10 Simple Rules for Building Wealth – Part 3 of 3

Over the last two weeks I’ve shared the first 7 Simple Rules for Building Wealth.

In Part 1 I shared:
1. Have a Plan
2. Live Below Your Means
3. Control Debt. 

In Part 2 I discussed:
4. Don’t  Procrastinate
5. Save Aggressively
6. Cover Your Assets
7. Make Your Money Hard to Reach

Now I’ll share with you the last three.

8.  Automate Your Wealth Building.  The easiest, and least painful way to save your way to wealth is automatically.  You must make growing your wealth a habitual part of your daily life so that it happens automatically so the rest of your life runs its norman course.  Here are a couple of ways to automate your wealth.

Own your home. By purchasing your own home, a portion of each payment goes to pay off the principle.  In addition, you can arrange to have the mortgage paid off to coincide with your retirement.  Thereby reducing your retirement income needs.

Tax-Deferred Retirement Plans.  Maximize your employers retirement plan so that the money comes out of your paycheck before you have a chance to spend it.  This is a relatively pain free way to save since you will never miss what you didn’t have in the first place.   Plus, if your employer offers a match make sure you save enough to take advantage of this free money.

9.  Reduce Investment Expenses.  Expenses reduce returns and often investors do not understand all of the costs involved in the management of their portfolio.  These expenses can impact wealth accumulation and distribution.  All things being equal, I encourage clients to utilize the investment with lower expenses.

10.  Get a Life.   There’s more to life than a pile of wealth.  What about relationships?  What about your health?  What about your life interests?

Money helps make a more comfortable life, but it is not life. Make sure you have plenty to live for throughout your life, and maintain your health so that you have the vitality to pursue whatever makes you happy.

One of the best tips I can give you is to invest in your health.  Eating right, regular exercise and preventative health care will help reduce the impact of a serious illness.  Get enough sleep, reduce life’s stresses, and counter the stress you do encounter with time for relaxation.

In addition, invest time now in your most important relationships.  Build the relationships now with family, friends and business associates because life without them is pretty empty even with substantial wealth.

Remember, money is just the means, not the end.