How to Get Rich

It seems that everyone wants to get rich. Many books have been written on this subject, classes have been taught by many who claim to show you an easy way to get rich, rich people have given advice on how to get rich, and many other schemes have been developed that guarantee you will get rich fast. Getting rich is one of the main goals of most people, and while it is never easy, here are some sensible techniques that will increase your chances of getting rich.

Define "rich". It's one of those subjective words that everyone uses but no one defines. What are your standards for being rich? In other words, what do you envision when you think about being rich? This can be different for everyone. Usually it whittles down to a few common goals:

• Prestige. For many people, the idea of getting rich is tied to getting respect. It's not so much about how much money you have, but about maintaining a luxurious standard of living--exotic vacations, nice cars, swimming pools, etc.
• Retirement. Some people want to get rich so that they never have to work another day in their lives. In this case, the standard of life one wishes to maintain once retired is critical to understanding how much money is needed to get rich.

Get a Job. Find a company, establishment or organization to work for, in the beginning you may not earn a lot of money but after you gain experience in some field money will come to you. Learn how to:

• Volunteer
• Get a job
• Work for the UN

Keep your eyes and ears open. All the time interesting people and chances appear and disappear. Get a feeling when to step forward and when to wait.

Delay gratification. If you're looking for information on how to get rich, then you're probably not rich right now, and there's a reason for that. Are you spending money on things that won't get you rich? Are you sticking with a job that doesn't make that much money to begin with? In order to get rich, you're going to have to give up some of the things you enjoy doing now, so that you can enjoy those things without restriction later. For example, you might like having free time, so you give yourself a few hours a day to do nothing. But if you were to invest those few hours into getting rich, you could work towards having 20 years of free time (24 hours a day!) with early retirement. What can you give up now in exchange for being rich later?

• Cut expenses
• Get a job that pays more or get a promotion
• Downgrade or give up your car
• Downgrade your apartment or house
• Reallocate your spare time

Save money. You've heard the phrase "It takes money to make money." So start socking away the extra money you're making now that you've delayed gratification as outlined previously. After all, what's the point in giving up the stuff you like if you have a hole in your pocket? Start building a "get rich fund" at the bank. Always pay yourself first. This means before you go and blow your pay check on a new pair of shoes or a golf club you don't need, put money aside in to an account that you don't touch. Do this every time you get paid and watch your account grow.

Invest. Once you've stockpiled your savings, start thinking of ways to invest it. This is where your definition of "rich" really comes in handy. If you're looking for prestige, for example, a good investment would be education. Save up enough money to attend an Ivy League school and obtain a degree in something that will make decent money but, more importantly, earn great respect (doctor, lawyer, dentist, any kind of professional). If your goal is to retire early, on the other hand, invest that money in stocks, bonds, or other vehicles of investment that will give you an annual return on investment (ROI) that's enough to maintain you in your retirement. For instance, if you have one million dollars invested and you get a reliable 7% ROI, that's $70,000 per year! Invest in relatively stable assets - rental properties or potential development land in steadily growing areas is a good example. Put your money not in luxuries that will be worth nothing in a couple of years (a fancy car, for example), but in things that will increase in value over time, and that will earn you supplementary income in the interim.

Stay rich. It's hard to get rich, but it's even harder to stay rich. Your wealth is always going to be affected by the market, and the market has its ups and downs. If you get too comfortable when times are good, you'll quickly drop back to square one when the market hits a slump. If you get a promotion or a raise, or if your ROI goes up a percentage point, don't spend the extra--save it for when business is slow and your ROI goes down two percentage points.