The Eight Habits Of Highly Successful Wealth Builders

There is no one way to become rich. But there are a number of habits that some people develop that give them an almost supernatural ability to earn money and build wealth.

I'd say these people have the following characteristics in common:

1. They work hard.
2. They are good at what they do.
3. They have multiple streams of income.
4. They live in (relatively) inexpensive homes.
5. They are moderate in their spending.
6. They are extraordinary in their saving.
7. They pay themselves first.
8. They count their money.

This is not everything you'll need to know about wealth building. I will discuss other important secrets in future posts. For the moment, though, we are talking about developing wealthy habits. These eight are my recommendations.

1. Wealthy People Work Hard

The average multimillionaire works an average of 59 hours a week. And many of those hours are challenging. If you follow the advice in this blog about transforming the way you work, the job you do, and the way you think about work, those 59 hours will fly by.
And after you've hit your first million or two, you can kick back and work less...if you want to. Buy you may not want to!

2. Wealthy People Are Good At What They Do

Some people get lucky and stumble into riches. But master wealth builders - people who can create wealth easily and repeatedly - don't rely on luck. They are good at what they do.

Being good at what they do gives them confidence and poise. In discussing business or money, they are relaxed but focused. Intolerant of fakers, they move quickly when opportunity knocks.

Natural wealth builders have the confidence to know that they know. They've done it and they can do it again.

3. Wealthy People Have Multiple Streams Of Income

Natural moneymakers make most of their money by practicing a single skill within the context of a single industry. Don't be fooled by financial gurus who tell you otherwise. But they eventually develop many streams of income. And I'm going to argue that you should do the same thing.

To get your financial fortune started, you have to radically boost your income. And doing that, as I'll explain, requires doing one thing extraordinarily well.

Although you never know what will happen with any individual income source, if you get enough of them started, one will turn into a river.

4. Wealthy People Live In (Relatively) Inexpensive Homes

How much do you think the typical American worth $6.8 million typically pays for a house?

I put this question to my mastermind group. Their guess was between $2 million and $3 million. Being older and wiser, my guess was closer to the truth. I figured the number was closer to $1 million.

But then we checked the IRS records. And the answer was an astonishing $545,000. That's not a lot of money for someone who's worth almost $7 million. So what's going on here? Why would a guy (or gal) who's worth $1.4 million live in a $220,000 house? Does he/she know something that you should find out about?

Actually, he knows two things:

1. The cost of your house determines the cost of your lifestyle. Consider this: Property taxes on a $500,000 house are about $4,000 to $5,000 more per year than on a $250,000 house. Utility expenses are also proportionately greater. If you live in a more expensive house, you'll pay a lot more for maintenance costs. And it's not just because there is more house to keep. When many contractors see that you live in a nice house in a fancy neighborhood, their fees shoot up. They figure, "He can afford it. I need it. So why not?"                                                                                                     But taxes, utilities, and maintenance form just the tip of the expense-rising iceberg. The major cost of owning an expensive house is beneath the surface. The number one reason expensive homes cost so much (much more than you'd think) is because they are inexorably attached to a more expensive lifestyle.
2. Home-spending decisions are not - or should not be - primarily about return on investment. In buying, fixing up, and furnishing your home, you will spend a good deal of money on things that will have a lot of emotional value but little financial worth.

5. Wealthy People Are Moderate In Spending

Marcio, one of my best friends, is living the American dream. He came to this country from Brazil, seeking opportunity, and found it through several businesses. "The problem with making more money in America," he told me, "is that every time you make an extra dollar you spend two."

How true. Master wealth builders understand a secret that it took me years to learn: You have to keep your spending down while your income increases.

Let's take a look at Mike Tyson. During the 20-year span of his career, Mike Tyson's income exceeded $400 million. Yet in 2004, before his 39th birthday,this amazing moneymaker was $38 million in debt. By every recognized standard of accounting, he is poor. Extremely poor.

But he doesn't think so. And that's part of the reason he got poor in the first place. The faster the money came in, the faster  it went out.

The purpose of this is not to shake a finger at Mike Tyson, but to alert you to the dangerous temptation to spend more when you make more.

6. Wealthy People Are Extraordinary At Saving

The rich save more than the average person. Relatively speaking, that is. I don't mean they save more because they have more money to save. I mean they save more in general, because they have a saver's mind-set.

According to Thomas Stanley, author of The Millionaire Next Door, the average millionaire is much more frugal than you or I would have believed. For example, the average millionaire

• Drives an older car
• Buys inexpensive presents
• Eats at home and seldom dines out
• Takes a vacation every other year
• Wears clothes until they fray and resoles shoes when they wear thin

To develop a saver's mind-set - a wealth builder's mind-set - you must change the way you feel about spending. You must teach yourself to feel the truth: that every time you buy a depreciating asset, you become poorer.

There are so many ways to save money. You can spend less on just about anything without giving up either the pleasure you take in buying or the quality you get from purchases.

Don't worry - I'm not going to turn you into a miser. The purpose of spending less is to have more. You'll have your cake and eat it too. You'll spend less, waste less, save more, and have plenty left over to enjoy life.

7. Wealthy People Pay Themselves First

Many financial advisers recommend sticking to a budget. By categorizing expenses and limiting spending, they argue, you can have enough left over every month to save money and grow rich.

The trouble is that budgeting almost never works.

Budgeting is like dieting: It's enormously sensible but almost never effective.

The problem is that when you budget, you pay everyone else first. So at the end of the month, you have nothing left to put in the bank. You promise yourself you'll do better next time, but you never do. There are always unexpected bills to pay, unanticipated sales to take advantage of, and that impossible-to-figure-out $200 or $300 that seems to fall through the cracks.

Budgeting doesn't work. But there's something that does: putting some predetermined percentage of your income into a savings account each month before you pay any of your bills.

You can put yourself ahead of the government by setting up a pre-tax retirement account. Among the best known are IRAs, SEPs, 401(k)s, and 403 (b)s.

8. Wealthy People Count Their Money

I believe that most successful moneymakers regularly count their money. I don't mean that they literally count bills. Rather, they regularly asses their fortunes.

I believe this is true especially in the early stages, when they are just beginning to grow their wealth. As their net worth grows and they feel more comfortable with their wealth and more confident of their income, they count less.

When they get superwealthy - Warren Buffet wealthy - they don't have to count their money. Fortune magazine and countless other entities do it for them. But on their way up, they count. And that's what I recommend you do.

Specifically, I suggest that you do a personal balance sheet every month. Create a spreadsheet that lists all your assets and all your debits. Include all valuable possessions, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, gold, real estate (aside from your home), and so forth. Accurately estimate the value of everything. If there is a question about how much something is worth, choose the lesser number. List all your indebtedness, too. And be completely candid.

Just going through the process will train your mind (and heart) to understand financial wealth is financial net worth. After you've done this for six or seven months in a row, it will become automatic.

And while you are doing that monthly spreadsheet, remind yourself of the saving goals you've made - that you will save more money, in both absolute and relative terms, with each passing year.

You'll be amazed at how much this simple commitment can affect the way you think and even the way you act. I remember how it changed me!$

[Ed. Note: If you're not happy with your financial situation, you're in the perfect position to change it for the better – right now. Ray has just released a special video that covers an online business opportunity that you can use to start growing your wealth. To watch this short video, click the following link: http://www.raybuckner.com]