Normal People who got Wealthy

[bjl584]

Found this online.
It reminds me of the "millionaire next door" type of person.
For me, it was a lot of patience and sacrifice.

I’m not talking about people who got rich with a $300K job. I mean people who made normal money and still built real wealth What were the boring, overlooked, or non-flashy things you did that ended up being the real cheat codes Stuff people ignore because it’s not glamorous but it made all the difference Was it how you viewed time How you used debt How you moved your money Whatever it is I want to hear the underrated stuff that actually works

[Drake3287]

This describes me to a T. We never lived without, but still managed to become wealthy even while raising 3 kids. I even paid cash for all 3 of my kids college education all while being a public employee and having a wife that made probably half the salary that I did. The secret, 35 plus years of not wasting our money on "stuff" and at the same time saving and investing a little out of each paycheck all those years. I also tried to work as much overtime as I could with burning myself out. To this day when we go shopping we constantly look for things on sale and many items we won't buy until they do go on sale. All while I have millions to my name which I'll probably never spend anyway!

All it takes is discipline. Although I never preach financial advice to anyone, I've always thought that anyone in a similar situation as me could also become wealthy if they simply followed my simple plan. To this day my kids have no idea how much money we have although I know they must wonder because they now see us routinely spending money on expensive items and vacations. If they asked I'd be happy to tell them but I've never felt a reason for telling them. I guess they'll be in for a nice surprise some day assuming we don't spend it all!

[Fishindude77]

Self employment rather than working for the other guy.
Even if you hold down a W-2 job with an employer, everyone still should consider having something going for themselves, where you run the show and control the outcome.
Could be as simple as a rental property or two, or a side hustle job.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Does it count if i say to get normal "well off" we lived way below our means. We went to a different level but the secret was living frugally like a college student. I think we lived like grad students until a year ago. And when i looked at our balance sheet i was really surprised.

[Atretes1]

I am definitely normal and can kick it up with overtime. 2.02M net worth at 49 and will be 50 in a month. With 820k in retirement and the rest in properties. The first 10 years of working I did not take part in a 401k. I am retiring in 5 years at 55 with a 6 figure pension and possibly pulling in more than 200k a year in retirement including rental income. I will make more in retirement than I currently do base pay. Overtime has definitely been a big roll with income and setting up my pension.

I started buying rental properties 10 years ago. My first 3 properties I put on 15 year loans. Two of them are paid off now. I currently have 9 doors. My plans for the next 5 years is max my HSA, 457 and ROTH. I will also try and pay off as many of my properties as I can. I can always change my mind how I proceed the next 5 years till retirement but what I do have is I have options.

I wouldn't consider myself wealthy now because of my savings rate. But in retirement I'll still be young (55) and I will have plenty of options to choose from. I still currently travel a lot on my motorcycle and I have what I want or need.

[riverwed070707]

Feel like my story is pretty similar to Atretes except I have $1M less and I'm 10 years behind I don't identify with the term wealthy, but I recognize that my hard work and financial discipline has put me in a stable financial position that affords opportunities many don't have. I'd break it down to the following boring, non-revolutionary advice:

1. Pay yourself first. Saving/investing early and often should not be underestimated for setting good habits and compound growth.
2. Consumer debt is always bad. Carrying credit card debt, car loans, financing furniture - just don't do it. Growth debt can be good if used responsibly and you have a backup plan for all risk outcomes
3. Stop buying crap you don't need. Making many small or one time purchases may not make you go broke, but getting in the habit of not accumulating stuff and practicing delayed gratification will make you rich. Experiences > stuff
4. Start having hobbies before you retire. Figure out what makes life worth living for you so your livelihood doesn't become tied to your job

[LivingAlmostLarge]

i will also say that if you live with a low burn rate as you make money you make more money because you are able to absorb the risk involved with making more money. You can do things other people can't or think are too hard because they don't have the ability to live that way.

[MonkeyMama]

Living below means.
It's the obvious answer. For us, we built most our financial foundation in our early 20s. We lived on 20% of our income for maybe 18 months (while saving for a condo down payment in San Francisco) and then never lived up to second income when we married. But we only worked FT for 3 years (saving 50% of household income). It's those first 3-4 years that we sacrificed the most and built the strong financial foundation. The post college years was very *shrugs* at the time because the financial payoff was so immediate and substantial. & I also put myself through college, so the only *sacrifice* I can personally recall is the years I put myself through college in mega expensive land. I can't seriously with a straight face call "saving half our post college income, when combining incomes" a sacrifice. (While my employer paid for most of my food and auto expenses.)

Efficiency is our strong suit. We can stretch our dollars as much as a household making 3x as much. We are very tax efficient. 'One income' means more time to cut costs, less working expenses, etc. (Taxes and daycare are what saved us tens of thousands of dollars very early on. Spouse would have net $0 during daycare x2 years. Which is totally fine and cool if the economy was robust, you are healthy, and you love your job. Or if you are more desperate for money. But none of these things were true, in our case.)

Efficiency = buying a condo in our early 20s. $1,500/month housing expense (that we have never increased; cost has gone down over the decades re: lower interest rates), when renting the same space was $3,000/month (and much higher today). We traded condo for our 'dream home' in a lower cost locale. It was a lateral trade. We switched to electric cars a long time ago (massive fuel savings, lower maintenance, more pleasant, etc.) Just a couple of examples.

As I type this out, not worrying about cultural/societal expectations or just 'what everyone else is doing' is also 99% of the battle. My kids are both nearing marriage and they both asked me incredulously if people really go into debt over weddings. "Why?!" is their response. This is just one example. This is x100 if you apply it to anything and everything. I consider it a strength that we have never cared about what we were 'supposed' to be doing.

[kork13]

Define "normal" !?!

I know that I've been more successful & "well off" than others ... But I started out of college ~$30k in debt, earning ~$45k/yr. Over the last 18 yrs of promotions my salary has grown to ~$140k, and for a handful of years my wife was also working so our total income was as high as $200k+ ... But living intentionally & being careful with money got us to $1M+ status in ~12 yrs .... And our assets have only grown from there, currently approaching $2.5M.

The answer is simple, as has already been stated. Live below your means is the top contender & biggest influence for good. Avoid debt. Simple awareness & monitoring your spending can do alot of good. Don't need to be fancy with investing, a few broad-market MFs/ETFs will do just fine .... but you do need to be consistent & steady & disciplined about it. As others have referred to ... It's extremely important to learn & recognize priorities in how you use your money -- balancing money vs. time/opportunity cost; differentiating between wants vs. needs; spending today vs. saving do that you can spend later on. This last point, knowing & following your money priorities, is something that took me alot longer to learn, let alone define what those priorities are for our family.

[Atretes1]

I started running some numbers and if I get 4 of my rental properties paid off in the next 5 years. My rental income plus my pension would put my at 212k a year in retirement. My current base pay is 93k and net rental income is 45k for a total of 138k. Its kind of crazy for me to think about retiring at 55 making 212k plus.