The idea of being rich is something that many of us dreamed about as kids. If you work hard, do well in school and in your career, you’ll certainly end up wealthy! Right? Well, adulthood often confronts us with harsh realities, one of which being the fact that getting rich is not easy for the vast majority of us. Today, I simply aspire to be able to provide a comfortable life for my cat, forget about owning a home or driving a fancy car.
But according to some, it is possible to accumulate wealth if you take the right advice. Redditors have recently been sharing tips for realistic ways that the average person can become rich, so we’ve gathered some of their insights below. Enjoy reading through, and be sure to upvote all of the financial tips that you plan to try for yourself!
#1
Well I got hit by a semi truck, lost a leg, and got a multimillion dollar settlement. Your experience may vary.
46points
#2
The best advice I ever received in my life:
"Get good at doing something wealthy people need, and you will always have work."
The guy who told me this fixed air conditioning on yachts. No one who can afford a yacht is going to put up with the a/c not working on it, no matter what the current economic situation is like.
"Get good at doing something wealthy people need, and you will always have work."
The guy who told me this fixed air conditioning on yachts. No one who can afford a yacht is going to put up with the a/c not working on it, no matter what the current economic situation is like.
32points
#3
Pretty much by definition, an "average" person can't be rich.
A small percentage of people get rich by being exceptionally good at, say, music or sports or salesmanship. What's far more common is that rich people had some kind of considerable head start that isn't available to average people.
The most "realistic" way would be to pursue some sort of high-demand and well-compensated career such as cardiology or plumbing, then being unusually scrupulous about saving and investing, and then marry a partner doing exactly the same thing.
A small percentage of people get rich by being exceptionally good at, say, music or sports or salesmanship. What's far more common is that rich people had some kind of considerable head start that isn't available to average people.
The most "realistic" way would be to pursue some sort of high-demand and well-compensated career such as cardiology or plumbing, then being unusually scrupulous about saving and investing, and then marry a partner doing exactly the same thing.
27points
#4
Find a job that nobody wants to do and then make a business out of it.
18points
#5
Start a course telling others the secret to success.
17points
#7
Right place right time.
Everyone gets 2-3 chances to become super rich in their life time. In my time, it was Bitcoin. After that it was Dogecoin. After that it was Nividia.
I missed every single one of them.
Will there be more? Probably. Do we know what they are? Probably not.
Everyone gets 2-3 chances to become super rich in their life time. In my time, it was Bitcoin. After that it was Dogecoin. After that it was Nividia.
I missed every single one of them.
Will there be more? Probably. Do we know what they are? Probably not.
16points
#8
Winning the biggest jackpot at the lottery is genuinely the most realistic way for most people.
Earning and investing will get you, at best, a comfortable middle-class lifestyle.
Earning and investing will get you, at best, a comfortable middle-class lifestyle.
15points
#9
Marry a rich person or someone from a rich family.
It’s the most important financial decision you can make.
It’s the most important financial decision you can make.
14points
#10
Spend less than you earn, invest from an early age.
12points
#11
Reinvest earnings from investments.
9points
#12
I have a family friend who was a child of a single Mom during the Depression. i.e. raised in extreme poverty. He became a multi-millionaire. A friend who always wanted to be rich kept asking me "his secret". So I told him.
After serving in WW2 he did nothing with his life then he was recalled for Korea. After two wars as a combat Rifleman he told himself he had to do something with his life so got a degree in a business field(dont want to say for privacy reasons). He worked that field living a pretty good middle class lifestyle for the next 20 years when the company he worked for was forced to sell. He risked his middle class lifestyle mortgaged everything he had along with a couple of partners and brought the business.
20 more years of putting every penny back into the business, having the wife complain about giving up her nice middle class lifestyle for "this" and driving old cars while his employees had better and finally the business takes off, they are brought out by a Mega-Corp and he comes out with tens of millions which he proceeds to invest carefully, still driving used Cars. Today in his 90's he is worth North of 100 million.
So the answer I gave my friend was learn a skill, get a job that pays the bills, take a risk when opportuntity presents itself, keep investing in yourself, your business and in the Economy and if you are lucky a mere 50 YEARS later you might be wealthy. It was not answer he wanted to hear. Only the very few become wealthy in their youth i.e. win it, inherit it or are super genius., without decades of effort. Time, investment, patience are the way to do it. Not as easy as it sounds since must of us can't do that.
After serving in WW2 he did nothing with his life then he was recalled for Korea. After two wars as a combat Rifleman he told himself he had to do something with his life so got a degree in a business field(dont want to say for privacy reasons). He worked that field living a pretty good middle class lifestyle for the next 20 years when the company he worked for was forced to sell. He risked his middle class lifestyle mortgaged everything he had along with a couple of partners and brought the business.
20 more years of putting every penny back into the business, having the wife complain about giving up her nice middle class lifestyle for "this" and driving old cars while his employees had better and finally the business takes off, they are brought out by a Mega-Corp and he comes out with tens of millions which he proceeds to invest carefully, still driving used Cars. Today in his 90's he is worth North of 100 million.
So the answer I gave my friend was learn a skill, get a job that pays the bills, take a risk when opportuntity presents itself, keep investing in yourself, your business and in the Economy and if you are lucky a mere 50 YEARS later you might be wealthy. It was not answer he wanted to hear. Only the very few become wealthy in their youth i.e. win it, inherit it or are super genius., without decades of effort. Time, investment, patience are the way to do it. Not as easy as it sounds since must of us can't do that.
9points
#13
Embrace frugality. Reducing unnecessary spending can help increase savings.
8points
#14
Realistically it takes a long time. You’re gonna need a job that allows you to make more money than you spend. Invest at least 20% of that money into index funds, high-interest savings accounts, certificates, etc. consistently and frequently and let it grow over decades. If you do this and max out your 401k contributions you’ll eventually become a millionaire and have enough to retire.
How do you become rich sooner as an average person with an average job? Have rich parents that pass away.
How do you become rich sooner as an average person with an average job? Have rich parents that pass away.
7points
#15
Explore opportunities in emerging markets.
7points
#16
Set clear boundaries with finances.
6points
#17
Stay consistent with your financial strategy. Regularly reviewing goals can help keep you on track.
6points
#18
"Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it."
- Ben Franklin
Edit: This comment got some traction and I'm seeing a lot of people disagree or downplay compounding in the thread so I want to address some of what I'm seeing -
1. Compound interest alone won't make you wealthy, it's just one of the tools (arguably the most important one) that helps along the way. You need to continually save and contribute to the investment and do it over a long time span of 30-40 years. It's important to start as early as possible and keep doing it consistently.
2. "Interest" in this quote can be interchanged with "returns". There are very few fixed interest rate investments these days that will give you proper returns. Low cost index and bond funds while reinvesting your dividends provide compound returns which gives you the same benefit. The "compound" is the important part of the quote, not "interest"
3. Take advantage of tax advantage. Tax advantaged accounts are some of the best tools available to the everyman to help grow your balance. IRAs, 401k, 403b, HSAs, learn about all of them and which you can leverage to help you get to your goals
4. Diversify your investments so nothing will totally wipe you out. You will have up years and down years but the most important thing is always being able to play.
5. Pay attention to and control your expenses. The two components of being able to save is your earnings rate and your expenses. The net of that is your possible savings rate. It's much more difficult to control and grow your earnings rate than it is to simply lower your expenses. Learning to live off less than you make and controlling your expenses will help you with every aspect of your life
6. Avoid debt as much as you can. Don't finance a car, don't use credit cards if you can't pay off the balance in full every month, don't use any BNPL services, pay off your mortgage as fast as you can
If you do all of this and **CONSISTENTLY SAVE** over a decades long time frame, compounding will take care of the rest, I promise. This is all stuff the average person has access to and can use that will get you wealthy in your life.
- Ben Franklin
Edit: This comment got some traction and I'm seeing a lot of people disagree or downplay compounding in the thread so I want to address some of what I'm seeing -
1. Compound interest alone won't make you wealthy, it's just one of the tools (arguably the most important one) that helps along the way. You need to continually save and contribute to the investment and do it over a long time span of 30-40 years. It's important to start as early as possible and keep doing it consistently.
2. "Interest" in this quote can be interchanged with "returns". There are very few fixed interest rate investments these days that will give you proper returns. Low cost index and bond funds while reinvesting your dividends provide compound returns which gives you the same benefit. The "compound" is the important part of the quote, not "interest"
3. Take advantage of tax advantage. Tax advantaged accounts are some of the best tools available to the everyman to help grow your balance. IRAs, 401k, 403b, HSAs, learn about all of them and which you can leverage to help you get to your goals
4. Diversify your investments so nothing will totally wipe you out. You will have up years and down years but the most important thing is always being able to play.
5. Pay attention to and control your expenses. The two components of being able to save is your earnings rate and your expenses. The net of that is your possible savings rate. It's much more difficult to control and grow your earnings rate than it is to simply lower your expenses. Learning to live off less than you make and controlling your expenses will help you with every aspect of your life
6. Avoid debt as much as you can. Don't finance a car, don't use credit cards if you can't pay off the balance in full every month, don't use any BNPL services, pay off your mortgage as fast as you can
If you do all of this and **CONSISTENTLY SAVE** over a decades long time frame, compounding will take care of the rest, I promise. This is all stuff the average person has access to and can use that will get you wealthy in your life.
5points
#19
It depends on how you define being rich.
If you’re looking at it from being financially secure where you’re comfortable, you have to earn more than you spend.
If you’re looking at it from becoming financially independent, then you’ll need to save, invest, and work.
If you’re looking for FU money, start a business.
If you’re looking at it from being financially secure where you’re comfortable, you have to earn more than you spend.
If you’re looking at it from becoming financially independent, then you’ll need to save, invest, and work.
If you’re looking for FU money, start a business.
5points
#20
Share financial tips with friends. Teaching others reinforces your knowledge and may open opportunities.
5points