Creating Lasting Wealth
How do most people create wealth?
Most people build wealth over time through consistent work, career growth, or entrepreneurship. A stable job with a good salary or the success of your own business can fund the lifestyle you want now—and help you prepare for the future. Some folks might obtain wealth via inheritance, financial windfall, or good real estate choices, but for most people, grinding through their 9-to-5 job is usually the best choice for creating lasting wealth.
For many people, creating wealth via their career or business is the easy part. The difficulty is keeping it, growing it, and using it to provide financial freedom in the future. More importantly, how do you turn your income into something that supports your life goals and benefits your family long-term?
Step 1: Define What Wealth Means to You
Before you start chasing numbers, take a step back. Ask yourself what wealth actually means for your life. For some, it might mean retiring early. For others, it could be about flexibility, freedom, starting a business, or pursuing hobbies. Wealth is not about creating the biggest pile of money, but rather, using the money to fund the type of lifestyle that you want in the future.
Instead of thinking “I need $2 million to retire,” ask:
What kind of lifestyle do I want now and in the future?
What goals matter most: starting a business, traveling more, helping family?
Do I value financial independence, legacy, security, or a mix?
Here are a few example goals that I’ve seen from my experience as a financial planner:
Retiring before age 60
Paying off all debts and never borrowing again
Funding your children’s or grandchildren’s college education
Buying a second home or vacation property
Leaving a meaningful charitable legacy
Starting a dream business with a large amount of start-up funds
Once you define what financial success looks like for you, it will be easier to focus on creating and keeping the wealth necessary to meet that success.
Step 2: Understand Your Trade-Offs
With every financial decision, there are trade-offs. You can save aggressively now and retire early, but that might mean limiting your lifestyle in the short term. Or you might choose to spend more freely today and retire later.
The same trade-off calculation is necessary when you retire. Do you want to spend more excessively when you’re healthier and able to travel easier? Or do you want to help preserve your funds to pass on to your beneficiaries?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. What matters is understanding your options and having some intentionality with how you use your money.
A Real-Life Example: FIRE vs. Flexibility
I’ve written pretty extensively in the past about the FIRE movement—Financial Independence, Retire Early. Followers often save more than 50% of their income, live frugally, and invest aggressively to retire in their 40s.
I really like that this movement gets young people thinking about how to save, budget, and prepare for the future. But unfortunately, I think many of the ideas are unsustainable, poorly thought out, and ultimately set people up for failure. Creating wealth by extreme cost-cutting when you’re young is often unsustainable, especially if people get married and have kids. I prefer a more balanced approach:
Extend your target retirement age
Invest in a diversified portfolio for long-term growth
Reduce high-interest debt
Explore ways to optimize your taxes
Produce several different sources of sustainable income
This kind of flexibility can help you reach your goals without sacrificing your quality of life today.
Step 3: Invest Early and Strategically
One of the most powerful tools for creating lasting wealth is investing. The earlier and more consistently you invest, the more your money can grow over time thanks to the power of compound interest. To build lasting wealth, investing needs to be a consistent, intentional choice that is sustained for decades.
Start with the Basics:
Keep a 6-month emergency fund in a high yield savings account.
Use your employer retirement plan (401k, 403b etc.) to get the full match.
Max out your personal IRA (Roth or Traditional depending on your circumstances).
Go back and max out your employer plan if your IRA is maxed.
Contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA) if possible. It’s a powerful, tax-advantaged way to save for healthcare and retirement.
Start investing in a taxable brokerage account, which offers flexibility to bridge the gap between now and early retirement.
Diversification is key. Not only does it protect you from risk, but it also gives you more ways to grow your wealth.
Step 4: Protect What You’ve Built
Growing wealth is crucial but so is protecting it over the long term. Protection means insurance, and a solid plan to protect your wealth is necessary for most people. If you’re one accident or mistake away from economic disaster, your wealth is not well protected.
Consider Your Insurance Coverage:
Life insurance if you have family dependent on your income to survive.
Disability insurance to protect your income if you’re in a high-risk field.
Umbrella liability insurance to protect against lawsuits or accidents that you’re liable for.
Long-term care insurance as you age to help preserve your legacy and pass on your wealth.
If you own a business, properties, or significant assets, think about how they’re titled and protected. Legal structures like LLCs can reduce liability, while using cybersecurity tools can ensure your online accounts and assets are secure.
Step 5: Plan Your Legacy
Estate planning isn’t just for the ultra-wealthy. If you have people you care about or assets you want distributed according to your wishes, it’s important to make sure those wishes are known and well documented with an estate plan.
Start With These Essentials:
A will that outlines how your assets are distributed, and who receives guardianship if you have minor children.
A power of attorney and healthcare directive in case you’re unable to make decisions
Beneficiary designations on all accounts
Consider Adding a Living Trust:
A trust can help:
Avoid probate fees and delays
Keep your estate private
Provide structure for distributing assets over time
Support minor children, disabled dependents, or charitable goals
Trusts offer flexibility and control while helping to minimize estate taxes and legal delays.
Creating lasting wealth is about more than income or investment returns. It’s about aligning your money with your values, protecting what you’ve built, and planning ahead to help your family reach their goals. Creating lasting wealth isn’t about creating a giant pile of money, but figuring out what success means to you, working towards it, then protecting it once you’ve achieved it.