Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful guidebook for those seeking financial FREEDOM
Review: I'm frugal, yet this book excited me so much that I bought a pile of them and gave them to many close friends with strong urgings to read. The second time this has ever happened to me. This book presents a realistic method for becoming financially independent. The key element is saving 15% of your pre-tax income, and investing that for the long term. What a small price to pay for true financial freedom! A core idea implied here is changing the typical American "order of operation". By sacrificing some spending now, one can then have plenty of toys and goodies later, if that is important. Or do whatever you want - free of a ball-and-chain job. An unexpected bonus was a look into the (counter-intuitive) effects of parents giving substantial sums of money to adult children. Hint - it usually makes them worse off financially in the long run. They also had some excellent data on thinking about your investments in AFTER-tax terms. This was before index funds became the rage, and I hadn't thought enough about this. Simple, practical advice that helped me seek out better alternatives, and therefore a more lucrative long term strategy. What I really liked about this book was that it presented the "live an honest, frugal, and hardworking life" in a practical context - that of reaping the substantial reward of financial freedom. For so many of these people, the independence they had gained, and the personal pride and contentment in that freedom made them so happy, it's hard to imagine any amount of consumer goods providing that. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...hmmm - sound familiar? For me it was a great motivator. While I'm much younger than the typical late 50ish to early 60ish millioniare interviwed, it showed me that I'm well on track if I just keep at it. That has REALLY helped for the past several years. If you're looking for a quick fix or magic bullet, or you can't stand the idea of giving up some of your pretax income for now - to have a much better financial life down the road, then this book isn't for you. However, if you are willing to consider some spending moderation, and are looking for practical advice that will truly work - this book is definitely for you. ***ANYONE*** with a moderate (say $30K and up) income, plus some desire and self discipline can become truly self sufficient financially - let freedom ring! I think that's truly wonderful, and this book can set you on that path.
Rating:
Summary: Sensational!
Review: The people givin this book one stars and whining miss the point. You can have a lifestyle while building for the future. Nowhere does it say you have to live like a hermit. Frugality is the key. I'll bet that all of the one stars are also livig paycheck to paycheck and broke (but having a great time) I also recommend Buffetology and More Wealth without Risk.
Rating:
Summary: Frugal can be both fun and fantastic!
Review: The benefits of frugality (control of waste - not being a cynical miser) should be repeated until we are all sick to our stomachs. Attitude is a big part of whether or not being frugal pays off. A good attitude is not easy to build, so I enjoyed the repeating of a message that needs to be repeated. The cynical diatribe about human life in general has a big advantage of being repeated in far more often. How about this, instead of "Just say, NO," --"Just Be Frugal!" Or that ubiquitous smiley face being renamed "frugal face." Change the name of the government from "federal" to FRUGAL GOVERNMENT. I did borrow the book from the library, a frugal bookstore.
Rating: 
Summary: 40 pages worth of excellent material
Review: good study and insightful approach, but too much of dragging and junk evaluation (tables ,tables and irritating tables with all stupid numbers)still worthy reading as u know exactly why someone is welathy and others not!!
Rating: 
Summary: Generally good, but formula is absurd
Review: The book is full of good common sense, but the formula they use to determine if you're a UAW or a PAW is nonsense. I've been saving 30% of my income for years, and in five years my net worth has been multiplied by ten, yet the formula shows that I'm a UAW. That's because until about five years ago I had no substantial income at all.
Rating:
Summary: "Frugality rewards individuals as well as companies"
Review: This book makes the major point that people are wealthy because they are frugal. This is more than true. My father, who owned his own successful business taught me this priceless lesson early in life and it has served me very well over the years. Today I own my own company and I am financially independent. This was only possible because my wife, kids and I live well below our means. Interestingly, the same frugality rule applies to companies as well. Businesses that greatly reward shareholders over long periods are typically very frugal. My favorite example is Fastenal Company where CEO Kierlin still writes his own correspondence in an office decorated with used furniture. Kierlin simply states: "Frugality has helped make us profitable and profitability is what you need to continue to grow."
Rating:
Summary: The one-stars have missed the point...
Review: Read past the first chapter of this book (which presents the extreme view), and read interpretively. The authors are not necessarily saying that you should amass a great fortune without enjoying yourself along the way. What they are saying is that if you ever want to live your current lifestyle independent of a paycheck (i.e. retire) then you need to build up a reserve of self-sustaining wealth. And if your are spending all that you're earning now on consumable items, then no matter how high your income is you will never be able to save enough to support that same level of expectation later. So you will always live paycheck-to-paycheck and you will experience a sharp decrease in living standard if you do retire. The point is that we need to plan our lifestyles/spending habits taking into account the present AND the future.
Rating:
Summary: Makes wealth seem more real and obtainable
Review: Stanley and Danko provide a pretty damning look at our consumer culture and make a clear distinction between wealth and income. This book changed my outlook on money in a profound way and I can say that about few books. It is well researched and well written. The authors can not only crunch numbers, they can tell a good story.
Rating: 
Summary: Dribble!
Review: Come on, people. The theme of this book is "you too can be a millionaire if you are really tight with your money." If that is all it took, the world would be full of millionaires. Is that how Bill Gates or Ted Turner got rich, pinching pennies? The theme just sops right up to the impoverished masses who seem all too ready to plunk down a few bucks for a book that promises that it can make anyone rich. Go ahead and buy this book if you think that making money has nothing to do with hard work, talent, dumb luck, knowing the right people, etc.
Rating:
Summary: An accurate accessment of "true wealth"
Review: As a financial consultant, I recognize the habits, in my most successful clients, that Mr. Stanley and Mr. Danko identify and highlight as key elements in accumulating wealth successfully. If people have not already achieved financial independence, then this book serves as a great "how to" guide. Identifying and emulating the common planning habits of "prodigious accumulators of wealth" (PAWs), will aid any individual in their quest to achieve financial security. An eye-opening report on how to accumulate wealth.
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