Recently, I attended a meeting with people whose
net worth ranged from "comfortable" to approaching a
billion dollars. All of them have achieved significant
financial wealth, and all of them have done it on their
own. There was no inherited money in this group. I asked
them what they did to accumulate money, and for advice to
pass along in my readers. Here are the results:
1. Save 10% of everything you make, no matter what. The
percentage they recommended varied, but they were
unanimous: Live within your means and save money every
month.
2. Invest for the long haul. They pointed to Warren Buffet
and noted that he buys and holds a stock for 20 years or
longer. Invest in things you understand, and hold on!
3. Avoid debt. They talked about raising capital for their
businesses (borrowing from investors), but insisted that
personal debt be avoided. One woman said, "consumer debt is
devastating. If you want to achieve financial wealth, kill
your credit cards." Another added, "no car or boat or
anything else is worth the cost (financial and emotional)
of borrowing money."
4. Crunch the numbers. They talked about doing their
financial statements "every month, no matter what." Another
added, "Only the numbers tell you how you’re really doing;
you’ve got to watch them like a hawk and use the
information every day."
5. Have a plan. They expect their investments to grow
steadily over the years (not over-night), and they plan
accordingly. They emphasized setting 20, 30, even 50-year
financial goals.
6. Know that money is one way of keeping score, but it’s
not the game itself. Money comes from doing something other
people value and will pay for. They emphasized that "it’s
fun to have nice things" but noted that the money was
secondary to doing "interesting things."
All of them had stories of starting out with school loans,
small children, a "stuffy little apartment," working for
minimum wage or eating "lots of macaroni and cheese," and
yet knowing that they could "achieve some measure of
success." Now, they’ve done it, and so can you. We can
learn from the experts!
net worth ranged from "comfortable" to approaching a
billion dollars. All of them have achieved significant
financial wealth, and all of them have done it on their
own. There was no inherited money in this group. I asked
them what they did to accumulate money, and for advice to
pass along in my readers. Here are the results:
1. Save 10% of everything you make, no matter what. The
percentage they recommended varied, but they were
unanimous: Live within your means and save money every
month.
2. Invest for the long haul. They pointed to Warren Buffet
and noted that he buys and holds a stock for 20 years or
longer. Invest in things you understand, and hold on!
3. Avoid debt. They talked about raising capital for their
businesses (borrowing from investors), but insisted that
personal debt be avoided. One woman said, "consumer debt is
devastating. If you want to achieve financial wealth, kill
your credit cards." Another added, "no car or boat or
anything else is worth the cost (financial and emotional)
of borrowing money."
4. Crunch the numbers. They talked about doing their
financial statements "every month, no matter what." Another
added, "Only the numbers tell you how you’re really doing;
you’ve got to watch them like a hawk and use the
information every day."
5. Have a plan. They expect their investments to grow
steadily over the years (not over-night), and they plan
accordingly. They emphasized setting 20, 30, even 50-year
financial goals.
6. Know that money is one way of keeping score, but it’s
not the game itself. Money comes from doing something other
people value and will pay for. They emphasized that "it’s
fun to have nice things" but noted that the money was
secondary to doing "interesting things."
All of them had stories of starting out with school loans,
small children, a "stuffy little apartment," working for
minimum wage or eating "lots of macaroni and cheese," and
yet knowing that they could "achieve some measure of
success." Now, they’ve done it, and so can you. We can
learn from the experts!
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