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Your Survival Guy knows a lot about highly successful, fairly wealthy people because I talk to them.

On the flip side, I know plenty about those whoโ€™ve won and lost a fortune. I know about the guy who canโ€™t hold onto his money. He just spends every penny, afraid it might be gone tomorrow. And sure enough, it is.

I also know all about the billionaires thanks to the real estate sections, the virtual tours of their homes, the shows on Netflix and HBO, and the books by Walter Isaacson. Plenty of drama to go around. Entertaining. Maybe not the best family life.

Thatโ€™s why when I say Iโ€™m interested in the habits of highly successful, fairly wealthy people, Iโ€™m talking about a person or family Iโ€™m intimately familiar with because I actually know them. I know how theyโ€™ve worked, saved, and lived. I know what they appreciate in life and what drives them. Yes, money buys them happiness and the freedom to do what they want. But they arenโ€™t flashy (maybe sometimes).

Which brings me to Your Survival Guyโ€™s Habits of Highly Successful, Fairly Wealth People #10: Theyโ€™ve made their money slowly and appreciate what they have.

Theyโ€™re not the lottery winners as rich as Croesus overnight, emptying the bank account, and then weโ€™re told how itโ€™s all gone ten years from now.

No, the highly successful and fairly wealthy appreciate what they have because they never feel rich even though theyโ€™ve got plenty. Theyโ€™re comfortable. But theyโ€™re also fearful, knowing how easily it can be taken away. And the work? They canโ€™t do the work it took to get here again because thereโ€™s not enough time.

Action Line: The virtue of saving money slowly, over a lifetime, is the gift of appreciation for what you have. Thatโ€™s a habit thatโ€™s best taught over time. When youโ€™re ready to talk about preserving what youโ€™ve earned, Iโ€™m here.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.ย