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8 Ways It's Still Possible to Get Rich With a 9-5 Job

You can use saving and investing strategies to grow your wealth.

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Updated March 29, 2025
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Even if your 9-5 job doesn't pay a high enough salary to make you rich, you can still become wealthy. While making extra money on the side with a part-time role may be possible, some smart financial strategies could pay off even more.

You can use your current income and time to build wealth through consistent habits, smart financial decisions, and long-term planning.

Here's a look at eight specific ways it's still possible to get rich while working a 9-5 job.

Steal this billionaire wealth-building technique

The ultra-rich have also been investing in art from big names like Picasso and Bansky for centuries. And it's for a good reason: Contemporary art prices have outpaced the S&P 500 by 136% over the last 27 years.

A new company called Masterworks is now allowing everyday investors to get in on this type of previously-exclusive investment. You can buy a small slice of $1-$30 million paintings from iconic artists, all without needing any art expertise.

If you have at least $10k to invest and are ready to explore diversifying beyond stocks and bonds,see what Masterworks has on offer. (Hurry, they often sell out!)

Automate your savings

THAWEERAT/Adobe man stacking coins

Here's an easy way to help grow your savings without much thought. You can set up automatic transfers to a savings or investment account to ensure consistent growth without thinking about it.

Let's say you have a goal to get rich. You can use automated savings to make contributing regularly to your goal easier. If you have a few goals, you can set up different savings accounts for each one and then automate deposits to each one on payday.

Want to learn how to build wealth like the 1%? Sign up for Worthy to get ideas and advice delivered to your inbox.

Cut unnecessary expenses

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Review your monthly spending and eliminate non-essential costs to save and invest more money. In other words, work to spend less than you earn.

You might review the monthly budget and discover some subscriptions you don't need. If you do receive a raise or move to a job where you earn more money, you can continue to cut unnecessary expenses to have even more dollars available to save and invest.

Invest early and consistently

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Start investing as early as possible, even in small amounts, to maximize compound interest. You can start with your next payday. Just put some aside and then look at investment options.

While you may want to consult a professional financial advisor, there are also plenty of online resources to help you start investing. You can invest some of your income in financial assets such as stocks or gold.

Get a free stock valued between $5 to $200

Secret: You don't need thousands of dollars to buy thousand-dollar stocks or create a diverse portfolio.

Robinhood offers a method of investing called “fractional shares.” On its own, one share of a single stock could cost a lot of money, making it difficult to diversify. Robinhood allows you to buy pieces of stock instead, so you have the option to build a diverse portfolio quickly.

Let’s say you want to invest $250, as an example.

With that amount, you could build a relatively diverse portfolio with an investment of $50 in a big tech stock, $50 in a retail stock, $50 in an energy stock, $50 in a manufacturing stock, and $50 in a bank.1

Even better news? Add a Robinhood Gold membership, and you’ll get access to 4.00% (as of 12/27/24) APY2on your uninvested cash3and the ability to buy and sell stocks 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.

Open and fund a Robinhood account and earn up to $200 in stock

Enhance financial knowledge

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You might need to brush up on your financial knowledge and skills if you're serious about getting rich while having a 9-5 job. You want to know about terms and options that relate to your personal finance.

One easy way to do this is to incorporate financial learning into everyday routines. For instance, you can read financial newsletters or listen to money podcasts while driving to work.

Look at your relationship with money

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One key to building wealth while working a 9-5 job may be to examine your relationship with money — in other words, how you view your income and cash.

You may need to train yourself to view money as a tool to build wealth rather than just money to be used for stuff. You can also help yourself learn the difference between needs and wants.

Develop career skills

Rene L/peopleimages.com/Adobe person reading resume

Continuously invest in your career development through additional training or certifications to increase your earning potential. You could develop skills to help you earn promotions at your current employer or seek out those that'll land you a new role and more money.

If you want to stay at your current employer, consider leadership training or an advanced degree. You may be able to obtain technology or other skills that lead to a side gig or even becoming your own boss.

Maximize employer benefits

tashatuvango/Adobe drawer with 401K file

Take full advantage of employer-sponsored retirement plans, health savings accounts, and other benefits to build wealth over time. If your employer matches contributions, this is like free money.

Speaking of free cash, you can save on medical costs with health savings accounts and put those savings toward your investment goals. If you're working to build your career skills, check out employer benefits such as free online courses and other training opportunities.

Minimize taxes

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If you already hate income and sales taxes, you might feel some frustrations when building wealth. Investments and assets can be taxed.

You can work to understand your tax exposures and ways to minimize how they'll impact your growing wealth. For example, while 401(k) plans are tax-advantaged accounts, that might not be the case with other financial tools you'll want to use to grow your wealth.

Bottom line

Andrey Popov/Adobe Couple Doing Taxes together

If you use some innovative financial strategies, it's possible to get rich with a 9-5 job.

You can get ahead financially with some saving and investing techniques to put your income to work for you. One first step may be to sit down and figure out where your money is going each month.

Masterworks Benefits

  • Invest in art like a millionaire for a relatively low cost
  • Art investments have outperformed the S&P 500 by over 131% for 26 years
  • Purchase shares of artwork by top artists
  • Hedge against inflation and diversify your portfolio