Ever wondered how the uber-rich—the Warren Buffetts and Mark Cubans of the world—live day to day? Sure, they may have some extravagant habits, but it’s highly likely they also follow the same key money rules that help them increase and protect their wealth. Even if you haven’t yet amassed a fortune of your own, you can benefit from doing the same. Here are five:
They don’t spend everything they earn.
“Most people make a living, spend what they feel they need to enjoy their lives and then dutifully save what is left. Unfortunately, that’s often little or nothing,” says Steve Martin, a Certified Financial Planner and senior managing director at BKD Wealth Advisors in Chicago. “Successful people, on the other hand, make a living and then first set aside the amount needed to reach their goals.”
By choosing to pay themselves first—which you can do, too, by diverting a portion of your paycheck into a savings account or scheduling auto-transfers from checking to savings—wealthy people reliably hit their targets, while also learning to delay gratification and avoiding wealth busters like credit card debt.
