It’s no secret that the wealthiest people enjoy a life of comfort, extravagance, and security. But why is it that only a few achieve this status while most are left struggling and vulnerable?

The key lies in the money management skills and practical behaviours that they adhere to throughout their lives. All of them stick to certain patterns that continue to help them accumulate and maintain their wealth at a comfortable level.

Here are the habits of highly affluent people and the things you can do to adopt their way of living.

1)      They spend money wisely

Micro-spending, specifically money you use to buy coffee, music, games, or snacks, do a lot of accumulated damage to your wallet. A dollar spent may not look much, but if you look at the bigger picture, you’ll see how much you could have saved every month if you didn’t buy too much of these things.

It’s not only leisurely activities that can drain your account. ATM and credit card fees can add unnecessary expenses that you could have avoided.

Despite having money that can buy anything, wealthy people have a frugal lifestyle. They carefully choose where to spend their money on. Oftentimes, they purchase only two kinds of things: either it’s a necessity to make their lives more convenient or something that appreciates in value and earn them more money in the future.

With small steps, you can adopt a frugal lifestyle and slowly build your wealth. To start, you can pre-book tickets and trips, waive credit card fees, transact on your bank’s ATM, spend less on distractions, make your coffee, or prepare packed meals and snacks.

There are endless ways to reduce unnecessary spending, and all it takes is to be disciplined, creative, and practical.

2)      They regularly check their expenses

Many Australians have a misdirected sense of loyalty toward their lender, thinking that since they’re long-time customers, banks won’t trick them into paying more than normal rates.

It’s not unusual to see new customers getting better deals because that’s part of the lender’s marketing tactics. What’s wrong is being too complacent and naïve that your lender will automatically give you the best rates to retain your business with them.

Affluent people save money and build their wealth by closely monitoring their finances, and this includes regularly checking the interest rates they’re paying on loans. You should adopt this habit to avoid getting duped by lenders into paying more than you should be.

Negotiate better rates, especially if you have a high credit score, and remind them that you deserve a sweeter deal.

3)      They pay bills and debts just in time

Wealthy people never pay debts and utilities earlier than the assigned deadline, but they also never miss out on their financial responsibilities. They understand the power of money and they know ways to compound its value to offset the interests they’re paying on loans.

By avoiding early payments, they have more control over where to invest the money. They also take advantage of on-time discounts that some lenders and utility providers offer.

4)      They improve their credit score

Well-informed individuals understand how their credit score affects future financial options. Missing repayments, using too much credit, and maintaining too many credit accounts can negatively impact scores, so they avoid these mistakes and take a disciplined approach in utilizing credit.

Your credit score can affect interest rates, deposit fees, loanable amounts, and even job opportunities. The earlier you realize the importance of your credit status, the easier it will be for you to manage personal finances.

5)      They take calculated risks

Rich people know that they can’t be rewarded without taking risks. But this doesn’t mean they’ll jump recklessly into any investment without calculating risks. They build a solid strategy first, so they know what to do in case things turn sour.

Have a contingency plan so in case things don’t go as planned, you’ll still have most of your money with you. This means you still have the capital to venture into another investment and seek its potential rewards.

6)      They minimise their taxes

Wealthy individuals make sure they pay the smallest of taxes on their investments. No one wants to hand over their hard-earned money, so these people devise strategies that will help them keep as much of their wealth as possible.

Availing deductions, tax breaks, incentives, and franking credits are some of the methods for minimising taxes. You can use the extra money saved on taxes to further boost your investments.

7)      They avoid too much debt

Having debts is part of their system, especially if they’re running a business. The thing that differentiates them from those with lesser money is they keep debts at bay by repaying them as quickly as possible and minimise the impact of interest rates.

8)      They value time

Building wealth can’t be achieved in an instant. The rich don’t believe in overnight millionaires and they understand that it will take time to amass wealth for a secured future. This concept is the reason highly affluent people start investing their money at a young age, slowly accumulating money until they attain their financial targets.

Believing time is money, they invest it on productive tasks like reading and exercising – anything that will make themselves better at what they do and keep their health in top shape. They avoid wasting time on social media and things that aren’t related to their goals.

So, if you want to get wealthy and secure your future, adopt these habits and stay disciplined in your finances.