4 Habits and Systems that the Wealthy Follow Religiously

There are rich people who are bonafide geniuses; you know, the kind that went to Harvard and then dropped out or the kind that got into MIT and used their big brains to make a ton of money. While intelligence, charm and extreme talent are wonderful traits to have, the truth is that these aren’t always the things that separate the rich from the poor.

In many cases, the difference comes about through our daily habits. Psychologists say that our subconscious mind is so powerful that we are pretty much on autopilot 40% of our waking hours. That means that you are mindlessly following your habit two out of every five minutes of your day.

The formation of habits is a trick our brains use to save on power. Therefore, every day, we all do a few things without even thinking about it, but these things have such a powerful impact on your life.

When it comes to money and time, the rich have formed good habits while the poor have bad habits. Here are some of the best habits that the rich follow religiously:

Live Within Your Means

While there are faster ways to get into a financial crisis, the most surefire way to ensure that you’re constantly under a mountain of debt is to live beyond your means. If you look at 99% of those who are struggling financially, you’ll probably find that they spend more than they earn. The rich account for every single penny. Some even have a spreadsheet that keeps track of their spending and savings. Some excellent habits that will help you live within your means include:

• Spending no more than 25% of your income on housing
• Saving at least 20% of your income and only spending only what is left after saving
• Limit your entertainment budget by making frugal choices such as cooking at home instead of eating takeout every day
• Stop leasing vehicles and if you must, only spend 5% on your auto loan
• Always contribute to your retirement account (religiously every month)

The list goes on and on. The easiest way to keep track of every dollar is to create a spreadsheet and get acquainted with using VLOOKUP to easily find the data you need as the entries pile up. This way you’ll always be on top of your spending and savings.

Learn Something New Every Day

The rich never stop learning. They do more than just keenly study fields that are outside of their niche; they’re widely read and always on top of current affairs. This comes in handy when you need to network with other wealthy people for business opportunity and status. Of course, most people have more work than hours in a day — and that is totally understandable — but it doesn’t mean that you can’t find time to learn something new. You could:

• Listen to audio books on your commute
• Read biographies of successful people on the weekends
• Read educational career-related material during your lunch break

By increasing your knowledge in different fields, you are able to improve your chances of seeing opportunities that would otherwise pass you by for lack of knowledge.

Set Goals

The rich don’t wish on falling stars. They set goals that simply must be achieved. In fact, a good percentage set new goals each year geared towards growing their wealth and their influence. They have small goals that are easy to accomplish so it gives them the winning momentum they need and then they have one big goal that takes major planning and commitment.

Stop Procrastinating

The rich understand that time is money. Opportunities are grabbed by those who act on them as soon as they’re spotted. Almost 80% of the world suffers from procrastination. To help you fix that, here are some tips you should make a habit of following:

• Keep a daily “to-do” list. These are things that have to accomplished every single day. You want to do at least 70% of these without fail.
• Have a “daily five” list. These are the habits you need to practice or read up on a daily basis and they are supposed to help you build up to some major goal in life like: invest in the money markets, save for your retirement and so on.
• Set deadlines and stick to them. This will help you knock off those things on your to-do list, and control procrastination.

You’ll find that the more you do these things the easier they become to accomplish. They will become part of your life and as such, you will find yourself setting better and grander goals.

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