Many of us, myself included, dream about the day that we will become truly independently wealthy. I personally picture a house in the mountains, lake nearby, and lazy days spent drinking tea and reading on the back porch.

The unfortunate truth is, I’m not very close to living that dream. I don’t have nearly as many assets working for me as I’d like, and instead of a lake out my back door I have my neighbor’s backyard.

On the other hand, I’m in a unique position to benefit from the lessons taught by wealthy people. Here are a couple things I’ve found that a lot of wealthy people have in common:

They don’t throw their money around in the stock market – Instead, they carefully manage their investments, researching and choosing wisely. Some people, when given a lot of money to invest, might be tempted to “play the market” and tamper with the powerful feelings of a risk-loving investor. Wealthy people choose steady-growth vehicles with historically promising returns.

They have no boss... except themselves – The Federal Reserve reports that 12% of Americans own their own business, but 21% of the wealthiest Americans (top 10% of income) own their own business. I would guess this has something to do with the passion to work hard that a lot of us feel when we’re working to pay ourselves and not our bosses.

They buy used cars – Sure, maybe that used car is a Jaguar, but wealthy people understand that a car loses up to 25% of its value when you drive it off the lot, and up to 70% of its value over the next four years. Wealthy people let someone else take the brunt of the value loss, then enjoy a nearly-new vehicle with a less shocking price tag.

They don’t mess around with debt – Wealthy people understand the folly of high-interest debt, and instead opt for the debt that will give them the most leverage. For example, many have the funds to own their homes outright, but still carry a mortgage. If they can pay the bank 6% interest but earn a modest 11% on their home’s equity, that’s a 5% interest rate that they’ve gotten, basically for free!

You don’t have to be wealthy to live like the wealthy. Start practicing these habits now and you’ll be a step ahead of the game when you do finally achieve the wealth you seek.