The Millionaire Next Door

Rating:
Summary: Real Lessons from Real Data
Review: This is not a how-to book, nor does it claim to be.

What it does is examine the habits, attitudes, and demographics of "prodigious accumulators of wealth" (i.e. The Millionaires Next Door), compared to those that consume and consume, living from paycheck to paycheck. It dispels some myths about millionaires, showing that just because you flaunt it, doesn't mean you have it.

For example, the authors explain that most consumers of luxury goods are living dangerously. People who live in homes that are too expensive (i.e. with a mortgage more than twice that of their yearly taxable income) are living dangerously. Their lives are precariously balanced between earn and spend, and any number of major life events could leave them in serious trouble.

The book doesn't tell you how to live, but it does explain the common-sense principles required to accumulate wealth. It's not perfect, and reads too much like a spreadsheet at times. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book for two main reasons.

1) Common sense is uncommon. Sure, it sounds easy. Make wise choices in life, and you will live securely. But how many of us do it? The book explains why being a millionaire doesn't take being well-bred or brilliant, using illustrative stories of real people, and how they earn and spend. Admittedly, one person's "frugal" is another person's "tightwad". We wouldn't always want to be these people, but they do have good ideas.

2) Life expectancies are on the rise. You may argue that you work hard for your money, so why not just spend it now? Thanks to modern medicine, there is a significant likelihood that you will live (in reasonable health) to age 80. Will you be able to work until you're 80? What will you do when you retire at 65 or even 70, with nothing left in your bank account to last you the next 10 to 15 years? Wait for handouts from your children and grandchildren, or the government? The millionaires next door can afford to retire earlier, and maintain their standard of living.

In short, being a millionaire isn't about hoarding money or living extravagantly. It's about common-sense security and independence.

Rating:
Summary: Measurement of Best Practices Overcomes "Stalled" Thinking
Review: A book like THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR has a value that goes well beyond its subject matter: It shows how often we have misconceptions about what is really going on around us. Such misconceptions can stall our progress by having us act in the wrong ways.

Unless you had done similar research, you will probably be surprised by at least some of the findings of this book. The millionaires described here remind me of the ones I knew as a child, so the overall picture is familiar. What impresses me is that that model has continued to be true for the 50 years since I was a child.

I hope that this kind of research will be continued so it can be tracked to see how the lessons are changing.

I read the reviews of this book below, and think I understand why some people were disappointed. I think that many people would like to live an expensive lifestyle and be independently wealthy. That model is not examined here. Perhaps in a future book, that subject should be explored. Also, some people want to know what to do today, and would benefit from looking at those who got to be millionaires the fastest and most recently. That information, too, is missing.

The orientation of this study is heavily on how to sell things to rich people, and that is valuable. For example, the richest people I work with will normally ask me what kind of car I drive. They want to hear that I drive an inexpensive car before they feel comfortable with me. I do drive an inexpensive car, a 7 year old Saturn, and that has helped me get consulting clients on many occasions.

I think the possibilities of this research are endless if it is turned into best practice research, something that readers are clearly hungry for. But it is a good beginning to simply do the measurements, and learn the value of measurements.

To make enormous progress, our reserach has shown that people need to go through the following process: (1) Learn the value of measurements (which this book helps with). (2) Measure every aspect of important activities (something this book starts to do). (3) Measure the existing best practice, and estimate where that will be in five years (this work remains to be done). (4) Implement pieces of other peoples' best practices in new ways for a more effective combination than any one else has done before. (5) Identify the ideal best practice (in this case, get rich quick with little risk -- an example today would be to found an Internet-based business and sell it quickly) (6) Begin to approach the ideal best practice (that might be to establish Web sites and experiment with creating Internet businesses inexpensively). (7) Create the right rewards to motivate yourself and others to get the job done (daily feedback is a good way for many people). (8) Repeat the process. Here's where the main benefit comes in.

I hope this model will help you expand on the lessons of this book to become much wealthier yourself, if that is what you desire, or to create something else that you care about.

I personally like to help others get rich more than doing the same for myself. I believe that if everyone is more successful, I will have plenty for myself. My personal goal is for everyone to get 10,000 times or more benefit from what clients spend in time, money, and effort on our services and books.

Please do read, think aobut, and build on the lessons of this book to meet your life's goals.

If you do not yet have written goals, including financial ones, that's an important first step.

Rating:
Summary: Sensible Advice on Accumulating Money
Review: I found this book to be very precise and insightful. I understood the underlining points that he makes and understand what he is saying when he elaborates on these points. Obviously Richard Lam did not see this, why I don't know. I found it not to read like a textbook and I have read many being in the computer field. I would recommend this book to anyone who is serious about becoming economically independent.

Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life: it's excellent!
Review: I sure wish I would have read this book the day I started to earn a paycheck. A must read for every college graduate to prevent getting sucked into the consumer society. Give it to your kids!!

Rating:
Summary: Jeanne's Review
Review: The millionaire Next Door is a great book for everyone to read. It's helpful for those who aren't educated in the financial aspect of things. When I started reading the book I thought that it was just going to talk about those who are millionaires and no one would have known, but the book goes on to tell stories about the life of the "north" and the "south" (That's what the two types of people were referred to). I was very suprised to hear how frugal the millionaires were with their money. I also thought that it was really important how the "north" and the "south" raised their children. It was interesting that the "north" which where the ones who were flashy with their wealth, didn't teach their children the meaning of money. While the "south" taught their children the importance of saving money. This study was interesting because when the kids got older they would spend money like how they were taught when they were younge. I think that this book really inspires others that they too can be a millionaire. Not only did the book talk about millionaires but it also stated that millionaires tend to live very simple lives such as not have the expensive cars and clothing. And that is only because they save their money instead of spending. I am looking forward to reading the second part of this series. I believe that the other book talks more about what motivated them to save money and goes into more details about how they did it.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Look at the Habits of Wealthy People
Review: This book provides a fascinating summary of the buying habits, lifestyle, and jobs of the wealthiest group of Americans (the authors define wealthy as a net worth of $1 million or more). The emphasis in the book is that the average millionaire is most likely your own unassuming neighbor who runs his own small business, lives in a "regular" house, doesn't take exotic vacations, has a strict home budget, and tends to buy a used car. The authors's analysis is sometimes statistical, but not overly so, and certainly easy to understand by non-statistical types (like me! :> ). The ultimate point of the book is that if you want the financial success of being one of the top 1%, you need to live below your means and save money wherever you can - purchases, taxes, etc. I really enjoyed the book and found it to be a good read and an easy read. I picked up a number of tips fromthe habits of millionaires on saving some money (the authors say the average millionaire knows where ever dollar goes!) I recommended it to several coworkers, each of whom enjoyed it as well. (Perhaps if I were to follow the principles in the book, I would have offered to sell my own used copy for a few bucks to one of them! ;> ). For [theinexpensive price on] the paperback, you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Personal lesson from this book: To amass wealth = be Frugal
Review: This book reveals interesting statistics about real-life wealthy people and their habits/secrets.

There is a lot of good advice and examples (some technical) on how to acheive wealth but the true eye opener is that self-made millionaires adopt a lifestyle which can be surprising...they are frugal. (ie may not be wearing a Rolex!)

This changed my personal outlook on becoming wealthy. For example by keeping my car a couple of extra years...then buying the model I wanted but 1year old instead of new etc.

The book shows us how if we truly adopt a frugal lifestyle it is much more realistic to become wealthy. The great irony I see in this is that to become wealthy you need to focus your life on LIVING and not on THINGS or money itself (ie be frugal).

This book truly demonstrates methods and ways that people who adopt this lifestyle acheive the most in monetary terms.

This book is a definite must buy for anyone interested in gaining serious wealth no matter what your income may be.

Rating:
Summary: Sensible Advice on Accumulating Money
Review: This book will teach you, if you will listen, to move to the next level of wealth. Combined with one of Mary Hunt's books on how to eliminate debt and stay out of it, you can get on the road to fiscal sanity through simple, sensible behavior.

Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life: it's excellent!
Review: This book, and its successor, The Millionaire Mind, changed my life. I am a type-B person who is smart enough -- and talented enough -- to make an okay-living but I know I'll never bring home the big bucks because I like leisure activities and time with my family too much. I am married to a man with the same outlook. Reading this book made me realize that I could build wealth by passive means rather than active (i.e. earning a big salary.) Even an ordinary person can become financially stable -- even very wealthy -- by following the basic living rules that your parents taught you (or should have taught you.) Far more than a book about money, this is really a book about values and how you live your life.

The book should really be titled "Everything Your Mom Taught You (or Should Have Taught You) is Right." If you follow all the rules laid out in this book, you will never be poor (except for some disaster that you have no control over, but in that case you'd be poor no matter what you did.) The rules are the ones that Americans used to live by before the coming of the 60s and 70s and the "turn on, tune out" generation's destructive, infantile philosophy.

These rules are: 1.) Complete at least high school (a college degree is better, but not necessary. 2.) Marry a hardworking reliable spouse, not a flake, and stay married. (Advice is good for both sexes -- divorce is a huge wealth-killer). 3.) Live below your means, save and invest the left-over money. 4.) Buy good quality stuff, not trendy "stuff" that goes out of style or falls apart after a few years, and keep it for a long time. 5.) Buy used, good quality stuff rather than new, poorly made junk for the same price. 6.) Don't do stuff that harms your health, like substance abuse and promiscuous sex. 7.) Don't buy on credit. Pay off your credit cards every month and save up for what you want rather than financing it at 18 percent interest. 8.) Realize that excessive consumerism is really another word for slavery. It really is better to have a couple hundred thousand dollars in the bank and be able to sleep at night than to have the latest model luxury car and the biggest house, and not be able to sleep at night.

...

Rating:
Summary: Spend below your means but doesnt tell you the plan
Review: Well here it is. Difinitive data to support my gut feeling. The poor and the middle class can choose to be wealthy. It doesn't take an advanced degree (though that four year degree looks to have come in handy), it doesn't take being on the cutting edge of some flashy trend (though detecting and fulfilling market niches is vital), and it doesn't take an inheritance. Millionaires in every way fit the definition of "working families". It's about lifestyle choices. It's about "cattle, not chattle". Great book. Inspired me to make the transition. I'll be putting a few more miles on the 160K mile 1990 Honda!!!