A while ago, the book “The Millionaire Next Door” was on the top of all the bestseller lists.
But if you’re deeply in debt, what can you learn from a millionaire? Plenty. Most people who became millionaires have sensible financial habits, which, if you follow them, can lead you out of debt and on your way to building a healthy financial future.
Among these habits that are shared by most people who have become millionaires:
NEVER go into debt because you worry about appearances or keeping up with the Joneses. Note: this doesn’t meant that personal appearance or grooming doesn’t matter, or that maintaining a decent standard of living doesn’t matter. It means that you should only pay for what you can afford, and you shouldn’t try to compete with others for appearances’ sake. You need a watch; you don’t need a Rolex. You need a car or truck; you don’t need a Hummer or a Merecedes Benz. You need to get regular haircults; you don’t need to visit the best salon in town.
Keep a budget and know where every penny goes.
Set specific, realistic goals and do whatever it takes to meet them. Pay your bills, then create categories for savings, for investing in a business if you have one, for special occasions, et cetera.
Buy quality used items rather than new.
Don’t be afraid to bargain, negotiate, and ask for what you really want. As they say “If you don’t ask, you don’t get”.
Millionaires are not generally the people driving the Hummer to their mortgaged McMansion, dripping with gold jewelry. Those people usually are living on credit and these days, on the verge of losing everything that they own. Millionaires plan, and save, and don’t live their lives to impress other people.
And if you start doing the same, you will much more quickly find your way out of debt, and on your own path to financial success.