Millionaire Habits: 20 Daily Practices of Wealthy People
Wealth is not just about what you earn—it is about what you do every day. These 20 habits, practiced by millionaires across industries and backgrounds, reveal the daily disciplines that build lasting prosperity.
Introduction: The Daily Habits Behind the Wealth
What do millionaires do differently?
It is tempting to attribute wealth to luck, inheritance, or being in the right place at the right time. And yes, these factors play a role for some. But research consistently reveals something more interesting: most self-made millionaires share remarkably similar daily habits.
Thomas Corley spent five years studying the daily activities of 233 wealthy individuals and 128 individuals living in poverty. His research, along with studies from others who have examined the habits of the wealthy, reveals a clear pattern: millionaires do not just work harder—they work differently. They structure their days differently. They think differently. They prioritize differently.
These differences are not genetic. They are habitual. And habits can be learned.
This article presents twenty daily practices commonly found among millionaires and wealthy individuals. These are not get-rich-quick schemes or investment tips. They are fundamental habits—ways of thinking, working, and living—that create the conditions for wealth to grow.
You do not have to be wealthy to practice these habits. But if you practice these habits consistently, you dramatically increase your odds of becoming wealthy.
Wealth is built daily, one habit at a time.
Let us examine how.
The Research Behind Millionaire Habits
Before we explore the twenty habits, let us understand where this information comes from.
Thomas Corley’s Rich Habits Study
Corley’s five-year study compared daily habits of wealthy individuals (annual income of $160,000+ and net worth of $3.2 million+) with those of lower-income individuals. He found dramatic differences in how these groups spent their time.
Key Findings
- 88% of wealthy people read for self-improvement daily vs. 2% of lower-income individuals
- 76% of wealthy people exercise aerobically at least 4 times per week vs. 23%
- 81% of wealthy people maintain a to-do list vs. 19%
- 67% of wealthy people write down their goals vs. 17%
- 86% of wealthy people believe in lifelong self-improvement vs. 5%
Important Caveats
Correlation is not causation. Not everyone who practices these habits becomes a millionaire, and not every millionaire practices all of them. Systemic factors, opportunities, and circumstances matter enormously.
However, these habits create conditions favorable to wealth-building: better decisions, greater productivity, improved health, and stronger relationships. They are not guarantees, but they are advantages.
The 20 Daily Habits
Habit 1: Wake Up Early
The Practice: Most millionaires wake up at least three hours before their official workday begins—typically between 5-6 AM.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Early morning hours are uninterrupted. No emails demanding attention, no meetings, no fires to put out. This protected time allows for personal development, exercise, planning, and focused work before the reactive portion of the day begins.
What the Research Shows: Corley found that 50% of self-made millionaires wake up at least three hours before their workday starts.
How to Practice It:
- Calculate backward from your workday start time
- Begin waking 15 minutes earlier each week until you reach your target
- Use the time for high-value activities, not scrolling
- Go to bed earlier to maintain adequate sleep
The Wealth Connection: Early risers have time to invest in themselves before investing their energy in their work. This compounds over years into significant personal and professional advantages.
Habit 2: Read Daily for Self-Improvement
The Practice: Wealthy people read regularly—not for entertainment, but for self-improvement. Biographies, business books, self-development, and industry publications dominate their reading lists.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Knowledge compounds. Each book adds to understanding that informs better decisions. Reading is one of the highest-leverage activities because you absorb decades of someone else’s experience in hours.
What the Research Shows: 88% of wealthy people read 30+ minutes per day for education or career reasons, compared to just 2% of lower-income individuals.
How to Practice It:
- Set a minimum of 30 minutes daily
- Choose books that improve your thinking, skills, or understanding
- Take notes on key insights
- Apply what you learn
- Always have a book in progress
The Wealth Connection: Warren Buffett estimates he spends 80% of his day reading. Bill Gates reads about 50 books per year. Charlie Munger said, “In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time.”
Habit 3: Exercise Regularly
The Practice: Wealthy individuals prioritize physical fitness, typically exercising aerobically at least four times per week.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Exercise improves cognitive function, energy, mood, and longevity. A healthy body supports a productive mind. Additionally, exercise builds discipline that transfers to other areas.
What the Research Shows: 76% of wealthy people exercise aerobically at least 30 minutes per day, 4 days per week, compared to 23% of lower-income individuals.
How to Practice It:
- Schedule exercise like any important meeting
- Find activities you enjoy—sustainability matters
- Morning exercise ensures it happens before the day’s chaos
- Even walking counts—the key is consistency
The Wealth Connection: Richard Branson credits his morning exercise routine with adding four hours of productivity to his day. The energy and mental clarity from exercise translates directly into better performance.
Habit 4: Maintain a Daily To-Do List
The Practice: Millionaires plan their days in advance, maintaining to-do lists that prioritize their most important tasks.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Without a plan, the day happens to you. With a plan, you happen to the day. Lists ensure that important work does not get lost in the urgent chaos.
What the Research Shows: 81% of wealthy people maintain a to-do list, compared to just 19% of lower-income individuals.
How to Practice It:
- Create tomorrow’s list the night before
- Identify your top 1-3 priorities (not 15 items—priorities)
- Tackle the most important or most difficult task first
- Review and adjust throughout the day
- Track completion to build momentum
The Wealth Connection: Productivity compounds. The person who accomplishes their most important task daily achieves vastly more over years than the person who stays busy with lower-value activities.
Habit 5: Set Goals and Write Them Down
The Practice: Wealthy people set specific, written goals—both long-term and short-term—and review them regularly.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Written goals clarify direction. They become a filter for decisions: “Does this move me toward my goal or away from it?” Goals also create commitment that verbal intentions do not.
What the Research Shows: 67% of wealthy people write down their goals, compared to just 17% of lower-income individuals.
How to Practice It:
- Set goals across key life areas: financial, career, health, relationships, personal growth
- Make goals specific and measurable
- Write them down—physically or digitally
- Review regularly (daily, weekly, monthly)
- Break big goals into actionable steps
The Wealth Connection: Without clear goals, hard work can be misdirected. Goals ensure that effort is invested in what actually matters to your definition of success.
Habit 6: Limit Television and Entertainment Consumption
The Practice: Wealthy people dramatically limit passive entertainment, particularly television and mindless internet browsing.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Time is the great equalizer—everyone gets the same 24 hours. Wealthy people invest those hours in activities with returns (learning, building, connecting) rather than activities that only consume (passive entertainment).
What the Research Shows: 67% of wealthy people watch less than one hour of TV per day, compared to just 23% of lower-income individuals. Only 6% of wealthy people watch reality TV.
How to Practice It:
- Track your entertainment consumption honestly
- Replace some entertainment with education (podcasts instead of radio, documentaries instead of sitcoms)
- Eliminate background TV
- Be intentional: choose what to watch rather than just turning on the TV
- Use time limits and stick to them
The Wealth Connection: The average American watches 4+ hours of TV daily. That is 28 hours per week, 1,456 hours per year. Redirect even half of that to high-value activities and watch the compound effect.
Habit 7: Network and Build Relationships Strategically
The Practice: Millionaires invest significant time in building and maintaining professional relationships.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Opportunities come through people. Relationships provide information, introductions, partnerships, and support. Your network is a form of wealth that generates other forms of wealth.
What the Research Shows: 79% of wealthy people network at least 5 hours per month, compared to just 16% of lower-income individuals.
How to Practice It:
- Attend industry events and conferences
- Reach out to one new person per week
- Nurture existing relationships—do not only network when you need something
- Give more than you take—be valuable to others
- Join mastermind groups or peer advisory boards
The Wealth Connection: “Your network is your net worth” is not just a cliché. Most significant opportunities—jobs, investments, partnerships—come through relationships, not job postings or cold outreach.
Habit 8: Control Spending and Live Below Your Means
The Practice: Most millionaires are surprisingly frugal. They spend less than they earn, avoid lifestyle inflation, and prioritize building wealth over displaying wealth.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Wealth is the difference between what you earn and what you spend. High income with high spending creates no wealth. Moderate income with controlled spending builds wealth over time.
What the Research Shows: The famous “Millionaire Next Door” research found that most millionaires live in average homes, drive used cars, and do not wear expensive clothes.
How to Practice It:
- Track every expense for a month to understand your spending
- Identify areas where you spend to impress others rather than from genuine need
- When income increases, save the increase rather than inflating lifestyle
- Focus on value, not price—quality items that last vs. cheap items replaced frequently
- Build the habit of asking “Do I need this?”
The Wealth Connection: The formula for wealth is simple: Earn more, spend less, invest the difference. Most people focus only on earning more. Millionaires focus equally on the spending less part.
Habit 9: Practice Continuous Learning
The Practice: Beyond reading, wealthy people invest in continuous education—courses, seminars, mentors, and skill development.
Why Wealthy People Do It: The world changes constantly. Skills that were valuable yesterday may be obsolete tomorrow. Continuous learning maintains relevance and creates new opportunities.
What the Research Shows: 86% of wealthy people believe in lifelong educational self-improvement, compared to just 5% of lower-income individuals.
How to Practice It:
- Dedicate time and budget to learning
- Identify skills that would increase your value
- Find mentors who have achieved what you want
- Attend conferences and workshops
- Take online courses in relevant areas
- Learn from failures—extract lessons from every setback
The Wealth Connection: Your earning potential is directly tied to your skills and knowledge. Investing in yourself is the highest-return investment available.
Habit 10: Think Long-Term
The Practice: Wealthy people make decisions based on long-term outcomes rather than short-term gratification.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Most of life’s biggest rewards require delayed gratification. Building a business, building wealth, building skills—all require investing now for payoffs later.
What the Research Shows: Wealthy individuals consistently demonstrate higher future orientation in psychological studies—they are willing to sacrifice current pleasure for future benefit.
How to Practice It:
- Before decisions, ask: “What are the long-term consequences?”
- Invest in your future self: health, skills, relationships, finances
- Resist impulse purchases—wait 24-48 hours before non-essential buying
- Choose discomfort now for benefit later (exercise, difficult conversations, challenging work)
- Visualize your future self to strengthen the connection to long-term outcomes
The Wealth Connection: Compound growth—in money, skills, and relationships—only works with time. Every short-term decision that sacrifices the long-term interrupts compounding.
Habit 11: Take Calculated Risks
The Practice: Millionaires take risks, but calculated ones—risks where they have done their homework and where the potential reward justifies the potential downside.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Significant wealth is rarely built through safe, conventional paths. Entrepreneurship, investments, and career moves all involve risk. The difference is that wealthy people take smart risks.
What the Research Shows: Self-made millionaires are willing to take calculated risks. They are not reckless, but they are not paralyzed by fear either.
How to Practice It:
- Research thoroughly before major decisions
- Consider downside scenarios—can you survive the worst case?
- Start small when testing new ideas
- Spread risk through diversification
- Distinguish between calculated risk (informed) and gambling (hopeful)
- Accept that some risks will not pay off—plan for resilience
The Wealth Connection: Safety has a cost. The “safe” path of never taking risks often leads to the unsafe outcome of never building significant wealth.
Habit 12: Surround Yourself With Successful People
The Practice: Wealthy people are intentional about their associations, spending time with other ambitious, positive, growth-oriented individuals.
Why Wealthy People Do It: You become the average of the people you spend the most time with. Mindsets, habits, opportunities, and expectations are contagious. Surrounding yourself with successful people raises your own standards.
What the Research Shows: 79% of wealthy people associate with success-minded people, compared to just 4% of lower-income individuals.
How to Practice It:
- Audit your current associations—who do you spend the most time with?
- Seek out people who challenge you and inspire you
- Join groups where successful people gather
- Limit time with negative, pessimistic, or complacent people
- Be someone others want to associate with—success-minded people want success-minded friends
The Wealth Connection: Opportunities, information, and expectations flow through social networks. Being in the right networks opens doors that remain closed to those outside.
Habit 13: Take Responsibility
The Practice: Wealthy people take full responsibility for their outcomes—successes and failures alike. They do not blame circumstances, other people, or bad luck.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Blame is disempowering. If your problems are someone else’s fault, you cannot solve them. Taking responsibility, even when external factors contributed, puts you in the driver’s seat.
What the Research Shows: 82% of wealthy people believe they are responsible for their own success, compared to just 37% of lower-income individuals.
How to Practice It:
- When something goes wrong, ask “What could I have done differently?” before looking for external blame
- Avoid victim language: “I have to” → “I choose to”; “I can’t” → “I haven’t figured out how yet”
- Focus on what you can control, not what you cannot
- Learn from failures without making excuses for them
- Own your decisions fully
The Wealth Connection: The person who takes responsibility has the power to change outcomes. The person who blames has surrendered that power.
Habit 14: Practice Multiple Income Streams
The Practice: Many millionaires have multiple sources of income rather than relying on a single paycheck.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Multiple income streams provide security and accelerate wealth-building. If one stream dries up, others continue. Additionally, the skills required to build additional streams are themselves valuable.
What the Research Shows: 65% of self-made millionaires had three or more streams of income before making their first million.
How to Practice It:
- Start with your primary income—maximize it first
- Invest in assets that generate passive income (stocks, real estate, bonds)
- Develop side businesses or freelance skills
- Create intellectual property (books, courses, content) that generates ongoing revenue
- Look for ways your existing skills can be monetized differently
The Wealth Connection: Single income sources are vulnerable. Multiple streams create both security and accelerated wealth accumulation.
Habit 15: Protect and Schedule Thinking Time
The Practice: Wealthy people deliberately schedule time for thinking, planning, and reflection—not just doing.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Busy-ness is not productivity. Working harder in the wrong direction just gets you further from your goals faster. Thinking time ensures you are working on the right things.
What the Research Shows: Many highly successful CEOs and entrepreneurs schedule regular “thinking time”—Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Jeff Weiner, and others deliberately protect time for reflection.
How to Practice It:
- Schedule thinking time on your calendar like any appointment
- Use the time for strategic planning, problem-solving, or reflection
- Eliminate distractions completely during this time
- Consider thinking walks—physical movement can enhance cognition
- Ask big questions: “What should I be working on?” “What is not working?” “What opportunities am I missing?”
The Wealth Connection: An hour of clear thinking about direction can be more valuable than a week of hard work on the wrong things.
Habit 16: Automate Saving and Investing
The Practice: Wealthy people automate their financial systems so that saving and investing happen without requiring willpower or decision-making.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Relying on leftover money or monthly decisions to save does not work. Automation makes wealth-building the default, not the exception.
What the Research Shows: The principle of “paying yourself first”—saving before spending—is nearly universal among wealth-builders.
How to Practice It:
- Set up automatic transfers to savings/investment accounts
- Automate retirement contributions (maximize any employer match)
- Automate bill payments to avoid missed payments
- Increase automated savings whenever income increases
- Make spending require effort; make saving effortless
The Wealth Connection: The best financial decisions are the ones you do not have to make. Automation removes the temptation to spend what should be saved.
Habit 17: Maintain Good Health Habits
The Practice: Beyond exercise, wealthy people maintain comprehensive health habits: quality sleep, regular health checkups, and attention to nutrition.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Health is foundational to everything else. Without it, wealth, achievement, and enjoyment are all compromised. Additionally, health problems are expensive—prevention is cheaper.
What the Research Shows: Wealthy people are more likely to prioritize sleep, schedule regular health checkups, and pay attention to what they eat.
How to Practice It:
- Prioritize 7-9 hours of quality sleep
- Schedule and keep regular health checkups
- Pay attention to nutrition—fuel your body for performance
- Manage stress actively (meditation, exercise, etc.)
- Address health issues early rather than ignoring them
The Wealth Connection: Your capacity to earn, to think clearly, to persist through challenges—all depend on health. Neglecting health to pursue wealth undermines both.
Habit 18: Practice Gratitude and Positive Thinking
The Practice: Wealthy people tend to maintain positive, optimistic mindsets and practice gratitude regularly.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Pessimism is paralyzing—why try if you expect failure? Optimism enables action and persistence. Gratitude keeps perspective and prevents the hedonic treadmill of always wanting more.
What the Research Shows: 79% of wealthy people believe they will achieve their goals, compared to just 36% of lower-income individuals.
How to Practice It:
- Start each day identifying what you are grateful for
- Reframe setbacks as learning opportunities
- Focus on possibilities rather than problems
- Surround yourself with positive, optimistic people
- Celebrate progress, not just final outcomes
The Wealth Connection: Optimism creates persistence; persistence creates success. Gratitude creates contentment that allows you to enjoy the wealth you build rather than always needing more.
Habit 19: Make Decisions Quickly, Change Them Slowly
The Practice: Wealthy people tend to make decisions relatively quickly rather than endlessly deliberating, but they stick with decisions once made rather than constantly second-guessing.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Analysis paralysis is the enemy of progress. Most decisions are reversible, and moving forward provides information that deliberation cannot. Once committed, persistence pays off.
What the Research Shows: Successful entrepreneurs consistently demonstrate the ability to make decisions with incomplete information—”good enough” decisions made quickly often outperform “perfect” decisions made too late.
How to Practice It:
- Set decision deadlines—do not deliberate indefinitely
- Distinguish between reversible and irreversible decisions (only the latter deserve extensive analysis)
- Trust your preparation and judgment
- Once decided, commit fully—avoid second-guessing
- Adjust based on new information, but not based on mere doubt
The Wealth Connection: Progress requires decisions. The person who waits for perfect information waits forever. The person who decides and acts learns faster and achieves more.
Habit 20: Give Back and Help Others
The Practice: Most wealthy people are involved in philanthropy, mentoring, or other forms of giving back.
Why Wealthy People Do It: Beyond moral considerations, generosity creates meaning, strengthens relationships, and often opens unexpected opportunities. Many wealthy people report that giving is among their greatest sources of satisfaction.
What the Research Shows: Charitable giving among the wealthy is substantial. Many self-made millionaires also credit mentors with their success and pay it forward by mentoring others.
How to Practice It:
- Give your time as well as money—mentor others
- Support causes aligned with your values
- Look for ways to help others succeed
- Give without expecting direct return
- Build philanthropy into your financial plan
The Wealth Connection: Generosity creates goodwill, relationships, and meaning. Many wealthy people find that generosity returns to them in unexpected ways—though that should not be the motivation.
Building Your Millionaire Habits
You do not need to implement all twenty habits at once. Here is how to build them strategically:
Start With High-Impact Habits
Some habits have outsized effects:
- Reading daily: Compounds into significant knowledge advantage
- Waking early: Creates time for other habits
- Setting written goals: Directs all other efforts
- Living below your means: The foundation of wealth-building
Start with these four and add others gradually.
Be Patient
These habits create wealth over years and decades, not weeks and months. Trust the process through the period when results are not yet visible.
Adapt to Your Circumstances
Not every habit fits every person. Adapt the principles to your situation. The spirit matters more than the exact implementation.
Remember: Habits, Not Outcomes
You cannot control whether you become a millionaire—too many factors are outside your control. You can control whether you practice millionaire habits. Focus on what you can control.
20 Powerful Quotes on Wealth, Success, and Habits
1. “The habit of saving is itself an education; it fosters every virtue, teaches self-denial, cultivates the sense of order, trains to forethought, and so broadens the mind.” — T.T. Munger
2. “It’s not about money or connections — it’s the willingness to outwork and outlearn everyone.” — Mark Cuban
3. “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” — Jim Rohn
4. “The biggest risk is not taking any risk.” — Mark Zuckerberg
5. “Rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs.” — Zig Ziglar
6. “Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.” — Warren Buffett
7. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs
8. “Your network is your net worth.” — Porter Gale
9. “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced every day.” — Jim Rohn
10. “I will tell you the secret to getting rich on Wall Street. You try to be greedy when others are fearful. And you try to be fearful when others are greedy.” — Warren Buffett
11. “The rich invest their money and spend what is left. The poor spend their money and invest what is left.” — Robert Kiyosaki
12. “In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time — none, zero.” — Charlie Munger
13. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Will Durant
14. “If you are born poor it’s not your mistake, but if you die poor it’s your mistake.” — Bill Gates
15. “The question isn’t at what age I want to retire, it’s at what income.” — George Foreman
16. “You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.” — Dave Ramsey
17. “Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” — Jim Rohn
18. “Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.” — Henry David Thoreau
19. “It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.” — Seneca
20. “The best investment you can make is in yourself.” — Warren Buffett
Picture This
Close your eyes and imagine yourself ten years from now.
You started practicing these habits—not all at once, but one by one. You began waking earlier, reading daily, setting written goals. You automated your savings and started living deliberately below your means.
The changes were invisible at first. Day to day, nothing seemed different. You wondered if any of it was working.
But the habits compounded.
The reading accumulated—two hundred books over ten years. Your thinking sharpened. You saw patterns and opportunities others missed. Your decisions improved because you understood more deeply.
The savings accumulated—automated, consistent, growing. Compound interest worked silently in the background. Your net worth climbed while your lifestyle remained stable.
The relationships accumulated—years of networking, giving value, building trust. Your reputation grew. Opportunities came through connections you had patiently cultivated.
The health investments paid off—you have energy that your peers do not. The decades of exercise, sleep, and nutrition choices show in your vitality and capacity.
Looking back, there was no single moment of transformation. No lottery win. No lucky break. Just habits—boring, consistent, daily habits—compounded over years into results that seem remarkable to others but feel inevitable to you.
This is the millionaire path. Not glamorous. Not fast. But effective.
It starts with one habit, today.
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Disclaimer
This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as financial, investment, legal, or professional advice.
Wealth-building depends on many factors including economic conditions, opportunities, starting circumstances, and luck. Practicing these habits does not guarantee financial success.
The research cited represents general patterns, not universal rules. Correlation between habits and wealth does not prove causation.
Before making financial decisions, consult with qualified financial advisors who understand your specific situation.
The author and publisher make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, or applicability of the information contained herein. By reading this article, you agree that the author and publisher shall not be held liable for any damages, claims, or losses arising from your use of or reliance on this content.
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