5 Things Rich People Do That You Don’t

We all dream of being rich one day. We want to enjoy the luxurious things in life without having to worry about how much they cost or how much money we have left in our checking account after making a purchase.

But just dreaming about being rich isn’t necessarily going to get you where you want to go. To become rich, and stay rich, you have to do things differently than what the societal norms suggest. In fact, most rich people don’t even appear rich at all. If you didn’t know any better, you would think they had just as much money as the rest of us. In fact, most rich people don’t fit the wealthy stereotypes at all.

Changing your habits and adopting new ways of thinking about money is a great starting point for building your wealthy dreams. Here are 5 things rich people do that are different from the stereotypes we’ve all come to know.

Rich People Drive Toyotas

According to Thomas J. Stanley, author of “Stop Acting Rich: …And Start Living like a Real Millionaire”, the most popular brand of car among millionaires isn’t BMW, Mercedes, or some other luxury brand – it’s Toyota.

Rich people know that cars are an asset that depreciates quickly, so it isn’t worth it to shell out big bucks for expensive brand new cars. Instead, they tend to opt for gently used cars at a moderate price range. By letting the sticker shock be absorbed by somebody else, they are able to save thousands of dollars whenever they purchase a “new” car.

Rich People Aren’t House Poor

Stanley also discovered that about three times more millionaires in the U.S. live in houses worth $300,000 or less than those who live in mansions worth $1 million or more.

Being house poor is a terrible idea and will likely keep you from ever joining the ranks of the rich. When you are house poor you spend a high percentage of your take-home pay on house payments, maintenance, and utilities, which leaves you little left over for saving and investing.

Rich People Take Charge

One of the most important things that rich people do is that they take charge of their financial situation. The number of people who become rich and stay rich because of luck are very, very slim. Almost no millionaires win their fortune by playing the lottery, though some rich people are rich from inheritances. But somewhere along the line, rich people worked hard for their money and used it wisely to build wealth over time. They set goals and stuck to them day-in and day-out.

Rich People Don’t Waste Money on Personal Appearance

Stanley’s book also reveals that millionaires spend on average $16 for a haircut, including tip, and their favorite clothing brands include Ann Taylor, Nine West, Gap and Costco.

Clothing and personal care aren’t investments, so they shouldn’t be treated as such. This is definitely a lesson I could stand to learn from the rich. If you spend less on clothes, there is more money available to save and spend on the things you really want.

Rich People Believe in Karma

Giving away as much of your income as possible to charitable causes isn’t a bad idea for anyone. Stanley’s research subjects revealed that often, the more they gave away, the more they accumulated later. What goes around comes around.

Much of society’s perceptions of what a rich person is or should do is simply wrong. Rich people are just like us in many ways. But, when it comes to money, the things rich people do tend to set them apart from the crowd. Perhaps we can all learn from their money habits and actions.

Did any of the habits of rich people surprise you? Do you have the same habits as rich people?