How To Build Wealth From Nothing (No Financial Help From Parents)

How To Build Wealth From Nothing: 14 tips to set yourself up when you have no financial help from parents.

If you don’t receive any financial help, you might be wondering how everyone else around you has a fancy car and owns a home.

Essentially, there are only four options:

• Financial help from parents
• They have a lot of debt (over extended)
• High income
• Frugal and smart with money

That’s it. That is the entire list.

It’s basic math.

Since high income earners have a higher tax rate and more expensive lifestyles, the truth is that most people only appear to be doing well financially. In reality, it is because they receive financial help.

Based on eight years of experience working in the financial industry, it’s rare that people are frugal and smart with money. Even the people you think are smart have loads of debt because high income allows them to borrow more.

In short, most people get financial help from their parents. 

The good news is that it’s still possible to become wealthy even if you don’t receive financial help from your parents. 

Also, building wealth on your own will lead to you being a happier, more independent, more fulfilled adult. 

In this post, I will show you how to build wealth from nothing without any help from your parents.

Let’s dive in.

How To Build Wealth From Nothing (No Financial Help From Parents)

Most People Get Help From Their Parents

Besides having a roof over my head, food and necessities, I’ve never received a dime of financial help in my life. 

I never received a down payment from my parents nor do I expect to.

I paid for education entirely on my own.

Once I moved out of my parents’ house at 21, I never moved back in.

Furthermore, I have been working since I was 15 to be able to afford my own financial decisions. I worked at Swiss Chalet and Canadian Tire when I was in high school to pay for clothes and for spending money. My parents never gave me an allowance.

Don’t get me wrong, though, my parents are not poor by any means. 

I had a wonderful childhood and they gave me everything I ever needed. We always had food on the table, nice cars, and lived in really nice homes.

I should also add that I wouldn’t have it any other way. In my experience, people that are handed everything tend to be less independent.

I even theorize that it leads to depression.

If your education was paid for, if you received a down payment on a home, if you were gifted a car, or if you got a job through your parents, it may feel like you never accomplished anything on your own. As a consequence, some people may become depressed.

You Are Lucky If You Don’t Have Financial Help

Do you know what’s impressive?

Independence is impressive.

Accomplishing something entirely on your own is impressive. It builds experience and character. It’s the only way to truly learn something.

Here are a few impressive accomplishments without help from parents:

• Buying a house without help
• Moving out on your own at 20 years old
• Paying your own rent
• Paying for your own education
• Getting a job because of your skills and not through a parent or someone you know
• Building wealth and saving money without receiving a financial gift
• Moving from another country and building a life on your own
• Starting a business without a loan
• Not relying on others to pay for you
• Never asking for money from anyone in your life
• Buying your own car with cash
• Not working at the company your parents own

How To Build Wealth From Nothing (No Financial Help From Parents)

Let’s say you have to pay for your own education, your own house, and your own retirement. 

How do you do it?

Is it even possible in today’s age?

Yes.

But the truth is that you have an uphill battle.

It’s not going to be easy.

However, it will be more satisfying when you do it.

Here is how to build wealth from nothing, without any financial help.

How To Build Wealth From Nothing (No Financial Help From Parents)

1. You Need To Work Harder

If you don’t receive financial help, you must work harder than people that get help.

There’s no way around it.

Whether that is working harder in school, at a job, or on a business, you have to outwork people to get ahead of them.

If you get help, you can basically go home and drink and watch TV every night after work. Your minimal retirement contributions through an employer will be enough.

2. You Have To Think Different

I recently wrote about how you could live for free and still keep your money by investing in SmartCentres REIT.

Essentially, I came to the conclusion that investing $250,000 in the SmartCentres REIT would pay enough to cover the cost of rent in a condo that costs $400,000 to own. By the way, you would also have earned over 10% on your money if you invested when I wrote that post.

It is this kind of original thinking that could help you build wealth if you are starting from nothing.

You can’t just follow the basic advice or the so-called American dream.

3. You Can Only Compare Yourself To Yourself

You can’t compare yourself to people that get financial help from their parents.

They may have a house and no student loan debt, but it’s not based on their own abilities. It’s because they have an easy life.

As such, you can only compare yourself to your former self. 

4. Surround Yourself With Other People That Don’t Get Financial Help

The people you surround yourself with will have a huge impact on the way you act and think.

So, it might not be wise to hang around people who have it too easy.

Instead, choose relationships with people that are in a more similar situation to you.

If you have been westernized, it might be difficult for you to avoid taking on a car loan. It might be hard for you to be less wasteful.

But if you are around someone that had a more difficult journey, or even a grandparent who lived through the depression, you can learn from the way they manage money.

5. Understand It Will Take You Longer Than Others

Without financial help, you will have to spend the first 10 years of your career building wealth slowly.

Because you didn’t get a high-paying job through your parents, you will have to start at the bottom.

Your only option is to gracefully build up your experience.

6. Get Good Grades To Get A Scholarship

As a student without financial help, you don’t have many options besides getting a part-time job or getting good grades.

One way to build wealth is to get your education paid for by obtaining a scholarship.

It will save you money on the cost of education, and it will eventually put you in a position to earn a higher salary.

7. Get Your Employer To Pay For Courses

Rich kids get their educations paid for and often don’t even take it seriously.

They go to fancy schools that make them believe they are more intelligent than the average joe.

Then, they enter the job market demanding high-paying jobs because of their bought educations.

If you don’t have financial help, you don’t have the same advantage.

So, you will need to compete in different ways.

One way to do this is to get your employer to invest in you.

Many employers will pay for staff to take courses related to their roles or development. 

Take advantage of the free money and add courses to your resume.

While they are being complacent and partying on the weekends, you can take extra courses.

8. Always Take Advantage Of Employer Matches And Stock Sharing Plans

If your employer offers a matching contribution or stock sharing plan, you should sign up immediately.

It’s the easiest money you will ever see.

It will also teach you how to invest.

Just by contributing a percent of your salary, your employer will contribute money on your behalf.

Even if the stock or investment options are not that good, you will still get a higher return on the match than you can on most stocks.

Take the free money.

9. Pay Yourself First

If your parents don’t give money for a down payment and you don’t expect an inheritance, you must build good financial habits.

The best way to do this is to begin paying yourself first.

In short, pay yourself first a percentage of your income that you can afford. 

Make it the first bill on your list of bills and watch your wealth slowly grow.

10. Invest In Stocks

If you don’t have financial help and you earn a low income, paying yourself first into a savings account will not be enough.

Because of inflation, your money will lose its buying power every year it sits there.

As such, you absolutely have to get your money into assets that increase in value.

Essentially, you want to find assets that increase faster than inflation.

Since no assets are as capable of high growth as stocks, you should invest in stocks to build wealth from nothing.

I’m not talking about day trading either. I’m talking about investing in quality equities and holding them for at least 5 years.

If you don’t know how to pick stocks and don’t want to put in the time to learn how, just buy the S&P 500.

11. Be More Frugal

To get more money, you can either make more or spend less.

Most of the time, the easiest option is to just spend less.

Frankly, spending less money is the easiest variable to control right away.

You can literally just stop spending money tomorrow.

12. Start A Business Or Side Hustle

If you have the skillset, there is almost no faster way to build wealth than building a business.

The problem is that many businesses fail and it requires self-awareness.

Additionally, many people start businesses because they want to be entrepreneurs or to be cool.

If that’s the case, you shouldn’t start a business.

You should only choose this route if your business idea solves a problem, if your idea has a proven way to earn income, or if you enjoy working. Starting a business is a lot more work than a traditional career. Climbing the corporate ladder is the easier way. The problem is that it is soul-crushing.

If you are not ready to start a business, a safer option is to start a side hustle with your down time. 

In the internet age, you could learn how to blog and earn monthly income with display ads.

13. Avoid Debt

If you are trying to build wealth from nothing, the last thing you want to do is make it harder on yourself.

Simply put, adding debt will subtract from your income.

If you have more bills, you will have less income to pay yourself first.

In turn, it will prevent you from acquiring assets that increase in value, or it will prevent you from being able to buy a house.

14. Believe In Yourself

People with less financial help usually receive less support as well.

So, you have to believe in yourself. You have no other choice.

You have to be able to believe your financial situation will be different than what you were raised to believe.

Too many people just accept what they were told.

Then, they make excuses and blame the 1%.

Personally, I think we should all be thanking the 1%. They are basically responsible for every luxury and technology we have.

Without someone like Steve Jobs, you wouldn’t even be able to share your memes about how you hate the 1% on social media.

People that work harder and people that are smarter deserve to make more money, in my opinion.

It’s not always the case, but most of the time, people who complain about their financial situation are just lazy and full of excuses.

Instead of complaining, believe that your financial situation can be different and put in the work to learn how.

I believed in myself when I switched to a part-time job and risked my full-time career.

It affected my finances in the short term, but I am confident in my abilities to grow my wealth in alternative ways. 

Even if it takes longer, I am happier along the way.

How To Build Wealth From Nothing – Final Thoughts

I realize that a lot of people don’t see me as financially successful because I don’t own a house or car.

The thing is—I’m learning how to build wealth from nothing and I’m playing the long game. 

My wealth is growing slowly in the beginning, because I have to accomplish everything on my own.

However, as a result of learning how to build wealth from nothing, I am gaining a better understanding of how to build wealth in general. I had no choice but to figure it out on my own.

For that reason, I believe people who are building wealth from nothing are better off overall.

Related Posts

Investing With Little Money – 6 Steps To Invest In Stocks

Paying Yourself First – How To Pay Yourself First

How To Save For A Down Payment On a Home

Low Education Jobs With High Pay

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