Quinlan Grim

Thu, May 29, 2025, 10:03 AM4 min read

A notable Harris Poll survey conducted in 2022 found that as many as six in 10 Americans want to become a billionaire — and around 44% believe they have the resources to do so (with crypto investors making up a large portion of that group).

This increasingly common mindset might be more harmful than you think. As tempting as it is to build wealth quickly, it can be incredibly dangerous for your financial well-being.

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Trying to earn money as fast as possible leaves you vulnerable to lifestyle creep, overinvesting your savings falling into debt and other risks. Here are four common dangers of building wealth too quickly and how you can avoid them.

If you’ve ever felt like you can never earn enough, you might be succumbing to “lifestyle creep.” This phenomenon occurs when someone suddenly has more expendable income than they’re used to.

Without a careful budget, it’s easy to slip into the habit of spending more to keep up with what you see as an ideal lifestyle, whether it’s a nice car, a bigger house or little things like more subscription services and meals out.

One of the risks of trying to build wealth quickly is that even if you succeed in the short term, if you don’t take steps to avoid lifestyle creep, whatever you earn will still not feel like enough. This can lead you to continue spending or gambling with your earnings rather than securely saving them for the future.

Here are some tips to keep lifestyle creep from draining your income:

• Stick to a monthly budget that sets aside at least 20% of your earned income for savings.

• Take pride in living below your means.

• Set annual savings goals and try to exceed them.

• Avoid comparing your lifestyle to others’, especially on social media.

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If an opportunity seems too good to be true, chances are it is. Common get-rich-quick schemes you might encounter today include:

• Investment scams promising a high return

• Multi-level marketing (MLM) recruitment offers

• Work-from-home opportunities requiring little or no experience

These opportunities may not immediately stand out as scams. They may also be perfectly legal.

For example, multi-level marketing is a legitimate business structure despite the fact that as many as 99% of MLM participants lose money, according to Forbes. Dolling out risky investment advice on social media is also legal even if it’s unfounded.