Bookworm: The Millionaire Next Door

It’s a Friday night, and like most young dads, our Friday nights are spent watching television, burping babies and chasing kids around hoping that they will pass out and go to sleep. This Friday night, momma has a friend over and the little one is being a bit fussy. Let me rephrase, the little one is being fussy towards me, so I found myself looking for something to do. Again, I will rephrase, since the little one is 99.9% boob-fed, I often find myself in this predicament. Tonight I decided to brush off a book that I’ve had for a while and never finished. In fact, I never got past the first couple chapters. Sadly after revisiting this book (10 years after originally picking it up) I wish that I had finished it when I started.

The book in question is The Millionaire Next Door by Dr. Thomas Stanley and Dr. William Danko.

I’m still only a few chapters in (I started over) and already I’m hearing things that I intrinsically know, but often find myself struggling to DO. One of the key premises of the book, which is based on a comprehensive study of millionaires in America, is leaving well below your means. With the added expense of children, rising inflation and the desire to have a V8 powered station wagon to haul around your offspring, living below your means is tough these days. Also of interest is that the average millionaire hasn’t received a dime from an inheritance or windfall, or has had any help becoming who they are today. Then how do they do it you ask? Hard work, determination, living below their means, investing 15-20% of their annual income…yep, the hard way.

I plan on getting rich from my Amazon.com affiliate links and ads on this blog…just counting down the days. I’m kidding. Kind of.

So what does a millionaire look like? Read the book, I guarantee you that most millionaires will not satisfy any stereotypical image that you have in your head right now. Most have never spent $5000 on a watch, most drive cars that are 10 years old (and paid for)…most could live off of their wealth for 10-15 years. How long could you live the life you’re living right now if you weren’t getting paid anymore?

And that’s just the first few chapters. My kids will read this book while they are in college and hopefully they’ll finish it. I wish I had finished it then. The last decade or so, could have been spent generating more wealth and worrying less about gadgets, gizmos and having the hottest baby hauling wagon in my neighborhood. Well, OK, let’s not get crazy…I NEED the Audi wagon to haul my kids around, it’s a matter of safety and efficiency.

Check out the book, read it again if you have already read it. Especially in today’s rough and tumble economy where a lot of us are choosing to be frugal, this book will help you understand the importance of staying that way even when the NYSE starts giving out money for free again.

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