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Most millionaires are the ones that live right next door, indistinguishable from most ordinary folk. A great eye opening experience. :) This book is also great at helping ordinary people realize that if you live on less than you make, you may be the next millionaire. The Millionaire Next Door helps debunk many misconceptions about the wealthy people in America. Don't believe everything you see on TV.
The book demonstrates the authors' lack of concern to life, health and family in this publication. They present the material in a matter of fact manner where accumulating wealth whatever the cost. The book is written concerning conclusions after demographic study of today's wealthy. These issues have no implied value to these authors. This book is ALL about earning and saving $MONEY$. This book has a great start but slowly plateaus of useful information.
Just beware, the book gets very stale and repetitive in the final third portion. I would be concerned about the relational health of their families. Would I have bought it and read the book if I knew this. The two Ph.D.'s who write the book only provide the data which they were paid to collect for the corporations they were tasked to research for. However; there are some nice lessons to be learned. Yes.
CAUTION.
Why pay full-price for something when you can get the same thing for less. This was an entertaining book that taught me, however, what I already know - don't judge by appearances. Wealthy people are quieter - their clothes tend to be simple but made of expensive cloth, and that goes for their cars and homes (flashy equals insecurity, in my book). Patience and discipline - that's what millionaires have.
I suspect that's how real millionaires live - they know to live well on less while keeping their funds secure. It's not that they don't eat steak - it's just that they have the patience to wait until it's on sale. We end up owning lots of the same things, but whereas she spent herself into a hole, I still have enough money left over to invest in my mutual fund, CD, and pay for a vacation. I use coupons, cash-back programs, and the like.
However, the authors imply that living like Scrooge is the way to amass a fortune.I disagree - the point is, one doesn't need to spend a fortune to live well. I buy a lot of nice things too, but only after I've shopped around (making sure I'm getting the most bang for my buck). I never believed people who spent all their money on a fancy SUV or flashy clothes were necessarily rich. I have a friend who's always broke - she rarely uses coupons, buys most things at retail and throws away a lot of nice things when she's done with them (instead of selling it on ebay or donating it to Goodwill and getting a tax write-off).
This has to do with smart shopping, using coupons and knowing when to splurge and when to cut back. Millionaires are clearly expert savers. One can have a high quality of living (private schools for kids, etc) while remaining financially secure.
This book could have easily been less than 100 pages. Interesting points but they are repeated at nauseum.
It is very eye opening and inspirational to any hard working person. If everyone had read a book similar to this, I think the economy wouldn't have tanked like it did.
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