But it's unlikely that we can have both . The more you covet the symbols of wealth, affluence, and status, they find, the less likely you are to accumulate the financial assets needed to be independent. What Stanley and Danko show is that wealth can created in one generation and that MOST wealth is created in one generation. It is a choice we make. It does not come from inheritance, special education, dumb luck, or even superior investment performance.
People become wealthy by spending less than they earn over long periods of time.
According to their survey research, for instance, millionaires have very little use for the shiny stuff of life. In addition, only one in four millionaires had purchased a car in the last year. More than 36 percent owned cars that were at least 3 years old. When they did buy a car, four out of five millionaires purchased it rather than leased it. Much the same was true of credit cards.