10 Lifelong Habits Rich People Figured Out a Long Time Ago That the Rest of Us Think Are Nonsense

The countless recommendations on how to become rich are mostly about reading books and not forgetting about establishing a safety net. But if things were really this simple, most millionaires would be linguists that just read books. Really wealthy people actually do read a lot, but they also have other habits that make their wealth grow.

We at Now I’ve Seen Everything, want everyone to be happy and rich, which is why we’ve found some distinctive character traits of millionaires, and we are going to try to think and act the same as they do in the very near future.

1. They know money doesn’t solve problems.

Many people with low incomes think that the only thing they need to become happy is a certain amount of money. This is why it’s mostly poor people that take part in lotteries and get-rich-quick schemes. But in reality, money is not everything. It’s no coincidence that among lottery winners, there are so many people that end up losing everything. At the same time, rich people see money as a tool to get something really important, so they become even wealthier.

• I am fighting a losing battle with my husband over long-term investments, to the point that we have to have completely separate finances. He kept saying things like, “10 years is a long time to not touch money. I like my money where I can see it.” (which means spent on goods or the house). Hopeless. © MB0810 / Reddit

2. They fight for their interests, even in little things.

It seems that the more money a person has, the easier it should be for them to deal with little things, but it’s the other way around. According to motivational coaches, in order to become a millionaire, you need to act like one. But rich people are rich because they don’t let others scam them. It’s not even about the money, but about personal boundaries and understanding your own value and significance.

3. They don’t talk too much.

Wealthy people do many things differently: they don’t scream about their money and don’t try to show the entire world how successful they are.

• The wealthiest people I know either dress exceptionally cheap or wear things that are expensive but you wouldn’t know it from looking at them. It’s all the nouveau riche 28-year-olds making $70k that attempt to wear their wealth as a badge. © Bran_Solo / Reddit
• The very wealthy people I’ve known are understated in all that they do and “quiet” about their financial status. Everything is good quality and tasteful, with nothing drawing undue attention to itself. They frequently donate to worthy causes and don’t seek recognition for their generosity. Whereas flashy types crave your attention. They often flaunt their wealth in obnoxious ways—taking pleasure in separating the “haves” from the “have-nots.” © Back2Bach / Reddit

Sometimes, excessiveness, which is often comical and ridiculous, gives away people that want to “look” rich.

4. They take good care of their health.

Any wealthy person is going to say this to you, “Prevention is better than cure.”

• Rich people often make use of concierge medicine where they pay a high annual fee to have whatever care they need available whenever they want, without having to struggle to be seen when it’s convenient for a doctor.© LarsAlereon / Reddit
• High net-worth individuals are well-informed, so their focus is on preventative health more than actual treatment when disease strikes. Of course, they have access to first-class medical screenings, but early investigations that can save a life are accessible to all of us. © Anthon Lund / Quora

You don’t have to be rich to be healthy. Fresh air, good food, enough sleep, and no bad habits — these things don’t cost much, but they really matter.

5. They make time to be grateful.

It’s not just about being polite, which is important, but about having a good reputation. The ability to be grateful and express it carries a lot of power.

• All the wealthy people I know say “thank you” to their banker, their gardener, their attorney, their garbage man, their pool boy, and the chairman of their board. Wealthy people take no one for granted. They make other people feel happy for being part of their team. As a result, they get significant amounts of cooperation and 110% effort from those they work with. That gives them enormous success.© Steve Kobrin / Quora

As Robert C. Townsend, ex-president of Avis and one of the 20th Century Fox executives, said, “Thank-you is the most underrated form of compensation.” Simple words of gratitude can build relationships and inspire everyone around you.

6. They value education.

Do you remember the expression, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” A good education can feed you for a lifetime.

• Someone in my family is a private wealth manager for filthy rich people. They invest in education like crazy. Kids want a Maserati? Nope, not going to happen! Kids want to learn the piano? Of course, you can, have as many lessons on the best piano as you want. They invest in the best teachers, the best universities, really overall the best education. © Priamosish / Reddit
• My aunt and uncle are rich. Have never owned a new car in their lives, really frugal, never spoiled their 2 kids, but one of them went through $100k worth of art schools. Which paid off, he’s a big-wig in NYC at some ad agency. Just blew my mind when I hear how much his college + costed. © kieffa / Reddit

New knowledge and skills are new opportunities for development, self-realization, and earning money, so, education is an investment in your future.

7. They don’t try to make an impression.

Stuff is not a demonstration of your status. People with average income can afford most things.

• I didn’t change my lifestyle after a sudden increase of my income, and quickly realized that stuff doesn’t make you happy. Too much stuff will start to weigh you down. Spend money on experiences (vacations, travel). Memories last forever, stuff does not. Don’t try and “keep up” with friends and neighbors. You never really know someone’s true financial situation. I have had apparently well-to-do friends confide in me that they were struggling with debt, and had little to no savings. © mwatwe01 / Reddit

The founder of Alibaba Group, and the richest businessman in China, says that he doesn’t have watches or rings. He hasn’t worn a watch for 30 years: he doesn’t even understand what you need it for. You can check the time on your smartphone.

Living in debt and showing off what you have is what people who don’t think about the future do.

8. They buy comfortable things, not necessarily expensive ones.

Money can bring you some satisfaction, help solve everyday problems, but as soon as you buy everything you need, it will give you less and less pleasure, even if your income continues increasing. It’s a paradox.

• My parents have a lot of money. They earned it all. Rule number 1: Don’t buy stuff to impress people. Rule number 2: Don’t waste money on luxury cars. They lose a lot of value when you drive them off the lot, and they cost more to maintain. Rule 3: Save whatever you can, and invest whatever you can. If you’re only able to throw $5 a month into a savings account, then throw $5 a month into a savings account. Wasting money: going to cafés and restaurants more than once a week, buying new devices all the time. Seriously, people that have money, don’t care about this stuff — they keep saving. © powerlesshero111 / Reddit

Steve Jobs, one of Apple and Pixar’s founders, said, “I watched people at Apple who made a lot of money and felt they had to live differently. Some of them bought a Rolls-Royce and various houses, each with a house manager and then someone to manage the house managers. Their wives got plastic surgery and turned into these bizarre people. This was not how I wanted to live. It’s crazy. I made a promise to myself that I’m not going to let this money ruin my life.”

You should make decisions about your expenses based on your present financial situation and whether you really need something.

9. They love feedback.

It’s wrong to think that wealthy and successful people don’t care about the opinions of others. It’s just that they have a different perspective: it doesn’t matter all that much what people think of our appearance. But when it comes to professional work, skills, communication, and management, they are the most attentive listeners. In the end, it’s the feedback that determines your success or your failure. And a chance to see your ideas from a different angle is a thing that is too valuable to neglect.

• Tom Corley, a coach for millionaires and the author of Change Your Habits, Change Your Life, thinks that a fear of criticism is the reason we don’t look for feedback. But it’s vital in order to know what works and what doesn’t. Feedback helps us understand whether we’re on the right path. Criticism, good and bad, is an important part of learning more and improving.

10. They don’t waste their lives on social media.

The more time you spend looking at other people’s lives, the less time you will have for your own. Rich people don’t fall prey to social media’s algorithms that try to keep your attention for as long as possible. Even those that have earned millions thanks to social media.

• Sarah Fallaw, the author of Become the Millionaire Next Door, calculated that wealthy people don’t spend more than 2 hours a week on social media, whereas middle class people spend around 14 hours on social media.

11. They get people’s attention with body language.

Body language can be our friend and our foe; it’s all about how we use it and in what situation. And successful people don’t forget to take advantage and build up their courage and confidence. In this way have a stronger influence on the public, improves the bond and also the productivity of their team members, and their presented ideas have more impact.

One really easy body language trick is ’talking with your hands’. It’s great because when we speak and gesture at the same time, we boost our thinking. Also, the speech improves because we become and look less hesitant, avoiding using fillers like “uhs” and “ums”.

Do you think a person can become rich by simply changing the way they think? Or does something bigger need to happen?