Dave Ramsey Identified 5 Habits of the Average Millionaire. How Many Do You Follow?

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Dave Ramsey said millionaires are avid readers who understand delayed gratification. Check out these and other habits of millionaires, and see how many you follow. 

Are millionaires different from average people?

Finance expert Dave Ramsey believes that wealthy people tend to share some common habits or traits — and that adopting some of them might be able to help you grow your own wealth.

Here are the five habits Ramsey says millionaires embrace — and some tips about whether you should adopt them and how to do it.

1. Reading regularly

According to Ramsey, “one of the reasons millionaires become millionaires is because of their constant desire to learn.” And, Ramsey believes this learning comes in the form of reading new information often. “When they have free time, they use it wisely — by reading,” he said.

There’s nothing wrong with following this advice and taking the time to learn new things. For example, reading books about investing and taking the time to understand how to allocate investments and manage risk could be a good use of your efforts.

But, if you don’t find reading finance books to be fun, this doesn’t mean you can’t be destined for millionaire status. You actually can become a millionaire without knowing much about money or investing at all if you simply spend less than you earn and invest a good portion of your income in index funds.

So, don’t let a lack of fascination with learning about money scare you away from taking the simple steps you need to get rich.

2. Delaying gratification

Ramsey also believes millionaires don’t rush into spending, but instead focus on the big picture.

“Millionaires spend most of their lives sacrificing temporary pleasures for long-term success,” Ramsey said. “They have no problem buying an older used car, living in a modest neighborhood and wearing inexpensive clothes. They don’t care about keeping up with the Joneses.”

Delaying gratification is good advice to some extent. You don’t want to spend more than you make or buy things you can’t afford. But, you also can’t nickel-and-dime yourself on your path to riches. If you try to cut everything you enjoy from your life, it’s going to be really hard to stick with that over the long-term. Plus, you could spend years scrimping and saving to be rich someday while not enjoying your life in the present.

Rather than delaying gratification, focus on how best to use your money to give you the most pleasure now while also making smart choices for later. Be sure you’re hitting the savings targets you need to grow rich and putting plenty of money in a brokerage account. Then make a plan to spend on the things you truly enjoy.

3. They stay away from debt

Ramsey said it’s a common myth that “average millionaires see debt as a tool.” And he claims that this is, “Not true. If they want something they can’t afford, they save and pay cash for it later.”

In reality, this is simply not true. While millionaires may not struggle to pay off credit card debt, they definitely borrow to buy homes because they understand the interest rate on a mortgage loan is tax deductible. Plus, the rate of interest on a mortgage is often low, so they’re better off borrowing and investing to earn a better return.

Millionaires may also invest on margin or take out loans to start or buy businesses. When debt improves your net worth over the long term, it is an extremely effective tool wealthy people definitely use wisely.

4. They make a budget

Ramsey also says the typical millionaire makes a budget so they have a plan for how they spend their money.

“Average millionaires have made a habit of budgeting every month,” he claims. “They know what’s coming in and what’s leaving their bank accounts.”

This may very well be true and this advice is likely worth following. If you have a plan for what to do with your money, you are inevitably more likely to use it wisely.

5. They donate to charity

Finally, Ramsey says many rich people give money to charity. And, this is likely true, as well as something most people should aspire to. Those who are lucky enough to be blessed with having plenty may get a lot of gratification from supporting causes they care about.

Ultimately, it’s up to you whether you follow these habits Ramsey says millionaires identify with. But the reality is, you can take your own path to becoming wealthy — and as long as you are saving and investing while living within your means, you should be able to get there.

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