How Most Millionaires Become Wealthy

Want to know how most millionaires become wealthy? Here's the key according to Smart Spending:

If you're like him (a millionaire), you'll accumulate your wealth gradually by diligently saving your money over multiple decades.

Said another way, I recently heard a radio host use this phrase about how to become wealthy:

Steady plodding brings prosperity.

Both statements are very true. If you want to become wealthy, the most tried and true way is to "save your money over multiple decades." Of course you can always speed up the process by earning more and/or saving more. But the key to becoming rich is pretty basic -- spend less than you earn over a long period of time.

For those of you who don't have the time and/or patience to become wealthy over 40 years or so, here are my suggestions for cutting "multiple decades" down to "two decades" (though technically, two decades are still "multiple" decades):

• Grow your career

• Control your spending

• Save/invest the difference (and the bigger the gap, the better)

Or you could simply plan on winning the lottery. But I hear that method is much less reliable. ;-)

Comments

[Brian S.]

FMF: One of my favorite series of radio commercial's right now is from Miller Lite who say this about the lottery (paraphrasing):

"Ever heard of losing the lottery? Yes, and it's called playing the lottery."

I about died laughing the first time I heard it!

[DIY Investor]

Are we trying to die wealthy or die broke?

[Lurker Carl]

"Are we trying to die wealthy or die broke?"

Having lived through broke, I vastly prefer wealthy. And dying wealthy is preferable, I'd rather run out of life before I run out of money.

[billyjobob]

I hope to spend my last dollar on the day I die. ..... then again...maybe a couple more birthdays beyond that wouldn't be too bad. ;-)

[Apex]

Die Broke might be a clever book but as the sub-title says, its a radical plan. I am not into radical plans.

I definitely plan to die wealthy, very wealthy. Trying to run out of money at the end of life doesn't make any sense to me.

I have kids that I want to pass my values, my money and my means of growing it on to as well. I am going to have worked very hard to build up my net worth. I want it to endure and have value beyond my brief moment in time.

There is nothing else that I have worked so hard to build that my sole purpose for building it is to purposely destroy it. Why would I want to purposely do that with my net worth?

I plan for my net worth to increase on average every year until I am dead. And if I raise my kids right, it will keep increasing once it's turned over to them too because I will have built it in a way that it is also self sustaining if managed properly. That may not be achievable for everyone but it's what I have planned.

[MgM]

I married my wife 24+ yrs ago at age 33. That day I grew up. In 4 months we bought a small house. After 8 yrs there, we built our current house. Had nothing before I married but I married an intelligent woman with a good job and not a big spender (like me). Unfortunately, we had no children (which I know makes a huge difference in kept money). She retired last October with very nice pension, we paid off mortgage last December and we have a low 7 figure and growing net worth . With kids, we would not have been able to do this in 24 years but still very proud of our accomplishment together. Compounding is king!