Folks, I have tried a lot of different tactics to get my financial life in order, some with little difficulty but big payouts (like setting up a budget at the beginning or continually tracking my net worth), others with questionable payouts (no spend months, buying meat in dollar stores, mystery shopping).

At the end of the day though, the biggest reasons I’m killing it are below and I highly recommend you adopt as many as possible:

Good Education

I assume I’ve always been a good negotiator because I was born into a pretty stable, middle class family, who were able to live somewhere that had a decent school system (well… the honors classes were decent and they were the only ones I was allowed to take) and when I decided I wanted to make a brief foray into Catholic school, they had the means to allow me to do it.

Now, if this wasn’t your situation, I recommend you just climb back into your mom’s uterus and try negotiating harder. If you work hard enough, anything is possible.

Amelia Earhart puts it best:

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”

Student Loans

Just don’t get ‘em. Mom and Dad paid my way through undergrad and the majority of my first round of grad school, keeping my debt down to a few grand upon graduation with my Master’s degree.

Not only did Mom and Dad pay my tuition, they covered room and board, a food plan, and really any spending money I needed. This was particularly great as I was then able to major in a bunch of things that had no guaranteed income without a lot of worry. I just knew I’d be able to make it, so I was able to chase my dreams. And if not, there was always Mom and Dad to fall back on.

As Napoleon Hill says:

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

The Bank of Grandma

After some time, I decided to go back to school again. This time I approached the Bank of Grandma for a $20,000, 0% interest loan, to be paid back entirely on my terms, that would be considered paid in full upon should the unfortunate death of the bank owner occur before repayments were done.

While I did also do a small dance with Sallie Mae to obtain this degree, the Bank of Grandma was really the main way to go. There’s nothing like a bank asking you, “Sweetie, are you sure you want to pay me $500 a month? How about $100? No rush. Just want to make sure you’re ok” to remove some of that debt stress. I highly recommend you get yourself a Bank of Grandma to help you achieve your dreams too.

I think Ayn Rand puts it well with:

“Money is only a tool. It will take your wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.”

Finding Yourself

While spinning out after a particularly nasty breakup, I pretty much hopped in my car and moved across America to find myself in San Francisco. When I got there, I was able to get an apartment thanks to my co-signers (hi again, Mom and Dad) and although I roamed the streets in abject terror for three weeks because I couldn’t find a job, in the back of my head, if I failed I would just have to drive back to New Jersey and move in with Mom and Dad while I funneled all my money into paying rent on an apartment in San Francisco and if I couldn’t even find a job at home, I’d just have to crawl to Mom and Dad and ask for some money.

Ahem, but that aside, whimsically moving to the other side of America was the catalyst for my entire career, made me stronger in the face of fear and uncertainty, and made me believe I could achieve just about anything – and so far, I have.

I highly recommend again that you get yourself a Mom and Dad like mine. I don’t want to say the safety net they’ve always provided is the #1 key to my success in life – but it’s probably been the #1 key to my success in life.

I like to think of my success in the California adventure, and the benefits it’s provided me, in terms of this Robert Frost quote:

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”

Good Luck

Speaking of things that have also influenced my financial destiny, good luck also deserves a shout out.

My career came out of dejectedly wandering Fisherman’s Wharf and seeing a cruise ship in port. Some of my education came from literally flipping a coin.

I have never had a major financial disaster bigger than my emergency savings.

I have never been in a relationship so bad that it turned into a financial, physical or mental disaster.  I’ve also never gotten knocked up at totally the wrong time of life.

I also didn’t meet the man of my dreams in college and get married before really establishing a career. Yay, love! Not so yay, financial struggles!

Oh, and back to Mom and Dad again, they made me open a credit card and put school expenses on it that they paid for when I started to college, so that’s another point on the good luck scale for starting to establish credit at 18.

As Charles Swindoll says:

“Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” 

No Healthcare Issues

I’d like to say I run and eat well and drink crazy concoctions of essential oils and pomegranates to stay healthy, but it would be a lie. This is also another fortunate move on the side of genetics too (thanks again, Mom and Dad) – assuming I never start smoking, both of my parents had/have pretty good health – and some good luck.

So if you’re unlucky enough to have some chronic disease that needs managing or, God forbid, you have to buy insulin these days, why haven’t you eaten more salad? Maybe if you start running?

If you’re plagued by anxiety and depression, you know yoga might work? They make lamps that mimic the sun – so… maybe that?

Good health is seriously at least 50% of the wealth equation here. Nothing can tank even a privileged upbringing faster than a bout with cancer or developing a chronic disease – even if you have insurance.

You know, Henry Ford said:

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

Housing Costs

I’ve kept my housing costs down, like, way down, by mostly living with my parents till the ripe old age of 34.

I am the boomerang millennial you read about in the news. Sort of. If you all know my story, you know there are some unusual career-related extenuating circumstances, but the fact remains that in the last 11 years, I’ve paid rent for 1.33 years and the rest, I’ve either lived in company provided housing or at home.

Super easy to do, #amiright? What’s wrong with all of you paying for housing? Mortgages and rent will suck your bank account dry.

As Stephen Covey said:

“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.”

Conclusion

So in conclusion, I highly advise you to do everything you can to make sure you’re born into a family with enough money to support you, get a good education, and, most of all, make sure you have good luck.

If you can manage all these things, you’ll be on your way to $100,000 net worth in no time!