How to create wealth by delaying gratification Here is an superb example of two successful families who follow the method of delayed gratification and avoiding debts to accumulate wealth.

Super Savers: Nicole, 40, and Mitch Elovitz, 44, daughter Maude, 11
Savings Rate: 35%
Home: Lake Oswego, Ore.
Occupations: Nicole is director of marketing for a clean energy technology company; Mitch is a manager for the county government.

Nicole is a master of the long wait. She regularly holds off for three to six months before buying anything that costs more than $100, and she never spends more than $30 without first checking with Mitch (he does the same). She once put off buying a $3.99 ringtone for her cell phone for weeks to see if she really wanted it. And when she saw a $195 pair of earrings she liked, she trimmed the grocery budget for five months to find the cash. "I usually mentally buy something before I actually do it.

Nicole and Mitch budget for everything, from their property taxes (which they prepay to get a 10% break) to vacations ($250 a month) and entertainment ($400 a month). Because they've socked away $250 a month since the day daughter Maude was born 11 years ago, they already have $50,000 in her college 529 plan. And they constantly are looking for ways to save. But it's their ability to curb impulse buys that has fueled the family's savings. "We're not perfect, and sometimes we overspend. But if you have a game plan for savings, you don't get too far off track," says Nicole.

Super Savers: Ed Haskell, 50 and Debbie Chasteen, 52, daughter Laura, 15
Savings Rate: 50% of after-tax income
Home: Liberty, Mo.
Occupations: Ed is a retired Air Force officer; Debbie is a college professor.

Since they married two decades ago, Ed Haskell and Debbie Chasteen have saved more than half their income every year. But Ed's aggressive savings habits go back even further. From his early 20s, Ed was determined to live frugally so that he didn't have to work into his 60s. When the couple was dating, Debbie realized how serious Ed was about saving when she needed a new car but didn't have the cash. Rather than have her borrow, Ed offered to put up the money so she could continue maxing out her 403(b) retirement plan. That avoidance of debt has been a key to their success.

Before they make any purchase, even big-ticket items like cars, they save up the cash. In 1996 they paid cash for their first home, a $105,000 townhouse in Macon, Ga. Five years later they bought their current three-bedroom home in the Kansas City suburbs for $200,000 -- in cash. "Sure, we could afford a bigger house and more expensive cars, but we're content with the things we have," says Ed, who retired 10 years ago and now teaches and consults. By the time Debbie retires in six years, Ed estimates they'll have a $2.5 million retirement nest egg.

source:cnnmoney.com