I am a millionaire. Here are 10 Things I Refuse to Buy.

People often ask me about the secret to building wealth. They expect a sophisticated stock market strategy, a hidden real estate strategy, or a hot crypto token name. The truth is very boring.

Being a millionaire is mostly about what you don’t buy.

I didn’t get rich by accident. I’ve built my wealth over decades of consistent investing, hard work, and ruthlessly cutting out irrational purchases.

I have a quote I made up 20 years ago for my first book:

You may look rich, or you may be rich, but you probably won’t live long enough to accomplish both.”

Society pushes us to buy things to look rich, but ironically, buying all those things is what keeps most people broke. If you want to keep more of your hard-earned money and watch your profits grow, you should stop falling into financial traps, starting with these 10.

A millionaire’s no-buy list

Here are some things I have never bought and probably never will, no matter how much money I have in the bank.

1. Brand new cars: The second you drive a new car off the lot, it loses most of its value. According to Edmunds, a new car can lose about 20% of its value in the first year alone.

I buy gently used cars – usually two to three years old – and let someone else take that big drop in value. (See “10 Best Times to Buy a Used Car – and Worst Times.”)

2. Extended warranties: Merchants push this hard at the checkout counter because it’s pure profit for the store. Statistics rarely work for you. You’re almost always better off putting warranty costs into a savings account and taking responsibility for broken electronics or appliances yourself. (See “Ask Stacy: Are Service Plans and Extended Warranties Worth it?”)

3. Luxury goods: I don’t need a designer logo plastered on my chest to show that I can afford expensive clothes. True wealth is silent. I prioritize quality, durability, and fit over fancy brands that charge a 500% markup just for the label.

4. Times: These are notorious money pits. You are paying huge upfront costs, and maintenance costs that keep rising every year, for a property that you don’t own and that may be difficult to sell in the long run. (See “‘I Can’t Give It Up’: Why Retirees Want to Dump Their Timeshares.”)

5. The newest smartphone every year: Upgrading your phone every year is a strain on your wallet. Technology doesn’t change enough from year to year to justify a thousand dollar drop. I keep my phone until it stops charging or getting security updates.

6. Bank fees: Paying an ATM fee to access your own money is ridiculous. The same goes for monthly account maintenance fees. There are many excellent, free credit unions and online banks out there to give the bank a portion of your money for doing nothing.

7. First class short-haul flights: I enjoy convenience as much as anyone, but paying four or five times the economy rate to get to the same place in the same time doesn’t make sense to me. I’d rather put up with a crowded seat for a few hours and invest a huge price difference.

That being said, I often upgrade my travel experience, especially flights and hotels, but I do so using credit card points.

8. Pre-cut product: Go to the grocery store and look at the price per pound of fruit compared to the packaged items in plastic containers. You pay a huge premium for someone else to carry the knife. I buy fruits and vegetables and spend an extra five minutes preparing them myself.

9. Fast fashion: Buying cheap clothes that stretch or fall apart after three washes does not save money. You end up changing them regularly. I buy high quality pieces that last for years, costing a lot less in the long run.

10. Lottery tickets: It is a voluntary tax for people who are not good at math. Your chances of winning the big jackpot are almost zero. You’re much better off taking that five or $10 a week and putting it into a cheap S&P 500 index fund.

Building wealth is about choices

You don’t have to live a miserable life of poverty to get rich. I spend money on things that bring me real value, like travel, good food, and experiences with my family. But I absolutely refuse to bleed money into bad investments, unnecessary fees, and depreciating assets.

Take a good look at your credit card statement this month. You might be surprised how quickly the value of your money grows if you simply stop buying things designed to keep you poor.