KAZEY JOURNAL

It’s a lot easier to gain—and keep—wealth by building it at a measured pace. Here are some simple ways of doing so.

American society is more cutthroat than ever, and it takes not only great skill and smarts to get ahead, but often a willingness to cut corners, says David Callahan, a PhD and author of The Cheating Culture. “How do you get rich slow when you need $600,000 to buy an entry-level house in Westchester?” asks Callahan.


The truth is it’s a lot easier to get rich—and stay rich—today by going it slow rather than latching onto a get-rich-quick scheme. Best-seller lists are clogged with books that explain in great detail how to Start Late, Finish Rich, or become The Millionaire Next Door. But much of the advice boils down to some pretty simple rules to live by. Here are five steps to slowly gaining the kind of financial security most people only dream of:


1. Live below your means


It’s easier said than done when 75% of the U.S. economy is based on consumer spending and when both cultural norms and easy credit terms encourage people to buy what they want, observes Peter Cohan, an author and investor in Marlborough, Mass. But living below your means is the way to avoid unnecessary debt. Christopher Zook, chairman of CAZ Investments in Houston, recommends borrowing money only to purchase a home or fund your education.


Rule 1 also means saving a portion of your earnings. Here’s an easy way to make that happen: Simply set up an automatic investing program with a mutual-fund company so that a cut of your paycheck—let’s say 10%—is socked away each month. The key is to make it happen automatically, advises author David Bach, whose list of bestsellers includes The Automatic Millionaire.