If you have a high-paying job that affords you a luxurious lifestyle, you are rich; if you lose the job, you lose your stuff. If, however, you have assets and investments that generate income to sustain your lifestyle, you are wealthy; the job no longer controls you.
Let me be very clear. You do not become wealthy by accident. Rather you must be quite intentional, but probably not in the ways you think. Many of you are throwing money at the stock market, real estate and 401(k)s — and sharing your profits with Uncle Sam. I’m not saying there isn’t money to be made in these types of investments, but why would you share with the IRS if you don’t have to?
The IRA was introduced in 1974 followed by the 401(k) in 1978 and they have been touted as some of the best ways to save ever since. At the end of 2025, there was over $27 trillion dollars combined in IRAs and 401(k)s. Those are tax-deferred dollars, a ginormous IOU to the IRS. By contributing to an IRA and/or 401(k), you tell the IRS, “I’ll pay my taxes later”, and lose control of your financial success.
Taxes are laws. When a future administration wants to spend money they don’t have, they raise taxes. Tax-deferral helps them, not you.
The wealthy know the rules and use them to win the game. By shifting focus from income to wealth and utilizing approved legal strategies, the wealthy significantly lower their effective tax rates, sometimes below those of middle-income earners.
If you want to be wealthy, you must stop following the crowd and begin to think differently about your money.
In 1916, John D Rockefeller became the first U.S. billionaire. He decided to protect his family and build wealth in a way that others were ignoring. He once said, “If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.”
Rockefeller saw the value of thinking differently and wasn’t afraid to go against what others thought he should do. His path would prove to be the most cost-effective and tax-efficient way to create wealth to date.
HOW DO YOU BEGIN TO THINK DIFFERENTLY?
- Stop funding tax-deferred accounts (Traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b), etc.).
- Redirect those dollars to pay off debt.
- Open or convert to a Roth IRA and/or Roth 401(k).
- Work with a financial advisor. This is not a DIY project.