Going from broke to wealthy requires earning and saving money no doubt. But it also requires a certain mindset and particular courses of action to increase financial health. In fact, according to current millionaires, specific behaviors, activities, and choices, are incredibly important on the quest for wealth accumulation and desire to achieve financial independence.

The Millionaire Roundtable is a small group of current and aspiring millionaires who meet once a month to listen, learn, share and grow. It’s a very unflashy divulging of the success and failures of self-made millionaires. Participants openly share their experiences so others may learn from them and vice versa.

Typically, during a roundtable session, one or two contributors tell their story followed by a question and answer session. Following the personal sharing, additional topics or issues may be discussed amongst the group. I’ve listened in on two monthly roundtables now and am enjoying the conversations.

In the final discussions of this last meeting, the organizer and moderator asked participants to describe the essential non-money item/activity/behavior/choice having the most impact on their wealth building success.

While there were a variety of answers, there were also some common replies. Many hit home for me. I’d guess if you are far along on your journey to financial independence they will resonate with you too. If you are in the early stages of a financial turnaround, take note, as you’ll want to be sure and incorporate many of these in your life.

What’s Important on the Quest to Achieve Financial Independence

The bolded words, in no particular order, are the essence of a participant’s comments, with my thoughts following. 

Alignment with Spouse / Partner

If your spouse or life partner is not onboard with your dreams and blueprints to achieve them, you’ll likely not succeed. Or at least you may not triumph with the relationship intact. Teaming up with your partner and strengthening your financial relationship is one of the best things you can do for each other and your financial health.

Financial Self-Education 

Learning how to save and invest your money is significant when it comes to growing your wealth. You may not need to know everything about every investment, but you at least should know where to turn for trustworthy advice and information. And the best way to do that is to educate yourself. No one will care more about your money than you do.

The Rockstar Directory of personal finance websites and blogs is a great place to start for finding an abundance of information on all things money.

Contentment – Realizing you don’t need a lot of stuff; Discovering things that you love don’t cost money

This is true for many, including me, but not necessarily everyone. It is possible to achieve financial independence with a lot of stuff, it will just likely take you longer and a whole lot more money. Those that realize they don’t ‘need’ a lot of things, work at simplifying their life, often finding pleasure in the little things. Many millionaires mentioned valuing experiences over stuff.

Some Level of Not Caring What Others Think or as One Millionaire Put It, Disconnecting from Status Cocaine

One way of looking at this can be best explained by my friend, Mr. Groovy, with his article on Egotrage:

“The strategy of advancing your financial position by doing something that is “beneath” your socioeconomic status.”

That might look like ditching your sexy vehicles for older boring models or purchasing a home half the size of all your co-workers or even wearing thrift-store clothing instead of the latest trends. For us, the less we care about what others think the more money we save, spending on only what we value.

Self-Appraisal /Ability to Question Yourself

Questioning your assumptions and biases is essential in the beginning, middle, and end of your financial journey. While there are a few, who’ve always saved 50% or more of their income, for most of us this idea of financial independence and early retirement are relatively new.

Challenging your thoughts, behaviors, and habits throughout your pursuit of financial independence to continue to learn and grow is a good thing. Be careful, however, to not questions yourself and your actions so much that you become paralyzed from executing your plan.

Mentors/Friends to Assist

Having family members, friends, or mentors who can teach and assist you with financial questions, help you check your calculations, or even aid you in pondering the one-more-year issue is a valuable benefit. The personal finance community is filled with individuals who can help you if you’ve no one in your own life to assist you.

Creating Unique Revenue Streams

Many millionaires earn revenue from more than one source. Small businesses, side hustles, real estate, part-time jobs, etc. are utilized in addition to various investments to create incoming cash flow. Creativity, tenacity, adaptability, and patience all help in adding additional these revenue streams to increase your wealth.

Embracing Mistakes

When we accept our mistakes and failures, we can learn from them. They can help us root out our fears and our flaws. They can help us clarify what we truly desire and aid us in discovering how to take responsibility and build integrity. On the path to achieve financial independence, you’re likely to encounter a few wrong turns and missed signals. Correct these missteps and get back on track as quickly as possible.

Persistence After Setbacks

Setbacks happen, and unless you are incredibly lucky in life, you’ll likely encounter quite a few. What often separates those that succeed from those who don’t, is the ability to endure complications and recover after misfortunes.

Acquire additional skills to earn the next available promotion at work after being passed over for the last one. Or secure a part-time job to aid you in replenishing your emergency fund after using it to repair your car after an accident. Don’t let problems or disappointments derail your plans.

See Related Post: Recover After A Setback: Tips for Rising Back Up After A Knock-Down

Learning to Say No to People Asking for Your Time, Money, or Resources

Taking care of yourself first is essential before you can take care of others. That might mean turning down a request for a personal loan from your brother,  an invitation for drinks out with your coworkers, or prioritizing your need for the car to get to work over your son’s desire to use it for a date. Generosity is a virtue, but we can’t efficiently assist others if we aren’t putting our own oxygen mask on first.

Money Only Gets You So Far

Accumulating money only gets you so far on this journey called life. As you go along figuring out how to be happy and dreaming about financial freedom, consider the words above from millionaires who may be ahead of you on the path.

• Align yourself with your partner and create a financial plan together.
• Educate yourself on financial matters
• Consider your values and embrace contentment with what you already own
• Practice Egotrage
• Question your assumptions and get second opinions from trustworthy sources if necessary
• Think creatively to build more than one income stream
• Acknowledge your mistakes, learn from them, get back up after the setback, and persist on
• Learn to say no, guarding your time, money, and resources

I’ve found all of these important in my life and financial journey. But, the behavior making the most impact on my finances is learning to not care as much about what others think. Practicing a little egotrage or stealth wealth if you will, may not be easy, but it sure helps increase my financial net worth.

Your turn. Do any of these behaviors/activities/choices speak to you? What’s helped you the most so far on your journey to achieve financial independence?