Your hourly wage does matter when it comes to amassing personal wealth, but it is not the most important factor. Years ago I saw an Oprah show and they featured a woman who had never made more than $14000/year, yet she had been able to accumulate several hundred thousand dollars.

There is a point where an individual needs a certain amount of money to live a decent life. Minimum wage while you have a family of 8 is not going to go far. At the same time I know of people who have never earned large sums of money and were able to save and invest while living within their means and have ended up in a far better financial position than many who may have earned more but also consumed more.

Prudent living and careful planning can help create a very secure future on small amounts of money.

I recently read a book about a man who decided he wanted to be financially independent. He calculated what he thought he would need to achieve that goal. He decided he needed to save $200 a month. As long as he could do that he knew he would eventually reach his goal.

When he graduated from University he started a simple job and started saving. As he accumulated more money he found better ways to invest and grow his money. He became financially independent by the time he was 34. He is not a millionaire, but he doesn't have to work another day in his life.

There are also the stories of millionaires who loose all their money. It seems the age old saying is true. It's not what you make. It's what you keep.

Learn more about this author, Olivia Aroma.
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