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- A growing 401(k) balance is always a good thing, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're building wealth. In fact, your net worth could even be decreasing as your investments grow in value.
- There are plenty of signs you're not building wealth, and lifestyle inflation is a big one. If your higher earnings have you spending more than ever, you may be in worse financial shape than you think.
- If your goal is building wealth, make sure you understand why you care in the first place. Sometimes recalibrating so you can focus on your goals is the best way to stay on track.
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No matter how eager you are to build long-term wealth, the path to get there is usually long and slow. Instead of becoming a millionaire overnight, the small steps you take every day - and with every paycheck - will snowball until enough time has passed to let compound interest thoroughly do its job.
But are you living up to your financial potential? Now, that's a tough question to answer. You may be investing regularly and saving plenty of money, but that doesn't mean you're not also working against yourself.
We reached out to financial advisors and experts to find out how you can tell if you're building wealth as fast as you could be. Here are some signs they pointed to that could prove that you're not.