At The Wealth Group, we talk a lot about mimicking the behaviors of the wealthy. The overwhelming majority of wealthy people in this nation did not inherit their wealth. According to The Millionaire Next Door, 80% of America’s millionaires did not inherit any of their wealth. If these 80% of millionaires created their wealth during their own lifetimes, we should study their habits and behaviors to better understand how to build wealth.

Every one of our clients has heard us say that cash flow is the foundation of financial planning and wealth accumulation. Cash flow = income minus expenses. Pay off debt, spend less than you earn, and invest the rest. But it's got to be more sophisticated than that, right? Wrong.

Via Jonathan Clements, in The Little Book of Main Street Money: The earlier you start saving, the easier it is to amass your desired sum. Here's how much you need to save each month to accumulate $1 million by age 65, assuming a 5 percent annual return.

Growing up, I thought there was some magic formula to building wealth. There had to be a secret sauce. I wondered if I had the "It Factor" necessary to become affluent. Today, I know there really is no secret sauce. It's about hard work and consistent behaviors. As you have probably heard us say in our conference room, building wealth is "simple, but not easy."

During a short car ride to a lunch meeting with a client today, Austin and I (Mike) were listening to the audio version of the classic book The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy. Okay, it's only considered a classic by nerdy financial planners like us. The book was originally published in 2000 by two authors whom had researched America's wealthy (net worth greater than $1,000,000) during the prior two decades.