On this journey to save money and make sure I can retire and travel I’ve been reading books on what the rich do to stay that way. It’s been an eye opening read. I’ve really enjoyed doing my research and learning how it is that the rich stay rich.

Here’s the 10 things that the rich do to stay rich.

Keep their old cars if they’re still running.

It’s running just fine so in their mind why should they replace it? They have nothing to prove so they do not look at buying a new car every year. Most of them do not, in fact, buy a new car every year. They maintain the one they have.

They stay comfortable in their loving homes.

They tend to buy a house and stay in it. If you look around a smaller neighborhood that is where a lot of the rich live. They stay in their neighborhood and pay their house off. That allows them to let their money work harder for them. Imagine what you could do without a car note or a house note. We have a goal to pay off our house in 6 years after my husband gets his next raise. We want to be the Millionaire Next Door. The one that drives the 15 year old Honda Odyssey (Hey, that’s me!).

They put money in retirement.

If you knew you were going to live to be 100 would you want to have money to spend then? You have got to pay yourself first by putting money in retirement. It’s so important. Especially in this day and age. If you can put money in retirement that matchs with an employer do it. That’s like free money. Thanks to my husband for making this an important issue even while we were 22. He made it a point of making sure he reached the match of 3% so we had 6%. He’s been doing that for 24 years. Be like him! They also live by a budget.

They do things for themselves.

The rich stay rich by doing whatever they can themselves. Lawn care, hair cuts, pet walking whatever they are able to do they do and don’t pay someone else to do. I make sure to cut my daughter’s hair and I even give my dog haircuts. I’ve learned how to give him a semi decent cut and that saves me more than $300 a year. It’s taken a lot of practice and watching youtube videos but it takes me less than an hour. I would have spent an hour driving to drop him off and pick him up. I call that a win. My hubby always mows our yard. I don’t pay for a house cleaner my kids help with chores. There’s way to get the family involved in chores and they feel more a part of the family because of it.

They don’t waste money.

They don’t drink $5 lattes when they know coffee at home costs .20/cup. I buy or make my own creamer and we enjoy our coffee at home. It tastes just as good (or better if you ask me). They give themselves mani’s and pedi’s. Once you learn to do do it, it’s really not hard. Oh look now she’s just meddling!

They pay cash for new purchases.

If the rich was to buy a car they wouldn’t finance it. They would save up and purchase it outright. We save our tax refunds until we have enough to get a new car. That’s our trick. Now usually it’s a used car. But it’s new to me. If they wanted a new microwave they’d do the same. They never pay finance charges. That’s just wasted money.

They make things for themselves.

They do research on how to make things last. They’ll repurpose new items and make them into a completely new planting table and give it a new life. DIY is a big part of making things last. If you’re dresser is in good condition but you’re tired of it. Don’t buy a new one. Paint the one you have and give it a new life. The older stuff is almost always made better than the new stuff. True story.

They learn new tricks on saving and making do.

They learn how to make do with what they have. If they get bored they’ll learn a new skill, like fingerknitting infinity scarves. Then they can make new things without the cost involved. My neighbors have a game that they do every year. It’s called let’s see if we can live on less than we did last year. It works for them! Always try to live on less and pay cash. Be like the rich.

They shop at thrift stores and yard sales.

People who have money are experts at keeping it. They know that if they need something to hit up a thrift store first and see if they can get a good deal. Looking for a food processor or a wool sweater? They know to head out on .99 day and see if their local thrift store has what they need before they go pay full price anywhere else. So head over there not to spend money just because. But head to the thrift store to see if they already have what you need.

They don’t purchase items they don’t need just because it’s a deal.

The rich believe that they generally have what they need. They don’t run out and stock up on a “deal”. They usually plan their purchases far enough in advance and find the best deal they can for what they’re looking for. I had a friend tell me that I found “all the good deals”. But the truth is we are looking ahead of time to ensure we have enough time to find the deal that fits our needs. I don’t shop at a bunch of stores either. I don’t have time to run down all the deals. I go to the store I know has the best price on groceries and I do all my shopping there. I know I can save money by shopping around. But to me this isn’t worth it. It causes me to go from store to store and I’d rather be home doing other things. It’s all about what works for you and your family. If you are in need of an item that your neighbor has and you won’t use it again. Then I say ask if you can borrow it. There’s no need to buy something if you just need to use it once.

Which tips do you already follow? What tips do you have on saving money so that you can live like no one else later? Here’s the books I love about money! The Millionaire Next Door and Total Money Makeover will you be reading them soon?

Check out my article on how to live well on $30000. How to keep kids fashionable on a budget.