Last Updated on October 20, 2020 by Early retired mom

In this article you’ll uncover 8 wealth creation tips and proven strategies that you can start using today.

You’ll discover the keys to financial freedom and find multiple resources so you can get started today.

Even if you don’t have high income or an amount of money waiting to be invested.

A few days ago, I calculated my net worth and I have to say I was surprised with the results.

My net worth as of April 2020 is slightly above $585,000 which is really great.

I was not expecting that.

This number has the potential to increase by 1 million dollars in the coming years because of a real estate investment we have made.

I think where I (as the money chief of our household) was good at is sticking to a budget.

And sometimes only a rough budget.

But still, I always knew what I have and did not go overboard with shopping or buying stuff that we do not need.

So let’s go over my personal wealth creation tips which I have learned throughout my experience.

Let’s start.

1.    Do You Calculate Your Net Worth

First, I strongly suggest you calculate your personal net worth to understand where you are today.

What does your net worth mean?

Your net worth, is simple terms, is a calculation of your assets minus your liabilities. The result is a strong indication of your financial health.

Assets include anything you own like your real estate, the cash you have in your account, your savings, etc. While your liabilities are your debt, like mortgage, home loans, student loans, etc.

Knowing your net worth helps you define your financial goals and priorities.

Here is a great calculator for that: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/net-worth-calculator/

If you want to check how you rank depending on age, check out this great calculator.

So, increasing your net worth, is the final goal of creating a budget.

2.    Develop a monthly budget that works for you

Ever since I started earning money, I also started saving.

I started saving when I was 17 for a 5 weeks trip to Greece.

I worked as a secretary in a small office, in summer camps and even delivering newspapers until I had enough.

Finally, when I was 18, a friend and I went on this fantastic trip.

Then I saved for my big trip to the far east and Australia.

Within 11 months, I saved a portion of my income while working in airport security. This money lasted me for 8 months abroad.

Not bad!

And this goes on with a new condo in the heart of downtown Toronto which took me 18 months to save (for 25% down payment).

And that list goes on and on.

My secret is a sticking to a budget.

If you do not have one, that’s probably the first thing you need to do. Check out this guide to develop your monthly budget.

3.    Personal Development Books is The Key to Financial Freedom

I didn’t grow up in an entrepreneurial home or with parents who leveraged their money.

My father paid for my academic education by saving penny to penny. He knew how to save money by living frugally.

So I learned from him how to save, but wasn’t sure what I should do with the money to make more of it. And for some years the money set in a saving account with low return rate.

I invested in my formal and non-formal education.

I have an academic degree which landed me my first real job at SAP.

But I also, invested in getting knowledge on money management and wealth creation tips.

In that process I’ve read many books.

Here is a picture of just a few of them.

Here are just a few books that I recommend:

1. Think and grow rich
2. The millionaires next door
3. The Four Agreements
4. How to win friends and influence people
5. Getting things done

Pick something, one book and read it.

And then go to the next one.

You can also look into my recommendation for the best books for starting a business.

Expend your awareness to opportunities around you.

You can also pick an audiobook and listen when you take your dog for a walk or just driving in the car.

This tip alone helped me realize this is possible for me too. Even if I come from a modest house where money was always a challenge.

4.    Become a Doer Person, Focus on Results

This is another one of the keys to financial freedom that is highly important and that is your personality and mindset which is specifically critical if you want to be successful in general and accumulate wealth in specific.

A doer for me is someone that does what needs to be done to achieve your goals. And in this case, financial goals.

I do not sit and wait for something to happen to me.

And I do not dwell when bad things happen, like getting downgraded at work, moving back to my home country after living in Canada for 5 years, bad relationship or whatever may be the reason.

I go into an action more.

I was told once I am like an energizer that does not rest.

I do not let those things distract me from achieving what I want to achieve.

And yes, there are some terrible times, and sometimes it may take me 2-3 days and even or more to recover.

But when I recover, I am almost always pumped up to get started again.

That’s me and I feel lucky to have this trait.

Don’t get me wrong, there are things that I just don’t do, even if I have great motivation for. Like getting back to yoga or riding a bicycle twice a week.

I am a procrastinator when it comes to those and other stuff.

Here is a great post that I really liked: Action not words: The difference between talkers and doers.

5.    Live Below Your Means

This is probably the most important wealth creation tip and the simplest strategy to understand.

And that is: spend less than you earn.

Without it, it will be very challenging to spare some money to invest. Take for example cutting back on your grocery list.

So even if you decide not to stick to a budget, you need to spend less than you earn.

And invest the surplus.

The world is full of tempting stuff to buy. This will not change.

But what can change is your ability to stand against the temptation and just don’t buy what you don’t need.

 It is a mindset shift for many people.

6.    Get Rid of Debt

You need an action plan to tackle debt if you want to focus on wealth accululation.

Once you have some money set aside, starting to pay off your debt would directly increase your net worth.

I recommend to start paying off the loan with the highest interest rate.

For me, I always leave some money to invest. So in parallel I decrease my debt and increase my investments.

I still reduce my debt, even if at a slower pace.

In parallel, I grow my net worth as those investments generate great returns for me.

So, for me, this balance works well.

I’d consider allocating a bigger amount to pay off debt if my debt was higher than it is today.

But I would still always put money aside to invest, even if in a smaller proportion.

7.    Create an Emergency Fund

This has never been more relevant than during the coronavirus outbreak.

Creating an emergency fund assures that when something break you will not have to liquidate an asset or take a loan or do anything else to decrease your precious net worth.

Emergency fund is crucial for protecting what you have and providing you the time to adjust to the new condition.

I have to say, I have used up my emergency fund already and now starting to save for that again.

So I need to make sure we can cover our expenses for 6 months.

8.    Invest your Money to Create Wealth

This is where you start making good use of your money and one of the most important keys to financial freedom. Invest your money, let it work for you and start your wealth accumulation.

Invest in Stocks

I started investing in stocks about 2 years ago.

I have invested around $36,000 buying more than 25 different stocks. Every time I have some money, I add more funds to my stock account.

I have seen really great returns from my portfolio. As of today my stock account balance is $51,000.

So of the companies I invest in are well established companies like: Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon, Netflix, Shopify, Tesla and more.

But I also invest in smaller companies like Wix, The Trade Desk, Zoom (which right now, since the coronavirus outbreak became really popular) and many more.

I have not sold any shares beside one company. I plan to keep stocks for many years.

Even with the drop we all saw in the stock market during the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, I still make great profit.

Purchase Real Estate Properties

Real estate has always been a great way to invest money in.

I have purchased 3 properties in my life.

One condo which I have sold. Big mistake, never to be repeated.

I still regret selling my condo in downtown Toronto. But that’s a lesson learned. I guess I had to learn it sometime.

Since then, I purchase a piece of land which may provide some return within 10-20 years.

As well as an 4-room apartment in a great neighborhood.

Right now I live in a wonderful home which we renovated. It has a big backyard for my 3 toddlers to play in and is it is very specious.

In the future, we have the opportunity sell our apartment and buy this place for half its price.

That will increase our net worth by almost 1 million dollars even with the additional mortgage we may take to cover the gap.

Real estate is a wonderful way assuming you have the money to afford the down payment and monthly mortgage.

If you don’t, don’t worry.

You can also consider the option of real estate crowdfunding as it allows you to invest your money toward a larger real estate investment for a minimal entry point.

As you can see, there are plenty of other opportunities.

Invest in a Start Up

This is a newer trend to make money. It is riskier and requires knowledge on the startup and industry you choose to invest in.

There are different websites where you can find information on new startups asking for funding, like:

1. Wefunder
2. Seed Invest
3. Start Engine
4. Republic
5. MicroVentures
6. KickStarter

There are many more.

In my case, a good friend of ours is an investor. A successful one I have to say.

He introduced us to a new start up that he is invested in and invited me for a meeting with the owner to check if this may interest us.

The startup name is Adshir and it provides a revolutionary solution for Augmented Reality.

I am not a tech-savvy but do have a BS.c in Computer Science even if I never worked as a developer.

I am also interested in technological future trend and read sometimes on what’s going on to keep up to date.

To cut a long story short, I really love what I saw and truly believed they have a revolutionary product.

I consulted with my cousin who works in Magic Leap and have deep understanding of the industry to validate what I saw.

Finally, I decided to invest.

I invested $12,500 about 2 years ago for $22,77 a share.  I know that since the share valuation has doubled since.

Start a Business

It can be to start a blog, consulting, admin work or anything else for that matter. Get my guide on how to build a blog business plan.

This is especially true if your income is lower than your expenses.

Again, there are different opportunities to do that.

Invest in Peer to Peer Landing

Peer to peer landing is something that I have tried about 3 years ago. But because I invested small amounts, so I didn’t get to see great returns.

There are different websites that offer you the opportunity to invest your money, and this doesn’t require big amounts so you can start small.  

The typical annual return is anywhere between 4-7%.

Here is a great article that lists the different peer to peer landing companies.

Conclusion

I believe that the mind set is so important if you want to become wealthy.

Beyond all the wealth creation tips above, you need to believe this is possible for you no matter what the circumstances are.

It may be in baby steps but remember Rome was not built in one day – it is the same for wealth accumulation.

I would love to hear your unique way to create wealth and your story.

Enjoy,

Early retired mom