The Millionaire Next Door…

I had the opportunity to read ‘The Millionaire Next Door’ by Thomas Stanley this week during my commute to work.

The book is in one word… amazing. I mean really, if the guy can make a book entirely of statistics about a group of people I can’t even relate to and keep me interested, he’s a pretty good author.

Stanley covers the gamut of what makes a millionaire different from others. From how they manage marriage, to work, to frugality, to children, it’s all there.

The most shocking statistic? Most millionaires drive used domestic cars worth less than $30,000. The most popular model? A Ford F-150. Now every time I see an old Ford, I wonder if a very wise person is behind the wheel.

His main point – The gross majority of millionaires don’t care what you think of them.

Sounds like something I need to work on.

Rent this book from the library. It’s FASCINATING!

Posted by Beks on September 1, 2010 at 10:17 PM in Book Reviews | 19 Comments »
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  1. Dream Mom responded:
    Posted: September 2nd, 2010 at 7:39 am

    I enjoyed that book. I read that book some ten years or so ago if I recall, right after it first came out. It was good. The main thing I remember was that the millionaires lived below their means, stayed married, kept their first house which they purchased in a well established neighborhood, etc. I enjoy reading all kinds of financial books.

  2. Nichole@40daysof responded:
    Posted: September 2nd, 2010 at 7:54 am

    It really is a great read. I’ve run into trouble when recommending it to people, because some seem to be turned off by the title. Like they think it’s a get rich quick book, or they don’t want to seem interested in rich people. It’s very frustrating!

  3. dcs responded:
    Posted: September 2nd, 2010 at 8:42 am

    He’s written FOUR books of statistics about people we can’t relate to, and I’ve enjoyed all three that I’ve read. The one I haven’t read (it’s not in our library system) is about the millionaire women next door.

    I share Nichole’s experience in recommending it as well. They seem to resist for one of four reasons:
    a.) they think it’s “MTV Cribs” on paper, just describing the great toys millionaires have
    b.) they think it’s about some cheapskate, ornery old man that lived like he was on welfare, never spent a dime, and nobody knew he had anything until he died
    c.) they think it’s a Kiosaki-style self-help “how to get rich” manual
    d.) they think it’s a book and they proudly proclaim they have not read a single book cover to cover since graduating high school/college.

    Yes, that last one is real, and I have heard it more than once.

    Unfortunately, it IS kinda all four of those, but not really. It does describe what they have like Cribs (surprise! the house cost <$300k and their "whips" are a four year old Camry and an F-150). They do tend to be careful with money, especially in regards to stuff, although not to the Scrooge extent. If you do what they do, you do have a better chance of amassing wealth. And, yes, it is a book you have to read. So I really can't say "No! It's nothing like that!" to counter their arguments.

    Hmm. Actually "Cribs – Millionaire Next Door Edition" could be kinda funny. Perhaps Dave Ramsey could pair up with Stanley and do a special episode of his TV show. They could look at the millionaires' fleets of investments and peek in their fridge and see the basic ingredients for their largely home-cooked, healthy meals.

  4. Rona responded:
    Posted: September 2nd, 2010 at 8:45 am

    I work in a place where people make a lot of money. The Director drives a 1980′s ford pickup you would never guess that his salary is in the hundreds of thousands. Many of the other top earners drive cars you wouldnt expect either 10 year old minivans and toyotas. It just goes to show just because you have money doesnt automatically mean someone can tell what you will be driving. I feel right at home in my 1993 nissan! lol

  5. Carol responded:
    Posted: September 2nd, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    I just checked out “Millionaire Women Next Door”, from my library and plan on starting it this long weekend!

  6. csa responded:
    Posted: September 2nd, 2010 at 9:08 pm

    LOVE THAT BOOK!!! For the same reason you mentioned, it’s amazing statistically how “cheap and frugal” a majority of millionaires really are. It’s no wonder why so many of us can’t achieve what they have. We can’t seem to control ourselves from a lack of budgeting and self-control.

  7. Kari responded:
    Posted: September 2nd, 2010 at 10:16 pm

    As someone who drives a 1988 Toyota Camry (which still runs great), I can appreciate the stat about the non-flashy cars the Millionaires drive. Big expensive car payments are what keep a lot of people trapped in debt for too long.

    To put it in perspective, my car insurance bill is about $400 a year. That’s what a lot of people pay in ONE MONTH for a car payment.

    The two books I consider to be the classics of personal finance are this one, and ‘Your Money or Your Life’. Both of them shifted my thinking profoundly and I’m glad I discovered them in my 20s.

  8. fiona responded:
    Posted: September 3rd, 2010 at 3:03 am

    Yes, this is an excellent book, it really surprice to know that most of the millionairs actually live a simple life, but probably not true for the younger generation millionairs, they tend to buy more luxury things

  9. tony wing responded:
    Posted: September 3rd, 2010 at 7:49 am

    Every book you read on debt or self help will have something that you really learn from or something that you remember,it gets you into action.

  10. CanadianKate responded:
    Posted: September 3rd, 2010 at 12:39 pm

    I was lucky to find this book at a garage sale about 16 years ago. Read it, loved it, internalized it and am now living it.

    Everytime my dh wanted to live according to societal expectations for his income, I’d point out the downsides that ‘stuff’ brings into our lives. If we bought a bmw people would expect we had nice things and we’d have to get an alarm system for the house. And I didn’t want an alarm system. Instead we stuck with the van and our ‘luxury’ car (a PT cruiser with leather seats.)

    Just sold the PT last year, gave our son our van and bought a used Prius.

    Came back from the financial planner on Tuesday with the news that we can now retire in our early 50s. Of course, to my dh retirement means working when there is work but not worrying when there isn’t. So he’s still working today (and will tomorrow, and Sunday and Monday as he always does.) But he’s happy now because he’s retired!

  11. Mike Shaw responded:
    Posted: September 3rd, 2010 at 4:14 pm

    I find that reading up on these matters is much more effective than trying to plough through all the information on the web.

    Hope everything works out well for you.

  12. Joseph responded:
    Posted: September 3rd, 2010 at 7:07 pm

    Well, the people that actually bother to manage and save their money are the same people, I suppose, who manage to grow their wealth. Studies and endless sad stories show that winning the lottery or a huge NBA/NFL contract doesn’t teach people how to keep making money or live in a way that will make it last.

  13. Grace responded:
    Posted: September 4th, 2010 at 9:22 am

    While I, too, read and loved this book, there was one statistic that people gloss over, and that I find sad and disheartening–the millionaires did NOT donate to charity or if they did, it was in miniscule amounts, and usually through their church. They tended to have an “if I did it, then so can the next person, so why should I contribute,” without any awareness of the limitations of race, language, intellect, education, or anything else. Most if not all the millionaires in the book were middle-aged to elderly white guys.

  14. Beks responded:
    Posted: September 5th, 2010 at 5:57 pm

    Grace – Dr. Stanley’s second book ‘The millionaire mind’ addresses this issue. He said that millionaires participate often in fundraising.

  15. Lizzie responded:
    Posted: September 8th, 2010 at 11:40 pm

    So glad I just received the notice from my library that the book is in! Will be picking it up tomorrow.

  16. John responded:
    Posted: September 12th, 2010 at 11:50 pm

    I absolutely love that book. I think the same thing everytime I see a Ford F150. It has been a while since I have read it and I think it’s time for a refresher.

  17. affacturage responded:
    Posted: September 13th, 2010 at 2:02 am

    I just also bought“Millionaire Women Next Door”, and plan on starting it quickly! I’ll tell you about it !

  18. Beks responded:
    Posted: September 14th, 2010 at 8:44 pm

    affacturage – Let me know! I’d love to hear about it!

  19. Yadgyu responded:
    Posted: February 14th, 2011 at 8:42 pm

    What I take from this, is that a million dollars isn’t that much money any more.

    Thats one of the reasons that millionaires don’t live the millionaire lifestyle – they’re just not that rich. I expect to be a millionaire eventually, but only through the power of inflation.

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