Rich Friends, Broke Friends: 7 Wealth Habits That Create the Divide

The financial trajectories of our closest companions often reveal themselves slowly, then suddenly. One day we're all sharing ramen in cramped apartments, the next we're navigating awkward silences when someone suggests a vacation none of us can equally afford.

If you’re anything like us, you meticulously estimate your tax refund with a tax calculator each year and allocate every dollar months in advance. Meanwhile, like us, you probably have friends who view financial planning as an unnecessary constraint on their freedom. When you're diligently tracking expenses while watching acquaintances splurge without apparent consequences, doubt creeps in. Do these small, daily disciplines truly matter?

They do. 

Photo: Joshua Rawson-Harris / Unsplash

Those widening economic gaps rarely happen by chance. They emerge from habitual behaviors repeated day after day, year after year. Though they may seem small at the time, things like bypassing daily coffee purchases, contributing to retirement accounts, and negotiating better interest rates all compound over time. These habits create minor financial differences between friends that compound over time, eventually placing you in two different worlds.

Here are seven wealth habits that separate those who build financial security from those who perpetually struggle—habits we've observed in our own social circles as the decades roll on.

1. Rich friends treat their future self as a real person

Our wealthier friends make regular sacrifices for someone they've never met: their future self. They send that stranger money every month through automatic transfers. They decline purchases to their present self, so this future version can have something better.

Meanwhile, some of our struggling friends treat their future self as a theoretical concept. "Future Me will figure it out" becomes the justification for present comfort. A decade passes, and Future Me arrives completely unprepared, wondering why Past Me was so inconsiderate.

2. Broke friends never maintain buffers against disaster

Our financially stretched friends operate with razor-thin margins. Their bank accounts hover dangerously close to zero between paychecks. When the inevitable crisis strikes—a car repair, medical bill, or sudden job loss—they're forced into high-interest debt that becomes increasingly difficult to escape.

Meanwhile, our friends set on financial security all keep at least six months of expenses in a high-interest savings account. One of our buddies admitted he feels anxious whenever his emergency fund dips at all, so he’s unintentionally built it up to nearly 20 months worth of expenses!

3. Rich friends pursue income growth relentlessly

The financially secure among us rarely settle for standard raises. They switch companies when compensation stagnates. They develop marketable skills during evenings and weekends. They build side businesses that generate near-passive income.

We've watched one friend negotiate every job offer with polite persistence, while another hasn't asked for a raise in five years. The cumulative effect of these different approaches to income compounds dramatically over time.

4. Broke friends hate math

Those struggling financially often maintain an emotional distance from mathematics. They prefer approximations to exact figures. They avoid confronting the numbers directly, which makes effective financial planning nearly impossible. We’ve helped a few of our math-averse friends create their first budget, and the look on their faces when they saw how much they were spending on food delivery was truly haunting. 

Meanwhile, our wealthier acquaintances have long-since befriended numbers. They understand that compound interest works both ways—dramatically growing investments while brutally punishing debt. They calculate the true cost of purchases, including interest and opportunity costs. They know precisely where their money goes each month.

5. Rich friends break the taboo of money conversations

The financially savvy ask questions. They compare investment strategies. They discuss salary ranges when job-hunting. They seek knowledge from those more experienced.

Others maintain strict silence around money matters, considering such discussions impolite or uncomfortable. This self-imposed information blackout limits their financial education to trial and error—an expensive learning method.

6. Broke friends see “liabilities” as assets

Two of our friends each received similar inheritances, one about ten years ago, the other about eight years ago. The first one purchased rental property, which quickly started providing monthly income. 

The other imported a luxury vehicle from overseas, with a whole heap of fees and taxes loaded on top, plus expensive maintenance year after year. Now, about a decade later, the results of these choices speak volumes about their different financial situations.

While the car is still technically an asset since our friend does own it outright, it has cost (and continues to cost) him so much money that it’s effectively functioning as a liability. 

7. Rich friends avoid lifestyle inflation

Perhaps most critically, financially secure friends maintain reasonable lifestyles even as their incomes grow. The raises, bonuses, and windfalls don't trigger proportional increases in spending. Instead, these additional resources accelerate the wealth-building game.

We've watched others upgrade apartments, vehicles, wardrobes, and restaurants with each modest income increase. Their expenses rise in lockstep with—or sometimes ahead of—their income growth. So, even when their pay goes up, they never feel financially secure.

The worst part of this point is that their lifestyle creep has affected others in the group who didn’t get pay increases but who wanted to keep up with the increasingly expensive fun. Perhaps the most valuable phrase we’ve learned during this time is, “I’d love to, but it’s just not in our budget.” That simple sentence has most definitely saved us thousands. 

Which Side of the Habit Divide Are You on?

Over the years since we all graduated from college, these habits have created diverging financial realities among people who once shared similar starting points. The differences emerged gradually, almost imperceptibly, until suddenly the gap became impossible to ignore.

The sad thing is, the friends who built wealth aren't necessarily smarter or more deserving. They simply harnessed the power of time and mathematics rather than working against these forces.

We’re sharing our observations as both warning and inspiration. Small adjustments to daily habits can dramatically alter your financial trajectory over decades. The decisions you make today—whether to save that extra hundred dollars or splurge on another unnecessary purchase—ripple through time, creating either opportunity or limitation for your future self.

If you’ve realized you’re mostly on the broke friend side of the divide, all is not lost. Good habits can be cultivated by anyone willing to make modest changes to their relationship with money. The divide isn't permanent. It's merely the accumulated result of thousands of small choices—choices you can begin changing today.