Plan your financial future.

Having a structured plan for your financial future is paramount to accumulating wealth—it will help keep you on track with your spending, investments, and asset management.

1. Invest early and regularly.
   Research indicates that people who earn and invest early on in their adult lives will be more likely to accumulate wealth than those who do not invest early. Ideally, you should invest at least 15% of your pretax income each year. Keep these investments for a while to allow them to grow; don’t make too many trades in a short amount of time.

2. Focus on net worth rather than display factors.
   Display factors refer to items such as flashy cars, expensive clothes, big houses, etc. However, leading such a high-consumption lifestyle will only bleed your savings and leave you with little to invest. When it comes to cars in particular, it’s better to prioritize utility over appearance. Here’s a tip: Instead of wasting time going from dealer to dealer and trying to get the best possible price, drop all of the car dealers an email with the specifications of the car you want to purchase (model, color, etc.) and ask them to give you a quote. You can then save time and purchase the car you desire from the dealer with the best price!

3. Spend time and money on hiring professionals to help you plan your financial future.
   A financial expert will be better able to advise you on how you should structure your expenditure budgets and investment strategies, as well as how to manage your assets so as to maximize your savings and net worth. Here’s a tip: You should spend roughly 20 hours a month (240 hours a year) planning and managing your financial future.