A lot of you are inspired and motivated to take things to a higher level. By now you’ve realized that time is still on your side so you’re willing to take advantage of it. This is the single most responsible action you can take (especially in your early 20s) in order to achieve long-term financial success. Here are 6 proven strategies to building wealth at any age.
High Income Skill
Shift your focus on one source of income that will generate you enough cash flow to exceed your expenses. The goal is to earn as much as your abilities, skills, and knowledge allow you to so never stop learning. The value you bring to a company is the key to unlocking a high income skill. Find the average annual income in your country, now raise the bar for yourself and never settle for average. The higher your income is the more asset you have available as a tool to building wealth.
If you’re a business owner, keep selling!!! Increase your revenue so you may increase your income. Don’t take from the cookie jar if you have not increased your revenue.
Staying Debt Free
Staying debt free is an essential building block to building wealth. If you don’t have any debt at the moment you’re already one step ahead, now keep staying debt free. If you are in debt, begin planning to eliminate this burden as soon as possible. It will be a challenge and it will require discipline. Budget where you have to and apply the extra cashflow from you high income skill towards your debt. You will not be able to build wealth while in debt therefore this is a vital step.
Read: “Debt Sucks | Here’s How To Pay Off Thousands In Debt“
Live Below Your Means
Do not fall for lifestyle/income creep. This occurs when your expenses increase as your income increases. The mistake most people make is spending their entire income which results in living paycheck to paycheck. Live below your means in order to avoid this unnecessary stress.
If you’ve earned a promotion or you’ve increased your sales, don’t use this extra money to blow on increasing your standard of living or materialistic things; it can wait. This practice is called delayed gratification. Instead, use this additional money to save and invest.
Saving Money
If the heading of this third strategy made you feel a little uncomfortable we’re making progress. You’ll have to step out of your comfort zone every time you set a new goal for yourself. Put money in a money market or high yielding savings account. Your hard earned money will multiply through compound interest. I highly suggest reading “The Importance of Creating An Emergency Fund and How To Start” to see how saving money is essential to your financial journey.
By stacking up your Richards you are paying yourself first. You’re not giving your money to a,b,c, & d companies anymore. You’re give it to yourself! It’s what you do with this money that ultimately makes it worth setting it aside. Grant Cardone says money is useless unless you use it. So use it by making money work for you.
Investing Money
Now this is the fun part! You’ve established a high income skill and you’re living below your means debt free; now it’s time to put your money to work for you. Do your research like your life depends on it to see which form of investment is best for you. Do your homework and study this as it will require a high level of confidence to buy assets that will both increase and decrease in value depending on the markets performance.
Your assets are your wealth. The more assets and less liabilities you have the more your net worth increases. Stocks can yield enough annual percentage to duplicate your money over a long-term period of time resulting in more assets. The more money you invest, the higher the return. It is important to understand that money you have to invest must be money you’re willing to lose as well. All investments have some sort of risk factor whether it be low or high. For this reason, it is necessary to be out of debt. Any loss you face will be only but a small dent in your pocket. Here are some ways you can invest your money:
- Stocks / Bonds
- REIT’s (Real Estate Investment Trust)
- Real Estate (Property)
- Businesses (Partnering up with people – Be the capital people need in order to start a business in order to earn a percentage of the companies profit.)
Earn Passive Income
This sixth strategy towards building wealth is a fun challenge. Determine what niche can earn you passive income at all times no matter where you are in the world. Use your high income skill to continuously grow this stream of income in order to provide a consistent cash flow which you can also use to invest. Your business mindset might establish a couple of these resulting in multiple streams of income. As Grant Cardone says, success is taken, not received. Here are a number of ways you can earn passive income:
- Rental Property (Real Estate, Property Owner, Airbnb, Storage Rental)
- Money Market Account or High-Yield Savings Account
- Paid-Out Dividends
- YouTube (Monetized)
- Blogging (Ads, Affiliate Programs, Courses, Product)
- Business Partnership Contracts
For more details on these subjects read: Earn Passive Income With These 5 Guaranteed Strategies.
Be Consistent
Keep increasing your income and continue to invest over a long period of time. Take advantage of your age and think about where you want to be in the next 10-20 years from now because it starts with what you do today. As long as you keep increasing your income, saving & investing, and living below your mean, you will have the power to build wealth at any age in your lifetime.
Yes, building wealth takes time. Nothing great happens overnight. Building wealth is something you must continuously keep working on. Every challenge you encounter will require a better version of yourself in order to find solutions to the problems you face. Your habits, hard work, and financial discipline will determine the course of your financial future. Keep learning, keep innovating, keep making it happen. Your future self will thank you one day.