If you think that being rich and being wealthy are the same things, think again. There are many people who acquire a lot of money. They may look rich by the types of cars they drive, homes they live in, and toys they buy, but measured by “net worth”, they’re not rich at all.

While being rich and being wealthy are correlated, there is one distinct difference. Those that have a lot of money and consider themselves rich tend NOT to be financially free. Sure, they make great money. Some are millionaires! However, along with all that cash, they’ve also got a boatload of debt and expenses that end up causing them a lot of anxiety and worry. In fact, there are many rich people who end up declaring bankruptcy because they’ve mismanaged all that cash.

On the contrary, a wealthy person has a lot of money as well, but they’re not worried. They’re not stressed out. Why? They’re not buried in consumer debt. There expenses are not outweighing their income. In fact, it’s not even coming close!

Rather, the wealthy have strategically planned their financial life in a way that frees them from the trap of the rat race. Instead of running around throwing their money out the window on liabilities, they’ve invested their money in ASSETS.

What is the definition of wealth?

Wealth means having enough money to be alright financially, even if you couldn’t  or didn’t want to work. To be wealthy means that you have enough to cover your expenses for quite a while in the case that you don’t want to work, retire, or that you suddenly lose your job.

For example, let’s say you have $40,000 in your savings. You might feel rich! Now, suppose your monthly expenses are $5,000. If you wanted to retire or you suddenly couldn’t work anymore, how many months of living the way you’re living now would your savings cover? According to the numbers, to maintain your standard of living, you’d be able to do so for eight months. That’s not considered wealthy. In eight months, you’re out of money and if you cannot go back to work, you’ll really start to feel the weight of stress.

Time versus money

Those who aim to become wealthy understand the concept of time and money. Those people who trade time for money in the means of a job, rarely ever become wealthy. The retail manager that puts away $10,000 a year in a savings account may be able to save up quite a bit of money over the years, but he’ll still be working in the rat race for most of his life. Why? Because he’s working for his money, rather than having his money work for him. He’d have made a LOT more money if he’d become a smart investor and invested that money instead of letting it sit in a savings account that yielded little interest.

The importance of compound interest and investing

Socking your money away in a savings account is great, but if you want to become wealthy, you want to learn about the magic of compound interest and the importance of investing. You want to put your money to work for you, growing money from your money, and not necessarily your time.

You want cash flow. You want assets. You want your personal balance sheet to be impressive, generating a nicely monthly cash flow that leads you to financial freedom. This kind of mentality saturates those who want wealth. The kind of mentality that saturates the rich is, “Wow, look at all this money. Look at all the great things I can buy, and so they go on to buy a lot of liabilities. (Expensive toys, vacations, bigger house, things they don’t need, impulse shopping, etc.) They rack up a lot of debt rather than make regular investments that will ultimately grow their money quite well due to the magic of compound interest.

Aim to be wealthy

Whether you make what is considered a little bit of money or you make a lot of money, aim to be wealthy. Put your money to work for you in the way of investments. Yes, you can be frugal and live below your means, as that is a great way to live. But also expand your mentality.

Let’s say you want a boat. Instead of watching your pennies or giving up your weekly dinner at your favorite restaurant, begin to think about what kind of cash flow you can create in order to buy that boat from that cash. Rather than allowing that scarcity mentality to motivate you, think more in terms of asset building. Real estate investing is just one way to acquire the kind of assets that can make you wealthy over time.

Building wealth slowly or quickly 

Some people wonder if they should aim for building their wealth slowly or quickly. I say both. There are those that will tell you that you can only make serious cash flow in real estate over the long haul. While you can make great money that way, that’s not the ONLY way.

I’ve experienced and witnessed many people create opportunities to build their wealth very quickly in the real estate investing business. How? One way is by utilizing my Unlimited Funding Program, but there are numerous ways to make serious bank fast in investing.

Building your financial intelligence

Wealthy people have a different mindset than the rich and the poor. One thing they value greatly is there financial intelligence. Do you know that about 88% of wealthy people read for at least a half hour every day? Do you know the percentage of poor people that read the same amount each day?

2%

Wealthy people will read and educate themselves when it comes to finances, investing, and oftentimes personal growth. They’ll also listen to podcasts, watch videos, and surround themselves with others who have the same type of mentality. They’ll attend workshops, seminars, meetups in their community, and they’ll listen to audiobooks on their way to work. And, they don’t just listen; they put to work what they learn.

Do you want to be rich or do you want to be wealthy? I’m assuming you’d like to enjoy wealth, and I encourage you to adopt a wealthy mindset. Wealth begins in the mind, so educate yourself consistently. As you move forward toward creating wealth, think less about trading time for money, or buying up a bunch of liabilities, and more about putting your money to work for you.

Financial freedom is certainly available, so shoot for wealth!

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