Those of you who are wealthy. How many of you started with nothing?

[Lottiebugz22]

Did you work your way up?
How many years did it take you?

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

I started with nothing. Never been gifted or inherited anything. Am 50 now and have a gross worth of about £1m through buying a property while very young and dripping money into investments and pensions. Work hasn't made me rich as such,, it's just supported me to keep going. It was the property and investments that really counted.

Best piece of advice I was ever given was to

1. spend money on things that appreciate in value, not things that depreciate in value and
   

1. Treat all kinds of investments as a long term (minimum 10 years) plan.
   

And that's it really. I can honestly say that work just keeps me going and gives me something to do - I get paid about £25k which isn't much really but this is the most I've been paid, before that I was just building my way up.

Look for alternative sources of income other than employment.

[SunflowerSeedsForever]

Am 50 now and have a gross worth of about £1m

But that is inadequate for a 50 year old if that includes pensions?

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

Thank you for your feedback SunflowerSeedsForever

I only need £12k a year to live on. I live simply.

[TippledPink]

How is £1 million inadequate including pensions? I would think the majority of people don't have anywhere near £1 million in their pension pot!

[LaurieFairyCake]

It's all relative. I have no pension and think I've done brilliantly at owning a house worth £650k at 51 (was just luck and being old and having a house relatively young)

Started with less than nothing

[FuckYouVirus]

I'm not wealthy in terms of my salary (45k) but I have a lot of savings. I've always saved because I was a young mum on benefits and knew for a long time what it was like to be very poor. It taught me a lot. In the beginning I would save £5 a month and it grew from there. I would rather have my savings then material things. Makes me feel safe (ish).

[saylor]

Not me, but my mum. She and my dad were immigrants with absolutely nothing. She went back to university when I was 5yrs old, whilst also holding down a full time job. She then worked hard at a big multinational and took an opportunity to start her own company with a client who effectively poached her.

Apart from one holiday a year and sending me to private school, she didn't spend money on any other luxury. Not even popcorn at the cinema. She invested her money wisely, bought property, build a nice share portfolio.

She's 60 now and retired with wealth of around £2.5m, and that's after a costly divorce in the early 2000s from my dad.

[emz771]

“Coming from nothing” always conjures up ideas of a poor up bringing for me - and that’s certainly wasn’t the case for me. My parents owned their own house, had a yearly holiday etc but we weren’t wealthy.

I trained and qualified as a solicitor - and still practice part time. People have this belief that all solicitors earn hundreds of thousands - and it simply isn’t true for most. A solicitor with decent experience at a high street practice will probably earn 60/70k a year. Good - but not the money people expect.

It’s my husband who has made the money in property. But he started in 1990 and concedes himself if he was starting now the business wouldn’t succeed.

The world has changed - and so has the way you make decent money.

[LucyLocketsPocket]

About 5 years, after I joined a start up company that ended up doing very well.

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

The world has changed - and so has the way you make decent money.

This is a really good point. I think relying on a job for your sole income really just pays for you to get by. I don't think you can use it for wealth building, you have to look at other prospects.

[emz771]

It’s more possible to get quick rich now - as 20 years ago there wasn’t the apps, websites, etc that could blow up overnight. It was the more work hard, build up the business, make money after a good few years.

Having said that I think it was probably easier to make decent money 20 years ago.

[Sodamncold]

My dad

Vicar’s son so got assistance to go to a private school
Did professional exams

And then worked like a dog building a business


A very very astute business man (and wonderful father) that provided my siblings and I with an incredibly privileged childhood

[Sodamncold]

* Apart from one holiday a year and sending me to private school, she didn't spend money on any other luxury. Not even popcorn at the cinema. She invested her money wisely, bought property, build a nice share portfolio.*

She's 60 now and retired with wealth of around £2.5m,

Always a bit baffled by this approach.
Saving saving saving to enjoy in older age when much more susceptible to illness, incapacity and... dying.

My father saved like a trooper but holidays, popcorn at the cinema etc were relished.

Which was good as he died too early

[WickedlyPetite]

We built up a business for 8/9 years, (it was really hard work), then sold it.

We've used the money from the sale to increase our property portfolio and invested the majority of it in unit trusts and bonds.

Now we both work in our own separate businesses 30-ish hours a week. So we have a joint income from those of about £175k a year, plus income from our properties.

We plan to retire no later than 55, though in reality we both love our work and expensive holidays so it may be more a case of working very very part time.

[SunflowerSeedsForever]

How is £1 million inadequate including pensions? I would think the majority of people don't have anywhere near £1 million in their pension pot!

The OP asked Those of you who are wealthy. How many of you started with nothing?

£12k a year isn't wealthy.

[emz771]

It’s one of those things - where it’s almost impossible to define wealthy.

[DustyMaiden]

started with absolutely nothing. Earned a reasonable salary but most income from property.Remortgaged my home to raise deposit for first buy to let went on from there.

DH higher earner but that happened later in life.

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

Sunflower. I never said I had 12k a year. I said I only need 12k a year to live on