10 Things Wealthy People Quietly Do Differently With Money

Great financial advice isn’t the sole domain of wealthy people. Many who live happy and financially-stable lives can provide good examples to follow.

But if you’re looking to maximize your wealth, so you can spend your years doing whatever you want, it makes sense to look at those who have demonstrated success in this area.

That’s what I did for this article. I spoke with several people I know who have achieved financial independence and read the biographies of several other well-known names. By looking for patterns and common threads among them, I was able to come up with a list of strategies and mindsets that I saw in them, but not necessarily in everyone else.

The biggest takeaway for me is that being wealthy isn’t a matter of luck. For the vast majority of people who achieve it, wealth is the result of a particular mindset around money. The rest of this article explores those common traits that wealthy people quietly do differently with regards to their finances.

They prioritize acquiring assets over stuff

A friend of mine once drove me around in a car that was about 10 years old. Keep in mind, he was a millionaire several times over at the time. He simply prioritized putting his money into income-generating assets rather than depreciating consumer goods like cars. He understood that each time he passed on a chance to upgrade he was compounding his wealth even faster.

They embrace a longer timespan

One of my former mentors was the owner of a very successful business. He was constantly reinvesting money into his business to make it better and more competitive. It felt like he was always looking decades into the future, while others were focused on the near-term. This reinforced to me the importance of a long time horizon for growing wealth.

They look for opportunities that others miss

Initially when I met my wife in college, I thought she and her family might be rich. They weren’t, but they carried themselves with a certain confidence and ambition that reminded of a similar quality in those I knew to be wealthy. They modeled to me that anyone can embrace the mindset of a wealth creator by looking for opportunities to improve a space, or a situation, or even the lives of others.

They save money, even when they don’t need to

A few years back, I received a sizable bonus for a successful project I delivered at work. It came at a time when my wife and I were preparing to have our first child, so we tucked the money away for potential future needs. Unexpectedly, my wife had to have an emergency C-section. As we were still finishing college and didn’t have insurance, that savings came in handy to cover our new expenses. That experience really cemented in us the habit of putting money aside for a rainy day, which I know has been a big factor in our ability to build wealth, as well.

They practice living below their means

When I was young there was a man I looked up to for his generosity. He seemed to always have money to give to those in need around him, or to surprise his friends with a special dinner guest in town. It wasn’t until years later I learned that he was quite wealthy, which explained a bit of his giving, but not all of it. When I think back on it, it seems he was able to spring these gifts on others because he himself lived relatively modestly. He valued the ability to give more than the ability to spend, and that really shaped my values.

They think about money in terms of opportunity

At the height of the pandemic, there was a certain kind of job I wanted to switch to. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the skills to do it, and it would take about six months of full-time studying to get there. Thanks to my wife and I living below our means for over a decade, we were able to take this time off, without an income, and enjoy the flexibility that having money in savings offered.

They invest in their own skills

I’ve always been interested in music, but it wasn’t until recently that I made the jump from an enthusiast to a serious practitioner of my favorite instrument. What pushed me over the edge wasn’t anything particularly profound— I simply began investing money each month towards lessons with an instructor. I learned that money might not be able to buy lots of things. But it does allow for the purchase of other people’s time and expertise, and that’s often a very valuable investment.

They seek the counsel of knowledgeable friends

When I was starting out as a young professional, I probably would have blown all my money on nice experiences out of a desire for comfort. Thankfully, my wife, who is a good bit more frugal, was able to encourage me to be more responsible with my spending— especially during those years when we were strapped with student loans. Looking back, I’m intensely grateful for her moderation as it likely saved us from financial hardship when we were young.

They diversify their investments

I was around when the original .com bubble burst in the early 2000’s. Around that time, my dad used to speak of a guy from our church who lost it all because he had bet everything on that tech wave of investment. It made a big impression on me, as it was the first time I realized how much wealth you could accumulate in such a short time, but also how quickly everything could fall apart. For that reason, I’ve always followed a relatively conservative investing strategy, and avoided putting all my eggs in one basket.

They are frugal, but not cheap

My wife and I have always tried to live below our means. We rarely purchase things just because we have the money too, and we don’t like to be wasteful or throw things away that can be reused. All this to say, we are a pretty frugal couple. But one thing neither of us has ever been afraid to do is spend money to make things better— an upgrade that leads to a better quality of life, or a more durable product that will last us many years longer than a cheaper version will. I’ve always said that frugality is an attitude, but being cheap is a character flaw.

The more I think about wealth creation, the more I realize it’s not that complicated. The biggest factor is probably your upbringing. Unfortunately, some people are born into families with better financial values and teaching than others. But the good news is that there’s nothing actually stopping you from developing a wealth-building mindset at any point in your life. It’s like planting a tree and watching it grow. You just have to decide you’re going to do it, and then make the trade-offs necessary to see it through. It’s all in you and it’s all possible.