The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy

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Summary: THE BEST INSIGHT INTO WHY THE WEALTHY ARE WEATHLY.
Review: This is clearly one of the best sources of information on why the wealthy have what they have. We don't need to make a huge annual income (although it doesn't hurt) to accumulate wealth. BE FRUGAL. Shop smart, buy smart, save and get good counsel from those who are already wealthy. Don't "keep up the Joneses," be frugal and blow their doors off. You too can become a millionaire. Don't just read this book, read it more than once and DO WHAT IT SAYS.

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Summary: Destroys the myths about the rich
Review: If you want a book to tell you your spending habits are justifiable, this book is not for you. If you are willing to learn what habits helped make wealthy people wealthy, read on. There is a difference between high income, and wealth. The wealthy are such because they save, spend wisely, and don't care about highly-visible consumptive lifestyles. The millionaires discussed would never make it on "Lifestyles" of the you-know-who. It wouldn't serve their interests. After reading this book, I question if anyone on "Lifestyles" really is wealthy. This book is more about attitude, than investing. If you're young, read the book. If you're older, it's too late to make it. Good charts and statistics back up all analysis.

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Summary: The bottom line is this: Be a miser.
Review: This book provides very important and basic advice on how to accumulate wealth. The value of reading this book is in its emphasis of the importance of living below your means, saving probably much more money than you are doing now, and not trying to keep up with the Joneses, who are probably on their way to bankruptcy. However, they almost go too far in shunning the average rich person who actually likes to have fun.

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Summary: Prefer more focus - eg. Mind of a Trader
Review: I did learn much, but the millionaires are from such diverse backgrounds and some only just scrape into the category, that I preffered the more focused Mind of a Trader (FT Pitman, May 1998) which details how 10 of the worlds leading traders made their multi-millions doing what anyone of us can do - buying and selling securities. (One guy in Mind of a Trader made $250,000 each trading day on average for 8 years! - now that's the kind of millionaire you want next door.)

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Summary: Great book for those who want to retire wealthy!
Review: Book will either validate or change your behavior! Caveat... you will love this book if you WANT to retire with an accumulated fortune & (more importantly) WILLING to live within your means! I loaned it to a friend who lives in an extremely upscale neighborhood, 3 cars for 2 people (Mercedes, Porche) and just starting out in life. She hated the book! Her desire to look rich was more important than being rich. I didnt think the book was repetitive at all! Filled with great information to live by!

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Summary: Your millionaire neighbor is frugal, frugal, frugal.
Review: This book is redundant, redundant, redundant. I kept thinking that I lost my place and was re-reading the same pages. However, high-income earners who can't save 15% of their salary should read this.

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Summary: TOO LONG, good info
Review: This book had some good information on how to save money, but I felt that the concepts were somewhat stupid. The book is basically just statistics stated over and over again. The authors should have written a pamphlet, not a book.

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Summary: This book changed my life.
Review: I have changed the way I handle my finances because of this book. The Millionaire Next door explains how everyday people can achieve financial security. I recommend this book to all of my friends and family.

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Summary: Boring, wordy, but learned a thing or two.
Review: This book seems too be way too long for the information it provides. You could have summed it up in about three pages. And Duh! if you make a lot of money and don't spend it you will be a millionare. I'm sure about 85% of the population of Beverly Hills also has a nice retirement plan set up for them dispite their lavish lifestyle. I personally believe it is possible to live well and stil accumulate wealth. In twenty years when I am cruising down sunset Blvd. in my Ferrari I'll be sure to stop by my accountants and make sure I got enough to retire on.

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Summary: Excellent advice for those who want financial independence.
Review: Gives a revealing account of who the wealthy in this country are and how they went about earning their financial independence. These millionaires live in middle class neighborhoods, drive inconspicuous autos, and eschew high consumption lifestyles. Interesting stuff; motivating.