I have heard many stories of people who die and leave millions of dollars behind and yet made didn't make six figure salaries.  They accomplished the feat of becoming millionaires by spending less than they earned.  I have also heard of "wealthy" doctors and professionals going broke by living lifestyles they couldn't really afford.

It seems so logical-- spend less than you earn and invest your money wisely.  The real trick is spending less than you earn.  I have worked hard at cutting my expenses so that as my income rises I can get ahead even faster-- what can be cut to keep your spending under your income:

• Your house-- Do own or rent less than you qualify for?  Just because you can get more doesn't mean you should . . .
• Your car-- Ditto
• Gym memberships-- Are you using it?  Could you do it at home?
• Cable-- Do you need (or just want) all the premium channels?
• Vacations-- Do you really need more than one per year?
• Groceries-- Any waste? Do you use coupons?

Just keep going down the list of your expenses . . . there is always some fat in the typical budget.

Now, can you put away 10% or MORE of your income?  When you can do that you will see that is how wealth is really built-- it doesn't require a six figure income . . .

In a future post, I will discuss the beauty and magic of compound interest-- it can work for you or against you.