If you want to be wealthy, who should you study? Rich people, right?
Growing up, I was only familiar with people who I knew from my environment and upbringing. It wasn’t until my teenage years where I was exposed to kids from wealthy families.
Since then, my perspective on what it takes to become wealthy has drastically change.
Top Habits of Rich People
Here are seven habits of wealthy people that you can implement to start building wealth.
1. Drive modest cars
According to a study by Thomas Stanley in The Millionaire Next Door, 37% of millionaires buy used cars rather than new. According to a report by Kelly Blue Book, the average new car loses up to 65% of its value in the first four years.
Also, according to the study done by Stanley, the average value of a Millionaires’ car is around $22,500. If Millionaires drive modest cars, then what should average people who aspire to be Millionaires drive?
2. Surround yourself with like-minded people
Steve Siebold, the author of How Rich People Think, states that rich people surround themselves with like-minded people. If you hang around people who are successful, driven, and hard-working then it is much more likely that you will be too.
If you hang out with people who are lazy, prone to complain, and unproductive then what do you think your bent will be?
As Mark Twain once said, “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
3. Avoid the accumulation of debt
When members of the Forbes 400, the wealthiest 400 people in North America, were interviewed, 75% of them say the number-one key to building wealth is to get out of debt and stay out of debt.
Yet, the average household debt in the United States is on the rise. According to a recent Reuters article, the United States has posted the largest household debt increase since 2008.
As Albert Einstein once said, “Those who understand interest earn it, those who don’t, pay it.” I don’t know about you, but I would rather make interest and not pay it. If you’re in debt and want to pay it all off, check out these ideas to get out of debt fast.
4. Set goals
Tracie Taylor leads Millionaire U which is a three-day real estate training course for “advanced” students. In her class, she states, “People with goals are the ones who succeed.” Tracie is not the only one who says setting goals is important.
Mary Kay Ash was also an advocate of goal setting. Mary founded Mary Kay Cosmetics, which at the time of her death, had over 800,000 representatives in 37 countries and total annual retail sales over $2 billion.
Listen to what she had to say, “We must have a theme, a goal, a purpose in our lives. If you don’t know where you are aiming, you don’t have a goal. My goal is to live my life in such a way that when I die, someone can say, ‘she cared’.”
5. Try to get the best deal
There are many examples of getting the best deal but the one that works for everybody, whether you are wealthy or not, is clipping coupons.
You might think that this is something that is only done by people who “need” to save money but you would be mistaken.
Did you know that even movie stars clip coupons? According to an article featured in Yahoo Finance, Academy Award winning actress Hilary Swank clips coupons. Who would have thought?
6. Read non-fiction books
Do you enjoy reading? I am not much of a reader, per se, but I do listen to a lot of audio-books. I am a huge fan of Automobile University, that is learning while I drive to and from work.
It turns a boring, seemingly unproductive drive to work, into a classroom. If you have a long drive to work, you should consider giving this a shot. If you are old school and like to read paperbacks, you are not alone.
Warren Buffett has a stack of books by his chair that he loves to read. It is evident that those who are successful like to read. As the renowned economist, Barry Asmus likes to say, “leaders are readers.”
7. Do work that you enjoy
The late Steve Jobs said this at a Stanford commencement speech in 2005,
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the year’s roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle…”
Watch the full speech here:
Summary
Habits shape who we are. Hopefully by reading some of the habits above you have discovered some habits that you can implement in your own life.
Change your habits and change your outcome. Don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today.
Note: Wealthy people track their net worth. Ultimately your net worth should increase every year and the best way to know that is to track it. There is a free tool called Personal Capital that will help you do that.
