How to Look Rich on a Budget (Appear, Act, and More)

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It doesn't matter if you have a lot of money or simply want to look the part. Appearing like you're rich comes with many parts. It's the little things that all add up to make you look rich, even if you're on a budget.

In this article, we'll go over how to look, dress, and act rich, even if you don't have a lot of things or a lot of money.

When it comes down to it, there are several things you can do to make others believe you're loaded with cash.

Let's jump right in.

How to Dress Like You’re Rich on a Budget

Buy Well-fitted Clothes

Tailored clothing is a sign of wealth, but you don't need to have tailored expensive clothes to come off as rich. When shopping at a local department store, try on several pairs of pants of various styles to find the one that fits your body best. The same goes for shirts and skirts. Shop for clothes on a budget but spend a lot of time in your favorite clothing store finding the perfect outfit.

Stick to Natural Fabrics

Natural fabrics like cotton, cashmere, silk, linen, and wool mesh well and will hang off your body better than synthetic fibers like polyester, nylon, and rayon. Fashion enthusiasts say that mixing natural and synthetic fabrics will cause a stylistic disaster, making it appear as though you have poor taste.

Remove the Tags from Your Clothes

Be mysterious with the clothing you wear. Trying to appear like you have a lot of money by displaying brand labels may make you look phony. Instead, remove the labels from your clothing, so no one knows exactly where your clothes come from. You want to wow people with your sense of style, not the fact that you own a single designer dress.

Choose Rich Colors

Wealthy people generally go by fabrics rather than colors, but some colors that may help you look rich are neutral colors such as glass, crystal, silver, and platinum. Other colors include royal blue, deep purple, and deep red. Metals such as gold, brass, copper, and bronze work as warm colors. Monochromatic outfits also show good fashion sense.

Dress Up When Possible

Dress up and look like you're going places, even if you're not. Use any excuse you can to dress nicely and give off that rich vibe. Stick to quality over quantity and have a few nice outfits that fit various occasions. Such outfits include a black dress, a suit, or business casual attire. Use pastel colors and stay away from shorts.

For women, accessorize with things like a scarf, but avoid sweatpants when going out for a fun time.

Keep Your Clothes Cleaned

Having nice clothing will help you look rich, but just important is keeping your clothes well-maintained. Make sure to visit the dry cleaners and press your clothing.

Keep your clothes in good shape by treating them well. Replace worn clothing when you can, though remember you can find great clothing on a budget at online clothing stores like Thredup.com and Stitchfix.com.

Be aware of clothing that doesn't do well in inclement weather. Spend some extra money on an overcoat and boots to protect your garments from the rain and snow.

Wear Sunglasses

Get yourself a fancy pair of sunglasses, even if you buy a cheap pair that looks classy. Wear your sunglasses whenever you go out on warm, sunny days.

Buy Nice Shoes

Even if you're on a budget while trying to look rich, it makes sense to buy a fine pair of shoes. Spending money on the best quality shoes that you can afford will enhance your entire outfit.

Maintain your shoes by taking them off when you're not outside. When possible, polish your shoes and clean off any dirt on them.

Wear Just A Little Bit of Jewelry

Too much bling will make it look like you're trying too hard, but using a discreet amount of jewelry, such as a necklace or bracelet, can give you a rich appearance. As a tip for shopping for jewelry on a budget, most people can't distinguish between a fake pearl and a real pearl. The same is true for specific gemstones. Save money by picking up a few pieces of affordable jewelry that won't break your bank account.

How To Appear Like You’re Rich on a Budget

Here’s are some tips on how to appear rich.

Bathe Daily

Keep yourself clean and fresh by taking a shower or bath daily. If you exercise during the day, taking another shower to clean up. Exfoliate your skin and use lotion when needed.

By bathing daily, you'll give off the appearance that you take good care of yourself, which is a habit of successful and rich people.

Keep Your Hair In Good Shape

Groom yourself regularly and get a haircut every few weeks. If you wear a beard or mustache, trim it regularly to keep your appearance top-notch.

To save money on haircuts, teach yourself how to do it or have your spouse or significant other cut it for you.

Practice Good Dental Care

Take good care of your teeth. Use whitening toothpaste, mouthwash, and floss daily. Avoid things that can cause stained teeth, like too much coffee. Stay away from tobacco products, as this will degrade your smile.

Use a Hint of Perfume or Cologne

The right scent can make you smell rich. Use perfume or cologne that's in your price range and shop when they're on sale.

Apply just the right amount because using too much could drive people away versus draw people in.

How To Act Like You’re Rich on a Budget

Even if you have little money, you can still act as successful people do, and this will give off the aura of you being rich. Here are some specific ways you can act rich while on a budget.

Practice Etiquette

Wealthy people practice good etiquette. You'll want to have good manners and speak calmly and evenly. If someone or something is making you upset, keep your calm and cool manner and don't raise your voice. Sit up straight and use good posture, as this will make you appear more refined, a characteristic of a wealthy person.

By being polite, soft-spoken, and reserved, you'll have people around you convinced that you come from a good background and may, in fact, be well off.

Tip Well At Restaurants

Tipping well at restaurants serves both for people to assume you have a lot of money, plus it shows respect for the waitstaff that serve you and those with you.

You don't need to go to fancy restaurants to tip well. Perhaps you and your family have a favorite diner where you frequent for breakfast. A simple way to exude wealth is to be friendly, kind, and to leave a high percentage tip, especially if you don't order much. You may just make your server's day, too.

Eat Slowly

When you go out to eat, eat slowly and neatly. Chew your food, use your napkin, and sip your drink. If you scarf down your food or gulp your drink, you'll appear unrefined. A wealthy person enjoys their food and their company spent with others when around the table. Soak up in some friendly conversation before biting into your next piece of food, and take your time when you eat.

Be Kind

To act wealthy, be kind to those around you. Rich people have no need to be aggressive, boastful, or irate. Use your manners and welcome others to be in your company. Give off that first impression that you're someone others want to be around.

Act with Humility

People with wealth don't draw attention to themselves. Act with humility and focus on talking up those around you versus talking about yourself.

Be modest with those you speak with and be a good listener. Those who speak less are often heard more when they do say something.

Act as if You Don’t Want Things

The wealthy don't act like they want anything because they have everything they want. One way to act rich while on a budget is to be unimpressed by consumerism. That is, you're more focused on making money and preserving your wealth than you are on trying to keep up with the Joneses.

You can make a statement by being content with everything you have and not getting caught up in burning every dollar you have.

How to Shop Like You’re Rich on a Budget

Be Seen at Events (using Deals)

Rich people are out and about and to keep up a rich appearance even if you're on a budget is to go out to various events. The trick here is that you're on a budget, so look for deals to save money when looking to go to an event. For example, you can save up to 75% or more off on many different activities by checking out Groupon.com.

Groupon has discounts on concerts, cruises, tours, services, and more. Even those with an average income can book exclusive outings and appear wealthy.

Buy Things On Sale

Buying things on sale will allow you to acquire stuff without breaking the bank. Check out these tips on how to save money for luxury items.

For example, on ThredUp.com, you can buy all sorts of outfits, good shoes, bags, and accessories at up to 50% off the retail price. Stitchfix.com allows you to get clothing hand-selected for you to try, and you pay for what you want to keep. Why pay full price when you can get the best outfits for less?

Buy a Used (but in great shape) Sporty or Luxury Car

Luxury and sports cars can put you far in debt, especially if you're not actually rich. This is where some clever shopping comes in handy. Using a website like Carfax and searching as far as you're willing to drive, you can buy used luxury and sports cars for a fraction of the price of a new one.

With the rate in which cars depreciate, you may end up paying less than half the price of a new car if you shop for older models. Get your used car inspected by a trusted mechanic to make sure you won't end up putting tons of money into maintenance.

It's possible that you'll have to shop around for a while, but imagine yourself driving up to an event with a hot car that looks like a million bucks, but you know you bought it on a budget by grabbing a much older model.

Of course, buying a car is a serious financial decision, so make sure you do your homework and can afford the car before you buy it.

What To Do and Know About to Seem Rich

Even if you're not rich by a longshot, you can appear rich by having certain hobbies and knowing certain things. Knowledge goes a long way and an easy way to appear rich, even having a lot of money, is to have the hobbies and knowledge of a rich person.

Pick Up Some Upper-Class Hobbies

Many rich people have specific hobbies to keep them busy. Some of these hobbies come with a high price, so one way to go about looking rich on a budget is to get good at one of these hobbies. Alternatively, learning a lot about the hobby without actually engaging may be enough to convince a group that you have rich tastes.

Here are some rich hobbies to learn about or even take part of:

• Golf
• Tennis
• Fine Dining
• Sailing
• Traveling
• Riding Horses
• Fencing

Using tennis as an example, some gyms come with tennis courts on the grounds and you can become good at tennis by finding a local group to play with. This will save you from finding a fancy country club and spending money on expensive memberships.

Learn About Expensive Brands Even if you don’t Own Them

Learn about expensive brands, such as clothing designers, car companies, and local upscale restaurants and their chefs. You don't need to drive a fancy car, wear designer clothes, or frequent upscale restaurants. You can simply have the knowledge to give off the impression to others that you have impeccable taste.

Educate Yourself on Wealthy People

It's hard to act rich if you don't know what rich and wealthy people are like. Read up on how rich people act and what rich people do. Get into the rich person mindset.

When you learn how the rich act, dress, and think, you'll fit in with other rich people and appear rich to those who aren't. No matter how wealthy you dress and how wealthy you attempt to act, you'll be figured out if you don't understand what it's like to be wealthy. By educating yourself to fit the part, you'll have the crowd fooled into believing you're well off, even if you regularly live frugally or on a tight budget.

Keep Up With Current Events

Wealthy people keep involved with current events. This means having an opinion on business, the economy, politics, world events, and the news. While you should never flaunt your knowledge, you'll want to have an idea of what's going on so that you can keep up in a conversation.

Here are some websites worth reading to keep up with current events:

• Forbes
• Wall Street Journal
• The New Yorker
• The Economist

Travel (on a budget)

Wealthy people know much about the world as they've traveled quite a bit. In order to keep up that rich look, take trips to other countries when it fits into your schedule and your budget. It's possible to get amazing rates by traveling during the off-peak season, using online travel sites like Travelocity, and staying away from luxury hotels and other touristy locations.

Instead, travel to less known areas and get to know the culture as country natives do. Take exotic photos and post them on social media to continue with your rich appearance.

Here's an article on how to save money on hotels for your next trip. Click this link for tips to save money for your next vacation.

Wrapping It Up

By combining your wardrobe, the way you act, and the things you do, you may very well convince people that you're rich, even if you live on a budget. Check out this article to learn how to grow your wealth even if you have very little now.

What will you do to take your first steps towards appearing wealthy?