Follow the (Wealthy) Leader

How many times have you been about to make a financial decision -- take out a loan, risk some money, something -- and you wanted to know how the really rich would do it?

Now, one way to do it is to join Tiger 21 -- a club for the super-rich who talk to each other about their wealth and how they go about managing it.

But it costs $25,000 a year, and you need $5 million or more to qualify.

Maybe this is for you -- if so, congratulations. But what about everyone else?

I know it's tough to find someone you trust. But wouldn't some guidance give you comfort that you're doing things right, keeping you on track to The Millionaire Zone?

Why is this so important? For one, the financial world has become more complex.

There are 17,000 pages of tax code, new kinds of investments, more volatile markets and a litigious society making practically everything we do a risk-management issue.

Add longer life spans, more time to be spent as a widow or widower, more career changes, more small business ownership -- you get the idea.

What I see so often are otherwise smart, competent people learning, but learning the hard way -- after unpiling a mountain of debt or getting hit with a huge tax bill, or worse.

Or, suitably wary of the total do-it-yourself approach, they hire a professional.

Professionals are great, but if you don't know what they're doing, you're vulnerable. Are they selling something to you? Are they doing the right thing for you or for themselves?

So today's rich -- and aspiring rich -- are no longer sitting back. They're taking the initiative to build wealth-management skills. They read, and some take courses like the many offered at local night schools.

Click here for the video version of this story from Jennifer Openshaw.

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