It might seem like rich people are part of an elite club. They all appear to have access to money secrets that helped them build an impressive net worth.
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If you’re hoping to increase your wealth, you might be itching to learn these secrets, too. Changing even one money habit can have a huge effect on your financial situation.
Want to glimpse behind the curtain to find out what wealthy people are doing to earn and maintain their affluence? Here’s a look at some of their money secrets that you can adopt — on any budget.
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1. They Look at the Big Picture
Some wealthy people get rich quick. However, most build their wealth over time.
This requires them to have a solid grasp on every aspect of their finances. Rather than get hung up on one piece of the puzzle, they know to look at the big picture. They know the best financial tools to do this — some of them are even free.
A company called Empower has a whole dashboard of free tools that makes it easy to monitor your saving, spending and investing. You can personalize your dashboard to look at all the important information at once — check your net worth, plan your savings and retirement and do a checkup on your investments.
You can analyze your investments to get a sense of your overall risk and see your past performance. You can even use the investment-return calculator to estimate how much money you can earn over time.
It takes just a few minutes to create a free dashboard and see how well you’re tracking toward your goals.
2. They Avoid Debt
As of the second quarter of 2023, the average interest rate on credit cards was 20.68%, according to the Federal Reserve. This can add up fast — really fast.
For example, if you had a $10,000 credit card balance and took five years to pay it off, you would pay $5,748 in interest at this rate.
Wealthy people don’t want to waste their money on interest payments. Therefore, they avoid racking up debt at all costs.
If they can’t afford something, they don’t buy it. This can require a lot of sacrifice and self-discipline, but they know it’s worth it.
Avoiding lifestyle creep is another part of avoiding debt. When they get a pay increase, instead of incrementally increasing their expenses — such as buying a more expensive home or car — they save the extra money.
This offers many benefits, including having a proper emergency fund. When they’re hit with an unexpected expense, they have plenty of money to cover the charge.
3. They Search For Ways to Save
Rich people didn’t accumulate their net worths by making a habit of frivolous spending. Instead, they’re always searching for ways to cut costs.
For example, the average Costco shopper earns $125,000 per year, according to Business Insider.
Buying in bulk isn’t the only way the wealthy score deals. More than one in three net-worth millionaires use coupons all the time, according to Ramsey Solutions — including Warren Buffett.
Every dollar saved is a dollar earned. This might not seem like a lot in the moment, but over time, the savings can be substantial.
4. They Always Want More
There’s plenty of truth to the old adage “the rich keep getting richer.” Wealthy people don’t just earn a little money and step down.
Instead, they’re motivated to keep earning. For example, Reese Witherspoon earns $2 million per episode of “The Morning Show,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. And she doesn’t just stick to acting, either. In 2023, she sold 70% of her Draper James fashion company to Consortium Brand Partners, according to Forbes.
In 2021, she also sold her media company Hello Sunshine to Candle Media for $900 million, while retaining an 18% stake in the company. Moral of the story: She would be very wealthy on an acting salary alone, but she’s driven to find ways to diversify her income and keep earning more.
5. They Know Time is Money
Wealthy people know when to splurge. In the case of billionaire Mark Cuban, this meant buying a private jet.
In a 2018 Men’s Health article, Cuban revealed a plane is the smartest thing he’s ever spent money on.
“It is obviously brutally expensive, but time is the one asset we simply don’t own,” he wrote. “It saves me hours and hours.”
Of course, this example can be seen on a much smaller scale, too.
For example, a wealthy person might do the math and find it cheaper to hire a professional to clean their home, instead of handling it themselves. Say the cleaner charges $50 per hour, but they earn $200 per hour. Along with the added convenience, hiring this service could make sense financially. Take stock of your own schedule — where is your time best spent? Where are you making poor use of it?
6. They Have Patience
When wealthy people invest, they’re in it for the long term. They know markets have ups and downs, so they don’t panic during periods of market volatility.
Sure, they might consult an investment professional to make sure their money is in the best place. However, they don’t get scared and move all of their funds out of the market — thus causing themselves to ultimately lose big.
Since they ride out down markets, they give their money time to grow. This is a key way to build wealth, so having patience is a must.
7. They Believe Knowledge is Power
Successful people invest in themselves. They always want to have their finger on the pulse of the latest industry trend, so they don’t fall behind.
They might seek out formal education opportunities, attend conferences, devour books, join professional organizations or attend networking events.
No matter what they’re doing, they’re on a habitual quest to learn. Some of these learning opportunities will have little or no cost, while others might come with a hefty fee.
Even if the latter is true, they weigh the advantages of investing in furthering their skills and knowledge and decide if the cost is justified.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 7 Money Secrets All Wealthy People Know — And How You Can Use Them, Too
