What is Stealth Wealth?

Stealth wealth is a lifestyle choice that you may have never heard of, but is extremely popular. In fact, it is so popular that most millionaires have been found to live through stealth wealth as a way to keep some form of ‘normalcy’.

The great news is that the cat is out of the bag and now anyone can adopt the life of someone living in stealth wealth. In fact, by patiently following a few rules and making financially sound decisions, you can live with stealth wealth as well.

Here is a list of everything that you need to know for living quietly wealthy. From benefits to the rules to how to acquire wealth- everything is mentioned in this article.

What is Stealth Wealth?

When you think of someone that has a lot of money, you are probably imagining a lavish lifestyle with lots of bling and excitement. You know, the giant mansion and garage full of expensive cars.

The truth is, many people choose to keep their wealth a secret– this is known as stealth wealth.

Essentially, stealth wealth is a way of concealing your income. From the way you present yourself to the world, to what you buy, to how you speak, some of the most successful millionaires on the planet quietly accumulated their wealth.

If people saw me out in the world, you would never in a million years believe that I was actually a millionaire. I drive an old car, shop at thrift stores, and don’t dress fancy.

There are countless reasons for choosing to live the stealth wealth lifestyle and, luckily, the rules are simple. If you want to keep your wealth a secret and reap the many rewards that this lifestyle can bring, keep reading…

Why would someone want Stealth Wealth?

There are many benefits to living a life that is classified as stealth wealth. Below are a few of the tip reasons that I believe anyone wanting to keep their financial earnings a secret

Easier negotiation

Stealth wealth is essential in not just preserving wealth, but acquiring more of it. Think about in any form of negotiation, the party with more information is going to be able to negotiate better.

Once, I went to buy a used car that I knew I needed, but I wanted to bring the price down. Instead of dressing nicely, I was stealth about my wealth by wearing average clothes.

I was able to negotiate the price down by a few thousand because I gave the appearance that I couldn’t afford more.

People Treat You Differently

When you flaunt your wealth, people are going to treat you differently. Whether they are jealous or working to get something out of you, having wealth can hurt your friendships.

When people practice stealth wealth, however, they are able to conceal their millions and have deep, meaningful relationships. None of my friends know how much money I have and it’s not just a topic of conversation.

Money cannot buy you happiness, and it certainly cannot buy you meaningful relationships.

Those with true Wealth Are Treated Like Everyone Else

One of the biggest differences between someone that is rich vs. wealthy is that they are able to keep their financial standing to themselves. They don’t share their money and they certainly don’t flaunt it.

In fact, the quieter someone tends to be with their finances, the closer to millionaire status they probably are.

This also goes to help keep people looking for investments or donations. The more money people believe that you have, the more likely people will come asking for a piece of the pie.

If you want to be treated like everyone else, that means you need to keep your financial situation quiet.

Stealth Wealth is the Opposite of What Society tells Us to Do.

When you are starting to think about stealth wealth, it can be a difficult concept. In our society- especially on social media- we are taught to flaunt our wealth.

With stealth wealth, however, you want to conceal your finances as much as possible.

You may want to buy the big mansion and the lavish cars, but just because you can afford them, doesn’t mean that you should buy them.

If your goal is stealth wealth, what you drive and how you live is one of the main ways to help your finances stay a secret. Even if you choose to buy the big ticket items- keep them off of the internet.

Rules to Living the Stealth Wealth Lifestyle

In order to successfully live a stealth wealth lifestyle, there are a few rules that are important to keep in mind. Millionaires all over the world have implemented these rules and have thrived in business and their personal life as a result.

Keep Your Income a Secret

One of the most important things to help you succeed in having stealth wealth is to keep your income a secret. Outside of you and your partner, no one needs to know how much you truly earn.

I always practice this. I do not like to tell people how much I make. None of my friends know that I am a millionaire (unless they are reading this LOL).

Diversify your Assets

Investing your money in a few different assets is a wise choice in any case, but even more so when it comes to stealth wealth. If you have X amount of money in stocks and another in real estate, it’s easier to conceal your entire financial worth- not to mention you increase your chances of increasing your income.

There are some amazing ways to invest your money, so why not try a few and earn as much money as possible?

Avoid Having Nice Cars

When you have nice, expensive things like cars or jewelry, it can be a big, flashy sign to people screaming that you have money. While this might sound nice, it is the opposite of the goal when it comes to stealth wealth.

If you do choose to purchase the limited-edition fancy sportscar, make it a habit to avoid high traffic areas where people will notice you- and don’t drive it into work. You want to keep your income at a discretion so keep it for weekend drives on the coast.

Personally, I own a 9 year old Honda Civic that I bought discounted. The boyfriend doesn’t even own a car – he drives a work truck and uses my car when he needs to go somewhere on the weekend.

Don’t Post on Social Media

Posting on social media is a great way to share your wealth! Showing off your new granite countertops or the fancy vacation in Hawaii is one of the best ways to avoid having stealth wealth.

Not only is posting on social media the opposite of stealth wealth, but when you post your nice things on social media, you can actually become a target to thieves. Criminals look for wealthy people all of the time on social media in their local area to see when they are out of town and what sort of items that they can steal.

I rarely, if ever, post anything about my personal life on social media. All my social media posts are related to my businesses.

Always Say its Fake

Whether an item is real or not, always claim that it is a fake. This will deter people from assuming that you can afford really expensive handbags, jewelry, or anything designer.

On the same note, I have the habit of telling people how much I got something for on sale (or even free) when they complement something nice I have.

Avoid Giving People Your Address

Having someone’s actual address is the perfect way to have people stop and research your home and it’s worth. One simple google search will bring them to a few dozen sites that can disclose how much the home is worth, how much you bought it for, and when.

Instead, when people want to visit your house, give them directions like ‘take a left at the light and go until the stop sign. The blue house with the fountain in the front is mine’.

Always Praise Others Success

It might sound counterintuitive, but one of the best ways to achieve stealth wealth is to remain humble. Continuously praising others’ successes will help you build others up on their financial successes and help you stay off of the radar. 

Turn Your Businesses into an LLC

Millionaires often have more than a few businesses (seven is the average) and turning them into LLC’s will help you keep your wealth private.

An LLC takes a private business and separates it from the owner so that their personal information is kept private. You can also use a corporation (I use this for one of my businesses), but it’s more expensive and there is a lot more paperwork involved.

Another benefit is the type of tax write offs that different businesses can provide. If you are a real estate developer, for example, you can actually write off any trips to visit that building. If it were me, I’d start buying buildings in Hawaii so I have even more reason to visit!

Tips For Creating Wealth

You may be set on the idea of practicing stealth wealth- with so many benefits how could you not be? But before you can begin living with stealth wealth, you must acquire wealth.

Luckily, it isn’t as difficult as you would think. With a little planning and some dedication, you can create wealth in no time!

Here are some of my favorite tips for creating wealth…

Set a Budget

In order to start creating wealth, you need to proactively get involved with your finances. This means setting a budget and keeping yourself accountable to how you are spending.

After all, you cannot earn wealth if each month you are spending more than you earn.

In order to set a budget, set some time at the beginning of each month and read my favorite budgeting tips here.

Increase your Income with a Side Hustle

One of the best ways to earn more money to help you achieve wealth in the future is to try out a side hustle.

In essence, a side hustle is a job that you do outside of your traditional 9-5 job to help you work toward a specific financial goal. It could be delivering pizzas, freelance writing, working a night job, starting a blog, or mowing your neighbor’s lawn every Saturday in the summer.

Depending on what you do and how much you work, you could potentially double your income and be on the fast track to obtaining wealth.

Get Out of Debt

In order to have enough wealth to maintain the status of having stealth wealth, you need to make getting out of debt your top priority.

I know, it’s easier than it sounds- but if you have a plan and determination to succeed- then you will! To me, the best plan to get out of debt is Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps Plan.

This plan not only helped me get out of debt, but also millions of other adults around the world.

Try a No-Spend Challenge

I love a good challenge that helps me save money and work toward my financial goals! In fact, I compiled a list of my favorite no spend challenges that can be used to help you save money and review your current spending habits.

Most challenges are encouraged to keep private while you are completing them. Taking the time to try out a few of these challenges are excellent practice for when you start practicing stealth wealth.

Live Mortgage Free

Any homeowner should be working toward the goal of paying off their mortgage as soon as possible. This will remove the most expensive bills that adults have to deal with each month.

Think about how much you pay just to live in your own house each month (for many it is a few thousand) and set a goal to pay off that bill.

It might feel like an impossible dream, but there are plenty of ways to live mortgage free.

Trust me, this is one of the best ways to develop your wealth and feel amazing while doing it.

In Summary

There are so many aspects that go into living the stealth wealth lifestyle– from keeping your income a secret to diversifying your assets. Anyone can live this way and benefit greatly from it.

Ready to live with stealth wealth? Comment below with the biggest change you are going to make!