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How To Get Rich From Nothing: The Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide

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One of the most successful businessmen of all time, Felix Dennis, once said, “Ideas don’t make you rich; the correct execution of ideas does.”

As the catchphrase suggests, there must be more than a fantastic concept to ensure success. Everybody may have a brilliant concept, but success depends on how that idea is implemented.

Execution requires perseverance, hard effort, resilience, and the ability to think creatively and strategically while taking measured risks.

To help you out, here’s an organized strategy on how to get rich from nothing or have a regular job.

Key Takeaways

  • Becoming wealthy starts with having the right financial mindset and setting financial goals for yourself.
  • Once your mind and heart are into getting rich, you can make a financial plan and budget to track all money going in and out and make adjustments wherever possible.
  • To become rich with a regular job, live below your means, boost your income, create multiple income streams, invest your money, and protect them.
  • Getting rich overnight is a highly improbable endeavour.

How To Become Wealthy

1. Have the Right Mindset

The right mindset is the first step to becoming wealthy in 5 years, 10 years, or even overnight. You must have a positive and growth attitude to help you overcome obstacles and keep learning and growing. 

A positive mindset includes focusing on solutions instead of the problem, persistence to keep pushing forward, learning from failures, investing in your education and skills, and taking calculated risks.

There are many recommended things to follow, like building your effective routine, stepping out of your comfort zone, and surrounding yourself with successful people.

2. Set Goals For Yourself

Rich people are goal-setters. To become like them and get rich from nothing, setting goals for yourself and prioritizing them from the most important to the least is critical.

Whether you’re paying off debts, investing in a property and stock market, putting up a business, or retiring comfortably, you must be specific about what you want to achieve financially.

When setting your goals, you have to identify your short-term and long-term goals, the time frame you want them accomplished, and a detailed plan on how you plan to achieve each goal written down.

To become effective in setting your goals, you must make them SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and on time. Setting your goals realistically can help your financial plan.

3. Create a Financial Plan

After having a clear idea of the financial goals you want to achieve, the next step to becoming rich is to create a financial plan that will serve as a roadmap to achieving financial success. 

Creating a financial plan is taking a comprehensive overview of your money portfolio, calculating your net worth, and identifying which areas to improve, like reduction of expenses, paying off debts, boosting income, and optimizing investments to achieve financial goals.

In planning your finances, you must analyze your current income and expenses, assets and liabilities, tax strategies, investments, insurance, and retirement plans.

Remember that financial planning is an ongoing process and not a one-time event. It always requires you to regularly look for reviews and adjustments and ensure your financial goals and situations are aligned.

4. Create a Budget

Creating a budget after setting your goals helps manage your cash flow to pay debts and determine if a specific financial goal is feasible at the appointed time.

Creating a budget requires determining your income, listing your expenses, allocating funds to your goals, analyzing and monitoring your spending, and adjusting your budget.

Having a budget makes you categorize and track your expenses to know where the money goes, either on basic expenses like rent, food, and transportation or discretionary spending like entertainment, shopping, and eating out.

You may also use a budgeting app or tool online, like YNAB, Mint, or Simplifi, to have a better birds-eye view of your portfolio and track your income and expenses on your smartphones.

5. Live Below Your Means

Living below your means is the most significant thing to do if you’re a regular employee and need to learn how to get rich fast with a steady job.

Living below your means can help you immensely with your financial freedom and attaining your financial goals faster by saving regularly and consistently.

It starts with cutting back on non-essential expenses like eating out, cancelling unused subscription plans, shopping only for necessary items, and reducing entertainment fees.

Set your weekly or monthly spending limit, which helps you eliminate small purchases that add up unknowingly.

6. Boost Your Income

Aside from saving money, consider looking for other ways to boost your income, like negotiating for a salary increase in your current job by working toward a promotion or upskilling by pursuing additional certifications and courses online.

If you cannot boost your income with your current company, another option is to look for a higher-paying job in your field.

Once you start earning money from a pay raise or your new job, you can pay your debts quickly and raise your investment contributions to grow your wealth.

Consider consulting your financial advisor to know the best offer or create a solid investment plan that aligns with your risk tolerance and financial objectives.

7. Create Multiple Income Streams

Aside from your day job income, you can also consider looking for more opportunities to leverage your skills to earn more and create multiple income streams.

You can look for side hustles like freelance online jobs, online selling, starting your blog, starting your own business, or any other type of extra work where you can convert your talent or life skills into life.

Other options include:

  • Creating digital products like software, ebooks, and courses.
  • Selling them online.
  • Exploring affiliate marketing.
  • Promoting products and services online while earning commissions.

Remember to be patient, as it takes a lot of time and effort to succeed in creating multiple income streams.

8. Invest Your Money

Working side hustles provides an active income, but investing your money is the wise option if you’re looking into building your wealth long-term.

It would be best to start researching and educating yourself about different investment choices, such as the real estate market and stock markets with dividends, bonds, mutual funds, cryptocurrency, or other assets that align with your risk tolerance and financial visions.

You can invest in low-cost index funds and enjoy capital growth and income while maximizing your registered investment accounts like the RRSP and TFSA, and also non-registered ones.

You can also invest in the real estate market by purchasing a property in a good location and renting it for passive income.

Another significant and safe investments are the Treasury Bills or T-Bills issued by the Federal Government of Canada.

You have to start early, diversify your portfolio, and seek professional advice to help you create the best investment strategy.

9. Protect Your Net Worth

Protecting your net worth is the last and critical step once you’re building your wealth.

There are many ways to protect your net worth, including diversifying your portfolio to spread risk and minimize losses, building an emergency fund in case of unexpected financial shocks, and purchasing insurance for your assets for financial security.

You should also avoid taking on too much debt to free up your cash flow from high-interest rates to improve financial investments and reduce financial risk.

Tips On How To Get Rich With a Normal Job

Getting rich with a regular job is indeed a challenging and long-term goal, but with proper planning and execution, and a proper mindset, it is more than possible.

You don’t need the highest-earning job or be an heir to a significant inheritance to get wealthy. You can build long-term wealth and live a comfortable life by implementing the tips below on how to get rich with a regular job and average salary.

1. Live below your means. Living below your capacity means spending your money wisely and prioritizing saving the rest of the money you earn. You can start by creating a budget while tracking your expenses and ensuring you are debt-free to make everything happen.

2. Invest wisely. From the money that you save, it’s best to invest a portion of it in the stock market, mutual funds, or real estate to build long-term wealth. Start by learning about the risks and potential returns of a specific investment scheme you like.

3. Invest in yourself. Investing in yourself means developing new skills to help you earn more money by advancing your career and increasing your value in the job market. There are viable options to do this. You can take online courses, attend seminars and conferences, or enroll in diploma or certification programs.

4. Start a side hustle. Consider starting a side hustle or business that you can do during your spare time to earn extra income. Since we are in a digital age, try freelancing and selling products online that can become a full-time business.

5. Build networks and relationships. You can build networks and relationships with your co-workers, potential clients, and other industry professionals in the same field to look for new job opportunities and partnerships. Do this by attending conferences and joining professional organizations.

6. Stay motivated and set financial goals. Above all, you must stay motivated every step of the way and not let hardships hinder achieving your financial goals.

Can You Become Rich Overnight?

Truthfully, it is almost impossible to become rich overnight safely and legally.

Online get-rich-quick schemes spread misleading claims that you may become rich in as short as one night. Unless you win the lottery or receive a massive sum of inheritance from your parents or grandparents – there is no proven, sustainable, or reliable way to build wealth overnight.

If you’re a high-risk taker, you may find overnight success with strategies like investing in cryptocurrencies, in which a single coin’s value can increase by 2x, 3x, 5x, 10x, or more. But be cautious, as that’s too dangerous, as your money could disappear in just one snap.

Building substantial wealth takes time, effort, and careful preparation, so you must be patient.

Is It Possible To Become Rich From Nothing?

Yes, it is possible to become wealthy with nothing at all.

It has been proven by some of the world’s millionaires who went from rags to riches, like Ophrah Winfrey, Forever21 founder Do Won Chang, Ed Sheeran, Dolly Parton, Ralph Lauren, Starbucks owner Howard Schultz, and the list goes on and on.

These people became rich because of their strong work ethic and readiness to take calculated risks. They became some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs with proper financial decisions, hard work, and determination.

To give you an idea, here are some of the tips and habits that can help you become rich from nothing.

  • Saving money as a priority
  • Start a business with a mindset of providing a solution to a problem
  • Utilize your skills and talent and work your way up
  • Educate yourself and upskill
  • Develop multiple businesses
  • Be willing to take calculated risks

FAQs

Which jobs make you a millionaire?

The top jobs in Canada that may lead to millionaire status are stock market traders, investment bankers, software architects, professional athletes, corporate lawyers, authors, engineers, pilots, accountants, real estate agents, and politicians. Physicians, surgical specialists, gynecologists, and anesthesiologists are among the medical professionals that may make you a billionaire.

How much savings should I have at 35?

According to Fidelity Retirement Chart and CNBC, you should have twice (2x) your gross annual income saved by 35 years old. If you currently earn $70,000 annually, you must have at least around $140,000 socked by age 35.

How much should you save a month?

One of the popular budgeting rules is the 50/30/20, where 50% of your income goes to your needs, 30% goes to your wants, and 20% of your monthly salary goes to your savings. Even with this, the percentage of your savings should always be defined by your monthly income, financial objective, and other variables; therefore, you can go beyond 20% but never below 5%.

What is a millionaire’s best friend?

Compound interest or compound growth is the millionaire’s best friend because money’s exponential growth over time makes it seem like free money. Compound interest is the interest earned previously from both principal and accumulated amounts. Aside from that, it is also good to treat time, knowledge, health, network, and financial discipline as a millionaire’s best friend.

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Author

Gravatar for Enoch Omololu, MSc (Econ)
Enoch Omololu, MSc (Econ)

Enoch Omololu, personal finance expert, author, and founder of Savvy New Canadians, has written about money matters for over 10 years. Enoch has an MSc (Econ) degree in Finance and Investment Management from the University of Aberdeen Business School and has completed the Canadian Securities Course. His expertise has been highlighted in major publications like Forbes, Globe and Mail, Business Insider, CBC News, Toronto Star, Financial Post, CTV News, TD Direct Investing, Canadian Securities Exchange, and many others. Enoch is passionate about helping others win with their finances and recently created a practical investing course for beginners. You can read his full author bio.

About Savvy New Canadians

Savvy New Canadians is one of Canada's top personal finance platforms. Millions of Canadians use our site each year to learn how to save for retirement, invest smartly, maximize rewards, and earn extra cash. We have been featured in prominent finance media, including Forbes, Globe and Mail, Business Insider, CBC, MSN, Wealthsimple, and TD Direct Investing. Learn more about Savvy New Canadians.

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