I was reading Dave Ramsey‘s blog and came across the post about what the rich do daily.
It lists 20 things rich people do daily that poor people don’t do. The premise is that we can all improve our own net worth by learning and then implementing the 20 things rich people do. For instance, the wealthy carefully manage their money and so can we with free tools available online.
Tom Corley, on his website RichHabits.net, outlines a few of the differences between the habits of the rich and the poor as follows. I’m using this to examine my own habits and have what I do regarding each habit following the listed habit. You could do this for yourself and see how you stack up. Maybe it’s time to change some habits? Use the list to evaluate your own habits and then implement the habits of wealthy people.
20 Things Rich People Do
So what do the rich do every day that the poor don’t do?
1. 70% of wealthy eat less than 300 junk food calories per day. 97% of poor people eat more than 300 junk food calories per day. 23% of wealthy gamble. 52% of poor people gamble.
2. 80% of wealthy are focused on accomplishing some single goal. Only 12% of the poor do this.
3. 76% of wealthy exercise aerobically 4 days a week. 23% of poor do this.
4. 63% of wealthy listen to audio books during commute to work vs. 5% for poor people.
5. 81% of wealthy maintain a to-do list vs. 19% for poor.
6. 63% of wealthy parents make their children read 2 or more non-fiction books a month vs. 3% for poor.
7. 70% of wealthy parents make their children volunteer 10 hours or more a month vs. 3% for poor.
8. 80% of wealthy make hbd calls vs. 11% of poor.
9. 67% of wealthy write down their goals vs. 17% for poor.
10. 88% of wealthy read 30 minutes or more each day for education or career reasons vs 2% for poor.
11. 6% of wealthy say what’s on their mind vs. 69% for poor.
12. 79% of wealthy network 5 hours or more each month vs. 16% for poor.
13. 67% of wealthy watch 1 hour or less of TV. every day vs. 23% for poor.
14. 6% of wealthy watch reality TV vs. 78% for poor.
15. 44% of wealthy wake up 3 hours before work starts vs .3% for poor.
16. 74% of wealthy teach good daily success habits to their children vs. 1% for poor.
17. 84% of wealthy believe good habits create opportunity luck vs. 4% for poor.
18. 76% of wealthy believe bad habits create detrimental luck vs. 9% for poor.
19. 86% of wealthy believe in life-long educational self-improvement vs. 5% for poor.
20. 86% of wealthy love to read vs. 26% for poor.
Am I Doing Rich People Things?
The important thing to do with this information is to use it to improve your own life.
So below I’ve applied the “rich people habits” to myself to see how I stack up with the list. Am I spending my time on habits that build wealth?
1. 70% of wealthy eat less than 300 junk food calories per day. 97% of poor people eat more than 300 junk food calories per day. 23% of wealthy gamble. 52% of poor people gamble. – I have been diligent about cutting back on junk food and calories lately so I’m moving more toward a wealthy lifestyle habit in this case. Also, I don’t gamble.
2. 80% of wealthy are focused on accomplishing some single goal. Only 12% of the poor do this. – I need to get better at this but I do normally have at least 1 thing I want to do every day even if it’s pretty simple.
3. 76% of wealthy exercise aerobically 4 days a week. 23% of poor do this. – I do this! I am currently exercising almost every day and have a goal to get at least 30 minutes of cardio 4-5 times a week. So far, so good. I also plan on buying the Sole Fitness E95 Elliptical Machine for my house once I save up for it. My friend bought one and LOVES it.
4. 63% of wealthy listen to audio books during commute to work vs. 5%
for poor people. – I don’t have a commute so this one doesn’t really apply, but I have gotten audio books for long road trips. When I did have a commute it was short and I would listen to either the radio or a podcast or make a phone call.
5. 81% of wealthy maintain a to-do list vs. 19% for poor. – I’m the master of to-do lists. I love making lists and I adore to-do lists. It helps keep me focused and keep accomplishing thin
gs!
6. 63% of wealthy parents make their children read 2 or more non-fiction books a month vs. 3% for poor. – I don’t have children.
7. 70% of wealthy parents make their children volunteer 10 hours or more a month vs. 3% for poor. – I don’t have children.
8. 80% of wealthy make hbd calls vs. 11% of poor. – Not sure about this.
9. 67% of wealthy write down their goals vs. 17% for poor. – I definitely do this. I keep written goals around my house in a Moleskine Classic Notebook and I keep written goals on this blog. I feel that just the act of writing down goals helps you cement your direction and get closer to achieving what you want. Moleskine notebooks are the best to keep around for stuff like this.
10. 88% of wealthy read 30 minutes or more each day for education or career reasons vs 2% for poor. – I don’t do this daily but I do read quite a bit for education and career reasons. A lot of this is through blogs and news sites but I also still read books as well. My latest read –
The Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful + Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms
11. 6% of wealthy say what’s on their mind vs. 69% for poor. – I definitely lean toward not saying what’s on my mind in a lot of situations because I know it’s not appropriate. This is a very interesting point that I never thought about but saying what is on your mind all the time could definitely lead to negative situations.
12. 79% of wealthy network 5 hours or more each month vs. 16% for poor. – Networking is one area where I fail miserably. I’m very introverted and shy so I tend to shy away from traditional networking opportunities.
13. 67% of wealthy watch 1 hour or less of TV. every day vs. 23% for poor. – Since I cut cable I’ve barely watched any TV at all and only through Netflix and
Amazon TV. In the past I’ve used TV watching time to double as blog time – catching up on admin tasks so I’m somewhat productive while also enjoying TV guilt free.
14. 6% of wealthy watch reality TV vs. 78% for poor. – Okay, you got me on this one. I love some reality TV. Not stuff like the Kadashians or the Housewives, but things like Gold Rush Alaska and Swamp People and other shows that introduce me to lives I’ll never live. Also I enjoy things like Top Chef and Project Runway where the focus is creation and talent.
15. 44% of wealthy wake up 3 hours before work starts vs .3% for poor. – When I was employed I woke up 1-2 hours before work started. Now that I’m doing my own thing I have been horrible at having a standard wakeup call for myself.
16. 74% of wealthy teach good daily success habits to their children vs. 1% for poor. – I don’t have children.
17. 84% of wealthy believe good habits create opportunity luck vs. 4% for poor. – I do believe this which is why I continue to try to establish the types of good habits that will lead to opportunity.
18. 76% of wealthy believe bad habits create detrimental luck vs. 9% for poor. – Agree with this as well to a certain extent. I know it’s not true in all cases but bad habits do majorly affect the types of opportunities that come along.
19. 86% of wealthy believe in life-long educational self-improvement vs. 5% for poor. – I fully agree with this and am surprised more poor people don’t agree with it as well. I believe we never stop learning and improving ourselves throughout life. Education doesn’t stop in school.
20. 86% of wealthy love to read vs. 26% for poor. – I looooove to read! That will make me wealthy, right? Time to go read now!
Surprisingly I already do or agree with most of the things wealthy people do daily!
Other habits of the rich:
- They invest their money with trusted companies
. Investing is a good way to earn on your money long term.
- They manage money well with services and trusted advisers.
- They make sure they are spending less than they are making – this is how you gain wealth. You just can’t spend everything you earn!
I’m doing a lot of these things! This means in the long term my good habits should pay off handsomely, right? Just gotta get through this lean period and I’m sure they will.
Do you share many habits of the rich? Or the poor?