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When you think about the wealthy, you probably picture people with high-end luxury cars, owning multiple homes, and living a flashy lifestyle.
While this does describe some wealthy people, the reality is there are many more millionaires you come in contact with every day that you would never realize are rich.
These people have what is known as stealth wealth.
They are part of the secret rich society that has plenty of money to enjoy all aspects of life, but they don’t flaunt their wealth.
They hide it. And for good reason.
By being financially invisible, they don’t have to deal with the hassles that come when you have a lot of money.
If you want to become part of the stealth wealth society, this article will walk you through how to do it.
In the end, you will be a blueprint for practicing stealth wealth and setting yourself up for financial independence.
What Is Stealth Wealth?
Stealth wealth is defined as keeping your wealth private from others.
This includes family, friends, and co-workers.
By having money and living a more middle-class lifestyle, you can enjoy your wealth without the hassles that typically come from having money.
Understand it is not about hiding your money from the government by having off-shore bank accounts or cheating on your taxes.
It is simply about keeping the details of your wealth to yourself so that others don’t know how wealthy you are.
#1. Having Money Equals Financial Freedom
The point here is that money provides you with options.
And I completely agree.
When you have money, you can choose to take a job in a field you love without worrying about the salary.
You don’t worry if something breaks because you have the money to repair it.
The bottom line is when you have money, life is less stressful.
Start to focus on cutting back on your expenses and then start working to earn more money.
#2. Don’t Become “Cash Rich” and “Time Poor”
While we all strive to have enough money so that we can do what we please with our lives.
Just don’t sacrifice your time trying to achieve it.
If you spend all day at work and only kiss your children goodnight, you may want to reassess your priorities.
In other words, don’t make money your idol.
Practice living like money is a tool for getting you to where you want to be.
Learn what opportunity cost is and weigh all decisions in your daily life, not just financial decision, using it.
Remember that everything has a cost, not just financial, and you need to know what you are potentially giving up when choosing one thing over another.
#3. Experiences Are Better Than More Stuff
I think this is a learned point.
In my teen years, I was all about the object: status symbols.
I wanted designer clothing and a cool sports car.
Now that I am in my 40s, all I care about is hanging out with my friends.
Even if we sit around all night talking, it doesn’t matter.
I enjoy their company and I have those stories and memories for the rest of my life.
And I wouldn’t trade any of that for designer jeans.
Learn to appreciate life.
By learning what is important in life, you will enjoy your time more and worry less about trying to keep up with others.
When you do this, you will be amazed at how much more satisfying your life is.
The sooner you realize happiness comes from experiences and not things, the sooner you can build wealth.
#4. Watch Out For Lifestyle Creep
There are many benefits to keeping your living expenses in check.
Many people graduate college and stop living the college lifestyle.
They buy a new car, a new wardrobe, and rent the nicest apartment they can find.
If you are a soon-to-be graduate, keep living the college lifestyle.
It’s OK to live with Mom & Dad for a year or two and drive around an old car for a couple more years.
With the money you save, you can get a jump start on your retirement and start building your net worth.
And if you are older, keep living a middle class lifestyle.
You don’t need a huge house when a modest house will do.
And you don’t need fancy cars when an average car will serve its purpose.
You can practice stealth wealth by questioning all purchases.
Do you really need it? Will it help to get you to where you want to be in 5 or 10 years?
#5. Remember Things Cost Money
Stop for a minute and think of all the fancy stuff you would like to have if you could buy anything.
Now think about the ongoing costs of these things.
This is what trips people up when it comes to wealth.
They see the expensive cars, many houses, etc. but don’t ever stop to think about the related living expenses.
You have insurance costs for the homes, cars, and boats.
There are electric costs, maintenance costs, operating costs, and more.
In other words, you need to generate more wealth every year just to afford all these things.
If you stop working, your cash flow dries up and you fall behind financially.
This is what happens to many professional athletes.
They never stop to think about what happens when they aren’t making as much money as they do now.
Take the time to think about the impact of having a lot of stuff.
You don’t want to be one of the rich people who have to work 80 hours a week just to afford the luxuries in life.
You want to be secretly rich where you can stop working and enjoy early retirement if you want to and still enjoy life to its fullest.
#6. Having Goals Is Incredibly Important
Goals are important. They keep you motivated and lead to success.
I see setting a goal as challenging myself.
I feel that I need to be challenged to grow and learn and I never want to stop doing either.
Growing makes me a better person.
Learn to set goals for yourself. Don’t make the mistake of setting many goals at once.
Take it slow.
I like to break my long-term goals into short-term goals.
For example, paying off $15,000 worth of debt sounds daunting.
After a few months, you might give up.
Instead, keep your ultimate goal to pay off the debt, but set up a smaller goal.
Focus on getting your debt under $10,000.
You’ll notice the progress more and will stay motivated throughout the entire process.
Once you get your debt to $10,000 have another goal to get it to $5,000.
If these increments are still too big for you to stay motivated, then make them even smaller.
Find what works for you.
#7. You Must Live In The Present
This one is hard, but is important.
I like to visualize my future. I imagine what life will be like when I have the money to retire, waking up when I want and spending my days doing as I please.
While this is good, I must remind myself to stop and smell the roses.
Life is a beautiful thing. Don’t miss it by living in the past or future.
What’s in the past can’t be changed and what lays ahead no one knows.
It’s necessary to have goals as mentioned above.
But it is equally important that you learn to be present and enjoy today.
Take advantage of the life you have and enjoy it!
Stop trying to compare yourself to others and acting like you are a rich person when you aren’t.
Be happy where you are and work to improve yourself.
#8. It Helps To Be Lucky
This is interesting, and is true. There is an old saying that goes “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”
If you prepare yourself for the opportunity, don’t be surprised when it arrives.
Most of the people you see who are lucky appear so because they took the time to prepare for opportunities.
For example, if you make it a point to save 15% of your paycheck you will build up a nice investment portfolio.
One day, you might be approached about an amazing job that you would love to have.
The only catch is that it pays less than your current salary.
Since you prepared financially by saving money, you can earn a lower salary and still survive financially.
Put another way, you might see declines in real estate prices and think, “man, others are so lucky to be buying houses right now. I wish I could, but I’m in debt up to my eyes.”
They are lucky because they prepared themselves for the opportunity.
They didn’t know housing prices would tumble.
But by staying out of debt, they prepared themselves to take advantage of the situation, whether it be with houses or stocks or something else.
Start believing in yourself.
Believe that you too are lucky and prepare to take advantage of opportunities when they knock.
No matter what happens, stay positive with your attitude.
Stick to creating goals for yourself and get your finances in order so that you are in the best financial shape possible.
#9. Play Dumb
Rich people are known to talk a lot about the things they know.
Not only can this be annoying to others, but it makes them a mark.
If you have a large bank account and always are bragging about it, you are going to attract the wrong people into your life.
But if you don’t mention this, you won’t draw attention to yourself.
I’ve seen it happen many times.
Keep your wealth hidden by keeping your mouth shut.
The less you talk about wealth to friends and family members, the less chance they will catch onto you having stealth wealth.
Even if you are knowledgeable about a topic, keep quiet and just listen.
You’ll be better off in the long run.
#10. Don’t Become A Public Figure
It’s a good practice to try to keep a low profile as much as possible.
When you are in the public eye, you have a lot of people trying to dig up dirt on you.
With so much public information out there, including your home address, you will draw attention to yourself.
And this means your wealth could become known to the outside world.
Try to keep out of the public eye as much as possible.
When in public, don’t look the part of wealth. Wear stealth wealth clothing that doesn’t show labels.
If asked, make up a story that you bought the item from a department store.
Drive a stealth wealth car. Even if you have an expensive car, drive your older car.
#11. Be Humble And Polite
An overlooked way to practice stealth wealth is to be humble and kind to others.
You are no better than someone else simply because you have money and they don’t.
It could simply come down to the idea above about luck.
Be kind to everyone you meet and treat them as equals.
Remember also to always be grateful for the things you have and be generous with your time and money through volunteering and tithing.
And to be certain you fly under the radar when gifting money, do it in smaller amounts.
A big check or cash envelope will draw a lot of attention.
But multiple checks over the course of the year for $500 each won’t.
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I have over 15 years experience in the financial services industry and 20 years investing in the stock market. I have both my undergrad and graduate degrees in Finance, and am FINRA Series 65 licensed and have a Certificate in Financial Planning.
Visit my About Me page to learn more about me and why I am your trusted personal finance expert.