Yahoo Finance Retired With $1 Million or More? 3 Unnecessary Expenses Worth Cutting To Boost Your Wealth Even More
When discussing the habits of millionaires, you’ll find that most practice consistency in their savings and spending. Millionaires don’t amass their wealth by pursuing foolish expenses. In fact, most shun them at every opportunity.
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When Steve Adcock left his corporate job at the age of 35 in 2016, he had $900,000 saved. This eventually grew, making him and his wife millionaires. Adcock now spends his time living his best life and passing along useful habits in his weekly Millionaire Habits newsletter.
But being smart with your money isn’t just a rich person’s routine. Everyone can use guidance on what not to spend money on. When Tom Corley set out to find what habits the ultra-wealthy had in common, he found that many of the 233 millionaires he surveyed were self-made and spent very little money on unnecessary expenses.
Many Americans have worked hard to achieve a level of wealth and have every right to flaunt it, but the country’s financial elite spend little time worrying about impressing others with status symbols.
“Most millionaires don’t drive flashy cars,” said financial personality Dave Ramsey in a Facebook post last January. “When people don’t waste money to LOOK wealthy, they have money to actually become wealthy.”
While steady saving and investing habits are key, millionaires simply don’t waste money on things like late fees, pointless debt and impulsive purchases, from needless luxury items to processed and packaged food.
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For self-made millionaire Adcock, there are three expenses he avoids at all costs.
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1. Gambling and Playing the Lottery
Winning a bet can bring great happiness and excitement, but 94% of the millionaires Corley studied told him that they never gamble on games of chance or on their finances. Millionaires don’t rely on random good luck for their wealth. They create their own good luck and spend their “get rich quick” money actually getting rich.
Adcock prefers to invest his money too, saying, “I never played the lottery ever, and I refuse to buy a lottery ticket. You hear the same thing. ‘You can’t win if you don’t play.’ But let’s face it — even if you play you’re not going to win.”
2. Signing Up for Extended Warranties
Adcock avoids signing up for extended warranties on products he buys. As he tells CNBC’s Make It, “You’re probably not going to use it. It’s just additional profit for the store.” Because some warranties are conditional and don’t cover full repairs or wear and tear on certain parts, you might be better off saving your money.
“You can put a little money aside every month, and essentially you’re building your own extended warranty,” Adcock says.
3. Buying the Cheapest or Most Expensive Product
According to Corley, most of the millionaires he interviewed refused to spend money on either overly expensive, trendy items or on inexpensive, inferior products. Instead, like Adcock, many looked at acquiring quality pieces that were made to last.
“I buy the one that I think is going to work the best for me and lasts the longest,” says Adcock. “It may not have all the features and capabilities of the top-of-the-line thing. I find a middle-of-the-road product.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Retired With $1 Million or More? 3 Unnecessary Expenses Worth Cutting To Boost Your Wealth Even More
