No family wealth? CA shares how to build generational wealth with just few 'boring' habits

Building wealth isn’t about flashy cars, big houses, or showing off success on Instagram. It’s often about small, steady, and yes — boring habits that add up over time. Chartered Accountant Nitin Kaushik recently took to X and shared a viral thread on how people without trust funds or family fortunes can still create lasting wealth. His advice flips the script on “dikhawa” culture and focuses on long-term thinking that can outlive you.

Kaushik began with a hard truth: survival should always come before status. That guy driving a BMW on EMI might look rich today, but it’s the shopkeeper who quietly bought one property and waited 20 years who’s actually building for tomorrow. Chasing appearances and status is the quickest way to go broke.

His next piece of advice was to delay the luxury trap. Buying a luxury car or high-end house too early might feel great, but the EMIs will choke your cash flow. Every rupee spent on status is a rupee not working for your future. “Luxury last. Always,” he wrote. Instead, Kaushik suggests putting money into things that grow in value — land in a developing city, gold when it’s cheap, or equities that compound over time. If you do splurge, make it on something that appreciates, like rare art or farmland.

Think long-term

But real wealth, he says, is about thinking in generations, not financial years. While Indian investors often panic over a bad quarter, true wealth builders play the 50-year game. A simple filter works: “Will my grandchildren thank me for this decision?” If not, maybe it’s not worth it. He also emphasised the importance of staying in what he called “hungry mode" and noted that comfort can hinder growth.


Then comes one of the toughest lessons: protect harder than you earn. History shows wealth rarely survives beyond three generations. The first earns it, the second enjoys it, the third destroys it. Building wealth is hard, but keeping it alive is harder.

Build systems

Kaushik urged people to build systems, not just savings. Rental income, dividends, royalties — these should flow even if you’re not around. Your children shouldn’t just inherit money; they should inherit a machine that keeps creating money.

Finally, he reminded readers that the secret is mastering the boring stuff. “Getting rich is exciting. Staying rich is boring,” he wrote. Budgeting, investing, preserving wealth — these are the habits that create empires. “You may not be born rich. But you can die leaving an empire.”