Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Book Review: The Millionaire Next Door by Thom Stanley

“The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J. Stanley Ph.D and William D. Danko Ph.D. has been hailed as a book that has changed lives and removed the mystery surrounding wealth building and acquisition. The authors compiled research that tracked everything from marital status, education, profession, to support given to children. It was eye- opening to see that the millionaire lifestyle is not what is portrayed in the media. It is not lavish and flamboyant, in fact it can sometimes be called boring. It is middle- class and not ostentatious.

Here are a few of the highlights from the New York Times Bestseller.

Reduce Debt- Right now the majority of our income is going to debt reduction but I can see that once we get out of debt, we will be able to invest that money in other things.  The average millionaire does not have any debt payments; they own their cars and homes, they don't use credit cards and they certainly don't have student loans! Instead they have been able to use their income to invest and grow their careers, all of this leading to wealth.

Marriage- The majority of millionaires have been married to just one person and have stable relationships. Now, I don’t believe that having more than one marriage automatically ousts you from the millionaire club but it does help to have that stability and support.

Economic Outpatient Care- There are more than 45 pages in the book that are dedicated toward showing the dangers of offering your children support after they have left the home. This is referred to as Economic Outpatient Care, EOC for short. Those that give their children EOC are not doing their children any favors. Instead they are creating children and grandchildren that will become dependent on handouts and unable to support their lifestyle on their own.

Time- “People who become wealthy allocate their time, energy and money in ways consistent with enhancing their net worth” (Stanley, p. 87). Simply put this means that if you hope to become wealthy you must work toward that goal. You have to spend time deciding where to build your career, how to invest and how to shelter your money from potential taxes. Greg and I review our budget, watch over our investments and plan for the future. We don't spend all of our time messing with our finances but it's definitely a priority.

Simple Steps- Being a millionaire is a dream that can feel out of reach for many of us but Stanley and Danko lay out 7 factors that will help those who are working toward the goal of wealthy. They are as follows:
  1. live well below your means 
  2. allocate your time, energy and money in ways conducive to building wealthy 
  3. financial independence is more important than high social status 
  4. parents did not provide Economic Outpatient Support 
  5. adult children are economically self- sufficient 
  6. proficient in targeting market opportunities 
  7. choose the right occupation 
The greatest takeaway is that you just don't know who is a millionaire and the person you think is wealthy is probably not. Appearance isn't everything. Instead it's the people who live below their means and are stable and steady. Those are the winners.

*Book courtesy of my friend's husband via my friend! Thanks!

Stanley, Thomas J, Danko, William, D. (1996). The Millionaire Next Door: the surprising secrets of America’s wealthy. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

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