How do the wealthy become rich? Ten tips for building wealth

There are no secrets to becoming rich. Anyone can become wealthy if they are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to save and invest their money wisely. Becoming rich generally involves a lot of hard work, time, and dedication; but with the right mindset and a few key strategies, anyone can achieve financial success.
Here are 10 ways that you can begin building wealth today:

Commit to saving regularly

The single most important thing you can do to increase your wealth is to commit to saving regularly. Building wealth is not a one-and-done process. Rather, it is a long-term journey to which you must commit without fail.

One of the key tenets of sound financial planning is that you must save a portion of your income on a regular basis in order to have any hope of building real wealth. Sure, you can make a one-time deposit into your retirement account and hit the jackpot, but the odds of that happening are extremely low.

If you commit to regularly investing a portion of your income in stocks, bonds, or other investment vehicles, you will have a much greater chance of achieving financial success.

Find ways to cut your expenses

Building wealth often comes down to how much money you save versus how much money you spend. The more you can increase your savings, the more quickly you will be able to build wealth. You can significantly increase your savings by finding ways to cut your expenses.
One of the easiest ways to cut your expenses is to reduce or eliminate your dependence on credit cards. Credit cards often carry extremely high interest rates, so the more you use them, the more you will have to pay in the long run. If you can reduce your dependence on credit cards, you will free up a significant amount of cash that you can then put towards building wealth.
Another strategy you can use to cut your expenses is to live below your means. The more you can simplify your life, the less you will have to spend. And the less you spend, the more you will be able to save.

Don't rely on income streams you cannot control

One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to increase their wealth is relying too heavily on income streams they cannot control. One of the most common examples of this is when people rely on their job for a significant portion of their income.
Because there is no guarantee that you will keep your job for a lifetime (or even a single year), you cannot rely on your paycheck as a consistent income stream.
That is not to say that you should not plan for your future or that you should not have any savings—quite the opposite, in fact. What it does mean is that you should not rely on a single job or income stream as the sole source of your savings.
Instead, you should focus on building up a surplus of savings that you can rely on in the event that you lose your job or have some other significant change to your income.

Take advantage of tax-deferred growth strategies

One of the best ways to increase your wealth is to take advantage of tax-deferred growth strategies, such as investing in a Roth IRA or a 401(k). If you are able to set aside a portion of your income each year and invest it in stocks, you will be able to significantly enhance your wealth over time.

One of the best ways to take advantage of a tax-deferred growth strategy is to invest in a Roth IRA. A Roth IRA is a retirement account that is funded with after-tax dollars, but it has no required minimum distributions. You can invest as much as $6,000 annually in a Roth IRA if you are under 50, and you can even contribute if you earn more than that.

Establish a margin of safety

One of the best ways to protect your wealth is to establish a margin of safety. What this means is that you will have more savings than you will ever need (a safety net) and a modest amount of investments that can be used to increase your wealth (a growth plan).
That way, if you ever face a financial emergency, such as a job loss, you can tap into your savings without having to deplete them completely. And if you have a modest amount invested in stocks, that money will be able to grow as the market fluctuates.
A lot of people focus exclusively on their savings, but they often neglect the amount that they invest in the market. If you want to protect your wealth, you need to have a healthy amount invested in stocks.

Diversify your portfolio

One of the best ways to protect your wealth is to diversify your portfolio. That means you should invest a significant amount of your savings in a variety of different investment vehicles, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate.
One of the biggest risks you face as an investor is putting too much of your money in one investment. If that investment happens to fail, you will lose all of your money.

One way to diversify your portfolio is to invest a small portion of your savings in each of the major asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and commodities. Another way to diversify your portfolio is to invest in a variety of stocks within a single industry.

Be patient and recognize that wealth-building takes time

One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to build wealth is expecting instant results. Wealth-building takes time, and you cannot expect to have significant savings in just a few years.

You will have to be patient if you want to build significant savings. You will have to resist the urge to make short-term decisions that might make you money in the short-term but will hurt your long-term financial plan.
One way to be patient is to make a financial plan for the long-term. Figure out how much you need to save each year in order to achieve your long-term financial goals and then stick to your plan.

The only way to truly build wealth is to commit to long-term financial planning. You cannot build wealth overnight, and you cannot expect to become rich if you are not willing to make sacrifices and commit to the long-term investment strategy.
One of the best ways to begin building wealth is to make a commitment to saving regularly. You cannot become rich if you are spending all of your money on short-term purchases like daily coffee or new clothes. The sooner you can find ways to cut your expenses, the sooner you can begin building wealth.