5 Wealth-Building Habits of the Rich That You Might Want To Adopt
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To paraphrase one of the great modern poets, “You’ve got your mind on your money, and your money on your mind.” You’re looking at your bank statements and not loving what you see. You want to save more or start investing, but right now it feels like survival — that everything will change only after you make a lot of money, fast. Then you’ll finally live like the wealthy people you see on TV.
But what if the wealthy aren’t just celebrities? What if they’re neighbors and co-workers — people who are like you except in a few key ways: they treat money as something to manage intentionally, not something to hope changes overnight. Wealthy people take a proactive, organized approach to money, and that’s why they usually have more of it.
If anyone knows what separates wealthier people from everyone else, it’s Graham Stephan — a real estate investor, entrepreneur and personal finance creator who worked directly with very wealthy people and built his own multimillion-dollar enterprise before turning 30.
Here are the top five habits Stephan says consistently show up among the wealthy.
1. They Know What They Want — and They Act (but not Rashly)
From Stephan’s perspective, wealthy people are go-getters. If there’s something that needs to be done, they do it, and they don’t hesitate. But there’s a core difference between acting proactively and acting rashly — and that comes down to preparation. Preparation often looks like a long-term investment strategy and — if they run a business — reinvesting earnings where returns are best.
“They track their spending meticulously,” Stephan said. “They know exactly what they spend money on, if it’s the best deal, and where their money goes — nothing is wasted.”
Stephan practices this daily: He reviews credit card statements, cancels unnecessary subscriptions and hunts for better deals on services and products. That small, consistent work compounds over time.
2. They Build Money Work Into Their Routines
Routine helps you improve just about anything in life, from learning how to paint to getting more physically fit. Improving yourself financially is no exception. Stephan shared that wealthy people build good financial habits into their schedule, such as daily or weekly expense checks, quarterly reviews, and proactive tax planning.
“I use several money-tracking platforms to categorize all of my expenses and income in one place,” Stephan said. “I review those at least a few times a week to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. What you track improves.”
They also put tax planning on the calendar well before year-end. Instead of reacting at tax time, Stephan says wealthy people estimate quarterly earnings and make calculated decisions to manage their tax burden.
3. They Surround Themselves With Like-Minded People
What is it that birds of a feather do? That’s right, they flock together. And birds of a financial feather can push each other to stay on track with their goals or pursue bigger opportunities. That input can produce ideas, partnerships or deals that wouldn’t surface otherwise.
In fact, Stephan shared that networking with other high-net-worth individuals can be crucial to growing your wealth. After all, it worked for him.
“Sometimes my best ideas and opportunities come from talking with those who are focusing on bigger and better opportunities,” he said. “It just expands your mind and options.”
4. They Reject One-Size-Fits-All or Outdated Advice
Rich people are exposed to all the same media messaging you are, especially about how to earn more money. You must rise at the crack of dawn. Your frugality should encourage even a medieval peasant to tell you to live a little. You should be bold with your investments to see results.
According to Stephan, all this advice is bunk. Night owls can make big money too. “It’s way more important that you have focused, in-depth work that’s efficient, regardless of what time it is,” he said.
As for extreme frugality, “It works to a certain degree, but there’s only so much you can save before you need to focus on making more money, which will have an outsized ROI.”
And when it comes to investment style, most wealthy people favor low-cost, diversified strategies over gambling on day trading.
“Day-trading stocks or making risky investments works for a very small group of people,” Stephan said. “But I bet 99.99% would be best off just sticking with indexed markets, properly diversifying, and then making more money from their main source of work.”
5. They Don’t Give Up — They Play the Long Game
Building wealth is not a sprint. Wealthy people accept setbacks and keep going because they think in decades, not days.
“Wealthy people think long term. They’re not discouraged if something doesn’t immediately work out the way they want it,” said Stephan. “They know they’re playing the long game.”
That mindset lets them withstand volatility, learn from mistakes and continue compounding gains over time.
This article is part of GOBankingRates’ Top 100 Money Experts series, where we spotlight expert answers to the biggest financial questions Americans are asking. Got a question of your own? You could win $500 just for asking — learn more at GOBankingRates.com.
Laura Bogart contributed to the reporting for this article.
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