The Millionaire Next Door," a book that dashed our notions about who America's millionaires really are and how they spend their money, marked its 10th anniversary recently, and nobody noticed. No party. No 10th-anniversary edition. Nothing.
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The book showed that millionaires spend their money smarter than other people. They still do.
Most important, the book showed that people with average, steady jobs can become millionaires over their lifetimes--that most millionaires are made, not born. Indeed, 80 percent of millionaires are first-generation rich, the authors found. They are modest. In fact, they might live next door.
The book's fundamental message about spending is this: You can look wealthy or you can be wealthy. For most people, the choices are mutually exclusive.
During a blunt conversation, Stanley talked about common spending traits of millionaires a decade ago and in his current research, which will be explained in his next book, which has the working title "Looking Rich in America."
THE WEALTHY KNOW SPENDING MATTERS. Financial health is about earning and spending. Although earning a lot of money is correlated with wealth, it's not a perfect correlation. "The spending issue is significant," Stanley said. "I believe very strongly that not everybody can play great offense. In other words, not everybody can make $1 million a year or even $100,000. The typical household in the United States makes under $50,000 a year.
"Given that, you have to look at defense. To play great defense, you have to know where all the money is going. And most people don't. So the first thing I would tell people is to account for every dime and nickel they've got and write it all down. You'd be shocked at how much money people waste. It's ridiculous."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/chi-0612160245dec17,1,6890478.story
