2019 was a simpler time. People argued about pineapple on pizza, not whether their sourdough starter had “feelings.” The economy looked strong on paper, interest rates drifted down, and the stock market had a banner year. If you wanted to get rich, the vibe was basically: “Pick a lane, stay in it, and try not to light your money on fire.”
But here’s the twist: “rich” in 2019 didn’t have one definition. Some people meant a seven-figure net worth. Others meant “I can pay my bills and still order guac without taking a loan.” And a growing number meant something quieter and better: having optionstime, flexibility, health, and relationshipsalong with the dollars.
Quick note: This article is educational, not personalized financial advice. If you need tailored guidance, talk to a qualified professional.
Why 2019 Was a Weirdly Good (and Confusing) Year to Chase Wealth
In late 2019, the U.S. unemployment rate hit 3.5%the lowest level since 1969. That mattered because a tight job market usually gives workers more leverage: easier job switching, better negotiating power, and more opportunity to stack skills. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve cut rates multiple times in 2019, which helped lower borrowing costs and supported asset prices.
The stock market also had a monster yearone of those “why didn’t I invest yesterday?” stretches. The S&P 500’s annual return was roughly in the low 30% range depending on calculation method (price vs. total return), which made long-term investing look brilliant and day-trading look… briefly genius. (Briefly.)
Put it together and 2019 became a year where many paths to “rich” looked open at the same time: earn more, invest steadily, buy property, build a side business, or simply reduce expenses and reclaim time. The best path depended less on the headlines and more on your personality, risk tolerance, and willingness to do unsexy things consistently.
First, Define “Rich” (Because Otherwise You’ll Chase Someone Else’s Finish Line)
“Rich” can be any of these:
- Financially rich: high income, high savings rate, high net worth, strong investing habits.
- Time rich: control over your schedule; the ability to say “no” without panic-sweating.
- Security rich: emergency fund, low debt, insurances handled, steady cash flow.
- Opportunity rich: skills, network, and confidence to switch careers or start something.
- Life rich: health, relationships, purposebecause being wealthy but miserable is a suspicious “win.”
In 2019, social media made it easy to confuse “looking rich” with “being rich.” Leasing a shiny car and buying a designer belt is not a wealth plan. It’s a vibe. (A pricey vibe.) Real wealth is what you keep, grow, and control.
Different Ways to Be Rich in 2019: The Main Lanes
1) The High-Income Skill Lane: Get Paid More for the Same 24 Hours
One of the fastest ways to build wealth is to raise your earning powerespecially in a tight labor market. In 2019, the winning move often looked like specializing in skills that businesses were desperate to buy: software development, cloud tools, data analytics, cybersecurity, UX design, project/product management, digital marketing, and high-quality sales.
This lane isn’t “get rich quick.” It’s “get competent on purpose.” The formula is boring and effective:
- Pick a skill that commands higher pay.
- Build proof (projects, certifications, portfolio work, measurable results).
- Negotiate and job-hop strategically (without burning bridges).
- Keep lifestyle inflation on a leash.
Example: A marketer who learns paid search + conversion rate optimization + analytics can often move from “I post on social” to “I print revenue.” The paycheck tends to follow the money you can clearly help a company make or save.
2) The Index-Investing Lane: Let Boring Money Make More Money
If 2019 taught anything, it was that markets can reward patience. Index funds were especially attractive because they offered broad diversification and low costsmeaning more of your returns stayed with you. The real magic was consistency: investing regularly, ignoring the noise, and letting compounding do its slow, dramatic thing.
A very 2019-friendly approach looked like:
- Use tax-advantaged accounts first (401(k), IRA, HSA if eligible).
- Automate contributions so discipline isn’t a daily decision.
- Invest in diversified, low-cost index funds (U.S. stocks, international stocks, bonds as appropriate).
- Rebalance occasionally. Don’t treat your portfolio like a reality show.
Specific 2019 detail that mattered: the employee elective deferral limit for many workplace plans was $19,000 in 2019, with additional catch-up contributions for those 50+. Translation: the rules encouraged “pay yourself first,” and the tax code gave you a nudge to do it.
3) The “Tax-Advantaged Rich” Lane: Keep More of What You Earn
Wealth isn’t only about how much you makeit’s also about how much you keep. In 2019, understanding basic tax-advantaged tools could quietly boost your long-term net worth:
- 401(k)/403(b): reduce taxable income now (traditional) or build tax-free future income (Roth, if offered).
- IRA: additional retirement savings outside your workplace plan, depending on eligibility.
- HSA (if you had a qualifying high-deductible health plan): a rare triple tax advantagecontributions, growth, and qualified withdrawals.
- Tax-loss harvesting: for taxable accounts, potentially offsetting gains (when done carefully).
Even the standard deduction update mattered in 2019: many households found itemizing less necessary, which changed planning decisions. The bigger point is timeless: taxes are one of your largest expenses. If you ignore them, you’re basically tipping the government for fun.
4) The Real Estate Lane: Own Assets Other People Help Pay For
Real estate remained a classic path to wealth in 2019, especially with mortgage rates dropping at points during the year. But this lane came with homework: local market dynamics, property condition, tenant management, insurance, and realistic cash-flow math.
Common 2019-style strategies included:
- House hacking: live in part of a property and rent out the rest (multi-family, basement unit, extra rooms) to reduce housing costs.
- Long-term rentals: aiming for steady cash flow plus appreciation over time.
- REITs: investing in real estate through publicly traded companies, giving exposure without fixing a leaky faucet at 2 a.m.
Reality check: Real estate can build wealth faster than stocks for some peoplemostly because leverage can amplify gains. But leverage also amplifies mistakes. If you buy a property that only “works” when everything goes perfectly, it doesn’t work. That’s not pessimism. That’s math.
5) The Business Ownership Lane: Turn a Skill into a System
In 2019, the “barrier to entry” for starting a business was lower than ever for many models: freelancing, consulting, e-commerce, digital products, content-based businesses, and niche services. You didn’t need a fancy office. You needed a clear offer and the ability to deliver results.
The most reliable businesses weren’t built on hype. They were built on solving a specific pain:
- Saving customers time
- Saving customers money
- Helping customers earn more
- Reducing risk or frustration
Example: A freelance web designer who packages services (“site + SEO basics + maintenance”) can charge more than someone selling random hours. The packaged version feels like a solutionnot a meter running.
6) The Side Hustle Lane: Diversify Income Without Quitting Your Day Job
Side hustles were mainstream in 2019: gig work, freelancing, reselling, tutoring, delivery driving, photography, social media management, Etsy shops, and more. The advantage wasn’t only extra cash. It was optionalitya second income stream that could become a safety net or a launchpad.
The smart 2019 side hustle approach had three rules:
- Start small: prove demand before you invest heavily.
- Track profit: revenue is vanity; profit is the point.
- Respect taxes: self-employment income can trigger additional tax responsibilities.
7) The Debt-Strategy Lane: Get Rich by Not Donating Interest to Banks
Paying off high-interest debt can be a guaranteed return. In 2019, many people chasing “rich” did it backwards: they tried to invest aggressively while carrying credit card debt at rates that would make a shark blush.
A balanced approach:
- Build a starter emergency fund (so a surprise expense doesn’t go on a card).
- Attack high-interest debt (typically credit cards) with urgency.
- Refinance responsibly where it truly reduces cost (and doesn’t create new bad habits).
- Invest consistently once the financial bleeding stops.
“Debt-free” may not sound glamorous, but it’s hard to overstate how wealthy it feels to keep your paycheck.
8) The “Time-Rich” Lane: Design a Life Where Money Buys Freedom, Not Stuff
A quiet 2019 trend: people realizing that the goal wasn’t only accumulating moneyit was purchasing freedom. This lane was about intentionally lowering fixed costs and increasing flexibility:
- Downsizing housing or choosing a less expensive location
- Keeping cars longer (and avoiding big monthly payments)
- Cooking more, buying fewer “status” items
- Negotiating remote work or flexible schedules (where possible)
Not everyone could do this equallycost of living and family obligations are real. But the principle still mattered: when your monthly “must-pay” number goes down, your choices go up.
A Practical 2019 Wealth Plan (That Doesn’t Require Winning the Lottery)
Step 1: Build a “Calm Down Fund”
Before chasing wealth, reduce panic. A starter emergency fundoften one month of essential expensescan prevent small surprises from turning into expensive debt. Later, many people aim for 3–6 months, depending on stability and risk.
Step 2: Pick Your Primary Lane (and One Supporting Lane)
Trying to do everything at once often means doing nothing well. A more effective approach:
- Primary lane: raise income or invest steadily or buy real estate or build a business.
- Supporting lane: budgeting + debt reduction + basic tax optimization.
Step 3: Automate the Good Stuff
In 2019, the best “hack” wasn’t an appit was automation: automatic retirement contributions, automatic transfers to savings, recurring investing, and calendar reminders for bills. When good decisions happen automatically, you stop relying on willpower (which is famously unreliable after 9 p.m.).
Step 4: Protect Yourself from the Two Wealth Killers
- Lifestyle inflation: raises feel like permission slips to spend. They’re actually opportunities to save.
- Scams and “too good to be true” deals: if someone promises easy riches with no risk, you’re the product.
Common 2019 Mistakes That Looked Smart for About 20 Minutes
- Confusing a bull market with brilliance: 2019 returns were strong, but markets don’t sign contracts promising annual encores.
- Buying assets without understanding them: especially trendy investments pitched as “guaranteed.”
- Over-leveraging in real estate: a great deal should still work with vacancies and repairs.
- Ignoring fees: small percentage costs can quietly eat big chunks of long-term returns.
- Skipping insurance basics: one accident or illness can erase years of progress.
Conclusion: “Rich” in 2019 Was About Options, Not Just Numbers
Different ways to be rich in 2019 all shared one theme: building assets and choices over time. Some people got rich by increasing income. Others by investing steadily. Others by buying property, building businesses, or simply reducing costs so their money could work harder.
If you want a 2019-style takeaway you can still use today, it’s this: Pick a lane that fits your personality, automate your progress, and avoid the shiny distractions. Wealth usually isn’t built in a weekend. It’s built in the boring middlewhere most people quit.
Experiences: What “Getting Rich in 2019” Looked Like in Real Life (500+ Words)
Not everyone’s 2019 wealth story looked like a movie montage with upbeat music and a sudden yacht. Most were smaller, more practical winsbecause in real life, progress often shows up wearing sweatpants.
The Index Fund Convert
One common 2019 experience was the “I finally stopped trying to be a stock-picking wizard” moment. People would open an account, toss a little money into a diversified index fund every paycheck, and thenthis is the keythey didn’t mess with it daily. Many described the first few months as oddly anticlimactic. No fireworks. No instant riches. Just steady contributions. But as 2019’s strong market performance piled up, the habit started feeling powerful. The psychological shift mattered most: they stopped thinking of investing as gambling and started treating it like brushing teethboring, consistent, and surprisingly life-improving.
The House Hacker with Roommates (Yes, Adults Have Roommates)
Another frequent 2019 story: someone bought a duplex or a house with rentable space, lived in one part, and rented the rest. At first, it felt awkwardlike they’d accidentally enrolled in a sitcom. But month by month, the numbers were hard to argue with. Instead of paying the full cost of housing alone, they had tenants helping cover the mortgage. Many said the biggest surprise wasn’t the incomeit was the discipline. When you own the building, you learn quickly that “ignoring problems” is not a repair strategy. The people who did best treated it like a business: reserves for repairs, clear leases, and a plan for vacancies.
The Side Hustle That Turned into a Better Job (Not Always a Business)
Side hustles in 2019 often started as small experiments: weekend photography, freelance design, tutoring, delivery driving, flipping items online, or doing marketing for local businesses. For many, the win wasn’t quitting their job. The win was leverage. A side hustle created new skills, new contacts, and a confidence boost that changed how they negotiated their main career. Plenty of people ended 2019 not as full-time entrepreneurs, but with a higher salary because they could prove they created valuesometimes with real numbers from their side work. It was “rich” in a very practical way: more income, more security, and less fear of layoffs.
The Time-Rich Minimalist
And then there was the group that decided wealth was freedom. They downsized, canceled subscriptions they didn’t use, cooked at home more, kept older cars, and stopped trying to impress strangers with expensive stuff. Their friends sometimes thought they were “missing out,” but they described the opposite: fewer payments, less stress, and more breathing room. Many used the extra margin to build an emergency fund and contribute more to retirement accounts. By the end of 2019, they weren’t necessarily flashy-richbut they were calm-rich. And calm is an underrated luxury.
