How to Get Rich if You Don’t Come From Money

Your step-by-step roadmap

How to become first-generation rich

Building wealth is a skill and a mindset. It takes time to refine and the results compound. The hard part comes when building wealth from the first time with few examples to show you how it’s done.

Have you ever noticed that persons from wealthy families have an easier time making money and growing wealth than those from less privileged backgrounds? It’s because their wealth consciousness is higher. The more informed the actions, the faster the results.

There are some things that hold middle-class people back from building wealth:

Their mindset needs work

A mindset of wealth creation differs from one of saving and lack. Wealthy people think of money as a tool to be used that simply flows through them. Middle-class people try to hold on to money and save it.

For the middle class, being good with money means being good at saving it. This is not taking part in flow or using money as it is intended. It would be like buying a hammer and keeping it in the toolbox. You have the tool, but keeping it in the box isn’t really the highest and best use for it.

Wealthy people use money as a tool to make more money. They use their money to double or triple the amount they have. Each dollar has come back with friends.

Lack of guidance

Another reason middle-class people struggle to build wealth is they don’t know how to do it! Anything is simpler when someone shows you how.

Lack of leverage

This one relates to mindset again. In the middle-class, working hard is honored and valued. Wealthy people value scale and maximum output. One places value on individual contribution while the other places value on the number of persons served. Both viewpoints are valid, but if you want to build wealth, you will need to build systems that do not rely on your individual effort.

Compounding starts slow and builds momentum. Understanding the highest leverage activities that deliver outsized returns is the key to building wealth and why it’s hard to get rich if you don’t already come from a wealthy family.

What To Do To Get First Generation Wealthy

Money and finance are important. It would be silly to ignore the impact they have on our day-to-day lives and the decisions we make. Because of this, many people want to know how to get rich.

Getting rich — or even better, wealthy — is a skill that anyone can learn. It takes only the willingness to learn, refine, and get better.

It’s also true that getting rich is harder when you don’t come from money. Why? Because you don’t have anyone to show you how it’s done! As with any skill, it is much easier to master how to do something when you have people who have done it before you showing you the way.

Don’t despair, even if you don’t come from money, there are some high-impact actions you can take to fast-track your wealth journey.

Get Financially Educated

Financial education is important. The hard part after making money is knowing what to do with it. Therefore, even when less fortunate people get money, they don’t always keep it. Financial education teaches how money works.

Concepts like the Rule of 72, compound interest, and the time value of money literally explain how to grow money safely yet aggressively. Financial education teaches that sometimes the best use of money is sometimes to not use your money at all. It reinforces the value of cash.

Expand Your Giving Mentality

People with the largest incomes give the most. They have the largest impact.

Think about it this way: A teacher and a professional basketball player both have an impact. We could even argue that the teacher offers a greater contribution daily than simply playing a sport. But income isn’t only about the value, it’s also about distribution.

The teacher may have a greater impact on lives, but the professional basketball player gets seen by millions of people, so his net contribution is more significant as shown by his income.

To get wealthy, expand your mindset to think about ways to give more and impact more lives. Rich people handle more, and their work affects more people. Money is simply a means of keeping score of how many lives you affect.

Expand Your Network

We’ve all heard the saying “your network is your net worth”. It’s true!

When you don’t come from money, seek help. That includes finding mentors, joining accountability groups, and taking courses. There are many ways to learn, but often a shared purpose with others helps you stick to the goal.

Prioritizing wealth is a fundamental reframe from a poverty mentality, but it is possible if you surround yourself with the right people.

Seek High Yield, High Leverage Activities

When you don’t come from money, you likely need to grow a small account into a large account.

Every play needs to offer outsized returns. For example, getting 10% interest per year sounds great if you have a $1M account. You can easily live on $100,000 per year. But would you honestly wait a whole year to earn $1000 on $10,000? It’s not worth the effort. It’s very important to double, triple, or otherwise exponentially grow smaller sums.

Focus on Wealth Not Only Income

Income is important because it determines your lifestyle. Wealth is the proper goal. Having wealth is having assets that generate income. If income is dependent on action, once the action stops, then so does the income. Wealth is making money while you sleep.

Those of us who are working to be the first generation to build real wealth have to work harder, but it is possible with strategic actions.