By Dr. James M. Dahle, WCI Founder
When I first wrote this post in 2016, it dawned on me that we were finally rich. It wasn't a huge surprise. As a resident, we made a plan to get rich. We then followed it. It was a good plan, and it worked. In fact, it worked a little faster than we had expected, but even if it hadn't, we would have gotten rich eventually. As I look back, there were a few rules that we followed that seemed to make a big difference.
Let's discuss them today—the four rules I followed to get wealthy.
4 Rules to Getting Rich
#1 Always Pay Cash
Credit and credit cards are pretty easy to get. In fact, the wealthier you get, the more credit that becomes available to you. For instance, I certainly expect to put six figures on a credit card this year since all of our taxes and most of our expenses now go on there. However, ever since medical school graduation, we have made a habit—a rule even—of always paying cash for whatever we want. Sure, it might run through a credit card, but that credit card is paid on the due date before any interest charges occur. If we need a car, we see how much cash we have, and we either buy a car with that amount of money or we wait and save up some more. We paid cash for vacations, appliances, home improvements, and even a fancy wakeboat. If we didn't have the cash, that meant to us that we could not afford it. So, we didn't buy it.
This even applied to our education. I was kind of dumb as a freshman and took out a $5,000 loan. But after that, I worked my way through undergraduate to cover my living expenses and busted my butt to maintain my tuition scholarship. My wife also had some small scholarships and some family college savings, and she worked her entire way through undergraduate. When we hit medical/graduate school, I signed on with the military to pay for school, and she worked as a teaching assistant. We both took other jobs during school to avoid accumulating more debt. I suppose we made an exception for buying homes, but even there, we saved up a 20% cash down payment and then paid more than we had to toward the homes. The White Coat Investor, LLC was bootstrapped. It has never had any debt. That's tough to do with many businesses but not this one. I never added expenses before I had the income to pay for them.
This mindset of always paying cash saves interest and mostly curbs our desire to spend more than we should. We spend less because we're spending cash, and the difference between what we earn and what we spend has made us wealthy.
#2 Always Max Out Retirement Accounts
This rule is a commitment we actually wrote into our Investing Personal Statement. Ever since residency, I have been a student of retirement accounts. Eventually, I was asked to write the chapter on IRAs for The Bogleheads Guide to Retirement. I've learned all about them, and I am well aware of their massive benefits. But aside from the tax and asset protection benefits, a commitment to always max them out forces one to do a couple of things. First, you have to prioritize retirement savings, delaying the purchase of other items. Retirement savings contributions have deadlines that must be met, but that new car does not. Second, you pay a lot less in taxes, money which then goes toward building further wealth.
We maxed out our retirement accounts when that total was $6,000 in residency. We continue to max them out now, even as the yearly total is well into six figures (a 401(k)/PSP, two individual 401(k)s, DBP, Backdoor Roth IRAs, HSA, etc.). Will we max them out forever? Who knows, but it's been a good idea for the last decade and a half.
#3 Own Stuff
The real key to wealth/financial independence is to own stuff, and when I say stuff, I mean stuff that makes you richer, like businesses. For example, when I came out of the military, it was very important to me to join an emergency medicine group where I would be a partner, i.e., an owner. There is additional risk and hassle to doing that. We have to do our own hiring and firing. Contracts have to be made, billing and benefits companies have to be chosen, and competitors have to be fought off. But when a business does well, those who own it do well, whereas the employees get what their contract says they get. If your contract pays you $15,000 a month, but your business generates $25,000 after expenses for one month, that additional $10,000 goes to the owner of the business. I've had a lot of “extra $10,000 months” over the last several years since I made partner, and it has made a big difference in our financial state.
An entrepreneurial approach to life can really pay big dividends. When someone hires your company, they evaluate it by the amount of value you can provide to them. If the price you charge is less than the value, they'll hire you. But that price can be way higher than what it really costs you to provide that service due to your systems, connections, or knowledge. Some businesses (like a website) are inherently scalable. Most of those who become very wealthy own their own business (preferably one that makes money while they're asleep).
Owning your home can also pay big dividends. Of course, there are times in life when it is better to rent than own, but in the long run, a homeowner eventually ends up with a valuable, paid-off asset that generally keeps up with inflation and pays dividends that I like to call “free rent.” A small but significant chunk of our wealth is the equity in our home.
Owning stuff also reduces cash flow issues. If you have a rent payment, mortgage payment, or a car payment, you've got to generate the (after-tax) income to make those payments. That money cannot be going toward building wealth.
When we look at investments, we prefer investments that allow us to own businesses (i.e., stocks and real estate) rather than investments that promise a more limited, fixed return such as bonds or insurance policies. Those who wish to become wealthy need to be reasonably aggressive in their investments. A lifetime investing program consisting of CDs and whole life insurance better be coupled with a great income and a high savings rate if you hope for it to succeed.
#4 Start Giving It Away Now
There is an interesting characteristic I have noticed among many, but obviously not all, wealthy people. They give money away. Many are religious and believe that God blesses them with more prosperity in return for their generosity. Whether or not that is true, there is definitely a mindset change when you stop looking at money as belonging to you.
A “stewardship mentality”—where you view the money as belonging to God, society, or your family—changes your worldview such that you manage your money better and curb your desire to spend on yourself. The more people you help, the richer you seem to be—not necessarily because you earn more money, but because you spend less. The act of becoming more charitable also makes you a better person that other people want to be around. When they want to be around you, they are more likely to want to do business with you, and your business does better. You are also happier (from serving others), and thus, you need less “spending therapy” in a quest for happiness.
We have always given away a significant chunk of our income as a “tithe.” We make significant donations to our church, the local homeless shelter, the local food bank—and smaller donations to other charitable groups (we've even asked for suggestions from our readers). If you do not currently give away any of your money, consider doing so this year and see if it changes how you earn, save, and spend. It may make you happier and wealthier, too. While giving money away at your death is also a wonderful thing, I think it is a bit of a cop-out. At that point, you're not giving away your money; you're just choosing different heirs.
Even beyond charity, we're already giving money to our kids (always balancing our desire to keep them from taking on unnecessary debt with our desire to avoid economic outpatient syndrome) and our nieces and nephews. Giving can be just as fun as spending or saving.
None of these rules are mandatory to become wealthy. However, I think they each have had a significant role in our pathway toward financial independence. Consider implementing one or more of them if you wish to arrive at the same place.
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What do you think? Which of these rules do you follow? Do you think following these rules can actually make you wealthier? Why or why not? Comment below!
[This updated post was originally published in 2016.]
Interestingly we started maxing out all of our retirement accounts last year, which was also when we started donating some more. You would think we should have less money to give after maxing out our accounts but that hasn’t been the case.
Giving away money is selfish in a way because we all like that fuzzy “we did good” feeling. But it’s much more beneficial to get that feeling from helping others than it is from helping yourself to a new BMW.
When possible fnd your ret plan as early in the yr as possible
BUY YOUR CARS, certified used
Couple comments:
1. How do you define “rich”? There are many ways people define it and I’m always interested in their thoughts. Is it a specific number? If so, will you give us at least a hint at it? 🙂
2. LOVE your thoughts on giving. We have given throughout our net worth climb and have seen the paradox in our lives — the more you give to help others, the more you yourself benefit financially,
I leave it purposely vague for you to interpret. Certainly having investable assets of 25 times your annual expenses qualifies in my book, although others put rich at some number higher than financially independent. In my view, you’re certainly rich, wealthy, and comfortable by the time you no longer have to work for money.
implementing all four, and starting the kids off with the steps as well. Thank you for a clear and concise document that I can share with them.
Nice post. One huge benefit of following rules like yours is what it teaches your children. Ours have learned more by watching us than anything we ever said. We instilled from a very young age that being rich is a responsibility. It is fun to watch my twenty somethings navigate their finances by their interpretation of our rules now.
Nice post also. I too am fascinated by the different definitions of rich, high net worth investor, and wealthy. I think this really varies based on where you live. Wealthy is a tough achievement for docs in SF or NYC but easier in rural or small town areas. What is your definition of rich WCI, Dr. Mom. and Ken? Others feel free to post as well.
That’s the bazillion dollar question, huh? (It’s why I asked) 🙂
A few thoughts:
1. It could be a net worth in the upper tiers of American averages. Granted, those numbers are usually pretty dismal, but statistically speaking you’d be rich compared to most others.
2. It could be total financial freedom — enough to live on and not work at all.
3. “Rich” could be more of a feeling, a contentment with life, and could happen at almost any net worth or income level.
For me, I’d say I’ve been “rich” as defined by #3 for most of my life. Very thankful indeed.
As for a financial number, I felt “rich” once I hit $1 million in net worth (for whatever reason). At that point I started working on a path to total financial freedom (#2) and felt “really rich” when I hit that. 🙂
Happiness and contentment are not guaranteed by income or net worth. Total financial freedom meaning not having to work does not guarantee happiness either but it is a really good place to be. I think the definition of wealthy and happiness are very different for different people. What makes me happy is different from what makes you happy. What I consider to be wealthy is a different number from others. It is an interesting concept.
In some ways I’ve felt rich ever since graduating medical school. We’ve always felt like we had much more income than we actually needed. Certainly when I became an attending making the grand sum of $120K we felt we had money coming out of our ears. But I would generally define rich as net worth number, rather than an income.
Rich is simply having enough. We each get to decide what enough is. Money and finance are a small part of it to me. Reminds me of the Forest Gump quote about how not worrying about money is just one less thing…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNa4EMUWnAc.
P.S. Hatton check your email!
sorry. Dr. Mom check your email too
It seems strange to me that ‘rich’ in the financial sense is still commonly defined as having $1M. This was the common definition 30 yrs ago when I was a kid too.
Is this because it’s a nice, round number? Does that justify forgetting about inflation? Or is it because average debt is higher now so it doesn’t take as much purchasing power to seem rich compared to everyone else?
Plenty of food for thought.
I think a lot of it is the round number issue and the (now mostly historical) concept of “millionaire.” But having a net worth of a million still gets you way up there percentage-wise in the US and especially in the world.
Freedom from disability.
As in having ability to be able to handle “vicissitudes” of life with a smile and without losing one’s humanity == rich.
Shorter version. Happy = rich.
I’ll feel rich when I can drop my disability and life insurance policies without worrying about my family.
Living in metro NYC one needs about 4 million in retirement plus SS; more so now in this interest rate environment
that should guarantee a nice stress free retirement and probably leave a nice inheritance
in retirement your expenses are much lower generally
I like your comments, White Coat Investor… Also wholeheartedly agree with your logic and sentiments.
Three related comments:
1. I don’t actually think generosity or charity makes you richer… Lots of rich people aren’t generous. (Some are of course…) But maybe generosity and charity makes us feel richer? I mean, maybe it helps us avoid the hedonic adaption trap where even though we have more and more, we just get number and number to the wealth?
2. Related to comment #1, I find myself also wondering if paradoxically your “use cash” tactic keeps your consumption moderated and so means you live a more “normal” life and so also automatically avoid some hedonic adaption? Hadn’t thought of that before, but now I wonder… You feel rich–and you should! But some people with your income and wealth don’t.
3. A final comment: I totally think most people should focus on using tax-deferred retirement accounts to build wealth, but as I talked about in the blog post here, the IRS tax return data that’s available suggests two interesting things… One that rich people don’t use tax deferred retirement accounts as much as they should… Two that they absolutely do own their own businesses:
http://evergreensmallbusiness.com/smart-wealth-strategies-of-the-one-percent/
I don’t have any data that shows that givers have higher net worth. It would not surprise me if it were true. What I am sure about, however, is that givers FEEL richer.
http://news.nationalpost.com/life/poor-people-donate-more-money-than-upper-middle-class-feel-wealthier-studies-show
But if you don’t want to give any of your money away, that’s fine with me. Doesn’t bother me a bit. Spend your money in whatever way you think will maximize your happiness.
I know from personal experience and observation that charitable giving increases wealth and have social and religious reasons for thinking that is right. There are studies showing it too though. The following is from Professor Raj’s course from the India School of Business:
“Adam Grant, a Wharton professor, has reviewed a lot of research on the impact of generosity and success, and he has found that it is the generous and helpful people who end up being more successful in their professions.
You may find this difficult to believe, so I’m going to summarize the findings for us in the next video. But just to give you a little bit of a flavor for what the findings show, consider this findings by the economist Arthur Brooks.
Brooks analyzed data from over 30,000 Americans, and here is what he found. He found that for every additional dollar that somebody earns, giving to charity went up by 14 cents. Not bad. This study says that people are kinder when they are richer. The more the money they get, on average, people are willing to spend about 14% of their extra earnings on charity.
But here is something even more amazing. For every dollar donated, income goes up by $3.75.
This is such an astounding finding that I think it’s worth repeating. For every additional dollar that you earn, you donate 14 cents more to charity. But for every additional dollar that you donate, you earn $3 and 75 cents more. Here is how Adam Grant summarizes his finding in his book. Surprising as it seems, people who give more go on to earn more.”
Correlation is not causation. I think you’d have a hard time proving that worked. Try it. Give away this year’s earnings and see if your income goes up 4 times!
The professor’s quote confinued
“Does this mean that you’re likely to become really, really rich and successful if you donate all your money to charity? Clearly, the answer is no. Giving indiscriminately is also not such a good thing for either happiness or success. What this means as I mentioned briefly in the last video is that you need to be smart about giving. You need to make sure that you don’t become what Adam Grant calls a selfless giver, someone who’s so indiscriminate about giving that you end up hurting yourself and burning out. What you want to be instead is what Adam Grant calls an otherish giver, someone who protects your own self-interest even as you’re focused on helping other people.
It turns out that it is the otherish givers who end up being most successful in life, not just in their careers but also successful in terms of helping other people because they don’t burn out. “
OK, any tips on how you coordinate paying taxes with credit cards? I am paying 15k quarterly this year and am intrigued. Did you need to apply for special credit cards that allow for that large of a credit limit?
Is there a penalty for paying federal tax with credit cards?
Umm… You pay 15k per quarter in taxes and the credit card companies aren’t tearing down your door to get you 25k and larger limits? I have a 25k limit on mine and probably make a fraction of what you do. I don’t have a ton of credit cards but none of them are lower than 15k limit. What is your highest limit? When was the last time you got a card or credit increase (if you say “residency”, then your due for an increase, just be super diligent about paying it off) If you have decent credit then you should ask for a credit increase from one of them … Or get a new card… Wci did a post about good credit cards not too long ago
You’re paying $60K in taxes a year and you don’t have a credit card with a limit of more than $15K? Time to call your credit card company and ask for a higher limit.
The cost, as written here, is 1.87%. Since I get 2% back, I come out ahead. https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/two-unique-ways-to-make-money-with-your-credit-card/
I might seems contrarian, but I don’t think the truly wealthy people use those retirement accounts as much as us- i.e . upper middle class folks- highly salaried docs/attorneys etc.. Those tax-sheltered accounts keep tiny portions of our yearly W-2 earnings protected from taxes.
Truly wealthy people reinvest their cash flows back into their businesses-capital expenditures, growing their revenue at a higher clip in any market-bear-bull-camel :))- than what we expect (and hope) our diversified market investments will bring us.
IRS data confirm your suspicion… the wealthy don’t seem to utilize tax-deferred accounts as much as you expect… nor as much as they should.
I think you are right, but it’s probably due to ratios. If I make 250k and can pit 50k into retirement accounts I’m set. But if I make a million or even millions then I need something else to use for retirement as the normal retirement limits are not going to suffice.
Its also not really making a big deal to your tax savings, nor are you likely to be in a different tax bracket upon retirement. Given the hassle of some of these accounts compared to taxable, and the basically zero benefit they get from it, they simply choose not to participate in them, which seems pretty rational.
I don’t know what to think. The IRS data that’s available suggest one in four rich people don’t even participate… and that seems like missed opportunity if only for asset protection reasons and worst case scenarios.
And then the balances don’t really seem very high, period, compared to what you can do even with simply maxing IRAs and 401(k)s. As shown below, a one percenter per the table I put in one of the blog posts I did about this has maybe $500K-ish in his or her retirement accounts. That seems, er, less than optimal.
Sorry about the formatting, but the data shows wealth ranges, % of people who use a retirement plan, and then mean balances:
Under $2 million in gross assets 78.17% $326,225
$2 million to $3.5 million in gross assets 75.00% $552,843
$3.5 million to $5 million in gross assets 76.10% $769,657
$5 million to $10 million in gross assets 76.22% $1,044,436
$10 million to $20 million in gross assets 73.28% $1,334,871
$20 million or more in gross assets 72.73% $2,298,917
I’m not going to provide a link to my actual blog post which explains and sources this data here because I’ve already posted one link, but if someone wants the full write-up, they can use earlier comment’s link and poke around about 4 seconds for the discussion of “Money Mistakes.”
Ill check for your post. I guess when I was thinking about wealthy folks and 401k I was assuming still youngish with assets >10million. It does seem odd for some of your lower numbers.
For those higher I assume they have trusts and other legally protected structures for asset protection otherwise it makes even less sense. Interesting stuff as always.
I think “rich” is a very subjective answer. If you ask most people they think something higher than what they have is rich. Even the person with a net worth of $5 million thinks the family with $10 million is actually rich. I think this is all nonsense because there will always be someone with more money and cooler toys.
Therefor the goal shouldn’t be “rich” The goal should be to becoming financially secure. I think having the first step to financial security is having enough money to dictate your own life. Although $1 million is not enough for my current lifestyle, with $1 million I can technically downsize and never work another day in my life. Sell my home, move into something smaller, and take less fancy vacations. Instead I make a choice to work. Maybe not as hard or as much, but the goal is to keep increasing that nest egg to not only meet the current lifestyle, but to exceed it.
Giving money away to churches does not make you more money. It makes you feel good for doing something good for society, but that mantra that money given to God will come back in multiples is how evangelical TV personalities separate money from the poor and ignorant while making themselves rich. God is all powerful and has no need for money. Churches on the other hand are becoming more and more expensive with their massive ornate buildings and jumbotron TVs. I will never ever ever donate a single dollar to a religious organization. I have no issues donating to other non denominational charities.
“Giving money away to churches does not make you more money. It makes you feel good for doing something good for society, but that mantra that money given to God will come back in multiples is how evangelical TV personalities separate money from the poor and ignorant while making themselves rich. God is all powerful and has no need for money. Churches on the other hand are becoming more and more expensive with their massive ornate buildings and jumbotron TVs. I will never ever ever donate a single dollar to a religious organization. I have no issues donating to other non denominational charities.”
Well said, +1
Kinda weird you’re so fervently against people voluntarily donating their own money to fund charities they believe in and creatute comforts inside buildings they spend a great deal of time in. God forbid these same docs do pro bono work out of a nice office too.
Its mathematically factual that giving to charity does not increase ones wealth. This is indisputable. Often on finance sites people cite giving to charity to reduce taxes, etc…or like the above, even though while it may reduce taxes, its doesnt improve ones wealth. Neither does giving what could be invested in yourself or the market.
That doesnt make it wrong or right, but its not some crazy thing that people point out the obvious. Its everyones personal choice to put money where they want, good for them. WCI realizes these nuances and does his best to make that clear in the post I thought.
Please read my entire post. I am not against donating to charities. I am against donating to make religious organizations and their staff richer.
God has no use for money. Money is a man made invention.
Obviously, I would encourage you to only support charitable organizations whose missions you agree with. If you don’t believe religious organizations such as churches are good stewards of your money, then don’t give money to them.
I think most religious people who tithe would agree with your statement that God does not need your money but would argue that in order for you to become what God would have you become, you need to learn how to give money away.
But being disillusioned by organizations you give money to happens all the time. For instance, I “give” a whole bunch of money to the US government who drops bombs on hospitals owned by MSF, who I also give money to. But I hope that some good was done somewhere in the middle and I certainly don’t need every dollar I have/make.
I agree 100% with all four “rules.”
Man is happy philosopher on vacation? I feel like there are a lot of places in here for him to comment… How do you define “rich” … Should you donate to churches … Etc.
How do you pay for taxes with credit cards? Through credit card checks or some other means? This would rediculously increase our rewards/cash back deals. (Duh! hitting myself over the head for not thinking of this one)
It’s not that great a deal. I pay 1.87% for the privilege and get 2% back. Details here: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/two-unique-ways-to-make-money-with-your-credit-card/
Rich and wealthy are treated as being synonymous here, but I think it’s best to think of them as two separate entities.
You can live a rich life without a lot of wealth. Donating time and money, doing work you love, being surrounded by good friends and family, etc… Many people feel rich without having a lot of material wealth.
To me, wealth is more simply defined as having an abundance of money and / or possessions. Ebenezer Scrooge had wealth, but he was only “rich” in the most material sense before his awakening.
I do all Four of the above. I’ve pledged to donate half my blog income to charity, and will be chronicling the giving online – gave $100 to Lakenenland the other day, and earlier gave support to the WCI scholarship and Smart Tots.
I would add the following that have allowed us to grow our wealth.
1. Never pay retail.
2. Geographic arbitrage
3. Credit card bonuses and rewards = free travel.
4. HIgh paying specialty
Having a wife stay at home to raise our boys rather than using her Master’s degree may not necessarily make us wealthier, but definitely has made our lives richer as a family.
Best,
-PoF
I agree that, logically, “doing good” should not increase one’s wealth. But I found that, shortly after I “did good”, I was introduced to new investment opportunities that helped me grow my assets safely and securely. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I still feel like I benefited financially from “doing good”.
Rich or wealthy is as much a mindset as a number. Like you, I find “doing good” cultivates that mindset. Best wishes!
I feel like I’ve had that happen to me as well, although of course data is not the plural of anecdote.
Don’t you have to pay a fee when you pay taxes with a CC? My understanding is this can be up to 2.25% of the taxes paid.
Yes, you do (fee can be a bit lower than 2.25%, depending on your servicer). For me its a no brainer for deductible business expenses (in my case, rental real estate property taxes); may or may not be a good deal if the fee is not tax deductible.
Is the fee tax deductible? i was always under the impression it was not,
Here is a link on how to pay taxes online with a credit card
https://www.irs.gov/uac/pay-taxes-by-credit-or-debit-card
If the fee is not tax deductible you can use a 2% credit card and pay 1.87% fee and get the arbitrage. Honestly even paying $200K in taxes to save $340 seams kinda a waste of my time. But saving $340 and then getting a tax deduction on $3740 in fees seams a decent use of the service.
Disclaimer: I do not pay $200k in taxes.
Unless it takes less time than mailing the check.
I agree that charitable giving, whether to religious or other non profits just makes you feel good but does not increase the financial wealth. My way was to first build my base wealth, make sure I have no debts and become financially independent. Once I achieved it I have started ot give away regular amounts to charity. Mine is supporting a school in an underdeveloped nation.
Maximizing retirement contributions works if you have a good employer retirement plan. But when you are the sole employer with 7+ employees who do not want to contribute but need to have minimum contributed from your side so that you can contribute for yourself, it becomes a no win situation. I just contribute to IRA but the near total of my savings is investments with after tax dollars.
My husband has 6-7 employees plus himself in the practice. We have found that the tax savings and benefit to us from having the 401k even with the contributions we have to give the employees to be worth the effort. They are offered matching but only vest after about 3 years. They do get the profit sharing though. Are you sure the benefits in your situation aren’t worth the effort? We use an accounting firm to set up the plan and run all the numbers. They are fee based. The plan itself is at Schwab with access to anything we want to invest in. There are no AUM fees.
Agree with all points….
Very useful post indeed…
🙂
Agree with all points….
Very useful post indeed…
🙂
What proportion of your annual investments goes to retirement accounts versus your taxable brokerage account, real estate, and other non-retirement account options? The past few years, my wife and I, both mid-career dentists, have maxed our Roth IRAs (backdoor method) and my 401k and her TSP. I feel like this is becoming a smaller portion of our wealth over time versus the taxable account investments, which were over $100k invested each of the past few years. Am I missing something?
It’s all a ratio of how much you save for retirement versus how much space you have in retirement space. For us now, it’s a small percentage now, but we still max out the retirement accounts. There were other times in our lives that our entire savings amount went into retirement accounts. It just depends.
No, you’re not missing anything, you’re just making a lot and saving a lot.
Ha! first world problem! Well done on retirement accounts making up a small proportion of your retirement savings. For me and wifie saving 20% of gross income for retirement, 1/3 goes into retirement accounts, about $60k. the other $120k goes to taxable.
I just read an article on common traits for super wealthy people. One was owning things that pay you. Primarily they invest in their businesses and real estate.
Another interesting one was they don’t diversify early in their careers. They generally put most of their money into their business and only diversify once they have have started to make larger sums of money. Of course there are probably more people that did that same thing but their businesses failed and they lost everything.
Another was investing by delaying purchases that take money from you including delaying buying a house until later.
Good tips.
Tough to become “super wealthy” without owning a business of some kind, but entrepreneurial risk makes the market risk we all run seem piddly by comparison.