Daily Habits of Wealthy People

What do rich people do on a daily basis that is different from other people? Can the positive daily habits of people lead to financial success over time? A study (and book) by Thomas Corley suggests that daily behavior can be one factor that contributes to economic outcomes for people.

Daily Habits of Wealthy People

They get up early. 44% of wealthy people wake up 3 hours or more before work starts vs. only 3% of poor people.

They set goals. 80% of wealthy people are focused on accomplishing some single goal. Only 12% of the poor do this. In addition, 67% of wealthy people write down their goals.

They have daily to-do lists. 81% of wealth people maintain "to-do" lists vs 19% of the poor.

They read. 88% of the wealthy read for 30 minutes or more each day for education or career reasons. Only 2% of the poor do so. 63% of rich people listen to audio books during their commute.

They network. 79% of wealthy people network five hours a month or more.

They exercise. 76% of wealth people exercise aerobically several days a week.

They avoid junk food. 70% of rich people eat less than 300 calories of junk food per day. 97% of poor people eat more than 300 junk food calories per day.

They don't gamble. Only 6% of the wealthy play the lottery vs. 77% of low-income people.

They limit their TV time. 67% of wealthy people watch one hour or less of television per day vs 23% of the poor. Only 6% of wealthy people watch reality TV vs. 78% of the poor.

They are constantly improving their skills. 86% of high income people believe in lifelong educational self-improvement.

They believe hard work and good habits lead to success. 84% of rich people believe that good habits create opportunity and luck. Only 8% of the wealthy believe that wealth comes from random good luck vs. 79% of low-income people.

Source:Thomas Corley. "Rich Habits: The daily success habits of wealthy individuals." Corley looked at hundreds of wealthy and poor people in the U.S. and examined their daily habits. Wealthy people were defined as people with incomes over $160,000 and assets of more than $3.2 million. Poor people were defined as incomes under $30,000 and assets of less than $5,000.

It is interesting how different some of the daily habit statistics are for wealthy and low- income people. It seems that individual daily habits and choices can cause different results in terms of financial success and wealth. People who work hard and are constantly learning and improving their skills often, but not always, end up having increased financial success. Some of these significant habit differences between the rich and poor raise the question of what came first, the financial success or the positive daily habits? We believe many of these daily habits came before the financial success for most people, and are one factor in helping cause their financial success. Most of our clients are successful financially, and most of their success is self-created (not inherited). Younger people (the children of our clients) who are interested in increased financial success may want to adopt some of these daily habits.

Of course, there are many reasons beyond these daily habits that can lead to financial success. Other factors might include luck, inheritance, having good parents, having access to good schools, being in the right place at the right time, career choice, and where you live, to name a few. Improving or changing your daily habits may have less of a positive impact on the wealth of people who live in a third world country or an impoverished neighborhood in a large U.S. city, for example. You may be a teacher or a social worker and have all of these positive daily habits, but because of your career choice you are unlikely to become fabulously wealthy. Adopting the positive daily habits of financially successful people will not necessarily make you rich, but it may aim you in the right direction for a healthier life and increased success (however you define success). Many people are not interested in increased financial success, do not think it is possible for them, or do not believe it would make them happier. That is OK. They may still find these positive daily habits valuable.

The Millionaire Next Door

Another excellent source of information on this topic is the book "The Millionaire Next Door" by Thomas Stanley. Stanley has studied hundreds of millionaires and has similar findings. He says most millionaires live below their means. They are frugal, and their spouse is equally or more frugal. 50% of the millionaires he surveyed have never spent more than $29,000 on a motor vehicle. One of the most popular vehicles owned by millionaires is the Ford pickup truck. 80% of America's millionaires are first generation rich, meaning they earned it themselves. Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend. Stanley says one of the most common denominators among those who successfully build wealth is that they allocate their time, energy, and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth. Millionaires believe financial independence is more important than displaying financial status. Stanley concludes that building wealth takes discipline, sacrifice, and hard work.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -Aristotle


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