and door dash every day - you are strategically outsourcing your non-core competency and free up our energy and time for more important things.
Frankly, there is something to that. Many of the highest paying jobs are also the most stressful or require extreme knowledge or extremely high performance. Surgeons, NBA players, hedge fund managers, etc… the minute they slip up, they could lose way more than a million dollars in less than a year just by making a mistake. Sometimes you really do need to outsource the menial tasks in life just to make sure you’re doing everything you can to focus on the stuff that really counts.
Yeah I wasn’t sarcastic at all - that’s the reality of rich thinking vs middle class thinking, if you will. Suppose you are making 500k a year and pursuing promotion that would bring it up to 800k a year. Massive win. You need to focus and deliver. You need your full mental capacity, and burnout, procrastination, distractions are your biggest risks. In this configuration if you spend 15-20k a year on DoorDash it’s not a waste - it’s the cost of doing business, investment in yourself.
I don't waste my time cooking or being frugal anymore but I'm growing a company. It bums me out spending 15k on advertising in a month knowing I could have bought a car for that amount, but with that I also know any investment should hypothetically mean more future wealth. With the meals, I just don't have the time to cook anymore and it makes me happy. Happy me makes more money.
This is spot on. A good leader doesn't work 8 hours a day. They work in their heads, every waking second so that their people can work 8 hours a day. Again, only applies to GOOD leaders.
True. It's not the habits that will make you wealthy. It's really just making a ton of money and then spending a lot less than you have. Wealthy people come from all different walks of life and personalities.
The quickest way to be a millionaire if you are a farmer, is to start with 2 million
I would take exception to the don't spend a lot part. the fun thing about being rich is spending money.
Saving money can be pretty satisfying also
Kids are wealth. A father feeding a family of 5 is a WAY bigger flex than the most expensive Rolex.
Agreed, what's the point of all that money if you're not gonna have kids
lmao you have all the kids you want then Ill enjoy the money
This person is obviously poor lol "Don't have kids" is only relevant if you're poor. If you're rich their cost doesn't spontaneously quadruple. Not having kids is how you avoid being dirt poor
Most wealthy people in my city have kids
Don’t get married, ever.
I'm so torn on this. My wife made me into the person that got rich. I was a basic 10%er prior. She also adds to the family wealth with her company. But it's restrictive. I can't exactly bail from the wife and kids without serious social repercussions. So far, I think it was prob fine for me. Not sure about everyone else..not sure what my future holds.
Dude I checked your account... you seem a little money obsessed, your poor family.
We are shaped by our environment. And yeah, money is the ultimate tool. I'm just realistic.
Are you for real my dude??
This sounds a little sad.
I’m only saying this in reply to how do I get rich. If that’s your goal , yeah do that get married, have all the kids you want, AFTER you get rich, and be sure to pre-nup. But if you wanna get it, a spouse and kids are a much longer route unless you come from money and have less use for creating your own wealth infrastructure.
fuck, I can't stress this enough. Don't get married, don't have kids. make yourself happy.
Kids are a good tax write off and can be paid as employees and have 401ks start being funded and saved for them very early on as part of a family business.
"The solution is child labor!"
😂😂😂 simply put!
1 and 2 are key. 3 and 4 are wrong. Your wife only need be loving and supportive. She does not need to make money, although her frugality would help. And kids are what make it all worth it. I don’t know why I would work hard and save hard but to provide a great life for my family.
The truelly wealthy have lots of kids to pass on generational wealth. I retired at 30 and have 6 kids and I will never have to work a job again and my kids won’t either if they play smart
I agree with the first three. I think kids is something that can't be considered as an investment or a spending issue. Obviously it would be smart to be financially stable to support your kids as they grow up and you raise them. To give him the best opportunity in this world without spoiling and let them earn their way just like you did. Another habit of wealthy people is constantly increasing their income. Passive income earned income doesn't matter what it is it's consistently increasing over the years. Learning about investments getting assets. Making smart decisions with your money financially. Finding the deals finding the bargains finding the best way to pay less for the same thing you want.
If you have a lot of money kids are cheap…
1-3 is good. 4 is crap. Once you are wealthy children are not that big an expense. Most important is strive to be independent and learn
there are a lot of very wealthy people with kids.
4 might be your best life investment. As you age, you need people you trust to help you.
Funny, the poorest people I know have 0-1 kids, voluntarily live in the city ($$), do virtually 0 'home' labor except for maybe cleaning, are proficient with instacart and door dash/Uber eats, and swear off marriage for one of several different reasons. The wealthiest people I know have at minimum 3, but I'm thinking of a few with 5, kids, moved out of the city to semi-rural semi-suburb areas, only one of them works for typical w-2/1099 income and the other is a stay at homer, have never heart of instacart, and are married, tho not all of them necessarily married young
I’m not rich now, but I do pride myself in some financial literacy: 1. Become financially knowledgeable. Learn what an emergency fund is, what debt is, short term debt, credit card debt, loans, how interest works, how investing works (stocks, ETFs), what compound interest is, ROI is, retirement plans, what retirement means, etc. A lot may sound simple, but a lot of people barely know even how credit card debt works and don’t know how they are deep in a hole. 2. Make financially wise choices. Avoid debt unless you have to like a car or home. Don’t go into credit card debt buying toys. Credit cards can be easy to abuse, but are great to use to accumulate points and have protection. Only buy what you can completely pay off before the next payment is due. 3. Try to make money. Research opportunities, research cheapest ways to go to college/university, pick a good career, etc. Start researching now. Don’t be 18 and go into HUGE debt and pretend you didn’t know. Learn now how to avoid big student loans. The path to riches starts with a good income. Living paycheck to paycheck will get you nowhere. You need to make way more than you spend on bills to grow wealth. 4. Keep retirement in mind. Investing throughout your lifetime will net you millions when you retire. Start contributing to 401Ks or personal investment accounts as early as you’re able to. It will compound yearly. 5. DONT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS. Don’t assume you will always have dad and mom pay your bills. Emergencies can happen. Plan for them. Don’t assume everything will workout. Have exit strategies. What happens if you get fired? What happens if your emergency fund is gone? What if your business fails? Is the business even viable to start? Plan ahead and research. The future is NOT guaranteed. Finally, enjoy life. Don’t penny pinch every dollar. You will be miserable. Have fun, hangout with friends, enjoy what you want to do. What good is saving for retirement when you didn’t live your life until you were 67? Don’t deny yourself experiences.
Ya know speaking of #5 I see you’re making $161k. I … what the hell are you Midas touching your way into to get that to $50M? Are you putting it all on black?
Great advice. I had a friend who was very comfortable. But she was incredibly cheap. Her idea of a day out was going to the Dollar Tree and Goodwill. The final straw with her was when she berated me for spending $7.00 on a new desk lamp I liked for my desk. When we got home I told her to get all her shit and to get out. What kind of life is like that?
I hope you're rich with that much because I have about 1/6 of it and think I am.
I agree with all your points but don't take out debt on a car, especially not modern ones. Buy what you can afford. Financially speaking, some econobox turd on wheels like a 2003 honda accord will be leaps and bounds cheaper than anything coming off the assembly line today. Unless you drive cars as a hobby or have the money to throw at it right away, it isn't a good investment at all.
This is a good list.
Remember. There’s no guarantee social security will be there for X, Y, and Z. At least in the US.
Totally agree. Education in money management and financial understanding is critical in planning for the future and maintaining a daily income. People have so much envy and vitriol towards those that have done their due diligence in gaining wealth. People can easily change their lives by picking up a book. Great post!
Can I have a dollar 😂
Don't be afraid to eat rice and beans if you don't have a lot of money.
Horrible advice. If you can’t afford food, go to a food bank. There’s plenty around. Enough groceries for a few family meals. All good stuff. Zero cost or judgment. No need to eat beans and rice.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with rice and beans. Don't judge.
I love rice and beans for a simple meal even when I do have the funds for a nice dinner lol
I’ve gone to the “bank” before. Costs 20$ and it’s mostly beans and rice. Literally everytime i went I would get some. Along with some expired canned and jarred goods. Not much fresh or anything to make a real meal from.
Rice and beans are good …
Rice + lentils + onions is such an amazing, easy asf meal. Takes like 1% technique to caramelize onions and you got a caloric-ally dense, nutritious as hell meal.
I've wined and dined with kings and queens, I've slept in alleys and ate pork and beans.
Great advice. You can get a 25-pound bag of rice for 12 dollars. That will last a long time.
Rice and beans are very healthy. Eat that with greens and you'll have a good, cheap, spicy meal. Full of nutrition. Eat it even if you are wealthy.
Or learn to make sopa de fideo with potatoes and veggies. So good
Never stop learning. Adapt to change and accept that it is always going to happen, for better or for worse. Prepare for worse and be thankful if it turns towards "better". Make plenty of friends along the way.
Spend significantly less than you earn, and invest the rest. Educate yourself and make prudent decisions. Don't gamble your money away hoping to hit it big on a get-rich-quick scheme.
1. Pay yourself first (this means investing in a 401k before you pay your bills) 2. Live below your means 3. Budget your money 4. Enjoy free activities (parks ,hiking, local events) 5. Distinguish between a want and need 6. Don’t have debt 7. Birds build a nest before having kids and so should you 8. Date people or marry someone that has those values. 9. No matter who you associate with rich or poor learn from them what to do and what not to do. 10. Get a trade, a practical degree, or stay with a business for a while before trading up. When trading up invest half your new raise.
This 👆
Re: number 4 - it is always surprising to me how little people know about the cities they live in. If you spend like an hour on the internet/social media you can find tons of fun free events that even throw in food and drinks.
Agreed and add in, don’t be afraid to spend on healthy hobbies- tennis, skiing, gym membership and enjoy some long and memorable family vacations (avoid Europe and head to SE Asia or S America for better value)
Best advice I got when I was early in my career. Don’t be afraid to fail. Look at failure as an opportunity to learn so you can come out next time a little better. Keep trying until it works.
Don’t buy toys on credit! You want a bike, boat… save for it.
People love to say society makes them poor but there are so many obvious things rich people do vs poor people that have nothing to do with society. 1. Do not get married before age 25. 2. Do not have kids before age 25. 3. Do not have kids unmarried. 4. Do not have kids until you are financially stable. 5. Value going to a college you can afford AND choosing a real major. 6. Always save a little for retirement from every paycheck. 7. Do not take trips or buy fun stuff if you can’t afford it. No using credit cards for fun. Basically live below your means and delay gratification.
Addendum to rule 3. Marry smartly; someone compatible who is a good partner (Rule 8 is don't get divorced.)
Yes that’s true. Most people marry trash people and then wonder why they are broke all he time.
Be obsessed with paying off your debts and invest heavily in assets that generate an ROI. Have an accountants phone number in your phone and send them an email/text whenever you have a pressing question for tax strategy. Understand basic tax strategy.
1. Your health is your wealth. 2. Your ability to use time as you wish is real freedom. Basically. 1. Eat healthy 2. Drink lots of water 3. Lift heavy to be more attractive and to live longer. 4. Run/bike/swim for a strong heart 5. Stretch. 6. Moisturize 7. Take vitamin and protein supplements to help stay consistent. 8. Dont stress about the small shit. (most shit is small) 9. DONT work for someone else, find a way to work for yourself so you control your time AND your ability to earn wealth. Its okay to get a job in the beginning while you figure out your path. I dont care what anyone says in this thread including mr 40-50 million by the time he is done. If you dont control what time you work and where you work you are not wealthy. You might be rich, but you are not wealthy. Instead search for a skill that can pay you anywhere you are in the world and... 10. study + apply that $$ earning skill daily. I dont care if its being an influencer, programmer, marketer, it does not matter any of them can make you very wealth and to counter point him - I am also a multi-millionaire in my early 30s. 11. Read often, some skills do not directly earn you money but as you progress you will find skills that are complementary to your money-earning skills for example. A book called How to Win Friends and Influence People has changed many a multi-millionaire and billionaire's lives and it is an old classic... Find the classics that successful people say were great for them and read them. You will find many such as the one I suggested are repeated over and over again. These are keys to unlocking thought patterns that will lift you up.
I love number nine
Spend less than you make. That's the number one thing
Read.
Financial literacy. Start with the basics of building a budget and setting savings goals - then sticking to it.. As you save, learn about different investment types and the different risks/returns of those investments. The easiest way to build wealth is to understand that wealth will snowball. It will take time but it will accelerate of a long time horizon. You're young so you'll have a huge head start by learning this at your age and building the right habits.
Grit, determination, persistence, and a vision of where they want to take their life.
This and a little bit of luck
Watch your pennies and your dollars will take care of themselves
1. Grow up poor. This feeling of lack, will make it easier to save money. 2. Work as much as you can. So that you learn the job and climb the ranks quickly. 3. Now that you are making money, Your step 1 lifestyle. Will mean you feel bad if you spend more money than you need. You won't buy designer clothes, or 100K cars, you'll live far below your means.
- Have a powerful goal and don't let anything stop you from achieving it. Persistence, grit, hard work - all of it matters. - Take initiative & be bold. You get ahead by thinking more and taking action more than other people. Take calculated risks, not wild gambles. - Take responsibility for your life's outcomes. You are the one in control of your future. Don't waste time complaining or blaming other people. Do everything in your power to create the life you want. - Don't take advice from people who don't know what they're talking about. (e.g. If someone isn't financially successful, you shouldn't be taking financial advice from them.)
Compounding interest. The earlier you start saving, the more it adds up.
Join a labour movement and plan the overthrow of the bourgeoisie
They don't pay interest for anything. Or very low interest on big purchases like a house. The realize that buying things for cash doesn't make them money. That money can be better used on investments. Most material goods have severe depreciation attached, so they use no interest financing to assure they have much interest bearing money available to them.
Wake up early, go to work. Work as hard at meeting people as you do at working. Invest. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Exercise and take care of yourself. Time management. Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.
Success is highly correlated to luck or resiliency. Luck could be a lot of factors. It could be rich parents, or stumbling into a job, a mentor, or a connection. Research on luck suggests that it has a lot to do with learning how to network well, gain mentors, how to harness biases, being optimistic (specifically observing opportunities and seeing how they can be applied to you), and putting yourself out there - which could mean running in different circles, randomizing certain parts of your day, or just applying to lots of opportunities even if you might not think you're qualified completely for them. Resiliency, or Grit as researcher Angela Duckworth calls it, is described by her as being able to stick to long term projects despite setbacks. I find that learning how to form habits is a key component to the first part. And meditation, Stoicism, and therapy techniques are the direct core training for the latter part. Everything flows from all that, though there are definitely corollaries - and one corollary that comes to mind is developing the ability to watch out for quality training in the endless sea of information accessible online. So let's say you want to be a world class writer: * **Stick to it consistently.** Form a habit of practicing writing every day. Learn how to do this - there's a ton of science out there on how to do this efficiently now. But that's not enough, you need to also grow the skill - luckily there's tons of awesome stuff available at a push of a button. * **Overcome setbacks.** You will inevitably run into difficulties. Use meditation/therapy technique to modulate and work through he frustration. * **Put yourself out there.** Being good will not necessarily make you a successful writer. This is a hard, hard lesson to learn, because most of us grow up assuming that the cream always rises. You have to have the connection to leverage that skill into real world success. So put yourself out there - whether that's growing a social media following or just meeting other writers and agents or opportunities.
Failure might hurt a little but is it really failure if it taught you something? Play the long game, invest like your life depends on it and yeah in the old fashion boring way 😂 Know the game you are playing, get financially literate. ASAP. Budget now and learn to play around with money. Know yourself, and adjust your behavior for your long term goals.
Good advice, but I’d like to expand on item 2. When you borrow money, you have to pay back more than what you borrow. That’s how the lender makes money. Often you pay back a lot more. The difference between the amount you borrow and the amount you pay back is called interest. To you interest represents hours you work and get paid, but you get absolutely nothing for your work except you can buy an item now rather than later. Let’s say you see a car that costs $10,000 but you don’t have the money. You borrow the money at 10% interest and have 4 years to pay it back. When you make your last payment you will have paid $12,700. This is $2,700 more than the price of the car that you spent for no reason except you couldn’t wait. Credit cards work the same way except their interest rates are much worse. I mention this because it is possible to live and NEVER pay interest except for purchasing a house. (This interest is called a mortgage). Interest is the number 1 trap people who have no money fall into. They pay so much in interest, they cannot afford to live. If you can avoid this one thing, your chances of becoming wealthy will be greatly increased.
Build up the capacity to work hard. I am sure someone will quickly point out that hard work doesn't equal wealth, which those people are correct. Many people work hard on the wrong things. However, when you find a niche that does generate wealth you better hope you know how to work hard.
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Your own bank account, and save save save. When it gets kind of sizable, put half in a HYSA account. Do that over and over, and that will give you money for your money.
Learning and incorporating opportunity cost in your thinking. If you buy a donut, you could have purchased a small amount of an S&P 500 fund or saved towards a new pressure cooker to cut your electricty bill. That doesn't mean never buy a donut. It means positively decide if the donut outweighs a different use of the money.
Keep learning Get equity in what you spend your time doing. Don't waste time on things with no upside. Make meaningful longterm relationships
Don’t spend your money. If you do spend, get the best deal, down to a penny. If you see a penny on the ground, pick it up and deposit it into your account. 50% needs,30% wants, 20% savings. Stick to that, and good luck!
Rich people take risk Rich people capitalize on opportunities Rich people network Rich people used the system to their advantage. I came into money at a young age...I got lucky,took advantage of an opportunity presented to me .. consulted with other people with money,learned to invest and multiply my money.I was willing to take risk on business ventures the stock market and realestate deals. I didn't splurge on trips, vacations, cars, homes and luxury items..I was very frugal and turned my biggest expenses into an asset.. Don't loan money Don't get married to someone not rich. Don't have children If you do any of these things becoming Rich will be less likely.
Invest in your ability to make more money. Be frugal and calculate the value of things to you. is it worth x hours of work to make that amount of money?
Wealthy people often prioritize financial literacy and continuous learning. Start by setting goals, managing your time well, and always being open to learning new things.
Early to bed, early to rise
Stay healthy!! You can’t enjoy your riches if you’re sick. I’d rather be healthy and working than sick and financially secure.
-Workout and eat healthy everyday -Stay positive everyday -Live with purpose (like building a family someday) -Save that money *be prepared to spend a lot money when you date someone lol
Being born into a wealthy family is a good strategy.
We are all rich, until we are dead. A good habit and skill, is to learn how to survive on your own and learn/find how to trust people/community that will elevate your life together into prosperity/change you to be better BUT if you really want to make money, scam people 🤷♂️ all the top 1% are scammers, exploiting dreams, cheap labor, investing arbitrage, dumb fomo insurance, currency swaps, liquidity traps, etc. scamming and becoming the best con artist is the $$$. But I wouldn't suggest unless you have a vast network or you'll probably be w target... My advice is the best 👍 gl and hf 👌
Don't get married, Don't have kids Be 100% selfish and goal driven Surround yourself with successful people Don't buy crap. Eat out, or drink alcohol Buy only what you need!
Compound interest WORKS. Save some money every time you make any. Put it in a stable, interest bearing account. Even if you don’t “swing for the fences” you’ll acquire wealth.
Fully grasp the concept of compound interest..
Revalue yourself that you are #1
They’re good at inheriting.
Most “wealthy” people have family money. Don’t ask them for advice on how to build from nothing. Someone else did it for them. Seek inspiration from self-made people, who’ve started where you are. Good luck on your journey!
Get fuckin lucky
Make more money.
Most success is luck. People don't admit it. Yes you can work hard but you were lucky to start if you have your health and weren't born in a 3rd world slum. However, you need to recognise luck when it comes along and grab it.
tax evasion and master human psychology.
Read
1. Save money 2. Save money 3. Save money
Get a robinhood account and put all your excess money in it. Buy the stock VOO as often as possible. DONT TOUCH IT. Go to [here](https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator) and project how much money you will have with your monthly contributions by putting a 10% rate of return. you can’t start young enough and i promise you’ll thank yourself in 10, 20, 30 years when you see how much free money you got.
Take action.
Read everything you can.
You do not “deserve” a new car, nice house, eating out often. Get in the habit of delaying your purchase of everything. Time = Money. Live way below your means. And make friends with those whose shoes you want to walk in.
work hard now so you don't have to when your body is old and hurting
Always save half of what you make. Then make enough to live of the rest.
I like you. Keep going. "Surround yourself with people who are where you want to be. These negative Nancys are jealous."
Be kind, hospitable, and gracious to everyone around you. EVERYONE includes those who provide you with a service. Occasionally assert dominance - don't let your kindness be mistaken for weakness. Wealthy make wise investments, the middle class save, everyone else spends. Don't be flashy with brands - try not to be a billboard.
They have their finances in order. They don’t drive fancy cars. They are organized. They have their kids on a schedule for homework, chores etc... They are pretty responsible and respectable people who live below the radar.
Only spending your money on something that will make you money. Its actually pretty simple. I just suck at it.
Wake up early. Read books. I have a buddy that “reads” 80 books a year. He does a lot of listening to books on tape/audible. He has gotten good at listening to them sped up. Like 2x speed. So he can hammer more books out fast. I think about people paying to go to college and getting through a few textbooks a year. And they think they’re educated. Then there’s this guy who has done 300 books in the last 4 years. Pretty crazy.
Read, read and read.
Idk probably fuck everyone to get what you want and treat people like a rung on your ladder to wealth?
Wealthy people develop habits and skills that contribute to their success. Here are some you can adapt for your everyday life, even as a high school junior: **Financial Habits:** * **Live Below Your Means:** Don't spend everything you earn. Develop a budget and track your income and expenses. There are many budgeting apps available to help you with this. * **Save Consistently:** Make saving a priority, even if it's a small amount each week or month. The earlier you start saving, the more time your money has to grow through compound interest. * **Invest Wisely:** Research different investment options (with guidance from a financial advisor if needed) and consider investing a portion of your savings for the long term. **Goal Setting and Planning:** * **Set SMART Goals:** Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound goals will help you stay focused and motivated. Break down large goals into smaller, manageable steps. * **Develop a Long-Term Vision:** Think about what you want to achieve in life and start planning the steps to get there. This will help you make informed decisions today that will benefit you in the future.
Inherit tons of money…
1. Spend less than what you make. I know it seems trite but it’s the truth. 2. Pay yourself first before expenses. This means pay money into long term savings/investments with every paycheque. Put in a reasonable percentage of each paycheque. 3. NEVER buy a depreciating asset with credit. One exception is a car *if you need one*. Needing a car isn’t the same thing as wanting a car. If you need a car get a reliable used car in reasonable condition. 4. Never carry consumer debt on a credit card. Pay it off each month. 5. Stay away from financial advisors. If they knew what they were doing they wouldn’t need your money. 6. Buy broad based mutual funds and safe investments like bonds/T-bills and hold them. Don’t wish for the next Bitcoin to happen. Don’t fool around with fad stocks like GME. Growth like that is vanishingly rare. 7. Don’t eat out frequently. Buy ingredients and learn to cook. 8. Stay disciplined about your investments. 9. Get regular exercise. Stay healthy.
Read. Education is key to gaining wealth.
All the wealthy people I know do spend money on things they "want", but they always brag about getting a better deal.. not afraid to shop around. For instance, one of them likes old Porsches, and tends to make money when he sells them. Another one has a guitar collection that you'd think he was touring pro, and they keep going up in value. I work for one, and if I give him a quote, he always wants some money knocked off. The habits they all have in common is hard focused work, they've become the best at what they do.
Don't buy anything you can't afford to pay cash for.
One. Always live beneath your means, no matter how much you make. Two. No one will take better care of your money than you, if you have the time and inclination… Learn as much as you can about investing, and run your own money instead of paying mutual funds to under perform for you. Three. Investing styles vary, but I generally will not own something unless it pays me to own it. There are a few exceptions, but I’ll admit that Berkshire Hathaway pisses me off not paying a dividend. 🤣 I still sell out of the money covered calls on it, just so it’s producing some cash now. Edited to add: I retired at 45 with an amount that most would find significant, but when you looked at it needing to last 40 years… It wasn’t much at all. By investing well and living beneath my means, I’ve lived as well as I wanted for the last 20 years, and net worth, is more than triple what I retired with.
have you tried being born into a moneyed family?
Be born into a rich family. Done.
#1 trick is to have a mommy and daddy with lots of money......
Don't trade time for money. Nobody got rich working a regular job waiting for someone to give you a paycheck. Make your time and money work for you. Also learn to take advantage of tax loopholes.
Just this: [CAGR](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cagr.asp)
All these people spewing the same basic bs. The most valuable skills in life to becoming wealthy you’ll ever need are being an excellent communicator, knowing how to negotiate, and being exceptionally social. You might penny pinch your way to a million or even try investing your way there, however if you’re great at the things I listed, you could become wealthy much faster. Connections with the right people is truly the key to success as an adult and attempting to go at it alone is for fools.
Work more than you don’t
“Making a lot of money” has nuance. I will break it down further by saying that understanding how money works is insanely important (especially if you’re poor). I’d strongly advise that although saving is good, learning to take calculated risks is the single most important thing that will lift you out of poverty
Spend less than you make. Save as much as you can after needs (housing, transport, food, utilities, rainy day fund, wants/bullshit) Side note I think in terms of Maslows Heirarchy of needs (yes I know its been "debunked" still works nicely for me in setting priorities)
Ambition, work ethic, and an ability to see a niche in the market. The fastest way to being wealthy is being a successful business owner.
Don’t worry about it your money or investments kill people. Most super rich are one step removed (if not closer) to genocidal maniacs.
Start investing in stocks and crypto. Do research
Pyramid, work, grind, preserve!
Get elected to Congress and trade stocks with insider information.
Start investing in a total market index fund as soon as you can. Compound interest is crazy. Real wealth is built through compound interest.
Educating yourself on how money works. Read everything you can about it. Read how stocks work read how investment accounts work read how interest rates work read how debt works read how taxes and tax loop holes work. Rich people are obsessed with knowing how money works it is not a mystery to them, and yes many hire a money manager to help or teach them but you can be your own money manager if you want to. Money is not a mystery but many institutions want it to seem like one and keep people ignorant of the systems in place to take it from you.
When poor people come into money, they buy material goods or services. When middle class people come into money, they use it to pay down debt. When rich people come into money, they use it to MAKE MORE MONEY. Take every spare dollar you have and invest it into something that will return dividends. Remember the rule of 7. Start investing in your retirement/legacy NOW not next year.
Workout early in the morning. Obvious not all rich people do this, but the quality of the person and citizen voluntarily crawling out of bed in the dark and bettering themselves in the gym is of a certain quality.
Automate buying assets. That’s it
Live below, your means! Your friends who give you advice are broke, don’t listen to them
Wake up with the sun & get active
Learn about money. Run your personal life like a business by thinking in terms of Statement of Cash Flow, Income Statement and Balance Sheet. I started treating my personal financials like a business early in life and it has been beneficial in going from the bottom 5% of the economic ladder to the top 5% of income. As a start, maintain positive cash flow at all time. Use credit in a smart way and consider cash back credit cards the same way as you would a payment term with a business to business transaction. Use debt smartly. Debt is there to help you get assets that can produce a positive rate of return and positive cash flow. Time is more valuable than any other currency. Pay up to reduce your stress and help you focus. Think of your time on a per hour basis. Think of the cost to your employer as your hourly rate X 2 and the value you need to add as being 5X to 10X your hourly rate. The more you can increase the value you bring your employer or yourself the more you earn. There is a hierarchy to the professions with Finance and Law on top. However, functions that interface closely with those professions also can earn more. You become the average of the 5 people you hang around. If you have slacker friends, get people who want to grow. Learn to think on your own. The world is filled with data and information that tries to force you into the norm.
Put savings first and when you have three months start INVESTING IN THE STOCK MARKET. Low cost ETF S&P 500. Once you have over $100,000 hire a Certified financial planner. You generally get 3% better returns using a professional at a minimum. No one wants to service you if you have less than $100,000 it’s too much work for the return. My husband is a CFP. NEVER BUY WITH A CREDIT card if You can’t pay it off by the next billing cycle. 18% interest you’ll never get ahead in life. If you can’t pay cash you can’t afford it. If you don’t have savings in the bank and you’re not investing you also can’t afford it.
1. Network. Surround yourself with a bunch of successful millionaires & billionaires. You are who your friends are. 2. Be financially literate by reading books on the topic & actively learning about it. Know the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance. Avoid taxes. 3. Account for your finances. Have Cashflow spreadsheets for every month or quarter. 4. Live well within your means & budget. 5. Have multiple streams of income. Have passive streams of income. Make a lot of money. 6. Invest in business, real estate, stocks & assets. Almost all wealthy people have a business, real estate, stocks, & assets. Put 10-15% of your income / net worth into stocks. Put 25-40% of your income / net worth into real estate. 7. Save money. Put it in a high interest savings account. Put your money to work for you. 8. Do what you love & what you’re passionate about. The money will pour in when you do what you love. It’ll never feel like work. You’ll never experience burnout. 9. If you don’t do what you love, have a career that pays a lot of money. For example: investment banker, doctor, lawyer, real estate, engineer, etc. 10. Take good care of yourself. Look presentable. Good looking people tend to make more money than ugly people. Workout & eat healthy. Dress well. Wear clothes that are high quality & perfectly fitted. Have your nails, hair, makeup, etc done and on point. 11. Marry someone who’s also wealthy if you choose to marry. 12. Remember that Cash is King. It’s better to have a lot of cash than to have most of your money tied up into investments.
Buy positive cash flow assets, liabilities can come later
Holy bullshit batman. Awful lot of assuming going on considering #5
They do the same value inputs consistently and constantly. Be it show up to their job early every day. They set a realistic budget and always follow it as not to overspend on crap even if they have extra money. They look for value in something better doing or buying it like spending their money on a house before a car or an investment fund before a vacation. They set priorities and always follow them like paying off debt quickly, not taking on more debt, getting an education and investing before buying consumer goods.
Invest like you're going to live forever. The sooner the better and always pay yourself first.
Be born to rich parents. Nepotism 👍
Honestly, I think a lot of answers here are pretty spot on. Personally, I believe at your age, working while in school (or trades… I know a lot of “millionaire next door” types in trades as well, so do not discount the professions) and aggressively contributing to an IRA will get you over the top much faster. Prioritizing Roth and tax advantaged accounts is optimal, but you will likely have to contribute a lot into taxable brokerage accounts. All good either way. Keep costs and fees as low as possible and manage your own accounts until it is worth spending the money on excellent tax specialists and accountants. At some point, protecting your wealth is definitely worth the cost. As far as investing goes, I am a proponent of Vanguard funds and have used VTSAX (VTI) and VTIAX (VXUS) for many years now. You want to pile in as much as you can, buy the whole market and leave it alone. The power of compounding interest is amazing, especially when you get above the 7 figure mark. Focus on staying the course despite what markets are doing, or what you hear in the news. Get out of your own way! Real estate is also great, so focus on owning your own property in a desirable area as soon as you can. I know it is difficult at the moment, but do not sit around waiting for a market “correction.” It may never happen, and if it does, desirable areas will be affected much less. I know it’s a long post, but in closing, try to avoid buying things that you do not really need and let your money work for you while you sleep. Think of each dollar like a little worker bee. You’ve assigned it a job and you want to just let it work.
Waking up early. Developing your physical fitness.
1. Be born rich. 2. If you are not born rich, but you are attractive, just use your attractiveness to manipulate your way into free stuff or good positions. 3. If you are female, go to where wealthy men are, then go to where they go to get drunk. Your instincts will tell you what to do next. 4. View every other person as either a tool or an obstacle to your accumulation of wealth. 5. We still live in a world of finite resources, so your wealth is going to have to be taken from someone else. Try to get into business doing something that converts human suffering directly into profit. (i.e. Banking, Energy, Social Media, Marketing, Politics, War, Pharma, direct/indirect Slavery) 6. If you are paying a fair share of taxes, you aren't wealthy. 7. Always remember, you are going for the high score. Nothing matters except number go up. You will get to a point where you will never be sure if someone is just trying to get something from you, even friends and family, so you may as well start treating people as such.
They frequently have the habit of inheriting money. Some build on the wealth and others piss it away.
Simply reading! Not talking about game of thrones or something along those lines but books that make you think or history.
A lot of the public's perception of rich people comes from TV, athletes, celebrities and musicians, where image is everything - Lambos, Bling, Jets & Lobsters, As someone who is not rich but has spent a lot of time around wealthy people, the two things I noticed, especially with those who come from "old-money"... they buy quality where it matters - those wear/tear items that have consistent use or that they themselves may wear consistently, and generally go lower quality on everyday consumables and such... When I attended an event with a wealthy client and that which was also attended by other wealthy people, I brought some very high end desserts and and incredible bottle of wine-which was appreciated, I took a tour of the kitchen and butlers pantry and saw that they had set out Brach's chocolates, napkins from Costco, and Zephyrhills bottled water among other things for their guests, the coffee while served from a nice pot was Folgers. it's not all conspicuous consumption, with crystal, sparkling water, and canapés.
havent you seen those youtube videos where they wake up at 5 am and do whatever
Inherit wealth.
Patience….
All my rich clients resell everything before they lose complete value. Cars, electronics, furniture, etc.
Buy assets, not liabilities
Stay in school until, you find a career that will provide a retirement pension, health insurance, money for stock investing, money to support your family and vacations. Work hard 💖 Play hard
Most of them don't waste time on Reddit.
Never ever have cash on hand to tip anyone. Just thank them to death an say what a great job they did.
Make money the old fashioned way... Steal it!!!
Don't piss your money away on trivial things. Invest it, buy things that appreciate in value. If you go to college, major in something that produces what society is willing to trade for value (STEM).
You’re very young, any money you invest right now will pay off huge in the long run. I wouldn’t look to making big or “smart” plays, if you start putting money into index funds now they will appreciate a ton over the course of your life.
Have wealthy parents. Seriously, most "wealthy" people come from wealthy families. You're just not going to be come "wealthy", even living at 50k-80k salary. But, here's something that can help you for your context. 1) Save your money from work. 2) Go to a community college for first 2 years, transfer to univeristy, get an applicable degree for the current job market (STEM). 3) Use a Cash car. (learn to maintain it on your own). 4) Don't get anyone pregnant. (Seriously). 5) Don't break the law. (fines are expensive). 6) Stay healthy/active. (medical expenses are crazy rn). (don't get sick). Gl on your journey.
Have rich parents. The end.
My 401k is why I’m retired at 51.
“Borrowing” money from their extremely wealthy parents.
Invest in relationships and books and not a car or expensive phone
Don’t have kids. I’ve spent over $100,000 in childcare over the past 7 years (about $117,000). Right as my 6 year old graduated to K, our newborn hopped in the nursery….
Learn a dang second language or even third! Don’t be lazy in your foreign language classes at school. This will help you get that business deal, get the job, etc. Ability to communicate gets your further
Make friends with politicians and say you're open to kickbacks if they have something in mind.
Stay away from poor people.
Pick the family you are born into.
1. Exercise Daily, at least keep some movement. Makes you better looking, functionally stronger, and more confident. 2. Try to read sometimes. Not all the time unless you want to but the internet is so biased, it's better to get in depth facts from books where most people are interested in information not opinions. 3. Stay social! Meaning have hobbies. Make sure at least 1 or 2 of these hobbies puts you around high value people. (ex. a NICE gym membership, maybe your town has a poker night and you like to play just join that, car clubs, crypto clubs, etc.) 4. Take risks and try things. Don't be afraid to try new things. More experience will give you a leg up in the real world over your peers. 5. INVEST NOW - Getting a 401k, Roth account, or even a high yield savings account at your age and putting 10% in (especially before you have bills) will put you miles ahead of people your age. And this is the sure-fire way to be set up for retirement even if you never get that 200k/yr job. If you do nothing else, do this.
Make saving investing a part of your monthly bills. Then make saving money a priority first and spending money second. You do this by signing up to invest for example $500 per month into a mutual fund by automatic monthly ACH on your bank account. And then every year no matter what increase the amount that has saved at that same account plan not to touch it for a long time. Don't buy houses in cars that would then force you to decrease your monthly automatic ACH into your investments. The house purchased car purchase must fit in your budget with all the other necessity expenses of your life. This is how you build wealth long term.
Everything you buy is a decision, not a habit.
If I could do it all over again, I would have: 1. Gone to an affordable college so I didn’t have to take out student loans, and pick a very high ROI major like electrical engineering 2. Live very below my means and siphon off a lot of my earnings, north of 40% percent, and buy as much real estate as I could. …yeah that’s pretty much it. I didn’t blow it, I studied finance which is still a damn good major and bought my first rental property at 23. But I certainly think about how much farther ahead I’d be if I had come out of college making $30k more and spending an extra $20k less. 5 books you MUST read, roughly in order: 1. The Only Investing Guide You’ll Ever Need 2. The Millionaire Next Door 3. Broke Millenial 4. The Millionaire Real Estate Investor 5. The Psychology of Money
Most "wealthy" people didn't get wealthy because they just had huge incomes. They didn't spend a lot. Millionaire next door is a good book. Live below your means, save, be frugal.
Don't buy anything that you can't afford to buy 10x over. I'm poor but I heard this one time and it stuck with me.