As economic uncertainty and market volatility reshaped Americans’ views on money in 2025, one goal remained constant for many: achieving financial independence.
Business Insider has spoken with dozens of investors who’ve built wealth in very different ways, from disciplined index investing to real estate and entrepreneurship.
As we head into 2026, five financially independent investors shared the wealth-building strategies that worked for them — and the advice that could make all the difference for you in 2026.
Crunch your numbers
Courtesy of Dexter Zhuang
It’s hard to improve or measure improvement without knowing where you’re starting from. If you want to build more wealth in 2026, take a look at your finances — how much you have in debt, in savings, and invested — and set a specific goal around net worth, income, or retirement.
When Dexter Zhuang set out to achieve Coast FIRE — an offshoot of the financial independence, retire early (FIRE) movement — he began by determining his “number.” Hitting Coast FIRE means you don’t have to continue contributing to your retirement accounts; the current amount will grow and compound enough over time to support your retirement goals, allowing you to “coast” into your golden years.
He used an online calculator from WalletBurst that takes into account your current age, retirement age, annual spending in retirement, and other factors. Once he had his number, he could work backward to figure out what it would take to hit that goal, whether that meant saving more, earning more, or a combination of both.
Ask ‘$30,000 questions,’ not ‘$3 questions’
Courtesy of Ramit Sethi
If you want to build lasting wealth, forget about the small stuff.
“Target is not your problem. Coffee is not the problem,” said Ramit Sethi, personal finance author and the host of Netflix’s “How to Get Rich.” “Those are minor financial purchases. They’re what I call $3 questions.”
Sethi, who has spoken to hundreds of couples and individuals about their personal finances, says that most people are overly concerned with minor, day-to-day purchases: “Did I spend too much on dessert? Did I buy too many toys?”
The wealthy, on the other hand, focus on what he calls “the $30,000 questions.”
These are questions such as:
- What’s my savings and investment rate? Can I increase that by 1% every year?
- What is my debt payoff date — the exact month and year that I will be debt-free?
- What percentage of my money is going toward guilt-free spending?
- When will I have $500,000? $1 million? When will I be able to retire?
- What is my rich life?
“Those are the big, important questions — and if you get those right, you can buy as many coffees as you want for the rest of your life,” said Sethi.
Eliminate your housing payment and build a real estate portfolio by ‘house hacking’
Courtesy of Jeff White and Suleyka Bolaños
Real estate investing is an effective way to build wealth, but the barrier to entry can be intimidating, especially if you live in a pricey market.
A popular beginner-friendly real estate strategy known as “house hacking” allows investors to get started with low down payments and potentially eliminate their mortgage entirely. It’s the primary strategy Jeff and Suleyka Bolaños used to retire before 40.
They did one “house hack” a year — meaning, they’d move into a primary residence and rent a portion of it (either a room if it was a single-family home or a unit if it was a multi-family). Their first house hack was a fourplex, so they lived in one unit and rented the other three. The rental income covered their mortgage completely, allowing them to save more quickly for their next house hack.
The couple has done one house hack a year for eight years, and their cash flow has increased with each addition to their portfolio.
The reason they move once a year is that they want to take advantage of owner-occupied financing, which typically comes with more favorable terms, such as a lower down payment and interest rate, compared to financing for investment properties. However, one stipulation with this type of financing is that you have to live in the property for at least 12 months. After the year is up, they convert the property they were living in into a true investment property, buy and move into the next place, and repeat the process.
“It’s very unconventional,” said White. “I think a lot of people just buy a nice house in a nice neighborhood, and they pay that huge mortgage payment just by themselves. We haven’t had a mortgage payment since 2016 — that’s the last time I made a mortgage payment without having renters.”
Boost your earnings by creating ‘one-to-infinity leverage’
Courtesy of Rose Han
Generally, the more income streams you can create, the more wealth you’ll build — but if you’re going to have just one income stream, make sure it’s leveraged.
“Leverage is the explanation behind any significant wealth creation, no matter who you look at,” said self-made millionaire Rose Han.
To break down the concept of leveraged income, Han uses the example of a fitness trainer. If they’re working one-on-one with a client, that’s zero leverage: “You show up, trade hours for dollars, and you get paid.”
However, if they start a group fitness class and can train multiple clients at once, that’s what she calls “one-to-many leverage,” and their earnings go up without having to work more hours.
The final level, “one-to-infinity leverage,” can create life-changing wealth. It involves doing work once and leveraging technology or systems to reach an endless number of people, reaping benefits for years to come. This is when the trainer builds an app with weekly workouts and a meal plan feature, for example.
“They could create that app once, and millions of people around the world can subscribe,” Han said. “That concept really was the key that I unlocked.”
To use the one-to-infinity model and earn exponentially, start by asking: What value can I provide?
“I fully believe that the more value you provide, the more you can earn,” Han said. “And, if you think creatively enough, there’s no limit to how much value you can provide and therefore how much money you can earn.”