Top 10 Rich Habits

How the 1% Live and Behave Differently

All of us have a vision of success in our minds. When we close our eyes,
we can picture it in all its glory. From a certain house, to a particular car, to
a great job or owning your own business, to a specific weight, and the
perfect relationship, some of us can see it vividly.
But, in order to come out ahead at this thing called life, we have to
ensure that our behavior on a daily basis is consistent and supportive of
the right habits. We also have to ensure that the habit-balance is swayed in
the positive direction, with the good habits outpacing the bad habits.
Habits are an important part of our lives because they drive the
majority of our behavior. What we think, say, and do are all primarily

driven by habits. In fact, according to a 2006 Duke University Study, 40%

of our behavior consists of habits.
From what we do in the morning when we awake, to what we eat, to
the route we drive to work, to how we communicate with friends, and
even the particular websites that we tend to visit, are all driven by habits.
So, its needless to say, then, that in order to improve our lives, we have to
improve our habits.
And when it comes to achieving success, the habit focus must be on rich
habits. Rich habits are habits that help to financially support and empower
us rather than hinder us. The 1%, who are lauded and revered for their
extraordinary wealth, didnt get that way overnight, nor did they get that
way by allowing their bad habits to consume them.
Rich habits will support a rich life in almost every way, not just
monetarily speaking. From an emotional centeredness, to a physical
empowerment, and a clear mental frame-of-mind, rich habits help to, not
only attract money, but also to instill balance.

How to Develop Good Habits

Before we begin speaking about the specific rich habits that help to
support and empower a successful life, lets first look at just how habits are
developed. Now, its clear that all of us have both good habits and bad
habits, and that absolutely no one is completely free of bad habits.
However, the 1% of the population ensures that their good habits, or
rich habits, outweigh those detrimental bad habits. In fact, what youll
come to find is that some of these rich habits are actually keystone habits.
Keystone habits are those core habits that help to support other good
habits, creating a chain-reaction, and reorganizing and changing our
existing habits along with them. Keystone habits are central to any goodhabit-development routine. Focus on keystone habits and watch your
success grow exponentially over time.
Although its easy to talk about habits from an outside-looking-in, its
evident that creating or breaking any habit is hard and takes consistent
effort over an extended period. No habit can be broken or formed
overnight; its take a great amount of blood, sweat, and tears.
According to one researcher, who set about understanding just how
long habits do take to form, she concluded that it ranged anywhere from
18 to 254 days, with an average expectation of 66 days to form any habit.
Overall, then, you can expect any habit to take you at least that long, if not
longer.
For the seldom few, habits are made or broken quicker. But, for the
most part, in order to create or change the neural pathways in our minds

that act as the channels for habits, it takes hard work over a long period.
So, you simply cant expect it to happen quickly.
But, if you can get to that 90-day mark in habit development, youll find
the behavior or routine set of behaviors much easier to conduct. Your
mind will instantly switch into autopilot when its ready to initiate that
habit, and you wont have to consciously think about it that much more.
While getting to that point is difficult, with a little bit of planning and
persistent effort, it gets easier. If youre dedicated to forming a rich habit
or any other habit for that matter there are a few things that you need to
do first:
1. Determine a cue The cue is a point in time or an event that helps
to signify the start of a habit. For example, the cue could be at 6am
or could be after you take a shower in the morning. Once you
determine the cue, you have to ensure that you stick to it. By
embedding the cue, your mind will know specifically when its
supposed to initiate the habit. Once you determine the cue, get
organized by setting an alarm for the habit to start at that particular
moment every day. This alarm should signal the start of your habit
in the day.
2. Describe the behavior or routine Once youve determined the cue,
you can set about describing the behavior or routine set of
behaviors. You can pick from any of the rich habits in the list below,
or you can think up any other habit that youve wanted to instill in
your life. But, to do this, you really do need to get organized and
write it down. Without writing it down, youre allowing your mind
to help obscure a goal from you. Writing it makes it visceral. Also,

place that behavior or routine somewhere you can see it every single
day. It can be on your mirror in the bathroom, on your desk at your
office, or on your fridge at home.
3. Pick an endpoint Once youve picked a cue and defined the
behavior, then you have to select a point in time or space when the
habit will finish. For example, if your habit is to run every morning,
pick how many minutes you want to run for or the distance you
want to go. You can do 30 minutes or 5 miles, but there must be a
clearly defined end to your habit. When you begin your habit,
ensure that you meet your goal of completing the task. Keep in mind
that its going to be difficult at first. But, after one, two, or three
months pass, the behavior will become autonomous and you wont
even have to think about it anymore.

The Top 10 Rich Habits

Now that you understand a little bit about the habit-formation process,
lets look at the particular rich habits that help to support a financially
successful life. Try to incorporate as many of these as you can, and watch
as your progress explodes over time. Just keep in mind that it wont
happen overnight.
1. Save 10-20% of your income This might seem difficult to most
people, especially those who have little extra at the end of the
month. But, what youll be surprised at is just how well we help to
modify and adjust our behavior once we have a particular budget in
place. Most people spend what they make, but when you remove
part of that money from the equation and automatically save it, the
mind unwittingly readjusts its behavior to adapt. We adapt in order
to survive, but this rich habit will also allow you to thrive.
2. Expense Journaling This rich habit involves the tracking all of
expenses, no matter how big or small. The easiest way that most of
us tend to get sidetracked, is through misinformation. The ego can
easily hide the truth from us by concealing it in reasons or excuses.
But, when we track every single penny that we spend, its far harder
to hide from the truth. This rich habit helps us to spend less, invest
more, and plan better for our future. Find a good journal and spend
the next 90 days writing down everything you spend money on,
how much you spend, and why you spent it.
3. Pay Down Debt This rich habit is a fairly obvious one, but not one
that most people follow. In fact, most of us are busier accumulating
more debt rather than paying down existing debt. In order to

eventually get to the 1%, we have to live frugally and put our money
away. But, in order to put our money away, we have to ensure that
we limit the amount of debt we have. When our fixed and revolving
debt matches our income, then its a recipe for disaster. Do
absolutely what you have to do in order to downsize and pay off as
much of your debt as quickly as possible. If youre committed
enough to doing something, youll always find a way.
4. Immediately Open Bills One of the biggest ways we allow debt
and expenses to get away from us is to ignore bills when they arrive.
We have to immediately open bills. When a bill arrives in the mail, it
should be opened immediately and cataloged. What is that expense
and when is it due? If its a revolving debt, we have to find ways to
pay that debt down, as discussed in rich habit #3. But, when we at
least open all of our bills, its far harder to ignore payments that are
due. When we cant ignore payments that are due, it becomes more
difficult to spend money that we know we cant afford to spend.
5. Always Pay On Schedule This rich habit means that no matter
what money youve promised to pay, that its paid on time.
Regardless of what you have to do to reorganize and rearrange your
lifestyle, you have to pay your debt on schedule or risk damaging
your credit, your character, and your capability to obtain loans for
important things in life such as home mortgages, tuitions, or
business expenses. Ensure that you pay on schedule all the time.
6. Audit Monthly Expenses Often, when we receive statements in
the mail or via email, we hardly check them to ensure their accuracy.
But, did you know that inaccuracies could exist in your monthly
credit or debit card statements? For this rich habit, you should

match up all your credit card receipts from places like restaurants,
bars, grocery stores, and so on, to the actual statements themselves.
Are there inaccuracies? This rich habit should become second-nature
to you. Always audit your monthly expenses, and ensure that youre
only paying whats within your obligations and not outside.
7. Budget Income & Expenses Budgeting income and expenses is a
foreign concept for most people. But, this rich habit is central to a
successful financial life. You should be running your personal life
like a business, accounting for the inflow and outflow of money.
Where are you spending your money? How can you make
adjustments where deemed necessary? Whats your exposure to
taxes? And so on. Ensure that you budget yourself and create a
sustainable financial plan to help you avoid some of the common
financial pitfalls in life.
8. Invest in your Home Your personal home will most likely be the
largest investment you make in your life. If you dont own a home,
then now is the time to do so. Regardless of your credit or savings
situation, you have to find a way to purchase a home and ensure
that youre paying your own mortgage and not someone elses. This
is a cardinal rich habit to abide by. And, once you do own your
home, ensure that you reinvest in the areas that count such as in
renovating the kitchens and bathrooms.
9. Invest and Track Savings This rich habit will help you to grow
your bottom line slowly over time. The difference between the 1%
and the 99% is that the former focuses on investing and tracking
their savings. An infographic developed by NPR/Planet Money
depicts that households with income from $15,000-$19,999 spend

2.6% of their budget on savings and investments whereas

households with income above $150,000 spend 15.9% of their budget
on savings and investments. Ensure that you invest and track your
savings, along with your investments, regularly.
10. Mind your own Business While working for someone else will
make you a living, without having your own business, its far harder
to make a fortune. This rich habit is important because, in a recent
survey it was found that the 1% didnt make their money from
salary and wages, but rather from corporations and capital gains. Of
course, going into business, especially when you have large monthly
expenses to cover, is difficult. But, anything that were committed to
can be achieved with persistent action and perseverance. Find and
research a business that you could start part-time or full-time, and
grow it in your free time. Yes, it will be hard, but nothing
worthwhile in life will come easy.