Comments on: How Do People Get Rich? A Look At Wealth Accumulation Strategies

By: paul shorey

paul shorey — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 05:49:36 +0000

Anybody wealthy here? Obviously not. If you are wealthy, please share your success story. Did you inherit it, invest it? Is it possible to start with nothing and gain financial freedom or even wealth? Thank you for your advice everyone.

By: Carnival of Personal Finance: Parts-of-speech abuse edition | Mighty Bargain Hunter

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:16:40 +0000

[...] Studenomics asks: “How do people get rich?” [...]

By: George

George — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:20:24 +0000

Great post! It really makes sense to look at what wealthy people have done and do the same. Sounds stupid, but it works.

Also, totally agree that college students should have their own businesses. Without a business, college students are simply brainwashed into becoming employees and staying poor for their whole lives.

By: Studenomist

Studenomist — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:45:39 +0000

Great points and I have nothing substantial to add but I would like to switch gears.

Gentlemen I want to ask you this question: have you found your balance yet? If not, what steps are you taking to find your balance?

By: thomas

thomas — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:08:30 +0000

When you mention as a method to get wealthy, I think there is a specific distinction to consider.

Majority of people today are self employed while few actually run businesses.
Whats the difference? Ask yourself, what will happen if you walked away or took a day off from your business tomorrow, would it run or would it crush?

By: Roger

Roger — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:39:54 +0000

Hunh, interesting results. I can see habitual saving and sound investing as keys to developing wealth; it’d be hard for most of us to become comfortable (to say nothing of rich) without good amounts of saving and some investments. The inheritance comments also make sense; with the exception of the occasional odd heiress, most of us don’t have wealthy parents or grandparents sitting on gobs of cash we’ll eventually inherit.

The one that surprised me (and you. to judge from your comments) was starting a business. I suppose that the successful ones are so popular and famous (Bill Gates and Microsoft, Steve Jobs and Apple, the Google guys, etc.) that you tend to ignore the millions of others who either fail or simply experience more moderate levels of success. Still, like you, I think spreading your entrepreneurial wings is a good thing; at the very least, you’ll have that much more experience for the future.

By: youngandthrifty

youngandthrifty — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:58:21 +0000

Wow, this commenting is getting really insightful! Material items do not define who you are, but society would like us to think otherwise. You are right, it is so hard to strike the perfect balance. Sometimes you DO have to live life to the fullest, you really don’t know when your time is up. I know that typically people do their traveling around the world after they retire, but I think us 20-somethings are rethinking/revising that notion. Why wait until you are 65? Why wait until you are just retired and you get a diagnosis of cancer? (sorry to be a Debbie Downer, sad but true story that I’ve heard many times)

By: Studenomist

Studenomist — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:58:04 +0000

Yes I agree that “keeping up with the Joneses” can take a toll on you financially. It is very easy to fall into this trap as well. When we see what our friends have we not only want the same but we want better. The trick is to slowly get to a point in life where material items do not define who you are.

By: Edwin

Edwin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:06:44 +0000

I think people tend to think of their potential income as their current income. By this I mean someone who perceives themselves performing well at work may be expecting a promotion, this might make them feel like they can spend as if they were guaranteed that promotion. It works the same with people about to graduate from college.

In this case people really do have to make the hard decision to delay spending any of that money until they actually have it.

Another factor is the keeping up with the neighbors syndrome where people will spend more than they can to keep up with neighbors or friends. This can mean anything from going to entertainment venues slightly out of their price range to buying a better car because they feel out of place.

Obviously it’s not as simple as just those two examples but those are two major ones that pop into my mind.

By: Studenomist

Studenomist — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:54:37 +0000

You brought us to the perfect point Edwin- striking a balance between today and tomorrow.

There are those individuals that soley live for today. They believe in instant gratification. They want to travel the world, have a nice car, wear the nicest clothes, and buy the many other luxuries of life. They are not overly concerned with the future because they believe they will have a steady income for many years to come.

There are those individuals that soley live for tomorrow. They save every penny. They wear a jacket inside in the winter to save on heating. They never buy coffee. They stay in. They will be prepared for tomorrow but at what expense.

My goal over the last few years has been to strike the perfect balance. I love to travel but I know this means I will have to sacrifice. I know that I can’t go out as often and I can’t spend as much money on clothes.

My opinion is that striking a financial balance relies greatly on your ability to sacrifice and delay gratification. What do you/and the readers think?