Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
Money makes the world go round, so it’s pretty distressing and difficult to not have it. Unfortunately, making a fortune seems like a well-kept secret, but in the 21st century, enterprising people can really just learn anything online.
One netizen decided that the best way to learn about making money was to ask people who already had it. So they asked the wealthy people on the internet for some more obscure ways to make money and they delivered. So get ready to take notes as you scroll through and be sure to upvote your favorites. Comment your own ideas and thoughts below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
If you start your own business the best thing you can do is be a great boss. Not an okay boss, not a good boss, be a great boss.
My family has a small business, we work on pools. We do everything except build them. My dads my boss and he’s the best boss I’ve ever had. He actually listens to his employees and takes their recommendation on how to finish jobs as gospel. The average starting wage for a basic pool cleaner in our area is $12. My dad starts off at $19 with no prior experience.
He gives out raises twice a year by the dollar or dollars, not pennies and quarters. Gives paid days off, gives 3k-5k bonuses around Christmas, and tries to work around their schedule since most of his employees have families. The employee turn over rate in the pool business is extremely high, I think every 2-3 years in my area the last I checked. He has 2 employees who have been with us since before I was born and I’m 24. He listens to them and drops customers we don’t like without question.
Last year he hired a new guy with some experience and sent him out to clean up a few pools after a storm. Later that day a customer my dads had since he started the business, over 30 years ago, called and said they don’t want a black man in their yard. My dad immediately said f**k you in the most professional way you can and hung up. (I know this situation is more about being a decent person and not a great boss but I still love this story.)
He’s training me to take over in a few years and constantly tells me to not only be worried about feeding 1 family (ours) but I have to be worried about feeding 9 families (we have 8 employees.)
To me, being a great boss is one of the best ways to run a successful business and become wealthy.
FakeOptimist 2 years ago
Yep. My philosophy : the only way to get a good product is by having motivated employees.
Debra McGeorge 2 years ago
Our society and economy would be in such better shape if more companies used this model.
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
I've been a manager before and my priority was always defend my team, someone makes a mistake then I'll take the flack for it. But then I mostly had good team members, I got shot of the bad ones very quickly
Weasel Wise 2 years ago
Have enough money lying around that I can start a business (and be taxed out of business in a few years). Got it!
ॐBoyGanesh 2 years ago
My maternal grandfather and his partner started a business in the mid-60s and it’s still family run. We consider all our employees family and the vast majority are generational. We’ve always hired the family of employees and do our best to treat them as our own. The loyalty goes both ways & we consider this the sole key to our success.
RELATED:
#2
Try your absolute hardest to have rich parents.
Princess Mar-li Cathryn 2 years ago
My sister and I have tried. Doesn't help.
Load More Replies...
James S 2 years ago
This is, by far, the way that most rich people become richer. This is the "success" fallacy that many wealthy people have, that their success is due to hard work and intelligence, when it is in fact due to their family wealth and connections (getting them into an Ivy League College for example).
James S 2 years ago
And I firmly believe no millionaire has ever worked as hard as a single mom doing multiple minimum wage jobs
Load More Replies...
Dundawunda 2 years ago
Palm forward means Peace. Palm towards you means the opposite. This picture fits.
Sergio Bicerra 2 years ago
No mater hoy many times i knok on Elon Musk's vault, he doesn't want to adopt me. May be cause I'm 48 latino or because I trynto disfuise myself as a girl scout selling cookies?
#3
I’m a millennial and stopped eating avocado toast. I am now vastly wealthy.
Phoenix 2 years ago
This is insane! How do you just stop eating avocado toast?! May as well tell us to stop breathing.
baby frog 2 years ago
don’t hurt me but i’m not the biggest fan of avocado. so, i save plenty for foods and other stuff necessary
Load More Replies...
Anyone-for-tea? 2 years ago
Wow, you’ll be able to buy a house in no time! If you stay off of it, you’ll probably be able to be mortgage-free in 5 years!
Narwhal Blast 2 years ago
I can confirm this. I stopped buying avocado toast and 3 months later I could afford to buy a house. /s
Shannon Donnelly 2 years ago
I disagree wholeheartedly, but you get my upvote for making me lol
Load More Replies... BakedKahuna 2 years ago
I should start selling avocado toasts to millennials as long they haven't all stop eating it yet. Should make me at least decently wealthy.
During depressing times, one might wonder if the world was a better place before we all started passing around bills or coins to buy goods and services. The reality is that one could very easily be in debt before money had ever been invented. Many people know about early barter systems, but most overlook the fact that these systems often facilitated and commonly allowed one to trade future items or labor as a form of debt.
The result is that someone can actually be fully in debt in a society where no one actually uses or has ever heard about currency. This, somehow, seems like it would be worse than many modern forms of debt where one can at least sell something to get by.
#4
I got a summer painting job at 16. Realized I was good at it and enjoyed the work. Stuck with the same company for long enough that I could honestly consider myself an expert. Started my own painting business and failed because I had no idea how to run a business. Went back to work with the original company and studied business on my own. Formulated a plan. Saved up 10k to start with and dove in again.
I grew that into one of the most popular painting businesses in my area. We then expanded into drywall, finish carpentry and specialized finishes. We are now planning an expansion into the cleaning industry as well. What started out as a summer job has turned into a career that allows me to live a fun life and set my own schedule.
My best advice is learn something about business. Find a field you’re confident in. Start a business in that field. Be financially responsible but take calculated risks to grow and don’t allow the fear of failure to hold you back.
ƒιѕн 2 years ago
And then you get the occasional person that doesn't want to pay. I just filed a lien on a property for a bit over 40k. It;s aggravating as shít. Also still carrying a bad check from 1997 that I haven't been able to collect on. One lady wrote me a check, thanked me for squeezing her into my schedule, got the check back from the bank two days later, she stopped payment on the check. Sued her and won, but still haven't collected my money. No wages to garnish since she wasn't working anywhere. Some people game the system, and I hate them.
Ru Bee 2 years ago
Gutted for you same happened to my dad he's a spark. Bastard claimed bankruptcy on him and he never paid my dad.c..t had about 30 rental properties when he became bankrupt 😞
Load More Replies...
Carbonel 2 years ago (edited)
It’s great that you found your “thing”. Everyone I know that has got somewhere in life, it’s because they found their “thing” and have managed to make a career of it. I never found my “thing” and although other areas of my life are sound, my career (and hence financial situation) isn’t one of them. I do envy people with careers …. I actually marvel at them! Wish I knew why nothing ever clicked that way for me and to know I’m not alone!
albernistuff 4sale 2 years ago
"Do what you love, and you will never work a day in your life!" Great if you love filing taxes, processing payroll, hiring, training firing, dealing with the inevitable frivolous lawsuit, angry customers, paying suppliers, collecting bills, broken equipment, sub-contractors who bail, etc etc
Weasel Wise 2 years ago
My bad. If I had stayed in the shíthole I grew up in and kept my job I started at age 15....I would still be selling hunting and fishing tags. 🤦🏾♀️. Guess I failed there too by not being born knowing how I wanted to spend the rest of my existence.
#5
One thing a lot of people overlook in their financial planning is to have rich parents.
Display Name 2 years ago
Very true, most wealthy people look at themselves and take all the credit forgetting mommy and daddy paid for college, bought them their first car, put them up in their first house, etc. Like if I had the opportunity to f**k around and party in college until I get ready to graduate with no consequences I'm very sure I'd be much more successful than the successful people. They have no concept the world doesn't work the way their world works for everyone. Like equal the playing field and I'd crush them because I know how to do things without a handout.
Marleina Hershberg 2 years ago
Wth is this c**p??? We can't choose our parents, we don't even have a say on them bringing us into the world!
Celtic Pirate Queen 2 years ago
Hahahaha! Gates, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Musk - not ONE of these liars "started a business in their garage". They "started" a business with millions from their parents. OH - And for those of you sycophants of Elon Musk, he didn't START Tesla, he BOUGHT Tesla, which was started by Martin Eberhard & Marc Tarpenning as Tesla Motors. Musk bought it & renamed it Tesla, Inc.
Ash Conner 2 years ago
You guys need to look up Jim Rohn. He grew up poor. By the time he died he made over 4 billion dollars. Look up "Take charge of your life." Go on YouTube, or by his books.
FakeOptimist 2 years ago
Upvoted, tho not because I agree. Thankfully I don't live in the US, if I did and had to pay for the therapies that kept me alive I would be in debt upto my eyebrows.
Load More Replies... #6
As mentioned above, when you’re making money… pretend like you’re not. I’ve possessed this mindset since 2020 and am the most financially secure I’ve ever been. Spend less than you earn — it can be so much simpler than people make it out to be. Creating a budget spreadsheet of your weekly/monthly expenses can be super helpful too.
Phoenix 2 years ago
Living with your parents until you retire could be a good budget strategy, as well.
LK 2 years ago
This is good advice, as long as you are making enough money to do so. Spending less than you earn can be extremely difficult for those who are already living in substandard accommodation, skipping meals and not heating/cooling their home to what would normally be considered acceptable levels.
Ripley 2 years ago
Yep. It's really expensive to be poor. Once again the Sam Vimes "Boots" theory of socioeconomic unfairness comes into play.
Load More Replies...
michael Chock 2 years ago (edited)
These suggestions are ridiculous. We live in a predatory society. For capitalism to work, someone needs to be capitalized on. Somewhere we have convinced ourselves that those administrating resources deserve the most resources. My rent for a 800sqft hole is over 1/2 my after tax income. We reach our maximum out of pocket for medical bills every year, it all adds up to 1/3 of total income. That leaves me with 1/6 my income to actually live off of. BTW, both me and my wife have marketable college degrees. 70k a year for an engineer with 15 years experience in a metropolitan area? WTF, I will wait for the next posting. If you are doing well, you have connections or the devils luck.
Tams21 2 years ago
When you're spending nearly all of your income on extortionate rent and food, I really don't think it's simpler than it's made out to be. And small luxuries might cost a bit of money but when they make an otherwise very challenging life just a little more bearable, they become essential. I'm guessing this wasn't written by someone who's struggled.
Weasel Wise 2 years ago
My traditional sarcasm aside....is this not something everyone knows? "Spend less than you earn"? No shít!
Seonag Udell 2 years ago
Very Mr Micawber from David Copperfield. Charles Dickens was preaching this s**t over 150 years ago. It wasn't easy to do it then and it still isn't now.
The Shark 2 years ago
Spend less than you earn. I suppose I could eat every other day? I still try to do it anyway by using my credit cards to budget. Pay in full every month, if I can't for whatever reason, then I cut expenses accordingly as much as possible to pay in full in as little time as possible. I always try to minimize any form of debt-to banks or people.
Of course, many of the people in this thread gave similar advice. Don’t spend more than you have is common sense, but the advent of credit cards and “easy” credit, in general, has caused many a bankruptcy (and even a whole financial crisis) as people underestimate risk and overestimate their own income.
#7
Have you tried exploiting the labor class? I hear it works wonders
Auntriarch 2 years ago
Ah but if you pay them something it's not technically slavery. Nowhere is it written that you have to pay them enough to live on
Load More Replies...
#8
My great uncle was a pretty wealthy individual. His advice?
"When it comes to finances and making money, I only listen to those who have more of it than me."
FakeOptimist 2 years ago
Not sure about this one : I haven't had avocado toast in my life, so ppl like Musk telling me how to run my life........ Not sure.
Russell Rieckenberg 2 years ago
His great uncle did not imply that all rich people give great money advice, merely people without money don't.
Load More Replies...
David Paterson 2 years ago
Eg., never trust "investment advisors". Investment advisors are a very good way to lose lots of money.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
If you want good life lessons… You don’t go to someone who was known to be greedy as f**k
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
Yeah, most vastly wealthy people inherited their wealth and have advisors. Self made millionaires have advisors once they can afford them. You will always risk being scammed though, you should never trust people implicitly.
Just Another Girl 2 years ago
Change it to “I only listen to those who have EARNED more of it than me. “
Althea Armwood 2 years ago
Sometimes, you should listen to the people who failed as well. They may have learned a lesson that will save you in the long run!
#9
Stop spending all your damn money. Literally everyone I've talked to who complains about being poor has a car payment, lives in a house bigger than me, takes vacations a couple of times a year, eats out on the regular and buys all kinds of stuff they don't even need or really want. They hemorrhage money just on everyday expenses. Meanwhile I'm driving a beater (that is paid for) and I live in a very modest house (that my friends mock me for and tell me I'm living too far below my means). I eat out maybe once or twice a week and by eating out I mean a meal at a drive through. I'm not spending $100 on steak dinner. I pinch every penny and can easily go 3-4 days or longer without spending a dime. Shockingly I have more money than them which I invest.
Admiralu 2 years ago
When employers pay people living wages things would be different. Let's see you with a job that pays less than $15 an hour pay mortgage, car payments and health insurance.
Display Name 2 years ago
Yeah you can only manage money if you have money. People don't realize that. Being poor is more expensive than being rich, because more if not all of your money goes to living expenses, the more money you make, the smaller the percentage of your money is needed for expenses.
Load More Replies...
rob 2 years ago
So have money and have a s****y life because you don't enjoy any of it just invest it. Then whats the point? Retire rich after a lifetime of not enjoying anything?
Karl 2 years ago
A satisfying life doesn’t have to cost a fortune. We’ve lived carefully for years but don’t feel deprived and have had our fair share of travel and experiences. Develop skills like cooking and brewing and you can eat well and be drunk as a Lord for pennies. Not having expensive hobbies helps too. We eat out once a month and appreciate it much more than if we were out every night. As time goes on, life and work gets harder and you don’t really want to be chasing the rent/mortgage in your 60s. I have friends who are still trying to “keep up with the Jones’” in their 50s and finding it stressful as hell as it’s all supported with maxed out credit cards and working all the hours God sends. There is a happy and satisfying medium.
Load More Replies...
Lem Johnson 2 years ago
"I eat out maybe once or twice a week" that tells me all I need to know about the privilege this person possesses. I grew up thinking going to McDonald's was the highest treat and only happened once a year. If you don't know what poor feels like don't preach to poor people about how they could be less poor if they were just more frugal than they already are. Come back to me when you've had to feed a family of five with one loaf of bread and a tin of beans.
Seonag Udell 2 years ago
Yep, was shocked when I read that part. I was expecting to read once or twice a month, not a week.
Load More Replies...
Lou Cam 2 years ago
Nope, tiny house in crappy area, no car, no vacations, no takeaway food still broke. Mine and my partners wage is above average and we work for a large fianiancil firm so you'd think we'd be doing better but everything is just so expensive. I guess people that started off being helped by parents' money had that bit of leeway starting out but I've been paying bills since I was 16. I can afford basic food so better than I was 20 years ago but I'm just one payday away from being in compete poverty. So many people live like this but you rarely hear from them (embarrassed I suppose?) So all we get is lifestyle lectures from people who've had hand outs and safety nets from their parents instead.
Nicole Brookus 2 years ago
And a lot of the folks I see in their 60's and 70's that have no excuse are driving princess trucks and still have car payments and house payments and expensive vacations -- but are complaining about being broke. Yeah, tell me about how that pension isn't enough.
Load More Replies...
Weasel Wise 2 years ago
OR get sterilized so that you only have to worry about your own expenses. Children will drain you in every way possible, not maliciously, that's just how a growing human works.
DelvianBlue 2 years ago
"Don't have a car payment" - yeah right! I live 40 miles from my job. How should I get there without a car then? Pogo stick?
Seonag Udell 2 years ago
Think he means buying on finance, instead of buying a cheaper car outright.
Load More Replies...
Royal Stray 2 years ago
I don't think op has talked to a lot of poor people. Also like someone said it's expensive being poor.
Sometimes, one can be overexposed to money and money-related topics throughout the day. There is really no way of getting away from it in this day and age. It’s a topic so ubiquitous that some activists have formed a “Free Money Day” where participants literally give random people on the street some bills or coins. The money given away is not life-changing, but the idea is to stimulate discussions about the role of money in society.
#10
Live under your means and start saving early. Compounding is your friend.
Lou Cam 2 years ago
Living under your means is not so easy when your entire wage pays rent and bills and no money left over for food. That's above minimum wage job and a tiny flat in a s****y area too. I did live like this and know several people that still do. They have a full time job but still have to hit the food banks. Where is the ability to save in that scenario please?
Royal Stray 2 years ago
It's hard to live under your means when they're already so small. Like sure I could eat cup ramen but I kinda want to be healthy and still be alive without severe health complications later in life. Not everyone can afford to save
Coyote Osborne 2 years ago
What about the millions of us who always spent every cent on just surviving. What should we invest?
Ima Manimal 2 years ago (edited)
Doesn’t work when you’re living paycheck by paycheck… youre someone as clueless as the rest.
#11
Not sure if you would consider me "wealthy" but in my mid 50s, I have no debt and a house and 2 cars that are paid for. How did I do it? Well, I saved like mad, drove used cars, brought my lunch to work every day to save money, never took big fancy vacations and do not buy many luxury items like expensive clothes, watches or luxury cars. I shopped at Goodwill and thrift stores and bought most of my furniture second hand and re-finished many pieces. Never bought steak or fancy foods at the grocery store, either. I often bought nice used cars or trucks and paid them off in 4-5 years and drove them for another 4-5 years while saving that car note money or using that money to help pay my house off earlier. My current pickup is 5 years old and my car is 7 years old but both are now paid for and still in great working shape. Living below my means, while not really making what I consider a high salary, is pretty much how I did it. Not easy to do in this hyper-consumer world. You have to be willing to do with less or without certain things NOW, so you can have an easier life later on. In my mid-50s now and damn am I glad I did this! I am now surrounded by peers, relatives and friends in their mid 50s that did the opposite and they STILL have tons of debt, car notes and a long ways to go in paying off their houses. Now they LOOK wealthier than I do, but in the end...who really is more "wealthy?"
DelvianBlue 2 years ago
I don't know... I do all this but still can't afford a house or save enough to ever retire. Of course if you have a high paying job to begin with, it makes saving a lot easier!
Clarissa 2 years ago
people make fun of us because we literally never go out to eat unless on vacation and rarely even then. I mean never go out to eat, not fast food not sit down, not coffee. We shop thrift stores and yard sales whenever possible. We buy used cars for cash. We dont have closets full of stuff. Also us: we go on several vacations a year, mostly camping/hiking but we see tons of things. The money we save by not eating out alone is surprising. Also no smoking or drinking, more savings.
albernistuff 4sale 2 years ago
I Did all these exact things (except my vehicle were even older) Nearly 60, still have mortgage payments and other bills with little saving....it REALLY helps to have the job that pays above a survival wage. OP is suffering "survivor bias" and a bit of narcissism by how the post was written.
Sleepy Panda 2 years ago
There is absolutely nothing narcissistic about what they wrote. Narcissism is a serious disorder. Please stop using this word to describe any mundane thing that a person says that you don’t agree with.
Load More Replies... 
Walter Brameld 2 years ago
I followed the same path and I'm pretty comfortable now in my mid-40s. Looking forward to my 50s, 60s, and beyond!
tater.gonna.tot 2 years ago
Definitely agree with shopping second hand, better for the world. Also packed lunches. But much of this sounds like simply not living, to me.
sara fulmer 2 years ago
By reading Buddhist teachings and striving to realize that wants are not needs. You have to learn to realize you can be truly happy with just what you need. It lifts a weight off you but getting to that mindset, and staying there! takes constant Mindfulness
Coyote Osborne 2 years ago (edited)
And that's partly because you're in your mid-50's dude. You had a chance to do this before wages stopped remotely keeping up. People in their 30's don't usually have the same opportunity.
#12
Networking is really a thing, it's f****d up but the more people you meet that are dojng something and we'll of the more opportunities you will get.
Two_rolling_black_eyes 2 years ago
This is the most important thing. Study after study shows that 70-85% of all jobs are obtained via someone the applicant knew. If John is a good worker and recommends Sally for a job, the boss will almost always look at Sally over a random resume sent in. We are a social species and will almost always go with what someone we trust tells us over an emotionless choice to pick someone who no one vouched for.
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
I really can't be doing that s41t, used to work with a guy who hated football (soccer) but would follow it so he could "network".
D20 Games 2 years ago (edited)
My company does this, however everyone starts at the bottom. No one is hired in at the middle or top. Everyone has to EARN their way there. I was some random hire. I just finished training one of our most recent family hires. I'm his supervisor. He's got at least a year before he can move up the wrung. There are however three different families, multiple members of each that are working throughout the company. Every one of them started at the bottom and worked their way up.
Of course, “stimulating discussions” don’t pay the bills, as most people can guess. Hence the question to people with money is, how does one get it? While it makes sense to “go to the source,” these days, more and more money is inherited, not necessarily earned. While a person living off family money is by no means automatically less intelligent than someone else, they might not be the best source of information for how to get there from zero.
#13
Depends on your definition of wealthy, but the simplest way - Do well in your exams, choose a lucrative field of study at university, intern at a reputable company and you’ll do very well following graduation.
The other biggest tip I have is to know your worth. If you’re being undervalued, find employment elsewhere. Loyalty to an employer that doesn’t respect you is a fools game.
Two_rolling_black_eyes 2 years ago (edited)
#3 (interning) is the wealthy helping other wealthy people continue the cycle. A poor person needs a paycheck to pay the rent. An unpaid intern is only that way because they have someone else paying their bills while they work for free. The poor person who aces every exam in their area of study has to take a paid summer job or they don't have rent money for the next semester.
Sara Cros 2 years ago
It makes me sad to read this - I wish the US would introduce what New Zealand has which is you have to pay interns. Otherwise as you say it's just an oligarchy
Load More Replies... Ima Manimal 2 years ago
People are going into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for masters and doctoral degrees. And only offered entry level jobs. Studying hard and doing well in school does NOT mean you get a good paying job anymore. It you believe that education will lead to good paying jobs…… or wealth…….you’re a Disney princess who has no clue about the real world and the real struggle. SMH
DelvianBlue 2 years ago
Doing well in school and working hard doesn't guarantee success though. You can do everything right and still be unable to get a good job or find success.
S P 2 years ago (edited)
As you say, it depends on your definition of wealth. Loyalty to my company has resulted in respect, projects I enjoy, and some amout of job security so that I can take calculated risks. I accrue a decent amount (by US standards) of PTO and I have a work/life balance I'm comfortable with. I could make more money elsewhere but I genuinely like and trust my team- and after working jobs at the start of my career that made me miserable, the paycheck isn't worth risking my mental health again. For me, wealth is enjoying and appreciating my job.
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
Yeah, but so many people (especially with advanced degrees stay in the same job for decades). I work with a guy who's pushing 40, has been in the job since getting his maths degree from Oxford and is happy with it. Our pay rises are always sub inflationary and he could a) be earning much more b) know much more (different jobs require different approaches and skills) but he seems happy stuck in a mid level job with no real prospects. If you're approaching retirement I'd understand that, but from graduation???
#14
I wouldn't say I'm wealthy but I left school at 16 with no qualifications, at 19 I ended up working for an insurance call centre as a call handler, soul crushing work for £15,000 a year.
Did that for 2 years, became a complaint handler because I had a natural ability at handling angry customers. So bumped up to £17,000 a year
Started to get pretty well known as I was now on a smaller team and working with more managers. Then a job opportunity came up for the audit team, I thought f**k it the interview would be good practise, somehow I got it mostly because of my reputation, that bumped me up to £30,000
Did that for 6 years, got a lot of experience dealing with stakeholders, execs, project work.
A job came up for a specialist project lead, I was not qualified but decided to take a punt, why not. They were very interested in me despite not being qualified and landed an £80,000 salary
From no qualifications to bringing home £4500 a month after tax a month I think is pretty good.
I guess it's all about getting involved in the right company, networking and just moving forward anyway you can and taking chances on promotions and opportunities even if you don't think you're qualified, if they are interested in you as a person they'll make it work
Lyone Fein 2 years ago
Takeaway: Stick with one company. Network and make connections. Be a problem solver. Keep on the lookout for opportunities that come up. Take a chance and go for said opportunities. Rinse repeat.
FakeOptimist 2 years ago
And be smart/lucky enough to work for a company that appreciates a good employee.
Load More Replies...
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Exception to the rule. You got lucky. That is all. Ok to brag but that is bad advice.
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
My niece trained to be a stewardess, couldn't get her foot in the door and went to work in a call centre, got promoted to lead, then troubleshooter, the middle management. Left there and now works in a troubleshooting/management position earning silly money. She's 30 next year. Saying that she's a massive narcissist and I really don't like her.
#15
Cut out the waste. It’s not how much you make, it’s how much you keep. Too many people start making the good money and start to show off. Fancy clothes, fancy car, expensive house. All their money is going to interest and waste. The wealthiest people I know don’t flaunt it. They’re some of the cheapest people I know, because they didn’t get rich by wasting money. You couldn’t tell it by looking at them, because their money is in the bank, not on display.
Display Name 2 years ago
You can't keep money if you have to spend it. Being poor is more expensive than being rich I can't stress that enough. The more money you make, the smaller the percentage of what you make is required for living expenses. Assuming you're not an idiot with your money.
Verena 2 years ago
Last sentence is key. Being "wealthy" is a question of definition, too. Special cases of poorness aside: The ability of being happy with what one can afford and have no debt is a solid starting point. I admit that this is easier in Europe, because good healthcare is provided for everybody in a lot of countries here. And good health is core for being able to work.
Load More Replies... Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Many want to just keep a roof over their heads and food to eat. There is no waste. It ALL goes to survival. You’re clueless.
Robert T 2 years ago
There is a happy medium between the two. If you have spare cash, then by all means spend some of it, but spend it wisely. When I was in my twenties, I was earning the most of I ever have, and bought an expensive hifi and a sports car. I still have them both 20+ years later. What is more, I still get a lot of enjoyment out of them. I now live a lot more frugally, but I own my own home outright and have a reasonable pension to look forward to.
Shelli Aderman 2 years ago (edited)
The waste is SOOO non-existent, and yet, being a Gen-X, sandwich generation person, (2 kids at home, while simultaneously taking care of aging parents) leaves ZERO leftovers for anything. There’s nothing on display, and nothing in the bank. And there won’t be for a while. Welcome to the lower middle class.
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
I look back at all the money I peed up the wall and I think "nah, I'd do it again", I could've bought a property in my 20's but knowing how much my first one financially crippled me I'd rather have enjoyed myself the way I did
This trend is more and more present if one digs around enough, to the degree that some journalists have labeled these people “nepo babies.” Many famous actors, actresses, musicians, and other creatives, it turns out, have parents in the industry or are just wealthy enough to buy their way in. But in the pre-modern era, nearly all wealth was inherited, so don’t give up.
#16
I've never considered myself wealthy, but I did buy my first home before I was 30 so I guess that makes me wealthy. I think seeing real demand is something that is often overlooked. A lot of the time (especially young) people are trying to get rich in ways they see other people getting rich. They're learning coding to make the next killer app. They're starting up Youtube/Twitch channels to try and build an audience. **People who get wealthy (other than generational wealth and executives of larger corporations) see a demand that needs to be filled and fill it.** Simple thing, my wife's great grandfather found out that there was a demand in the oilfield for wood shavings and they were paying a fairly sizeable sum for it. He went to every single wood mill sweeping wood chips and shavings off of the floor and then putting them into boxes. The wood mills were happy to get rid of their garbage for free and he was happy to sell this stuff for an absurd price. Once the wood mills realized that there was money to be made on shavings they gave him an exclusive contract and now all he had to do was come pick them up. Before long he had pick up and delivery men and a small shipping fleet. He sold his company, retired... bought a plane... and then died. Even today his surviving family members are still incredibly wealthy.
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
And back then it worked, can imagine that today? Small guy sees a gap in the market, starts making money, multinational sees him and pulls the rug from under him by offering the same thing cheaper.
Andrew Parsons 2 years ago
Also op married into this exceedingly wealthy family.
Load More Replies... Ima Manimal 2 years ago
That’s all good and fine about 50 years ago… Today corporations, snatch everything up and hog everything. Then they treat their workers like slaves. If you are way things work, then you are the problem.
#17
To me... this is the most overlooked way to earn money and become wealthy:
“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it."
It isn't fast. it isn't sexy, it takes many, many years before you really see the fruits of your labors. but if you can figure out how to stay away from consumer debt, especially on things that deprecate in value... while maximizing investments in things that bring value... you can become "wealthy" even with a fairly modest income. If you start investing consistently and modestly at age 20, you will have a significant amount of money at age 45, and millions by the time you hit your 60s. If you start at age 45, you can enjoy life, and still have a nice nest egg at age 65.
Zophra 2 years ago
I think the point being missed here is that you need to have extra money in order to invest.
Robert T 2 years ago
Savings accounts currently do not pay enough interest, compound or otherwise, to outstrip inflation. You need to invest in other things to make serious money, but there is also the possibility of losing it. Having said that, if you start a pension in your twenties, and pay into it, that money will be worth a lot more by the time you draw it 30-40 years later, than if you start trying to save a few years before retirement. Additionally, if your employer will match your pension contributions, you can actually get extra money.
Rita Benkő 2 years ago
Except from the inflation beint about 40 times higher than the interest (the best long-term investments give now about 50 - 67% of the inflation).
Shelli Aderman 2 years ago
I’m happy to compound interest! But most “savings” accounts that offer more than .01% interest have a minimum deposit required. Which is great if you have between $2,500-$25,000 to toss around. But most folks need that $2,500 (if they’re even making that much per paycheck before taxes!) just to make ends meet. “Thank you, next!”
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
So exactly how does someone with a doctorate degree inundated with student debt in an entry level job they can’t find their way out of do such a thing? Really? You’re part of the problem.
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago (edited)
Unless of course interest rates were absolute garbage which until recently they have been for 10(?) Years.
#18
Location. We made most of our wealth being the only Hardware & Marine store on a a small island.
#19
I’m not wealthy however I grew up with my needs met however on and off welfare and am now middle class - so I have jumped up an economic class. What has helped me has been recognizing that nearly every minute of every day - when I leave the house, when I use my phone, when I watch TV, someone is trying to take my money from me via advertising. Once you really think about it, if you have shelter, food, a bed, clothes and shoes, a mode of transport and your medical needs taken care of - you don’t really NEED anything else. Don’t let yourself get brainwashed into buying stuff you don’t need! So forgoing useless extras you can save your money to improve your situation, such as education (you don’t even need to go to a fancy college, a community college is a fine place to start). Or even spend money on what you truly value, like travel.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
This is the first person on this whole thing that has made any logical sense… And he’s right. No matter what you make, something or somebody is always going to try to get it out of your hands.
jdtimid123 2 years ago
I have a bad habit of collecting pretty things (knick knacks mostly) lately I've been able to curb my impulse buying by telling myself I need a specific purpose for the item, and a specific place to put it. If I don't know where it's going to go, then I obviously don't have space for it anyway. Now I just need to quite my addiction to buying candy bars and/or bottled drinks every time I go to the grocery store and turning 1$ purchases into 5$ ones for a piece of candy that's just gonna upset my stomach anyway.
Ariom Dahl 2 years ago
Agreed. Advertising works to convince people they NEED, when often (no, not always), they just WANT -- or have been convinced they want.
#20
I’m not wealthy by western wealthy standards, but I grew up in poverty and now own a home in a very expensive city, have lots of money in both retirement and regular savings, and have no debt. I started saving for retirement when I was 20. Any time I get unexpected money, I buy myself a small treat and tuck the rest away. I allow myself a set amount each paycheque to spend mindlessly, and the rest gets saved. I drive a 20 year old vehicle, have a 5 year old phone, buy stuff second hand, and limit myself to a lunch or coffee out once or twice a month. Maybe this is more about saving money than earning it, but still useful info.
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
But did you enjoy yourself? Or did you dedicate your life to making money?
Lucille 2 2 years ago
It sounds like OP is making time to enjoy the money they’re making, like buying little treats :)
Load More Replies...
Awkward lady 2 years ago
One thing I can never understand is why people buy new cars every couple of years. The debt is enormous and it's never paid off, just transferred to the new car.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Not everybody has the luxury of “pooring down.” But those who do tend to brag about it. Which is insulting to those who struggle.
Thomas Ewing 2 years ago
If you can fix your own car, you can make a beater last 20 years and look good, too.
Marie Dahme 2 years ago
It’s actually true, it’s called inequity transference. Had that happen 20 years when I traded my and my husbands card in for a 2004 Dodge Durango because he couldn’t drive and was in a wheelchair. Boy were those monthly payments a beach.
Load More Replies... #21
A lot of people simply MATCH what their employer puts into their 401k. They only contribute up to that amount. That’s a huge mistake. If you are able, you should max out your 401k every year with pre-tax funds. This lowers your tax liability to the government. You’ll pay taxes later in your Golden Years when you pull your money out, but you should be in a much lower tax bracket. The way I looked at it every payday…”I don’t get to keep this money either way. Now do I want to pay it to MYSELF (401k) or pay it to the Government (in year end taxes). I chose door number 1 for over 20 years.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
I don’t play the stock market. Never have. And I have seen so many greedy a*s people who worship their 401(k)s… Only to see those things tank and next thing you know, they’re crying about losing $300,000. No sympathy.
DeoManus Argentem 2 years ago
This is spot on! You will barely notice the difference in your paychecks if you bump up your 401k contribution % because you're not getting taxed on that contribution as income! I had a boss with two MBA (Master of Business Administration) degrees, including one in finance, who never contributed to a 401k (not even the free money company match %!) until he was 40! I told him about this, and he was skeptical until I helped him set it up, and he was gobsmacked!
Geoffrey Scott 2 years ago
The last couple 401 outfits I've had will auto increase your contribution til you tell them to stop. I am holding at 10%
#22
Don't get stuck with analysis paralysis, it's real. Focus on the small steps that push your business forward. For example, don't worry about how you will be able to ship 1000 items a day when you're selling 0 items a day.
#23
Stop spending it.
Most people are actually pretty good at offense (making money). It's their defense (keeping money) that sucks.
1. Start a budget sheet. * Track all your expenses into various categories, and track *ALL* of them. Yes even that $1.50 candy bar. Track it all * This will tell you where your money is going
2. Reallocate your spending habits * Set "caps" on your budgetary categories. Like "Only $200/mo on entertainment" and stick to it.
3. Pay yourself first * Put money into your investment accounts *FIRST*, then spend on luxuries.
>Do not save what is left after spending.
Spend what is left after saving.
[Also all hail the chart](https://i.imgur.com/lSoUQr2.png)
If the chart looks low-rez, you're probably on mobile and "conserving bandwidth". Try asking for the desktop version.
Summertime_Sadness 2 years ago
All the saving tips in the world aren't gonna help when businesses pay $13 an hour and rent is $2000 a month. You aren't not rich because you're doing something wrong, you're not rich because capitalism isn't designed to benefit you.
Admiralu 2 years ago
Preach! I get sick of these people giving advice that doesn't relate to many.
Load More Replies...
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Well, isn’t that all good and nice… Except for the people who have gotten into hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt to get their masters and doctorate degrees and get offered an entry-level position despite their expertise, despite their knowledge, despite the time they spent interning… when every dollar is already spent before you earn it… There are no discretionary funds. It’s all about survival. And people like you that post this or part of the problem.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
I know this is a re-post on the same thread… But this kind of pretentiousness, and then denigration towards people, who, despite all of their efforts and investments toward education, still lead to being horribly underpaid is just disgusting. You are the problem.
Thom Serveaux 2 years ago
200/month on entertainment alone??? Yeah this person has clearly never been poor. There's been times in my life when I spent less than half that much on food...
Casey Payne 2 years ago
If you don't have the money for basics, you just don't have the money. So calculating, measuring, budgeting down to the very last dime/nickle/penny is exhausting and depressing. Especially when there is not enough pennies to go around. It may keep you from bouncing a check accidentally, but makes getting the energy to get up and go on a daily basis difficult.
Brian Droste 2 years ago
How can you afford $2000 a rent a month making $13 an hour when that only comes to 2080, that is before taxes.
Verena 2 years ago
One part of the problem in certain countries might be the mindset about debt. In Europe everybody tries to avoid that, except when buying a place to live and sometimes a car. Being in debt, even when paying it off reliably, puts you on a grey list, which make some tjings more complicated. In other countries debt is just a necessity, to get you on a white list.
jdtimid123 2 years ago
I feel like a lot of comments are looking to dispute the advise because "that's hard to do when you're poor," which is true. However, I don't think that that demographics is what people had in mind, I feel like these are more talking to the people who have their basic needs met. If you are in a position where you barely make enough to buy food and rent then this advise won't apply to you, but if you have extra money to be eating out every weekend then maybe you can cut back a little to get into an even better situation. Also, this defeatist mentality is not helping anyone. When you comment "easier said then done" to every bit of financial advise because it doesn't apply to all situations, then you're basically telling everyone there's no point in even trying anything, you're just going to fail anyway.
#24
Little things add up. Eating out every day, even if it’s just $5, can turn into hundreds or thousands by the end of the year. Replace one or two meals with something from home (can cost as little as $2 per serving) can not only save you money, but teach you to cook and make something more nutritious and health.
Lyone Fein 2 years ago
NEVER eat out. I cook all my food at home. I save so much money. And now whenever I think about going out, I look at the menu and feel like why bother? I can usually make better tasting meals for so much less!
jdtimid123 2 years ago
Idk if never eating out is the best course of action for everyone like some people suggest, just don't eat out all the time. But one of my favorite things is to go to the local cafe, get a bowl of soup for lunch and do whatever activity I'm focusing on at the time (usually reading, writing or a purse sized craft) The experience is a lot of what you're paying for when you eat out. If you only go out once weekly or monthly vs daily then you'll save money and it will give you a treat to look forward to.
Robert T 2 years ago
Keep eating out as a treat. We tend to do this for birthdays or anniversaries, or for Friday nights when my gf finishes late and we can't be bothered cooking tea, and then we'll have a chippy tea.
Load More Replies... 
The Darkest Timeline 2 years ago
$2/serving? Pfffft! Go with beans and rice and you can do it around $.10/serving. Plus, you get protein, carbs and fiber.
#25
I'm not super rich by any means, but I'm well off. Everyone knows that you can do well by going into business or finance, tech, medicine, and law, but people seem not to realize that *teaching* those things can be pretty lucrative as well. Being a professor in a professional school like law or medicine is a very sweet deal. It's hard to make under 150k in the US doing those things, and top earners - usually in med schools - are bringing in 500k from salary alone.
Ripley 2 years ago
I imagine that this would require a really significant investment in your education - and if you don't have the money to pay for it up front, you may carry that debt for a really long time.
DelvianBlue 2 years ago (edited)
To get a job at a university in America, you need a PhD. This can cost upwards of 200,000 if you include undergraduate expenses. It's also highly competitive so be aware you may have to relocate to another state or even out of the country to find a job as a professor. Very few of my professors were from my state, half were from other countries, and they warned me that becoming a professor is not a stable career choice and requires a lot of luck, networking, and flexibility to make it happen.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Also, another clueless idiot… People in those positions tend to Homestead and stay there forever. There are rarely new positions. Why don’t you vacate your position and open it up for someone more deserving.
SirWriteALot 2 years ago
Seriously, what's with these huge salaries in the states? How much of 150k ends up staying in your account, after taxes etc.?
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
Every MS certified trainer I've worked with does very well for themselves
#26
Helped a family member with their antique collections business when that was a really big thing back 10-15 years ago. Like the top comment said... Don't worry about how you're going to ship it if you can't sell a single item. Get your stock up. My family member literally had a garage, two bedrooms, a hallway, a shed, two storage containers and a trailer storage unit full of antique items all neatly stacked, marked and put into a system. We spent about a week listing it on eBay only to have scammers and Karens destroy weeks of hard work with frivlous claims. We completely overlooked the idea of listing these items on other sites or even offering them up on auction sites. So we went back to the drawing board and spent another week taking photos one by one of each item. We uploaded them to whatever auction sites were accepting things like that and slowly but surely were seeing some results for the items. Eventually got a call from someone wanting to offer a lump sum. I won't disclose it for my family members privacy and respect. She accepted it. TLDR: Think outside of the box. eBay isn't always the answer.
Awkward lady 2 years ago
Given the fees that eBay charges, they are quite right. I've stopped selling there now, use local auctions instead.
#27
Networking and asking questions no matter what. Any time you don’t know something you need or want to know, ask someone and figure it out. It’s not embarrassing and even if it is knowledge is power but a lack of knowledge is an obstacle. For instance, I could never seem to get local grant money or anything from the gov for startups. I just randomly asked a guy who I knew did receive some through FB messenger. He turned out to be very helpful and basically walked me through it. Gave me people to talk to that I’d have never found alone, because a lot of this stuff isn’t advertised it’s just done in the know amongst local business. I could have avoided looking like a noob at raising money and never got a dime from the gov but instead I just asked a question and it turned into money. This applies to other things to. Over hear a guy at a Walmart complaining about a fence painting? Ask if they’ll let you paint it. Stuff like that, just a single question can turn into money
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Networking is overrated… It just invite more people with intentions to screw you over.
#28
When you're making money pretend like you're not. All you gotta do is save for a few years. Then you do whatever makes you happy for a business. It takes just a few years of living broke while making money. It's a grind but years down the road it will feel like it went by fast.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
When you’re living paycheck to paycheck… You’re in survival mode, not building wealth. Are you really that f*****g clueless about what most people have to deal with?
#29
Have a wealth strategy:
The hardest path is having a job/career where you are just renting your time to someone else. This is most salaried corporate jobs and hourly pay jobs. To become wealthy doing this long term, you need to rent yourself at a pretty high pay rate and live well below your means for a long, long time, saving and investing well.
More realistically, your career needs to involve building equity in something. That could be starting your own business, or could be getting equity in someone else’s business as part of your compensation. As mentioned before, there’s no need for this to be anything innovative or sexy. Just something you are able and willing to put the effort into to be competitive and make happy customers.
Another way of building equity is having a job with a generous defined retirement/pension program and taking full advantage of it. Cops and teachers, for e.g., while not considered to be particularly wealthy, often have good retirement programs that allow them to retire early (as early as age 50), and draw a pension equal or nearly equal to their salaries when they were working. Private pensions can be risky, because they can be gutted as part of a corporate bankruptcy restructuring. But, depending on your wealth goals (ie. you want to retire early and live comfortably vs. always want to fly 1st class) some state and federal defined pension programs are good ways to go.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Is this Elon Musk or Donald Trump posting this “out of touch with reality “ bull$#it?
#30
TLDR: Cutting cost (cheaper services or products) , Avoid paying Interests, I have earned about the same amount my entire working life except up until about 2019 when my bi monthly income exploded by 1/3 more, or about an extra paycheck. I consider myself not wealthy as in spending like theres no tomorrow but i am 30 years ahead of my peers when it comes to money. House is paid off, golden investment property paying off, extra rental income, Cars have been paid off for the last 7 years. Wife makes enough money to be happy. Only debt is under 6k. 15k in savings in the bank, Pension set to help me retire at 54, Deferred comp set to make me comfortable. Two checks a month that dont go into any bills. (3k) My trick, has always been avoiding paying more than i had too. I remember the moment my strategy flicked on a light bulb. All i did was after 5 years change cellphone providers. I was paying 250-400 for my cellphone bill and wifes. It was frustrating As f**k as it was 24-40% of one of my checks. Then Car insurance being another $250. Then Credit card debt, That's what killed me. Paying $100 dollars a month credit card debt for a year and still only paying off like 40% of the actual debt. When i did the math, i tore up that credit card and paid it off asap. Then NEVER again, took on credit with interest rate. Any time i've had to borrow, its always on 0% for one year and i limit what i borrow to be able to pay it off in that year. My car being the exception, but i got lucky on 2.9% interest rate.
Jane No Dough 2 years ago
Join a Credit Union. Directly deposit even a tiny amount from each pay. After a year most credit unions will let you borrow money for a car at a much lower rate than a dealership. This gives you the power to negotiate a much better price for any car. If the dealership tries to change their offer when it comes time to sign the paperwork, walk out!
Barbara Kelly 2 years ago
I fired my bank years ago after it made an egregious error on my checking account. I joined a credit union; also a hardware store co-op. I appreciate the benefits of both memberships.
Load More Replies...
Šimon Špaček 2 years ago
Cheap things can be bloody expansive, especially tools. Buy cheap drill, in a month you will realize that it is a piece of c**p and you will buy the good one that costs twice as much.
#31
Most people overcomplicate things and they just need to make more money from their job. I see way too many people trying to time the stock market (aka gambling) and falling to fake gurus with get rich quick schemes. They waste time spinning their wheels on the dumbest s**t when it could be aimed a slow but steady approach. Becoming wealthy from nothing is a slow grind for most people. I went from cleaning up garbage for college kids at 30 with an arts degree to taking night classes in tech and 10x'ing my salary in 10 years. Did a Masters in 2.5 years with a 50 hour a week job and very little math/tech knowledge. Grinded how interviews worked, increased my income 2x and went from 50 to 40 hours out of school. Then 2x'ed that at my next job a few years later. Increased my income there 50% in that time due to internal transfer and becoming a senior engineer. THEN job hopped and nearly tripled my income then, so in a span of 7 years I over 10x'ed my income and work less hours. I still make coffee at home and don't get much take-out, but many fall into the trap that that is all they have to do is tighten their belt (you still should though). That $100 you save on coffee is great, but you'll get a lot further making $200k vs $50k.
Lauren S 2 years ago
Missed tip (because he doesn’t say it), often times when you work for a college you get significantly decreased or free rates to also attend. So picking up garbage for college kids and going to school probably meant much less debt for the degree. If you can land a job at a college that has this perk, fabulous. Colleges have maintenance, janitorial services, housekeeping, food prep/servers in cafeteria, landscaping or simply some one that mows their lawn, secretary type jobs, and probably other things I can’t think of that don’t require degrees to do. Respectable service, hands on jobs. But if you do go this route, research what to get a degree in. Not all degrees are useful. Not all fields have demand. So consider what you want to do and what might provide you a stable income. ALSO, is it a field you can advance in? Will there be opportunities for promotions as you’ll need more income over time? If you get an opportunity for an affordable or low cost education use it wisely.
jdtimid123 2 years ago
Would it though? Assuming this person is telling the truth, they are just an average person, who started off on a low income and worked their butt off learn the skills (including networking, which is an art) needed to get into better and better positions. People do it all the time, just because it's easier for some doesn't mean its impossible for everyone else. It may take longer if you aren't willing to devote all your spare time to learning the necessary skills like this person did, but that doesn't mean you can't do it in your lifetime.
Load More Replies... #32
I work with a bunch of people who get paid about two hundred thousand dollars a year to barely ever do anything. So I would recommend doing this too, by joining us in the exciting world of big tech.
The easiest path into big tech is teaching yourself programming. Programming is easy but people convince themselves it's hard because of the way it's portrayed in movies. Working on a team of programmers requires a lot of social skills, but people without social skills keep deciding to become programmers. So if you have even just mediocre social skills, and no programming skills, you'll thrive. All the other entry level people will have actively terrible social skills and no programming skills, and so be worse by comparison. You can actively detract value from the team for years with your terrible programming skills and still get paid anyway. Eventually you will learn to actually program will just by merit of screwing up enough, which is how everyone else also learned to program.
The second easiest path into big tech is being a PM. There are many different kinds of PM (program manager, product manager, producer) but none of them require any actual skills or training. You just have to be confident. If you are a confident person with no other skills or knowledge, you'll thrive as a PM. Just tell the programmers to build what your boss wants them to build, and then wait for them to build it. It's okay if it's not actually valuable; 99% of projects are expected to fail in big tech anyway. You will get paid even if it's all worthless.
The third easiest path is designer. To be a designer you have to dress in a hip way and say things that make people think you know what you're talking about. The programmers and PMs will be annoyed by you but if you dress right they'll believe you're good at your job. You'll probably eventually have to actually cook up some Figma designs, but if the programmers take them and throw them in the garbage can, it's fine. You'll get paid anyway.
But beware of trying to be a visual designer. Making art is fun and it is neat to get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to make art all day, but that job requires actual competence. You have to be better at it than other people, or else everyone will be able to tell and they won't hire you. It's much smarter to be an "experience designer" where no one can tell competence from incompetence, like with PMs and engineers.
All these jobs will make you into a person with millions of dollars in the bank eventually. If you're like 100% of people in big tech, you will insist that you are not actually wealthy and scoff at any suggestion to the contrary. But the people who serving you $9 coffees will be the same people paying you rent after you bought some property to avoid the taxes from your last bonus. So even though you'll never consider yourself wealthy, 99% of other humans on earth will. Plus they won't get paid to just completely f**k off all day. So I highly recommend this path.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
With programming, unless you have your own company, you’re basically a slave to big tech. And they will steal your ideas, incorporate as their own, keep you broke, well, they make millions or billions on your ideas. Look at Elon musk… The man has no skill, but he sure knows how to take from people.
#33
I have a sibling that always worked hard. Then he married his wife. She worked days, he worked nights. On weekends they'd sell snacks and drinks at the ball park. They got jobs stocking trim at Home Depot. They saved. They bought a grease trap business with only one truck. They are now multimillionaires.
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
Sounds like too much hard work. Couldn't he have just married an heiress instead?
#34
Saving and not falling prey to lifestyle creep. I give this example to a lot of the new grad nurses I work with. In my state a new grad nurse makes about $90k. This is enough to live a very comfortable life here (big house, newer cars, etc). Many of them are married to other nurses, so it's not unreasonable to save 50% of your income. If a married par of nurses saved $70k/year (totally possible because I personally did it on a dual nursing salary) for your entire career starting at 20. You'll be a millionaire by 30, have about $3.5m by 40, and if you did it until 60 you'd have roughly $20m
DeoManus Argentem 2 years ago
What's wrong with it? Depends on where you live, of course but it checks out when compounded. $90k for a starting RN is maybe a little high by $5-10k, but super low for a CCRN in my area with a relatively low cost of living compared to cities.
Load More Replies...
VonBlade 2 years ago
Save 70K a year? SEVENTY?! My dude, if I turn off all my electric stuff, disconnect the internet, live on beans on toast and never go out I might, just, at a push, save a grand a year.
Cerridwn d'Wyse 2 years ago
The key was married couple both earning that kind of money. And 90,000 a year for a nurse in California ain't nothing. And even in a lot of other cities they make a whole heck of a lot more than that all it takes is one extra shift at probably double time. Nurses can make money they just have to be smart about it and most of them aren't
Load More Replies... 
#35
Small in comparison to other’s comments, but utilizing a high yield savings account, and setting up monthly transfers (no matter how small!) to automatically pull into savings or investing. If it’s already gone I don’t miss it, but if it’s there I often spend it!
Zophra 2 years ago (edited)
USA - show me a high yield saving account. Looked it up: 0.42% APY Edit: I am wrong.
Roginald 2 years ago
I looked it up just today and there are many out there now paying 4.75%. I've been making 3.5% for months now on one.
Load More Replies... #36
Overlooked ways to make money?
I think mostly people overlook ways to make money is by limiting beliefs.
“I need money to make money”
“I need a programmer to develop this idea”
“I need an investor”
“I’m not smart enough”
“I’m not qualified”.
I’m a high school dropout, and I knew I wanted to be rich since I was 11. Took me till 26yo to make my first million.
What I did was I wrote 100 ideas for making money. Then picked the 10 best ideas.
My criteria was:
- ideas I believe can make over $1m/yr
- ideas I can execute on my own, or learn the skills needed to do so
- ideas that require no money (or affordable for my broke a*s without risking food or rent)
- ideas that can be done in the amount of time I had (had a day job most of the time)
Out of the 10 ideas 8 ended up not fitting the criteria in real life, and 2 failed.
Write another 100 ideas, picked 10, they were better than the last 10, but they still mostly failed.
Repeat.
I ended up starting about 80 projects (=ideas picked out of long lists), until I found one that I was able to pull off. I counted once, I think it was 83 ideas that failed (due to being bad ideas, me f*****g up execution, or bad luck).
Perseverance is key. Might even be the only trait that is actually a must.
rob 2 years ago
Who financially supported you though while you were going to 83 failed attempts?
Anna Drever 2 years ago
They mentioned they had a day job most of the time, which is a good idea since things don’t always go according to plan. 🙂
Load More Replies... 
MadOrca99 2 years ago
“I staged my death, had a friend sell someone else’s kidneys, then moved to a different state with a different identity on foot. I never use anything where the government can track me, and I robbed a bank to pay for plastic surgery”. - Some drunk idiot who got high on LSD
Load More Replies... #37
Don’t forget the passive income sources. If you can invest in small real estate when you’re young and rent it out, and then sell it for equity, reparar for 20 years, you’ll have several hundred thousand extra just out there making retirement money for you. But in the meantime at your day job, you still need to work your a*s off.
Oleksandr Miliukov 2 years ago
ok, I'm young, I have $1,50 to spare. What real estate should I look for?
Lauren S 2 years ago
Have you considered renting a shoebox to a nice family of mice? Well actually, shoes cost quite a bit more than that…
Load More Replies... Ima Manimal 2 years ago
I’m living paycheck to paycheck… Explain to me how this is a lucrative opportunity. Because I don’t want to work my a*s off.
Lucille 2 2 years ago (edited)
Do you like photography? Get into micro stock photography! My portfolio is really small but I probably make $40-$50 a month, and the only work I do is uploading and key wording the pics once. After learning what makes a good stock photo, I always shoot some “stock-style” photos whenever I’m out with my camera :) if I had more photos in my stock accounts I’d make more money!
#38
My brother's best friend went on a full ride academic scholarship to an ivy league school for engineering, started working immediately out of university, with a plan to retire at 40. Bought a cheap condo inland San Diego, never did a single update in 15 yrs. Sold it for a small fortune. While he lived there (and I paid rent for a room), he used rags to wipe his butt, one single sponge to do dishes, wash counter top, clean floor/messes. Had only a couch in the living room. All that was in his bedroom was a twin mattress and a lamp, both on the floor, with a book called "How to Retire at 40" or something. He worked and vacationed in Indonesia, Bali, and other cheap islands. He retired completely at 40 and bought some land and a hut in Thailand and has lived there the last 10 yrs, runs an animal rescue out of his farm with his wife.
Anna Drever 2 years ago
Being frugal doesn’t mean having nothing. The minimal furniture means you’re living in a depressing jail. Upcycle second hand furniture. Still cheap and usually better quality than new mass produced goods.
#39
Not me, but my father’s word You literally cannot be rich without working hard. And don’t expect it to happen in a few months. It will take many years. And you gotta create your business to at least get millions. Work hard. Nothing will come if you aint working hard
albernistuff 4sale 2 years ago
They get rich by getting OTHERS to work hard on their behalf.
Load More Replies...
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
I’m sorry, but that’s complete b******t. I know people who have busted their asses… And nothing to show for it. You’re clueless.
#40
The best way to build wealth is to fill a gap in knowledge between two parties. This can be a buyer and seller, a service provider and a client, or any number of arbitrage schemes. Acting as a middle-man in these knowledge gaps is how people get wealthy.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
No. Right now in business, everybody is trying to cut out the middleman… Because the middleman is nothing but a mooch.
#41
I'm on a good track these days so thought I'd join in the convo. One thing I have found in my business is how often folks hire others to do things that could possibly be learned with a bit of time & effort. I.e. paying for a web designer vs learning how to maximize an existing template. Learning about SEO & Google business analytics to make your business more easily visible in searches. Creating your own system for scheduling vs paying a ton for a scheduling platform. It takes time and effort, but it's really easy to outsource aspects of your business, when in fact you can save a ton by trying to learn as many aspects of business infrastructure as possible. And in case the math isn't obvious. Fewer expenses = more money
Ima Manimal 2 years ago (edited)
So, you can save a s**t ton of money by not hiring professionally trained people, get some poor ones and teach them a little bit, and then pay them in pennies… And it’s supposed to be a win-win situation. And then act all surprised when the poor trainees don’t measure up to those who have gotten degrees for the same s**t that you’ve tried to cheap out on.
#42
Investing in real estate. Buy one property then you can escalate it to several others.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Never mind that the housing market completely sucks, real estate market completely sucks, and Airbnb is out of control, and the greedy or getting greedier
Barbara Kelly 2 years ago
You need more money to maintain the property as a landlord, or to fix it up and flip it, in the escalation process. If not, you're stuck with a depreciating asset.
Oleksandr Miliukov 2 years ago
yeah, sure, I can honestly tell about the source of each of mine millions, except the first one
#43
1. Spend like you’re still broke (no big vacations, no fancy restaurants, etc.) 2. One well paying job is fantastic. Two means you’re exhausted but retiring a decade early. 3. Learn about the stock market and proper money management. 4. Finding a “side hustle” that is both needed in your area and lucrative is a damn good move if you aren’t working two jobs. 5. Lastly, consider work-from-home for multiple companies. If you are working from home and find yourself wasting half your day, get a second position doing the same thing with another company.
Mav Mav 2 years ago
what if both companies ask you to do different things at the same time? have you really thought this through?
A. Starhawk Hunt 2 years ago
also can be considered conflict of interest if you are working with two similar companies doing the same thing. That is something most companies will not allow and will cause them to let you go if they find out......which, they will.
Load More Replies... Jane No Dough 2 years ago (edited)
Takeaway: No matter what you do, do not get married or have a family! Work every minute you can until that one trip to the hospital wipes out all your savings.
#44
I don’t consider myself wealthy - but as an IT Consultant, i was an employee, and earning “ok” money.
I left and started my own business - only me, freelance and contract IT guy - no plans to hire staff or expand - but I’m still 2.5x my prior salary.
I’ve been in IT for 30 years, and know my stuff. Not an overnight success.
Anyhoo - the only way to earn GREAT money is to run a business.
You won’t EVER get wealthy as an employee.
EDIT : As a manager or higher-up in a big company, partner in a law firm - YES, can make good money.
I’ve gone solo / self employed - and earning CEO money. Essentially taking ALL the fee earning $, without any management levels above.
Simply answer - work hard, don’t think about the money, and it will come…
Display Name 2 years ago
Exactly. You can't become wealthy as an employee because your job is to make someone else wealthy. You have to be the person the people work for, not the person who works for the people.
Lucille 2 2 years ago
And that’s why not everyone can be wealthy - we need the employees :( if only we could come up with a better system, at least one where the employees creating all the value and wealth for the owner aren’t stuck being “working poor” :(
Load More Replies... Ima Manimal 2 years ago (edited)
They said “anyhoo”. I’m so incredibly sorry, but I cannot take you seriously anymore.
#45
Download a stock app. Buy apple. Thank yourself in 10 years
In today's digital age, the internet is often seen as a treasure trove of financial wisdom, much like the plethora of support systems available for diverse parental challenges, including those faced by single mothers. However, the allure of instant solutions, whether for financial gain or social support, can sometimes lead to unreasonable demands, echoing sentiments discussed in the article about the 'Single Mom Is Not a Coupon Code' group.
For deeper insights into finding balance and appropriate methods of reaching out for help, exploring strategies that involve wise community engagement could be beneficial.
Explore more of these tags
What do you think ?
Nicole Brookus 2 years ago (edited)
We of Gen X had to deal with the Great Recession and it was no picnic, but it's harder now. There is too much advice here that assumes people in their 20-'s and even 30's have been dealt the same deck. Yes, anyone who isn't already should start saving anything they could even if it's $5 a month, and stop spending money on expensive non-essentials. But it's not a cure. Those of us in our 40's and 50's that had it a bit better need to vote for better policies and if you own a business for heavens sake pay an actual living wage.
albernistuff 4sale 2 years ago
A lot of the 'successful' people who posted here suffer from the same "survivor bias" that folks blame boomer for. Just because they were able to start with enough income to be able to afford to scrimp and save, and get the their investments rolling, doesn't mean the playing field is level. Sudden injury? savings gone. Single parent who has to kept lights on and food on table? I am one of GenX who has managed to actually 'level-up' and I am NOT complaining about my own situation. What grinds my gears is the fact that so many of these postings are self-congratulatory essays that basically blame the impoverished person for their own poverty.
Lauren S 2 years ago (edited)
This list is not for every income bracket. Here would be my best advice: 1) Clearly define wants vs needs, what expenses are basic living expenses? Rent or mortgage - need, but living in crappier areas or in smaller apartments/houses may help lower this cost. Utilities - need, not a lot of ways around this one. Cellphone - kind of a need, but you can get less fancy phones and not use data, only wifi. TV - complete want but also a big source of joy for people, tons of options, cable is insane so pick one or two affordable streaming services and if you miss out on some series, you miss out. Food - need, but there are ways to reduce this too, give up brand loyalty, combine coupons with store deals, and check the price per unit, bigger is not always cheaper, store brand is not always cheaper, stop and do the math, the little bits add up. Eating out, eating organic (sorry), eating fancy meats - all wants. Gas/transportation/car payment - need, but don’t get the fancy pretty car, (1/4)
Lauren S 2 years ago (edited)
Research reliable cars to try to cut down on unexpected costs. Don’t forget to include car insurance. Clothing - need, but try places like Ross or discount stores. We did some of my kids clothes at thrift stores because a) he wasn’t going to wear it long b) he was too little for him or peers to care about brands. So if you can’t stomach thrift stores, places like Ross. Idk what category they are so some one help me out because I’m sure this isn’t global. Do you really need multiple pairs of sneakers? Keep work shoes neutral to match more colors (gray or tan work better than navy or black). But don’t skimp on bras if you are at all top heavy, but take care to hand wash or gentle cycle wash them to last longer. Im sure I’m missing things but my brain is done at the moment… 2) Only use credit cards like debit cards, or don’t use them at all. When you have no cushion for emergencies, we tend to fall to credit cards to save us, but in the long run it screws you. (2/4)
Load More Replies... Blarrg 2 years ago
There seems to be a pattern on this thread. Many high-ranked suggestions are sarcasm, "Make sure your parents give you tons of money," or "Make meaningless effort to save and suddenly become rich." Others are actual practical suggestions made by people who have successfully applied them, and almost invariably the top comment is an explanation of why the suggestion won't work. Your situation is what it is; you can do things that will make it better or worse. Will it make you rich? Probably not, but you can make it better. Or convince yourself it won't make a difference, so don't even try. I am blown away by the fatalism. And anticipate getting downvoted and getting fatalistic replies.
Binky Melnik 2 years ago
Ah. I posted my comment about disappointment with nearly everyone shooting down nearly every single useful suggestion, but you said it a lot better than I did. I shoulda checked t see whether someone else opted about it first. Way to go, @Blarrg!
Load More Replies... Shelli Aderman 2 years ago
About four of these were hilarious, and made me laugh, which was nice! The rest? Captain obvious announcements from those who just don’t understand how the world actually works, alas. Made me angry to read these, to be honest!
Lyone Fein 2 years ago
OK. I think some of the best ways to get out of poverty are to go to a two year school, like a Community College or Tech College. Get training in a field like nursing, computer programming, plumbing, electrical work, HVAC, car repair, or one of the other trades. And then get your certifications lined up, and get a job in your field. These are all great paying fields and all in demand. You can either work for someone else or be your own boss in so many of these trades. One way to find out what trades will be in demand in the future is to follow the news. Are there major companies building new centers in your city/state? Will they need lab technicians? Electrical engineers? Etc. Accountants? Another way to find out about future business demands is to make an appointment with a career counselor at a local Community College. Many businesses and industries partner with this type of school to establish training programs. So you want to find out about programs exist.
Lyone Fein 2 years ago
2 to 3 years is not such a long haul. And then it is easy to begin implementing many of the suggestions on this list. BTW, you can also get an MSW in 2 years if you care to become a counselor. But that pays cr4p. Ha.
Load More Replies... Ima Manimal 2 years ago
This whole list has been a clueless s**t show. Just be lucky. Have rich parents. Be an a*****e. Be a cheater. Get over the douche bag mindset and just be as greedy as you want to be.
Nicole Brookus 2 years ago (edited)
We of Gen X had to deal with the Great Recession and it was no picnic, but it's harder now. There is too much advice here that assumes people in their 20-'s and even 30's have been dealt the same deck. Yes, anyone who isn't already should start saving anything they could even if it's $5 a month, and stop spending money on expensive non-essentials. But it's not a cure. Those of us in our 40's and 50's that had it a bit better need to vote for better policies and if you own a business for heavens sake pay an actual living wage.
albernistuff 4sale 2 years ago
A lot of the 'successful' people who posted here suffer from the same "survivor bias" that folks blame boomer for. Just because they were able to start with enough income to be able to afford to scrimp and save, and get the their investments rolling, doesn't mean the playing field is level. Sudden injury? savings gone. Single parent who has to kept lights on and food on table? I am one of GenX who has managed to actually 'level-up' and I am NOT complaining about my own situation. What grinds my gears is the fact that so many of these postings are self-congratulatory essays that basically blame the impoverished person for their own poverty.
Lauren S 2 years ago (edited)
This list is not for every income bracket. Here would be my best advice: 1) Clearly define wants vs needs, what expenses are basic living expenses? Rent or mortgage - need, but living in crappier areas or in smaller apartments/houses may help lower this cost. Utilities - need, not a lot of ways around this one. Cellphone - kind of a need, but you can get less fancy phones and not use data, only wifi. TV - complete want but also a big source of joy for people, tons of options, cable is insane so pick one or two affordable streaming services and if you miss out on some series, you miss out. Food - need, but there are ways to reduce this too, give up brand loyalty, combine coupons with store deals, and check the price per unit, bigger is not always cheaper, store brand is not always cheaper, stop and do the math, the little bits add up. Eating out, eating organic (sorry), eating fancy meats - all wants. Gas/transportation/car payment - need, but don’t get the fancy pretty car, (1/4)
Lauren S 2 years ago (edited)
Research reliable cars to try to cut down on unexpected costs. Don’t forget to include car insurance. Clothing - need, but try places like Ross or discount stores. We did some of my kids clothes at thrift stores because a) he wasn’t going to wear it long b) he was too little for him or peers to care about brands. So if you can’t stomach thrift stores, places like Ross. Idk what category they are so some one help me out because I’m sure this isn’t global. Do you really need multiple pairs of sneakers? Keep work shoes neutral to match more colors (gray or tan work better than navy or black). But don’t skimp on bras if you are at all top heavy, but take care to hand wash or gentle cycle wash them to last longer. Im sure I’m missing things but my brain is done at the moment… 2) Only use credit cards like debit cards, or don’t use them at all. When you have no cushion for emergencies, we tend to fall to credit cards to save us, but in the long run it screws you. (2/4)
Load More Replies... Blarrg 2 years ago
There seems to be a pattern on this thread. Many high-ranked suggestions are sarcasm, "Make sure your parents give you tons of money," or "Make meaningless effort to save and suddenly become rich." Others are actual practical suggestions made by people who have successfully applied them, and almost invariably the top comment is an explanation of why the suggestion won't work. Your situation is what it is; you can do things that will make it better or worse. Will it make you rich? Probably not, but you can make it better. Or convince yourself it won't make a difference, so don't even try. I am blown away by the fatalism. And anticipate getting downvoted and getting fatalistic replies.
Binky Melnik 2 years ago
Ah. I posted my comment about disappointment with nearly everyone shooting down nearly every single useful suggestion, but you said it a lot better than I did. I shoulda checked t see whether someone else opted about it first. Way to go, @Blarrg!
Load More Replies... Shelli Aderman 2 years ago
About four of these were hilarious, and made me laugh, which was nice! The rest? Captain obvious announcements from those who just don’t understand how the world actually works, alas. Made me angry to read these, to be honest!
Lyone Fein 2 years ago
OK. I think some of the best ways to get out of poverty are to go to a two year school, like a Community College or Tech College. Get training in a field like nursing, computer programming, plumbing, electrical work, HVAC, car repair, or one of the other trades. And then get your certifications lined up, and get a job in your field. These are all great paying fields and all in demand. You can either work for someone else or be your own boss in so many of these trades. One way to find out what trades will be in demand in the future is to follow the news. Are there major companies building new centers in your city/state? Will they need lab technicians? Electrical engineers? Etc. Accountants? Another way to find out about future business demands is to make an appointment with a career counselor at a local Community College. Many businesses and industries partner with this type of school to establish training programs. So you want to find out about programs exist.
Lyone Fein 2 years ago
2 to 3 years is not such a long haul. And then it is easy to begin implementing many of the suggestions on this list. BTW, you can also get an MSW in 2 years if you care to become a counselor. But that pays cr4p. Ha.
Load More Replies... Ima Manimal 2 years ago
This whole list has been a clueless s**t show. Just be lucky. Have rich parents. Be an a*****e. Be a cheater. Get over the douche bag mindset and just be as greedy as you want to be.
You May Like 97 Frugal Living Tips To Get More Bang For Your Buck 56 Tips On Finance To Make Better Money-Related Decisions 95 Dumb Things To Spend Money On, As Shared By People In This Online Thread
Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė
Larysa Perih
Aivaras Kaziukonis
Related on Bored Panda
