There are more than two choices in life if you want to become wealthy. Unfortunately, most people are only familiar with these two options:

• Scrimp and save your whole life, denying yourself life’s joys now so you can retire someday in old age with a pile of money; or
• Get a super high-paying job and rake in the big bucks in exchange for crazy hours

It’s not too surprising that neither of those are popular options when it comes to accumulating wealth. Instead, many people take the traditional path through life that looks like this:

Go to school, get a job, buy a new car, get married, buy a house, have kids, buy a bigger house and car, and try to put the kids through college. It’s a path that’s built on taking on debt at pretty much every step of the way.

But you know what? There are a whole LOT of other options available for building wealth — options that let you both enjoy life now and in the future. Even better, there are options that don’t leave you stuck on the treadmill, working for your creditors.

And they’re not even all that hard, especially if you do them right from the start. (If you’re in debt, it will probably be a bit of a struggle at first, but you’ll be glad you changed your outlook when you’ve got plenty of money available each month.)

If you want to have wealth and enjoy life along the way, here’s how to go about it:

• • Save for the long term, first and always. Set aside a good percentage of your income for retirement right off the top, and then increase that amount by a percent or two every time you get a raise.You will not miss it, and over time it will add up to a huge chunk of change, especially if you also invest it wisely.

• • Save for the short term first too. This includes saving up for bigger-ticket things that are just for fun. Savings isn’t about deprivation. It’s a tool to help you get the things you want. Which leads to;

• Buy anything you want, as long as you can pay cash for it the day you buy it. This includes the basics, of course, but it also includes things that are just fun to have, and large purchases. Want some expensive clothes? Go for it. A stainless steel fridge? Say yes. A swimming pool? Ok. After you have the money.

  Think about how quickly you could save up $10,000 if you had an extra $1500 a month to do whatever you want with. If you’ve got the cash and the desire, and you’re already being responsible from the start, what’s there to stop you? That’s the enjoying life now part.

So don’t get stuck on the traditional treadmill of modern life. Focus on using your money wisely, so that you can do the things you really want.