"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
Hello and a warm welcome to Mini Millionaires.
Thank you for joining us in our mission to raise the next gen of money masters.
Each week, we cover a mindset to cultivate, a habit to form, and a tip to try. So if you’d like to read more about any money topic, just let us know.
In this week’s edition: we’re unpacking some of the habits of wealthy people.
Building wealth isn't by accident, or even pure luck. It's actually about consistent, smart money habits over an extended period of time.
And the good news is, your mini millionaire can already start learning some of these habits today.
Let’s get into how to teach kids the habits of wealthy people.

Game On
🧐 So You Wanna Be Wealthy? See some habits of wealthy people.
💰 Become The Millionaire Next Door: This week’s resource.
🎲 Run it Again: Get your copy of our FinMaster board game.
🗳️ Your Votes Counted: Inflation-busting moves your mini millionaire learnt.

Money Smart
How to become wealthy.
Most people think that becoming wealthy is about being born into a wealthy family, earning a big salary, or even coming down to plain luck.
But building wealth is actually all about the quiet, daily habits, choices and mindsets wealthy people make that put them (and keep them) on the path to wealth.
(Pssst. It’s just some of the things we’ve learnt reading The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko over the years.)
To raise mini millionaires, we need to move beyond just counting cash and start shaping the way they think and act.
It’s about building a foundation of discipline and resourcefulness that become wealthy habits that last a lifetime.
1. A Mindset to Cultivate
Flip the script from: I can't afford it to how can I afford it?
Having a fixed mindset about something, oftentimes channels our brains into one way of thinking, ultimately shutting it down. A resourceful mindset on the other hand, treats every want, need, or desire as a problem to be solved.
That’s what having a growth mindset is all about. It’s about sparking one's desire to grow and improve, which causes us to be motivated, ultimately producing a desired result.
So when your mini millionaire wants a new gadget, don't just say it's too expensive. Give them an opportunity to brainstorm three ways they could generate the value to earn it.
This mindset shift, moves them from a passive consumer to an active producer.
Takeaway: Trade limitations for solutions to activate their inner problem-solver.
2. A Habit to Form
Wealth isn't about how much you can spend, but rather how much you can keep.
For many people, when money lands in their accounts (usually on payday), they spend first (understandable, since there are bills to pay, accounts to settle, and food to purchase).
But then they tend to only get around saving what’s left. And the longer one delays that, the less there is to put away.
Wealthy people do the opposite. They pay themselves first by putting money away in savings.
Teach your mini millionaire to take a wealth tax off the top of every gift, pocket money, or payment for a chore, and put it away in savings before they even think about how they’re going to be spending it.
By making saving an automated first step rather than an afterthought, you're hardwiring saving as a first step.
Takeaway: Make saving the first thing they pay every single time they receive money.
3. A Tip to Try
Patience is the ultimate profit multiplier.
Impulse is the enemy of healthy spending. (Sometimes their spending really is just a question of trying to keep up with the Joneses/Jouberts/Jonas Brothers.)
That’s why introducing a 24-hour cooling off period for any purchase over a small set amount (perhaps R100 or R200).
And if your mini millionaire still wants the item after a full day of reflection, they can go ahead and buy it.
Often, the need evaporates once the initial dopamine hit fades, teaching them to master their emotions before their money.
Delayed gratification is a powerful tool, and after more than 4 decades of research, it’s surfaced as one of the most accurate indicators for future success.
Takeaway: Use time as a filter to separate fleeting wants from true value.

Your Thoughts…
POLL: Which wealthy habits will your mini millionaire master this week?
- 🧠 The shift from “Mom, can I have it?" to brainstorming how to earn it.
- 🏦 Paying themselves first before a single cent gets spent.
- ⏳ Waiting it out with the 24-hour rule.
- 🚫 Teaching them to ignore what others have and focus on their own financial path.
- 🛠️ Building consistency, turning one-off lessons into daily habits that stick for life.

Use This
How to Become a Millionaire Next Door
Real millionaires don't look flashy; they typically drive normal cars and live in average neighbourhoods.
In this week’s free resource, we give some really practical tips on things to look out for, so your mini millionaire can distinguish between Flashy Freddy and Steady Sarah, and figure out which of the two they’d like to be in the future.

Ultimately, wealth is defined not by what you spend, but by how much you manage to keep.

Plus: Try This
Introducing FinMaster Fun
FinMaster is a board game that turns complex financial literacy into a high-stakes tabletop battle, designed and built right here in South Africa.
Kids (both young and old) build net worth, navigate market crashes, and dodge loadshedding, shifting from passive consumers to savvy mini-moguls through strategic, hands-on play.
It’s the ultimate way for kids to learn real-world wealth building, all from the comfort of their dining room table.

Don't forget to grab your copy of FinMaster from Takealot, The Toy Store, Zulzi and other awesome stockists (with a surprise new stockist coming soon 📚).

The Tribe Has Spoken
In last week’s edition, we wanted to know which inflation-busting moves are you trying with your Mini Millionaire. Looks like we’re mostly mourning the loss of the 10c Chappie…
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🕵️ Hunting for skinny cereal boxes at the shops.
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💸 Paying a parental dividend to beat the bank.
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ ⏳ Explaining why a Rand today is stronger than tomorrow.
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🍬 I’m still mourning the 10c Chappie!
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🚀 Moving savings from their piggy bank into an interest-beating account.
What you said:
“Oh but the glory days of the 10c Chappie. My goodness.”
JM
We are also sad. It just hits different these days.


Let’s Connect
What’s been your mini millionaire’s favourite lesson they’ve learnt from our newsletter so far?
Or is there something you’re navigating on their money smart journey right now you’d like us to talk about in an upcoming feature?
Hit reply and tell us. We’d love to know.
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