" contract out the waste . It ’s not how much money you make ; it ’s how much you keep . Too many hoi polloi start making practiced money and start to show off : fancy clothes , fancy cars , expensive star sign . All their money is going to interest and wastefulness . The wealthiest people I know do n’t flaunt it . "
A while back, redditoru/LunarProximityasked,“To those who became wealthy, what are the most overlooked ways to earning money that people should look at?“People who got rich revealed their best secrets and business advice that helped them earn money, and wow, prepare to learn a TON.
And, of course, people are all at different stages in their lives, and not all of this advice will be applicable to every single person. So, feel free to take the tips that work for you and leave the rest. Here’s what they had to say:
1.“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.”
— u / scorpiondoll
2.“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!”
— u / LuckBeALadyyy
3.“Network and ask questions no matter what. Whenever you don’t know something you need or want to know, ask someone to 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 government for startups. I just randomly asked a guy through Facebook Messenger who I knew had received some. He turned out to be very helpful and basically walked me through it.”
" He gave me people to talk to that I would have never found on my own because a lot of this stuff is n’t advertised ; it ’s just done ' in the know ' amongst local businesses . I could have annul looking like a noob at raising money and never got a dime bag from the government , but instead , I just asked a doubt , and it turned into money . This applies to other things , too : Overhear a guy rope at a Walmart complaining about a fence picture ? Ask if they ’ll allow you paint it . Stuff like that — just a single question can turn into money . "
— atomic number 92 / lolppjoke
4.“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 1,000 items a day when you’re selling 0 items a day.”
— u / neophanweb
5.“To me, this is the most overlooked way to earn money and become wealthy: ‘Compound interestis 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 depreciate in value, while maximizing investments in things that bring value, you can become ‘wealthy’ even with a fairly modest income.”
" If you start investing systematically and modestly at historic period 20 , you will have a substantial amount of money at years 45 , and millions by the prison term you strike your 60 . If you bug out at historic period 45 , you may enjoy spirit , and still have a nice nest egg at age 65 . "
— u / Shon_t
6.“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 of life I front at it every payday:‘I do n’t get to keep this money either way . Now , do I want to pay it to MYSELF ( 401k ) or pay it to the government activity ( in year - end taxes?‘I chose door number one for over 20 years . "
— u / sheila5961
7.“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 dad is my boss, and he’s the best boss I’ve ever had. He actually listens to his employees and takes their recommendations 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 commit out raises doubly a class by the buck or dollars , not pennies and after part . He gives paid days off , gives $ 3k–5k bonuses around Christmas , and tries to act around their schedule since most of his employees have families . The employee upset rate in the kitty business enterprise is extremely high ; I think every two to three years in my region the last I delay . He has two employees who have been with us since before I was born , and I ’m 24 . He listen to them and drops customer we do n’t like without question .
Last year , he hire a Modern bozo with some experience and sent him out to clean up a few pools after a violent storm . afterwards that day , a customer who my pop has had since he started the business concern , over 30 years ago , called and said they do n’t want a Black man in their yard . My dad straight off said ' f * * * you ' in the most professional way you may and hang up . ( I cognise this position is more about being a decent person and not a great Bos , but I still eff this account . )
He ’s training me to take over in a few years and constantly tells me tonot only be distressed about feeding one family ( ours ) , but I have to be upset about feeding nine families ( we have eight employees).To me , being a great boss is one of the best ways to run a successful clientele and become flush . "
— u / jasnmartin
8.“Stop spending money. Most people are actually pretty good at offense (making money). It’s their defense (keeping the money) that sucks. 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.”
" Reallocate your spending habits . Set ' cap ' on your budgetary categories . Like , ' Only $ 200 / calendar month on entertainment ' and flummox to it . Pay yourself first . Put money into your investiture accounts FIRST , then expend on luxuries . Do not save what is left after outlay . pass what is left after saving . "
— AlphaTangoFoxtrt
9.“Have a wealth strategy: The hardest path is having a job/career where you are just renting your time to someone else. These are 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 build equity in something . That could be depart your own business or could be bewilder equity in someone else ’s business as part of your recompense . There ’s no need for this to be anything innovative or aphrodisiacal . Just something you are capable and willing to put the effort into to be competitive and make well-chosen client .
Another way of building fairness is make a job with a generous delineate retreat / pension platform and taking full advantage of it . Cops and teachers , for good example , while not consider to be particularly wealthy , often have good retreat programs that permit them to pull away early ( as early on as eld 50 ) , and draw a pension adequate or near adequate to their earnings when they were working . individual pensions can be bad because they can be gutted as part of a corporal failure restructuring . But , look on your wealth goals ( i.e. : you want to retire early and know comfortably vs. always want to fly first class ) , some state and federal limit pension programs are good ways to go . "
— u / squirlnutz
10.“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 picture businesses in my area . We then flesh out into dry wall , finale carpentry , and specialized finishes . We are now planning an expansion into the cleanup industry as well . What started out as a summer job has twist into a career that countenance me to live a fun liveliness and set my own schedule . My good advice is learn something about byplay . bump a field you ’re confident in . Start a business in that playing field . Be financially responsible but take calculated risks to arise , and do n’t allow the fear of failure to hold you back . "
— u / coastalliving40
11.“Cut out the waste. It’s not how much money you make; it’s how much you keep. Too many people start making good money and start to show off: fancy clothes, fancy cars, expensive houses. 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 did n’t get rich by wasting money . You could n’t tell it by looking at them , because their money is in the bank , not on display . "
— u / ClassBShareHolder
12.“Overlooked ways to make money? I think most people overlook ways to make money 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,’ etc. I’m a high school dropout, and I knew I wanted to be rich since I was 11. Took me ‘til 26 years old to make my first million. I wrote 100 ideas for making money. Then, picked the 10 best ideas.”
" My criteria were : ideas I conceive can make over $ 1M / twelvemonth ; ideas I can carry out on my own , or learn the skills needed to do so ; ideas that involve no money ( or are affordable without risking intellectual nourishment or rent ) ; estimation that can be done in the amount of fourth dimension I had ( had a day job most of the metre ) . Out of the 10 idea , eight finish up not match the criteria in genuine biography , and two failed . Wrote another 100 thought , and pick 10 — they were right than the last 10 , but they still mostly fail . Repeat . I cease up starting about 80 projects ( mind picked out of long lists ) until I find one that I was able to pull off . I counted once ; I think it was 83 ideas that fail ( due to being bad idea , me messing up execution , or spoilt portion ) . Perseverance is cardinal . Might even be the only trait that is actually a must . "
— u / nsfwtttt
13.“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 times, (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 affair : My wife ’s great - grandfather found out that there was a demand in the oilfield for wood shaving , and they were give a fairly sizable join for it . He went to every individual wood mill sweeping Mrs. Henry Wood chips and shavings off the flooring and then putting them into boxes . The Ellen Price Wood mills were happy to get disembarrass of their garbage for free , and he was happy to trade this stuff for an absurd price . Once the wood mills realized that there was money to be made on shaving , they apply him an exclusive contract , and now , all he had to do was come pick them up . Before long , he had pick-me-up and delivery men and a small merchant vessels fleet . He sold his companionship , withdraw , bought a woodworking plane , and then perish . Even today , his surviving kinsperson members are still incredibly wealthy . "
— uracil / garlicroastedpotato
14.“Cutting cost (cheaper services or products) and 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 a third more, or about an extra paycheck. I consider myself not wealthy as in spending like there’s no tomorrow, but I am 30 years ahead of my peers when it comes to money. House is paid off, golden investment property is being paid off, extra rental income, and cars have been paid off for the last seven years. My wife makes enough money to be happy. The only debt is under $6k. I have $15k in savings in the bank, pension set to help me retire at 54, deferred comp set to make me comfortable, and two checks a month that don’t go into any bills ($3k). My trick has always been avoiding paying more than I had to.”
" I remember the present moment my strategy ruffle on a light bulb . All I did was after five twelvemonth change cellphone providers . I was paying $ 250–400 for my cellphone , me and my wife ’s bill . It was frustrative as it was 24–40 % of one of my checks . Then , elevator car insurance policy was another $ 250 . Then reference card debt — that ’s what killed me . Paying $ 100 a calendar month in acknowledgment card debt for a class and still only pay off , like , 40 % of the literal debt . When I did the maths , I tear up that course credit card and pay it off ASAP . Then , I NEVER again took on credit with an interest rate . Any clip I ’ve had to borrow , it ’s always on 0 % for one twelvemonth , and I limit what I borrow so I can pay it off in that class . My machine is the exception , but I got lucky on a 2.9 % interest charge per unit . "
— atomic number 92 / Bobtheguardian22
15.“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 and effort (i.e. paying for a web designer vs. learning how to maximize an existing template). Like, learning about SEO and Google business analytics to make your business more easily visible in searches. Or, creating your own system for scheduling vs. paying a ton for a scheduling platform.”
" It takes time and effort . It ’s really easy to outsource expression of your business sector , when , in fact , you’re able to economise a ton by seek to learn as many expression of business base as possible . And in slip the mathematics is n’t obvious . few expenses = more money . "
— uracil / dietcoaks
16.“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.”
— DeliciousHighway6521
And finally…
17.“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.'”
— u / Americasycho
notice : Some responses have been edit for distance and/or clarity .
