How to Obtain, Retain, and Maintain Wealth: How to Get and Stay Rich

Wealth is a mindset. I wrote an article about this topic in February 2021, as I was just beginning my journey toward financial independence.

Now, over four years later, I am fully retired and own five homes. “Life is good” is an understatement. However, I still have to remain vigilant about maintaining my wealth.

If you are starting from zero or even in a negative position, it’s tough to envision a life of abundance and growth. But, as I stated earlier, wealth is a mindset. Therefore, with a change of perspective, you’ll be halfway to your goal.

Set Your Retirement Requirements

I want to discuss how to start building, keeping, and growing your empire. It begins with your mind; however, your actions are equally important. Let’s begin.

How to obtain wealth. The person with the most information wins. Therefore, your first step to obtaining great wealth is reading books.

Reading allows you to learn from other people’s wins and losses. This knowledge will help you make meaningful changes in your life. Let me give you an example.

Robert Kiyosaki wrote in “Retire Young, Retire Rich” that as soon as he and his wife obtained $10,000 a month in passive rental income, he retired.

When I retired from the Marine Corps with $8,500 a month in pension income, I knew it would be enough. Robert Kiyosaki also said that he retired early so that he could focus on becoming wealthy.

Overcoming Limiting Beliefs 101

I live by this model. I keep my expenses below $8,500 a month (approximately $6,000), but I continue to add more income streams. I can invest this additional income into more income-producing assets.

Without Robert Kiyosaki’s guidance, I would still be working a job, probably making over $20,000 a month; I would be miserable.

Step-by-step guide to becoming wealthy. Most people have some type of leverage they can exert to become wealthy. However, without “the information,” they will not see it. So, let’s start somewhere.

Keep your housing expenses as low as possible for as long as possible. The simplest way to become rich is to lower your housing expenses to zero—this is where you exert your leverage.

Let’s say your parents have a home and allow you to stay. They even say you don’t have to pay rent as long as you pull your weight (do chores) around the house. Take them up on this offer immediately.

Real Estate Investing in Your 70s

The most difficult part of obtaining great wealth is acquiring your first $100,000; therefore, that should be your first goal.

If you own a home, get roommates. If you don’t have any leverage, consider joining the military to obtain a VA loan (that’s what I did).

If you look hard enough, you’ll find leverage points around your life. Most people avoid them because they are socially unpopular (mainly getting roommates).

How to retain wealth. Let’s say you saved $100,000 by age 28. Now what? You are officially wealthy. It may not sound like much, but you have lots of options with $100,000.

Your primary goal is to retain this money; however, you must still take calculated risks. It’s not enough to have a large savings account.

505 Takeaways from 101 Books

I had a young Marine who made $1 million trading foreign exchange (FOREX). He wanted to continue trading, but I told him he had already “secured the bag.” 

I told him he only needed to retain his wealth. Amazingly, he listened. A few years later, he is doing quite well and also still has millions of dollars in the bank.

We may not all win $1 million in the lottery; however, we have the opportunity to save a significant amount of money.

The toughest part of retaining your wealth is avoiding lifestyle inflation, or “lifestyle creep.” As we make more, we spend more.

Inflation Ate My Paycheck 103

Let’s say you saved $100,000. Does that mean you can buy a $75,000 car? For most people, the answer is yes. The real answer is boring; that’s why most people avoid it.

Given your $100,000 bank account, you should put $20,000 in a high-yield savings account, purchase land for $20,000, put a $20,000 down payment on an RV or small manufactured home, and put $40,000 into the stock market.

Now, you have diversified into four separate asset classes: cash (via high-yield savings), land, property, and the stock market.

With this allocation, you have protected yourself from emergencies (via HYSA), mitigated inflation (via owning land and a home), and gone on the offensive (via stocks).

TSP vs. Dividends

From here, you can use your assets to grow more wealth and abundance. Remember that reading along the way will inform you on your next move.

How to maintain wealth. What’s the difference between retaining and maintaining wealth? Retaining is a defensive tactic, and maintaining is an offensive one.

To maintain your wealth, you want to grow it faster than inflation and the cost of living. For all intents and purposes, you’ll need to grow your money at least 10% annually.

You cannot simply keep your money in a HYSA for the long term because inflation is eroding your nest egg. You must go on the offensive.

Save for Your Down Payment Fast

Let’s say you pay $1,000/month on the mortgage on your manufactured home. However, you learn that you can rent it for $1,500 a month. You decide to rent this place and move back to help your parents.

Now, someone else is paying your mortgage and giving you an additional $500 a month, which you can invest.

After five years, your $40,000 stock market portfolio could balloon to $101,000 (at 10%). Better yet, if you leave that money there for 30 years, it would turn into $1.7 million (without adding more).

Therefore, maintaining wealth is still about protecting what you have earned. However, you will still need to take necessary precautions to ensure you stay ahead of the American cost-of-living crisis.

Retirement Plus: Use Dividends to Supplement Your Retirement

Ask yourself, “How can I safely grow my resources?” For some, it may be getting roommates, moving overseas, living with family, or buying rental properties. 

The old way of working hard for money and slowly growing your wealth in the stock market is dying. It’s tough to guarantee a job for 40-50 years. You’ll need to think of alternative investment strategies.

Conclusion. Will you ever be able to enjoy your wealth? Of course you will. There will come a time when you will have such abundance that it will spill over.

No Way I’m Working Another 25 Years Part II

At that point, you will be able to give and spend without feeling guilty. However, I would say that this point is about ten years into your journey.

For example, my wife and I bought a home in Pensacola, Florida, in 2017. We pay $1,300 for the mortgage and rent it for $1900.

We could use the difference (called cash flow) to fund our annual vacation. That would give us $7,200 for a vacation. Luckily, we aren’t big vacation style people—but you get my point.

Quick rundown. You obtain wealth by lowering your living expenses and reading books. You retain wealth by avoiding lifestyle inflation. And you maintain wealth by earning a 10% annual return. You can do it! Good Luck!

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