4 things millionaires did before 30 that helped them build wealth

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• Author Thomas J. Stanley spent his career interviewing millionaires and found that they have a few habits in common. In particular, he noticed that they started building wealth when they were young. 
• Most millionaires he interviewed have had goals for both their careers and their finances since they were young, and tended to establish good spending habits early.
• Stanley also noticed that the more education someone had, the harder it was for them to build wealth. They spent more time not earning an income while in school, putting them behind the curve with investing and saving. 
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Most millionaires have several financial habits in common when it comes to spending, saving, and investing. One key commonality: They started building wealth when they were young.

Author Thomas J. Stanley spent years interviewing over 500 millionaires from across the US. He turned his insights into his book, “The Millionaire Next Door,” which looks at the patterns and habits of millionaires. 

Many of the millionaires he interviewed had similar stories, and most started their wealth-building journeys the same way: from the ground up. Here, four financial moves millionaires made when they were young that contributed to their success.

1. They set clear goals for their money and careers

Stanley interviewed a decamillionaire high school dropout who started a wholesale business at 19 that helped him build his fortune. When asked how he turned his experiences into millions, he simply said, “I have always been goal-oriented. I have a clearly defined set of daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals, annual goals, and lifetime goals.” 

While the path toward these goals looks different for each person, most agree that accumulating wealth is less a result of luck than it is a plan.

2. They bought homes when they were young — and stayed put

A high percentage of millionaires are homeowners  — just 3% of the millionaires Stanley surveyed were renters. Home equity is often a large part of many families’ net worths, but for many of the millionaires Stanley interviewed, owning an affordable home is also a way to commit other money to investing. 

Stanley found that the millionaires he interviewed tended to buy homes at a young age, and stay in the same affordable homes for many years. Stanley’s research found that about half of millionaire homeowners have stayed in the same house for at least 20 years. In that time, home values tended to appreciate, helping them build their net worth.

3. They resisted the temptation to spend lavishly

In an interview with Teddy Friend, a millionaire who has a high income but relatively low wealth, Stanley discovered a connection between life experiences and spending habits. Friend says that he grew up a relatively poor child in a community of wealthier families, and began to equate success with having nice things. 

“Never did Mr. Friend equate ‘better off’ with accumulating wealth,” Stanley notes. “Being ‘better off’ meant displaying one’s high income via the conspicuous display of high-status artifacts.” In this case, he developed a mindset about money and how to spend it that didn’t help him grow wealth. 

The more effective millionaires Stanley interviewed did the opposite of Friend, living frugally. Instead of spending their fortunes on a large mortgage, multiple expensive cars, and other status items — like Friend did — they invested their cash.

4. They started building wealth sooner rather than later, sometimes at the expense of going to college 

In his research, Stanley found that people who spent less time in school had an easier time building wealth. “The longer one stays in school, the longer one postpones producing an income and building wealth,” Stanley writes. It’s also worth noting that since this book was published in 1996, the price of college has risen considerably.

Stanley gives the example of a business owner with a two-year technical school degree. “He started working and building wealth at the age of 22. Today, 30 years later, he has benefited greatly from the meteoric increase in the value of his pension plan.” While pensions are less popular today, growth is possible with an employer’s 401(k) plan.

Up against a similarly aged doctor who makes the same income, Stanley says that this business owner and technical school graduate will have a better chance at building wealth, simply because time is on his side. While the doctor spent his young life growing his debt instead of earning, he’s less likely to accumulate as much wealth in the long run. 

Stanley emphasises that it’s important to “begin earning and investing early in your adult life.” While your 20s are about building your life, they’re also a time to start growing wealth.