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Stop Acting Rich…

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Or so says Thomas Stanley’s August 19th blog (and his newest book) – and I love the title.

Thomas Stanley, author of The Millionaire Next Door, must be a fan of mine. His most recent two blogs talk about frugal folks who shop at thrift stores for clothing and come home with remarkable finds.

I mean really, why wouldn’t a NY Times bestselling author read my blog?

Don’t answer that.

My favorite quote stolen from this blog series: “Any idiot can pay full price”

But if you have time (time AFTER you read my blog of course), check out his at http://www.thomasjstanley.com/blog.php.


5 Comments

  • Reply Catherine |

    I’m a big fan of his too. His statistics about how those who truly are wealthy live are fascinating. Didn’t know he was a blogger tho, cool!

  • Reply Dream Mom |

    I have read several of his books. Love the new title.

    The title reminds me of a situation many years ago. I have always loved houses and when my son was born, I worked briefly for my brother who was a VP of Sales and earned a good living. My brother was always conservative with his money and always lived well below his means. We had driven by a newer wooded area that had custom built homes. It was a beautiful area and there was one spec home in particular that I liked. I asked if we could stop by and check it out. We looked in the windows to amazing views out the back into the woods. To make a long story short, he decided to see the home and purchased it. Home sales were slow at the time due to the cost of the homes and it was always fun to hear about the new neighbors that moved in and what their line of business was. Once people moved into these homes, they had their landscaping put in and their homes decorated. Landscaping alone could cost $100k or more. One of the neighbors was an electrician. He was self employed and clearly out of place in the neighborhood. He purchased a home in there and while he may have been able to afford the home, he couldn’t afford “the lifestyle”. He did his own landscaping and it was an eyesore in the neighborhood. A few doors down was a Sr. V.P. for a large bank. He had a really cool Frank Lloyd Wright inspired home that was decorated to the nines; my brother was friends with him and told me about the decorator and the interior. Anyway, his landscaping was impeccable and I always wanted to see inside that home. I learned his name from my brother and remembered reading about his stock transactions in our Big City Newspaper. That was a hobby of mine to see which executives cashed in their stock since I frequently would read up about different businesses in different industries. Anyway, the Sr. V.P. had millions in those few transactions he was selling. I am sure that man had a zillion more shares of stock, along with umteen other assets. While he was probably living clearly well below his means in his million dollar plus mansion, the electrician was “acting rich” and living beyond his means. He never was able to afford furniture to go inside his place and his home projects were done cheaply. There is nothing wrong with doing things yourself but you have to recognized that sometimes it’s not whether you can afford the home, but whether you can afford the “lifestyle” that comes with it. Clearly the electrician was “acting rich” but didn’t have any assets to speak of…my brother still lives in his home and it’s one of his residences. So does the Sr. V.P. Not sure about the electrician.

  • Reply emmi |

    So many of my friends buy things just to temporarily feel good about themselves. Just getting a handle on your finances can become that thing you feel good about.

    I was thinking about this the other day while going through some old comic books I inherited when us kids all moved out of the house. Do you remember Scrooge McDuck? Do you remember how he was considered, well, not exactly evil, but he was not looked upon as a nice guy. In retrospect he was bad training for kids, being stingy like he was with your money is the right way to live.

  • Reply Nichole@40daysof |

    I have read that book. I think it’s definitely worth the read. Why haven’t I ever check out his blog? Strange! Thanks for the recommendation.

  • Reply Tiffany |

    I actually read Millionaire Next Door lastt year and was very surprised at his statistics. Now everytime I see someone I know buying a nice new car or a big home I wonder how much debt they really put themselves into rather than thinking, wow they must have a lot of money. Going to check out his blog now!

So, what do you think ?