Thereâs nothing more deceiving than oneâs looks. No matter how much I emphasize, âDonât judge a book by its coverâ the lower and middle class abandon this rule the most.
A family in the United States needs an annual income of at least $421,926 to be in the top 1% of earners, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Since most of America is suburbia, in the top two most expensive cities in the nation, San Francisco and New York, that is hard to come by with a family of 3.
The wealthier you get by working hard and adding value to peopleâs lives, the more you appreciate the little things in life. Being successful doesnât mean flashing that $85k BMW or Gucci slides, it means living a simple, nonattractive life that doesnât make people jealous of you. It is very hard to be personable and relatable striking up a conversation with anyone if display that. A Lambo comes across as cool and powerful until you meet the person.
Being rich is different than trying to look rich. The average millionaire doesnât wear a $600 suit or lease a Tesla every 3 months. If you want to seem rich, you invest in liabilities and seek approval through bad debt. The hidden wealthy individuals find no need to show off what they have. Rather they enjoy living a frugal life and half their assets are invested in good debt that makes them money while sleeping.
There is this misconception about passive income. Itâs easy to set up and allows you to make thousands per month for the rest of your life with a click of a button. In order to set it up properly and get real returns for the future, you must put your time and investment upfront for an incredible long term gain in the future. With no guarantee of course.
Most people arenât excited about this plan because all we want is to become rich quick. It is hard to find the patient ones who will work for the thrill and believe that someday it will pay off. Embracing learning from mistakes and not knowing if there will be a guarantee in the future for your efforts is a short way of saying you are different already.
As you become wealthier, the opportunities and connections become more abundant simply because you are known for providing value for your achievements. Whether you inherited your wealth or worked hard for it, along with access to exclusive clubs, people, and opportunities, there are drawbacks of course.
Downsides to Being Rich
The grass isnât always greener on the other side. An increase in taxes, security, identity, property, and damage are one of the few side affects of having a lot tied to your name. The easiest ways to get away with paying taxes legally include setting up tax havens, shell companies in the Bahamaâs where there is a 0% corporate tax, donating to charity, or simply recording your profits as losses towards your business but at the end of the day, audits still happen and taxes must be paid fair and square so much so that with making $1 million per year, you would pay roughly $450k in taxes. In addition to taxes, more is expected of you so naturally you will make people more jealous but easily likable, simply for your money, not necessarily for being you unless you possess stealth wealth.
Along with these responsibilities, opportunities, pros, and cons, there are also things you realize as you naturally accumulate wealth that people with less simply donât understand.
These misconceptions range from assuming that one will become happier once there is more money in their bank account to assuming all problems will vanish. As weâve uncovered, it never happens that way.
Money is our main and biggest stimulant in life because it can buy things we want, not need. With money, it is still up to you to find your happiness, manage your money more carefully and use it wisely to feel comfortable and stable, not broke, and look rich from the outside, a more common trick than you think.
As someone whoâs lived in an upper-class neighborhood all my life in NYC, Iâm more than fortunate that Iâve been able to continue this life because of our habits that seem ridiculous from the outside. Iâm not here to brag about my circumstance only help you in your journey towards financial freedom by discussing how we got here.
My parents were immigrants from Europe and learned English on their own. They worked their way up to live in NYC and work on Wall Street. The American Dream is possible if you really put in the work. But thatâs not as hard as sustaining it.
Itâs harder to keep that money accumulating for you then earn it at times. Itâs a lot of responsibility and we assume because we have earned a lot, we must congratulate ourselves and then we end up getting back to where we started. Throughout my life, Iâve learned invaluable lessons from my family that has helped me live financially free as a 20-year-old and have an above net worth which is -$10k for the average teen.
These are a few things that once you are really rich not seem stereotypically rich that you will understand:
Stop Trying
Stealth Wealth isnât about trying hard not to look rich. If you want to look rich and be rich, go for it but the effort of wasting money isnât considered stealth wealth. Your time is valued more highly and opportunity cost is weighed every time you make a decision. You could easily live a frugal life, wear expensive rip off clothing and be rich, but that isnât stealth. Stealth isnât worrying about otherâs assumptions or pleasing others. People wonât remember what you told them, they will remember how you made them feel so make them feel special on the inside with what they can provide, not complimenting them on the luxury jacket they financed with debt.
You arenât going to accomplish anything from wearing beanies and sweatpants like Justin Beiber. It is not about feeling the need to be like someone else. You do you. Instead of feeling the pressure to save every penny, cook every meal at home, enjoy yourself but set your priorities straight for what works for you. Investing in a $200 suit might work for you instead of a $30 one because you know itâs an investment and will have it for 10 more years, not because it looks good to wear around the streets of NYC.
Invest in Yourself
Educating, nurturing, taking time to breathe, and exercise are the best-proven ways to guarantee financial freedom and prosperity. Most problems involve people and that doesnât start with any technical background, it stems from soft, communicative skills and a willingness to listen and know how to handle tricky situations.
Whether you study finance/business or not, the most important thing you need to know to excel in your career and life is to have a basic grasp on financial literacy along with mental and physical health. You are your biggest advocate and harshest critic and the only one who can move the needle in your life. If you want to make these changes, it starts with accessing free resources online in these areas.
Patience
To become an entrepreneur (the easiest way to earn a ton) isnât so much about having those technical skills as it is to understand peopleâs problems, sympathize, and have the patience to know that if you want to do something well, it takes time. Steve Jobs couldnât code a day in his life but knew what innovation meant and what people needed. With that idea and proven concept, he hired software mechanical and electric engineers to get that dream proven. There is no such thing as rich quick. If it did, everyone would be living their best life and not reading this.
As much as being an entrepreneur is about your personality and willingness to overcome anything for your baby, wealth plays a huge factor in this as well. Without money, it is very difficult to bootstrap or start anything original because you donât have a stable income to rely on solely dedicated for this risky venture. In that case, I advise not to rush the process. If you have an amazing idea as we all think we do and are swimming in debt, make sure you get a recurring monthly gross income and as you are reaching towards your goals of becoming financially free, reach out to connections, mentors, professors, departments at school or at your job to help you with your entrepreneurial ventures. It is great to start young, but donât be fooled by gaining experience and waiting it out. Taking your time is the best thing you can do to make sure you donât waste time later.
Earning >Â Saving
For most, it is easier to save and cut back on spending than find an alternative income besides applying to your local Mcdonaldâs for a 10-hour shift on the weekends. But if you are looking to accumulate the most wealth in the shortest amount of time, you must create something that the world needs. There must be a demand for it and thatâs why it is tricky because there are only a few mega-cap companies for a reason. Predicting the future is impossible and hard! Besides patenting robots or cool pencils, find a system that works and need. 100 people loving your service is better than 1k who like it. This will help you achieve financial freedom much faster than spending, the usual route because it is the quiet and slowest.
Less is More
When you earn more, your happiness stems from what you want not what you need. Everything that youâve worked hard for now can be achieved and kept because youâve been striving for it. Think back to something you wanted for a while.
A dog or PS 5?
After you purchased it, the anticipation felt more exciting with dopamine hits as you were anticipating picking a puppy from the shelter and naming it, imagining yourself walking and playing with it all day long. Then a few hours to days kick in and you realize the downsides. As with everything there are downsides, but until you attain and experience it, you regret most purchases a.k.a dreams. With cleaning and walking, although having a dog might seem like the best friend therapist in the world, you didnât know that until you had it. The more you have, the more effort, priority, responsibility, and brain capacity you need to waste attaining and keeping it. No wonder the âmillionareâ drop shipper YouTuber has 4 beach houses and the real average millionaire has 1.
Quality > Quantity.
So how do I possess stealth wealth as someone who isnât rich?
Bad news, you most likely have to try harder because you havenât mastered how easy and beneficial it is to value less in order to keep your mental, physical, financial and emotional in check.
Valuables
First off, I would start with understanding your needs. Health, safety, family, education should be your top priorities in life because they make you the most fulfilled, grounded, and fortunate. Everything else comes second because material goods come and go, taking money out of your pocket.
Budgeting
This is such a cheezy word. whenever we think of this it seems unrealistic and not fun but budgeting is not only one of the most powerful ways to realize what you already have but feel grateful which leads to constant joy. Staying frugal is easier than you think and makes you creative as well. Instead of eating out, try cooking a new recipe, and instead of buying that in-store 5th Ave Canada Goose for 2k + NYC state and local tax, buy it off of the black-market or any legitimate site from China for $20 for the same quality. Trust me, no one will notice, only your bank account.
From doing this you will not only enhance the best investment in yourself (education) you will accumulate less junk and possess the minimalist lifestyle, a great enhancer for your mental and financial health.
Anyone can learn stealth wealth if they exhibit these qualities and practice the methods of earning > saving, prioritizing family, health, and education, and not feeling the need to impress anyone except for yourself.
The less I try, the more I earn and you can too anytime, anywhere. Stop with the excuses because those who have them arenât moving.