How do you become rich? What rich habits could you adopt to become a millionaire?
Do you think you would get the same result if you studied and copied exactly what Warren Buffet did? I always believed you could. Well, you couldn’t do exactly what he did since the timing, situation, and condition could never be the same. But, you could get pretty close. By studying, learning and copying the habits of the rich, could you become rich? I believe you could get pretty darn close.
RICH HABITS
Reading
You don’t have to be a genius to be a millionaire but you do have to be smart enough to keep learning and improving. This is why reading is on the top of the list as the rich habits.
Reading improves knowledge, memory, stimulates the mind, enhances creativity and writing. CEOs of major corporations read an average of 60 books per year. If you don’t want to read an average of one book per week, then listen to them on Audible. Do you know more than you did a year ago? Are you better than you were a year ago? The important thing is that you continue to increase your financial literacy and reading is an essential habit to becoming rich.
Positive Thinking
Thoughts form words, words form actions, actions form habits, habits become character, and character determines destiny. Positive thinkers cope with stress more effectively. They also have lower rate of depression and live longer. They have better cardiovascular health. If you are a Negative Nelly, you can train yourself to think positive. Turn on a happy tune and start singing. Think of a happy moment that you spent with someone special. Substitute a negative thought with a positive one. Positive people attract customers and wealth. Isn’t this is a worth while rich habit to cultivate?
Be Introspective
Learn to be introspective as part of rich habits. Manage emotions such as anger, resentment, and worry. These negative emotions will not help you become rich. Practice how to be introspective by asking how you’re feeling then why. Learn to turn negative energy into a positive one. This will teach you to become a better person. The journey to financial freedom is about the person you become to become a millionaire.
Move
Corley reports that 76% of rich do aerobic exercise at least four days per week compared to 23% of poor people. Exercising releases endorphins, which in turn gives you more energy to achieve your goals.
Donate your TV, unless you use it do Zumba, Tai Chi or Yoga. According to Corley, 67% of rich people watch television for one hour or less per day, while only 23% poor people limit their TV intake. Chose activities that will make you a better person or bring in more income, or move you toward wealth.
Set Goals
The rich establish savings goals early in their lives. They keep a Daily To Do List to keep them on track to meet their goals. A To Do List helps you prioritize so you can accomplish the most important task first. At the end of the day, I start a To Do List for the following day and write down one or two things I didn’t complete today. I finish them off the first thing the next day. I also do the things I least enjoy first so so they don’t dampen my day.
Be Frugal
Frugality is something that the Millionaires had in common. They enjoy what they have and do not have the need to buy unnecessary stuff. Frugal people know how to splurge on things that are important to them. They live modest lives and often have one house, spouse, and car.
Be Generous
When you’re out with a friend, do you constantly text others and look at your Facebook? Or do you give your time, heart, and mind to them by listening and engaging with them? Be generous with your time. Once the moment is passed, you cannot get it back. Be present. Give others recognition and sincere compliments that is specific to their actions. They may not always remember what you said, but they will always remember whow you make them feel. Serve others by sharing your skills and knowledge.
Save 20% or More
Rich habit includes saving 20% or more of your income. Put 10% into your retirement account and the other 10% into a Freedom Fund, where you will accumulate savings for emergency and investments.
Don’t leave free money on the table. If your company matches your 401(k), contribute at least minimum to earn the maximum match.
Avoid Debt
Rich people don’t have huge debt. They pay off their monthly credit card bills.
If you are an obsessive shopper and spender, you may have to be as radicle as Dave Ramsey and pay everything with cash. But if you are disciplined, use your credit card to rack up mileage points.
Spend less. I understand everyone has a vice, but not ten. Save on a few areas of your expense so that you can splurge on what you really love. Sex in the City was probably one of the worst wallet crusher for women. Binge watching Sex in the City while drinking Cosmopolitan is one of the best ways of getting over a boyfriend but not becoming rich.
Don't Gamble
Would it surprise to know that only 6% of rich people play the lottery regularly compared to 77% of poor people?
The chances of winning the lotto is one in 14 million.
Saving the money in a jar and investing it for 10 years virtually guarantees a win.
Attract Money
Did you grow up with the thought that money is evil and that rich people are greedy? If yes, then change your mindset about money. Think yourself as a money magnet. As a rich habit, learn to think make more money, manage it, and invest it wisely. Money doesn’t like people who do not pay attention to it. Keep track of your financial dashboard through a Net Worth Spreadsheet.
Declutter
Keep your mind and environment free from clutter. It will reduce the sense of being overwhelmed and disorganized. If you’re looking for your keys all day, how will you accomplish more important tasks at hand?
An organized, uncluttered environment reduces stress and anxiety. It enhances productivity. Living like a minimalist saves you money.
Take Risks
Do you think Oprah Winfrey, Vera Wang, and Meg Whitman became rich without taking risks? My daughter moved to Brooklyn New York straight out of college. Two years later, she opened a dark room studio, Gowanus Darkroom, where the community can go and develop their photos. They just celebrated their 4- year anniversary and she couldn’t be happier working for herself and contributing to her community. That is just ballsy!
When you take a risk on yourself, you can win big.
Think Contrarian
Think and do things differently than everyone else. I don’t mean in everything you do on daily basis. Then you’ll be labeled as difficult. I mean when you are stuck in a problem or when something ordinary did not work.
Most successful people found a way to go against the tide of what everyone else is doing. They found a solution when others said it wasn’t possible. This rich habit of finding the courage to question the usual, ordinary, and mundane may lead you to find something contrary but extraordinary.
Associate with Good People
Building relationship with like-minded people who have good money habits is a rich habit worth cultivating. Fights related to money are sited as number one reason why couples fight. Marrying well and finding partners who has similar spending values can eliminate the financial stressors in marriage.
Millionaires
Thomas C. Corley spent five years interviewing rich people and found that there are two types of millionaires, Risk-Takers and Savers. The Risk Takers were business owners, entrepreneurs and investors. The Savers accumulated wealth by living below their means, saving money, and investing it wisely. The Risk takers’ average net worth was $7.4 million versus the Savers at $3.4 million. The habit they had in common included:
- establishing savings goal early and saving 20% or more
- frugality and keeping expenses low
- modest life with same house, spouse, and car
- investing their money
- associating with like-minded people about money habits
If you adopted the rich habits of these millionaires, do you think you can become rich?
I bet you can come darn close.
Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.
– Epictetus