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To be honest, we all want to be rich, right? Okay, maybe not all of us, but not worrying about money would certainly be nice. Well, we did some digging to find out the best ways to get rich, according to millionaires.
The gist? Start and maintain healthy financial habits. Below, we gathered some of the best ones we found.
1. Track All Your Spending
Do you know where all your money goes each month? You will after you do this exercise. Tom Corley, an accountant and financial planner, has interviewed countless self-made millionaires about their daily habits. Corley gathered up so many tips, in fact, that he put them into a bestselling book, “Change Your Habits, Change Your Life.” One of Corley’s tips on his blog Rich Habits is to chart every penny you spend for one month.
“At the end of the 30 days, review where your money went,” Corley said. “You’ll be surprised what you may find.”
2. Educate Yourself On Money Matters
T. Harv Eker is another self-made millionaire with a bestselling book titled “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.” In it, he gives readers (all of us!) ways to take charge of and grow their money. One way to do so is by educating yourself on money—reading books, listening to podcasts, etc. After all, money is an ever-evolving topic, and it’s better to be in the know.
“Success is a learnable skill,” Eker wrote. “If you want to be a great golfer, you can learn how to do it. If you want to be a great piano player, you can learn how to do it … If you want to be rich, you can learn how to do it.”
Well said!
3. Don’t Just Save More, Earn More
“[Wealthy people] understand that while there is a limit on how much you can save, there is no limit to how much you can make,” Jaime Tardy, a business coach and the author of “The Eventual Millionaire,” told LearnVest.
And Tardy knows what she’s talking about—she’s interviewed more than 150 millionaires. So, if you can’t get a raise at your current job—though you should certainly try—think about additional ways to earn extra income (i.e., drive for Uber, start at Etsy store, etc.). Then, you can put that money into a separate account and invest it—the possibilities are endless.
Or, find an employer who will pay you what you’re worth. And you can always take on that side job, too!
“The primary difference between the wealthy and the rest of us is that they’re in control of their money—they don’t let money control them,” Tardy said. “They have taken the time to learn how to work successfully with money, and as a result, they are the captain of their ship.”
4. Set Goals—And Stick To Them
In “The Millionaire Next Door,” authors Thomas Stanley and William Danko interviewed multi-millionaires to find out the secrets to their success because millionaires do have certain money habits.
One thing Stanley and Danko learned was that millionaires set goals. Not only do they set monthly and yearly goals, but they also set daily and weekly ones. Maybe you’ve tried to make annual money resolutions and goals in the past. Well, now’s the time to make them and stick to them.
5. Invest
William R. Patterson, CEO of the Baron Solution Group and a wealth and business coach, has worked with clients all over the financial spectrum. He’s found that millionaires invest their money in a diverse array of products. The same is true for their income streams (as we mentioned earlier).
“Our wealthiest clients concentrate on the stock market, real estate and entrepreneurship when it comes to building wealth because they give them the greatest leverage of time and money,” Patterson wrote for Inc.com. “Most people struggle financially because they attempt to build wealth with a linear approach—using one investment strategy, one portfolio and one stream of income (a job). To build significant wealth in a way that brings you greater freedom with each dollar made, you have to learn to manage multiple investment strategies, multiple portfolios and multiple streams of income.”
There you have it—daily rituals of millionaires that we all could easily adopt, too. If you think about it, the only thing stopping us is ourselves.
About the Author
In addition to Don't Waste Your Money, Natalia is an ongoing writer for Bustle (sex, dating, relationships, and money), HelloGiggles (pop culture and news), Simplemost (lifestyle topics), and The Delite (feel-good stories). You can also find her writing in the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune's RedEye, xoJane, Elite Daily, Scary Mommy, Elephant Journal, and Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies, among other publications. She has a Ph.D. in couch-surfing, having spent four years sleeping on over 200 L.A.-area love seats and sectionals, all in an effort to whittle down her student loan debt. She still loves couch-surfing in other cities, too (hint, hint). More.
