There are a number of ways you can build wealth, from founding a successful start-up to receiving a hefty inheritance.

For the everyday consumer, though, becoming wealthy usually requires a longer-term strategy. That can include a number of components, such as budgeting, investing and managing your money well.

The most important factor in building wealth: your salary, according to 67% of both millennials and Gen Zers, a recent survey from financial services company Empower found. The younger generations chose salary above other wealth-building factors such as being debt-free, job stability and living below your means.

While earning a high salary can play an important role in growing your wealth, it won’t make you wealthy on its own. Here’s what it takes to build your net worth.

How to actually build wealth

Your salary alone says little about your overall wealth. A high salary may indicate a better financial position, but if you’re not using that money effectively, it may not be contributing much to your net worth. 

“The real key to building wealth is really how much of that check you hold onto,” Scot Johnson, chartered financial analyst and chief investment officer at Adell, Harriman and Carpenter Inc., tells CNBC Make It.

You can do some of that holding in a savings account — you should always maintain cash reserves for emergencies — but investing in assets like stocks, bonds or property will help your money grow over the long term.

If the money you save is just sitting under your mattress, your purchasing power could shrink over time due to inflation. But investing in low-cost index funds is a time-tested, self-made millionaire-approved method to build wealth on virtually any income.

Index funds are a practical way to invest because they are often low-cost and give you exposure to a variety of stocks, creating automatic diversification. That way, your portfolio isn’t tied to the success of a few specific companies, allowing it to better weather any market volatility.

Even if you can’t afford to put away much, it’s a good idea to make a habit of investing what you can. As opposed to money sitting in your checking account, investments benefit from the power of compound interest, which occurs when interest accumulates on your returns as well as your initial investment, so your money grows faster.

“Building wealth comes down to balancing living in the here and now and putting ample savings aside to grow for you,” Johnson says. “The longer those savings are growing for you, the bigger that pile has a chance to get.” 

CNBC