For years, I thought money management was about working harder, making more, and then… hoping it would all somehow sort itself out.
Spoiler: it didn’t.
Back when I was covering the music industry, I saw plenty of people hit it big, only to blow through their earnings just as quickly. Others, often less flashy, quietly built lasting wealth.
The difference? Rules.
Not the kind of rules your parents bark at you when you’re a teenager, but habits and principles that wealthy people follow almost on autopilot.
I had to learn them the hard way. But once I did, everything about how I handled money shifted.
Here are the seven spending rules that changed my financial life.
Rule #1: Don’t buy things to impress people you don’t even like
I used to drop money on clothes, dinners, and gadgets just to look like I had it together. Most of the time, the people I was trying to impress barely noticed—or worse, I didn’t even care for their approval.
As financial expert Dave Ramsey put it, “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.”
The moment I stopped spending for image and started spending for myself, my bank account and mental clarity both improved.
Wealthy people don’t waste energy trying to keep up appearances. They already know that lasting respect doesn’t come from the car you drive or the sneakers you wear.
Rule #2: Save 10–20% of income automatically
Consistency is so underrated. For years, I’d save “when I could”—which basically meant never.
Then I came across Thomas C. Corley’s research on self-made millionaires. He found they all set a goal of saving 10–20% of their income in their pre-millionaire years.
That was my wake-up call. I set up automatic transfers into savings the same day my paycheck hit. Even when I earned less, that percentage-based saving system worked. It scaled with me.
Wealthy people make saving automatic. It’s not dramatic or glamorous. It’s just a habit that compounds over time.
Rule #3: Don’t depend on one income stream
One of the most surprising things I noticed in the music world was that the financially stable artists weren’t relying solely on record sales or gigs. They had side businesses, publishing rights, investments, even merchandise.
That lines up with IRS data: the average millionaire has seven streams of income.
I used to believe that one “big break” would solve everything. But the truth is, single-income dependency is fragile. Wealthy people spread their bets, not just in the stock market but in life.
If you’ve only got one paycheck keeping you afloat, it’s time to think about diversification.
Rule #4: Be patient
Patience isn’t sexy. It doesn’t get clicks or likes. But in wealth-building, it’s everything.
Einstein famously said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.” (Ref #260) Warren Buffett echoed this mindset: “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
When I first started investing, I was constantly checking my account. It felt like watching paint dry. But then I realized the wealthy weren’t chasing overnight wins. They were playing the long game.
Patience with money isn’t about sitting back—it’s about staying consistent long enough to let compounding do the heavy lifting.
Rule #5: Wealth is what you don’t spend
About a year ago, I read Morgan Housel’s The Psychology of Money, and one concept hit me harder than any finance book ever had: wealth is what you don’t see.
Think about it. The expensive car, the designer watch, the “flex”? That’s money already spent. Wealth is invisible—it’s the cash sitting in investments, savings, or assets that quietly grow.
This perspective shift completely changed my behavior. Every time I felt the urge to splurge, I reminded myself: the richest people I knew didn’t look rich. They lived below their means and let time do the work.
Rule #6: Focus on value, not price
Early in my career, I used to chase cheap. A cheap car, cheap clothes, cheap gear.
The problem? Cheap breaks. It wears out, burns out, or costs more in the long run.
Wealthy people think differently. They don’t ask, “What’s the cheapest option?” They ask, “What delivers the most value over time?”
For example, I once bought a higher-end camera lens instead of a budget one. It was painful upfront, but that lens has lasted over a decade and paid for itself many times in quality photos and side gigs.
This mindset doesn’t mean throwing money around. It means evaluating return, durability, and impact, not just the sticker price.
Rule #7: Always separate wants from needs
This sounds basic, but it’s the hardest rule to stick to.
I used to convince myself that every want was a need. A “needed” new phone, a “needed” night out, a “needed” pair of boots. Until I stopped, paused, and asked: Do I really need this, or do I just want it right now?
Wealthy people have mastered this distinction. They don’t confuse lifestyle inflation with progress. Their spending reflects priorities, not impulses.
Every purchase is either moving them closer to freedom or further from it.
The bottom line
I was terrible with money because I thought wealth came from income alone. What I’ve learned is that wealth is less about how much you make and more about how you spend, save, and structure your choices.
These seven rules aren’t complex. They’re not secrets only the ultra-rich know. They’re simple habits that, once learned, feel almost automatic.
And that’s the point. You don’t need to be born wealthy to think like the wealthy. You just need to start living by the rules they’ve already mastered.
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