It is not a myth, it is true, The myth is that poorer neighborhoods do not have access to healthy foods, fruits and vegetables are evrywher, you kjust have to look for them..

And, I don’t think he is trying to imply these examples apply “to the masses”. Rather, he’s using these cases as examples of people who will make extreme efforts to spend money on things they don’t need – and probably can’t afford – but they won’t spend the time and effort trying to improve their financial situations in life. At least, that was my take…

And, “Stop Acting Rich” was a great book! Loved it!

RE housing. I think the “buy a house that is 2 – 2.5 times your income” is hardly achievable these days, partly due to the low mortgage rates (that prop the housing prices up). In my neck of the woods the median house cost is 3-3.5 the median income for the area. So you either have to earn more than a median or home school your kids, which in my case is unrealistic. No whining – I am a renter myself, just stating the facts.

Nice book overall, but feels dated now…

I read it on pdf, it was a great read.

TMND absolutely and completely changed my outlook on life and my perspective about wealth. I only wish the book had been published a decade earlier!

The book helped me identify my financial behavior and to better understand my relationship with money. It helped me clarify my financial goals, and to stop behaving in ways that were obstructing my path to financial success.

TMND is not a roadmap to wealth, and in any case, YMMV. For me, it was profound because it busted some myths that surround wealth.

It helped me realize that a large McMansion with shiny new SUVs in the driveway may represent a large debt load and exhausting work hours, not actual wealth. I’m not embarrassed by my thrifty behavior, quite the contrary.

I recommend TMND to people on a regular basis – and get it from the library!

I loved your review a couple weeks ago, and I love this interview.

In a few sentences, who is the “millionaire next door”?

Thomas Stanley: If you talk about the prototypical person, he’s a guy, mid- to late-50s, owns his own business, went to a four-year public college, was a B or C student, saves relentlessly, lives in a neighborhood where he has four to five times more wealth than the guy next door.

Was it so necessary for him to say that MND is a GUY? Why was that necessary? It’s sort of thoughtless sexism. I think he meant to say, “most millionaires next door RIGHT now are guys” but I couldn’t help but find this language a little exclusionary.

Just a comment though. I’m not exactly offended, it just seemed like a poor choice of words. I’m still interested in reading the book, etc.

“Each week at the market while my wife looks at the flowers I read a chapter of the book in the book section of the store.”

You are a dirty rotten thief. If you want to read the book, but are too cheap to pay for it, that’s what libraries are for.

I wonder exactly what percentage of your “millions” you accumulated using equally dishonest and despicable means.

Not necessarily all business owners either – a lot just worked at regular jobs and lived frugally, it is pretty inspiring to talk to these folks.

I think the same could hold true for the weight observation – the more disciplined you are about money and the better you are at accumulating wealth, the better access you have to good food and healthier choices.

Stanley’s observations aren’t judgements, just his interpretation of the massive amounts of data he and his team collected/processed.

@SuperT, TMND spends a lot of time talking about Economic Outpatient Care, how most millionaires didn’t inherit their fortune, and how some people who depend on handouts from family end up as UAWs.

Being able to save means, among other things, it is cheaper to purchase large items (e.g. appliances, cars, even houses). I discovered the amazing fact that if I could afford to pay interest, I could afford to pay cash and hence no interest (or pay off my CCs every month). I just had to, for a short period of time, reduce my spending until I got ahead. That’s it. Cold turkey is a great approach, but I did it when I was young and single, so it didn’t impact anyone but me. Life became a lot cheaper, a whole lot cheaper, when I quit buying on credit.

My kids roll their eyes at the notion of “saving for retirement” but they are enthusiastic about “saving to become financially independent.”

Stanley’s books have been a great source of ideas for making good choices (i.e, “Things That Work” )

Generalizations, by their nature, tend to lack clarification.

I grew up with older, depression-era, immigrant grandparents who had 9 children, no education (some English), menial labor jobs and left 2.5 million dollars (in 1984), chiefly from real estate investments of rental properties. (My grandmother said “buy real estate, they don’t make it anymore!)

My father never earned more than a middle-income wage (what’s that anymore?), left minimal savings, a 100K insurance policy when he died young. But he lived life and was happy with himself and his family. We never needed, or as I recall, wanted, for anything. We have sweet memories, he loved life.

My in-laws are very wealthy (objectively), frugal and extravagant at the same time (does that makes sense??) and value every day they have left as well as their loved ones. My husband grew up with frugal habits but knowing he had support of his parents and a safety net like few people do. They are very generous to us and charities, both in time and money.

I’ve made a lot of money as an employee, been broke, owned my own successful business, been in incredible crushing debt (business not consumer) and now back to making good money.

I try not to make generalizations about each of those stages. For me, it’s been a journey. And I hope I’ve learned not just about me and my feelings about “wealth” and money but about others’ views as well.

“Those people who live below their means are happier than people who don’t” is an excellent point. Wealthy people and high-income earners do tend to have spending habits that allow them to live within their means.

I wonder about the “hoarding” issues with frugal types. It seems like the depression-era hoarders may not be from the same mold as the millionaire next door. It would be my guess that the millionaire next door is a minimalist for practicality and cost.

I’m a big fan of both The Millionaire Next Door and the Cheapskate Next Door – the joy comes from other sources, but the safety net of cheapskate skills and MND assets makes it a lot easier to pursue the non-stuff joy comes from.

He takes lavish vacations while his house falls apart. He’s the same way with food. Binges in spending, binges in eating. There’s a moderation/maturity/self-control aspect in a lot of things he has never mastered.

I imagine Mr. Stanley has observed the same thing in his research.

TMND is not a roadmap to financial freedom. It is a lesson on the common characteristics of those who have found it.

I don’t live in their neighborhoods–I live somewhere more affordable. But I don’t really know my neighbors. I’m at the bottom of that pyramid too, though, because I don’t like mowing the lawn.

In TMND, the authors specifically speak against paying for your offspring’s education in fancy schools. And your grandchildren. One granny gets very mad at them for admonishing against her wanting to pay for her grandchildren to go to a wealthy school.

Here’s an actual excerpt:
“I’m as indignant as hell. What am I supposed to do with my money? My daughter’s family is having a rough time making ends meet. Do you know about the problems with public school around here? I’m sending my grandchildren to private schools.” (p. 145 of my version)

I am with granny on this one. TMND authors made some good observations but also some flawed stuff in my opinion. And don’t get me started on the formula, either.

Although I haven’t even started having children yet, when planning my own financial future I consider what I would like to leave for my children. Predominantly, I want to give them good educations. I would like them to be able to attend good schools and graduate with degrees that will help them create a solid future for themselves without starting life buried in student loans.

Beyond that, I intend to live my life well, which includes saving and being sensible now and hopefully reaping those rewards later. If we end up leaving a lot for our children when we pass away, then that’s great, but if most everything is spent on us enjoying our retirement we will still have provided for them well by making sure that they can provide for themselves without counting on unexpected windfalls.

Regardless of my own plans, I would be very curious to read studies on how most inheritances are handled. My guess would be that a lot are blown through, and that it depends largely on how things were handled in their upbringing.

I’m probably older than most of the Gen X, Y, & Millenials that cruise these internet forums, so maybe I have a slightly different viewpoint. I’m curious to see if and how the millionaire next door concept evolves as the millionares get deep into their lifespan. If you continue to live below your means until your death, you need to consider the financial, social, and personal effects of your heir(s) suddenly becoming wealthy. There’s never much discussion about that end of the timeline.

This reminds me of my grandparents… they saved and saved and saved throughout their life. Now they’re in their 70s, highly active and living in a beautiful home by a golf course. They travel on cruises and across the US multiple times a year with their kids and grandkids. They’re also very generous.

I dunno if they’re millionaires, but I want to be just like that

Now that I think about it, my grandfather was a thin engineer too. Interesting.

Instead of nitpicking at each example and looking at the potential absurdities of each case in what amounts to straw man arguments, let’s read with tact and make a polite attempt to understand what he’s driving at.

I think the tactful reader will quickly realize that the interviewee is presenting general examples to make a larger point: that we as a society (not you or me in particular) are much more focused on leisure and consumption than on being productive.

He’s not looking at why you personally bought a laptop, or how rewarding is fantasy football to one particular person’s life. He’s simply criticizing a social trend towards putting work and wealth building in the back burner while we enthusiastically and carelessly dissipate our wealth (and transfer it to China).