My review of 'The Millionaire Next Door'

The Millionaire Next Door written by Thomas J. Stanley, PhD

I have heard many people recommend this book, so picked up a copy. It is worth the hype.

Summary

• Most millionaires are just regular people with a normal looking house and cars, but are PAW’s (Prodigious Accumulator’s of Wealth)
• Most people with expensive houses and cars are actually UAW’s (Under Accumulator’s of Wealth)
• People making under $100,000/year can be millionaires by saving and investing
• The secret to wealth building is living off much less than you earn
• Its easier to accumulate wealth if you don’t live in a high status neighborhood
• Wealthy people keep a budget, which includes setting aside 15% for investments
• Offense = earning a high income, Defense = saving. “The foundation stone of wealth accumulation is defense, and this defense should be anchored by budgeting and planning”
• Many PAW’s get much more pleasure from owning substantial amounts of appreciable assets than from displaying a high-consumption lifestyle
• Big Hat, no cattle. “I don’t own big hats, but I have a lot of cattle”

Most millionaires don’t have houses and cars that look like this. They are the exception and not the rule.

Photo by Matt Lamers on Unsplash

My Takeaways

• Don’t take on bad debt (buying liabilities with debt)
• Don’t buy the fancy stuff just to look cool or wealthy
• Save at least 30% of my income every year
• Starting a boring business is probably the faster way to wealth than sexier higher profile one