When my husband and I married (at age 23), I was working as an office assistant at a veterinary hospital earning $7.50 per hour. Unsatisfied with my low wages, I brainstormed ways to generate extra income.
Going to the Dogs
I had worked as a volunteer dog trainer for the Humane Society since age 14, so I combined my experience and youthful exuberance into a part-time side business. I offered dog-training classes and taught them in the veterinary hospital’s backyard. It was a win-win situation: my employers had a new service to offer their clients, and I was self-employed, with very low operating expenses.
I soon added home and pet sitting to the services I provided. Within about a year, my part-time business was earning more than my full-time wages at the veterinary hospital, so I quit my job. Over the next few years, I expanded my business and hired a few part-time employees. It was at that point that I discovered the joys of working from home in my pajamas.
In the Pipes
Meanwhile, my husband served as a company-employed plumber working for hourly wages, earning $30,000 to $35,000 a year.
At age 30, I sold my dog-training and pet-care business (for about $75,000) and we launched a plumbing and heating business of our own. My husband served as the project estimator and plumber; I was the business manager and bookkeeper.
Our customers quickly spread the word about our new plumbing company. Within our first year, we had generated enough business (via personal referrals) to keep us busy and profitable. Building a business based on personal referrals completely eliminated the need for us to spend a dime on advertising.
Doing the Math
We soon faced an important decision. Should we expand our services by hiring other plumbers? Here are the two options we considered:
Option A:
Continue to manage a small in-home business operated by:
1 full-time plumber (my husband; 40 hrs/wk)
1 part-time apprentice (20 hrs/wk)
1 part-time bookkeeper (me; 5-10 hrs/wk)
With this model, we could earn $250,000 annual gross revenue with 50% net profit (low overhead expenses means a higher percentage of revenue remains as profit).
~or~
Option B:
Manage a storefront business operated by:
5 full-time plumbers (200 hrs/wk)
2.5 full-time apprentices (100 hrs/wk)
1 full-time bookkeeper (40 hrs/wk)
1 full-time manager (40 hrs/wk)
Under this scenario, we would earn $1,250,000 annual gross revenue (5 times more revenue, with 5 plumbers, than Option A above) with 10% net profit (higher overhead expenses means a lower percentage of revenue remains as profit).
Which business would you rather own? At first glance, most would likely say, “I’ll take the business that makes one-and-a-quarter million dollars each year!”
Whoa now, let’s slow down and do the math:
Option A: Small in-home business brings in $250,000 gross revenue and nets 50% profit = $125,000 annual net profit.
Option B: Larger storefront business brings in $1,250,000 gross revenue and nets 10% profit = $125,000 annual net profit.
Now that you’ve checked the math, which would you choose?
My husband and I chose Option A. Option A comes with fewer expenditures of time, energy and capital, as well as reduced risk. Option A nets the same profit as option B. As a bonus, option A allowed me to continue working at home in my pajamas.
Of course, if we hired 10 plumbers, we might make significantly more income. However, upon evaluating our priorities and values, my husband and I decided that we already made enough. We made the choice to work less rather than grow our business. In other words, a balanced lifestyle was, and still is, more important to us than money.
Learning to Invest
Since our plumbing business required only 5-10 hours/week of my time for bookkeeping tasks, I decided to learn how to invest on my own (without assistance from our broker). I dedicated almost two years to the study of equity investing via books, websites, and conversations with investors. Once I had acquired the knowledge, confidence and skills necessary to invest successfully on my own, I fired our broker, saving us thousands of dollars in commissions and fees.
Once we reached our crossover point (the average annual return from our investment portfolio exceeded our annual expenses, plus inflation), we scaled back on our business. My husband currently works only two or three days a week. Now, he can be selective in the projects he accepts. For instance, he no longer unplugs toilets, but he still enjoys creative remodeling projects. If he chooses to retire or to do something completely different, we’ll sell our plumbing business.
Achieving Financial Freedom
Before traveling to China to bring our new daughter home, I hired a bookkeeper to replace me so that I could focus my time, energy and attention on parenting and pursuing my hobbies. Additionally, I’ve learned how to effectively manage our investment portfolio in such a way that this task requires just one or two hours per month of my time.
We have truly attained freedom, financial and otherwise. Whether it be work, parenting, or play, we wake eager to spend each new day doing whatever we choose. What a gift!
This article was written by the Millionaire Mommy Next Door. At her blog, MMND shares her recipe for success, happiness, and financial freedom. This piece originally appeared on her site in a slightly different format.
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There are 102 comments to "How I became a millionaire while working in my pajamas".
Tom says09 December 2007 at 08:10
What a motivating post. This almost sounds like the path I’m on. I’ve come to realize that you’ll never make a lot of money with corporations. Instead, you should create a path or your own that involves a lot of risk buts also includes a lot of rewards.
I think a lot of people don’t take this route because they don’t like the idea of having an inconsistent income.
This is great, but how did she go from “making $125k profit from a small business” in one paragraph and the next one was simply “learned to invest and hit our crossover point”.
That’s a very big deal and it’s kind of glossed over. How long did it take? How was it accomplished? How much investing did it take to amass all that income? Was this during the tech boom when stocks were going nuts?
I’d love to know more about how that is actually done.
Come on, guys. She can’t give away all her secrets. If she found a way to beat the market and she told everyone, that opportunity would probably no longer be there or work as well. 😉
It sounds like, though, she simply took the time to educate herself about investing, how to find undervalued securities or truly sound funds that can generate a relatively stable income while growing her principal. I think the information is all out there; very few people, however, have the dedication and discipline to study and act on what they learn. (Of course, very few people are emancipated from the corporate rat race the way that MMND was such that they have the time to study and the initial capital to invest in a sizeable, diversified portfolio right off the bat.)
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 11:19
I have no qualms whatsoever sharing my “secrets” to wealth. In fact, I do so on a regular basis on my blog. The reason I spend time sharing with anyone who cares to learn is because I’m at a point in my life where I’d like to give back. I’m on a mission – I’m passionate about empowering others through financial education so they can experience the same lifestyle I enjoy. Nothing in it for me, other than it feels good.
I have to head out of the house right now, but when I return, I’d be happy to answer your questions. You can also click on the links within this post regarding investing to read a bit about how I do it.
Great post. Sometimes a bigger business is not always better. Sure you have the potential to make a bit more money, but you pay for it via headaches, more risks and yea, headaches. Bogle said performance is never guaranteed but expenses are, and that applies to businesses as well. Should something happen and revenue decreases, those fixed overhead expenses are always going to be there.
Great post, great story and very motivating. I’ll likely live my life in a very similar way. Except currently all my income comes from the internet and I plan to keep it that way.
I made a similar decision, though I’m nowhere (nowhere!) near as successful as the poster. To run a big company, you have to enjoy the actual running of the company, not just the money. I worked for a guy when I was in high school who was a successful small businessman, and he constantly related that to me: it didn’t matter to him what he did, it was the running of the company itself that was the challenge he enjoyed.
heres the problem with this story. the way it was published makes it seem as thought it was easy and happened overnight. to develop a plumbing business that grosses $250,000 a year by word of mouth alone would have taken YEARS. that figure would also assume that her husband is working either more than 40 hours a week or is charging $125 (OF BILLABLE HOURS). something is wrong with this story. i live in new jersey, and plumbers are not charging that much here yet alone billing that at 40 horus a week consistently with a 1 man operation.
another point to consider: did this woman think that the business would be able to gross an additional $1,000,000 a year in revenue by word of mouth? it takes a lot to keep 5 full time plumbers busy and even more to keep the customers happy and paying.
developing a business where you are the boss and let other people do the labor is by far a smarter route to go if you want to make money. for these types of service businesses, when the owner/operator stops working, the business is worth FMV of equipment a fraction of sales for goodwill. it will not be anywhere close to the sales price as a turnkey business.
while some people will be happy being self employed and being their own boss, it is NOT the same as being a business owner. comparatively, the risk and the rewards simply are not there
Another problem – and this is one that I see. She says “they” have achieved financial freedom. WRONG.
Despite the fact that our dear friend here only works 2-3 hours per month, except her blogging and taking care of her kid(s), her husband is still working. 3-4 days a week, if I remember correctly. How is this financial freedom?
Sure, its freedom for HER – but at the expense of her husband. Now, if she were to work 2 days per week and generate equal income to his, then he could work 2 days per week – they would have equal freedom. But as it stands, she basically has financial freedom in the same way women in the 60’s had it – they don’t have to work, because their husbands do.
To me, financial freedom is more complicated than merely not working for income. Sure, we’d all like a chance to try being independently wealthy, but I define freedom as being able to make your life choices without being severely constrained by the economics behind them. This couple has successfully defined their wants/needs and how to achieve them without the typical “rat race”. They sound as though they find the work they do rewarding and satisfying. I think they’ve made it a long way down the road to financial freedom!
Ditto Cheryl. This is a story similar to the corporate wife story- plan a few dinner parties, do a few late-night strategy sessions, and reap the financial rewards of your husband’s long work days. The moral appears to be this: become a millionaire by latching on to someone with a decently profitable skill set and then invest as much as you can. It’s great for her, but for those hoping to achieve financial independence independently it’s just not. that. interesting.
Why do you guys have to rain on this parade? Clearly, this woman worked hard to get to the place she’s at, despite the fact that her blood, sweat and tears can’t be fully detailed in this short article. Her husband works a few days a week by choice, from what I recall of her blog, I don’t think he is forced to since they already have plenty of money. It sounds to me like this woman was the financial mastermind behind the couple’s plan to become wealthy. It is true what they say that women really are hard on other women! Just because she wasn’t doing the plumbing, does that make her job managing the business and the money any less demanding or worthy of our respect? She is a self-taught investor who has made tons of money with her skills – is that a typical housewife’s role, in your mind? You are quick to jump to conclusions about how easy her path to wealth was and how anti-feminist her lifestyle is when clearly none of us knows the full story about her and what her life story is.
You people (the couple of you criticizing her for her position in life) have got to be kidding me. I don’t understand how you can read this and come away with the idea that she’s the stereotypical bon-bon eating millionaire housewife who lets her husband do all the heavy lifting.
First of all, it seems pretty obvious that they’ve discussed the division of family duties and have come up with something that seems equitable to them. Bravo to them for that.
Second of all, she put in her hours working, and even running her own business, for quite a while before they were in a position to allow her to scale back.
Thirdly, she was a part of her husband’s work. She did the books, and when she wasn’t doing the books, she was investing the money. Those are both important and necessary parts to the position they now find themselves in. Add to that that she is (according to her blogs name) a mother, and you’ve got to realize that the task of running a household and rearing a child is not exactly a part-time gig with significant off-time.
Fourthly, her husband is now in a position where he can choose his projects and furthermore choose a completely different career if he so chooses. If that’s not financial freedom for him, I don’t know what is. I’m not aware of too many people that really want to just sit home and do nothing.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door, your story truly is inspiring, and I fully plan on following all of your links to learn more about your story.
For those of your wondering about the investing step, I get the feeling you’re looking for some magic formula that doesn’t really exist… good savings and good investing returns are easily achievable, and will definitely set you on the path to financial independence, but poor savings or poor returns will derail you, even if you do excellent in the other category.
I’m bothered by her analysis as it seems tortured. I’m hard pressed to see a situation in which the 5 teams of plumbers don’t do significantly better than the one team, even adding the cost of storefront rent and the two additional salaries. Just looking at the supposed profit of $625k/yr, you should be able to handle the additional costs and salaries. This doesn’t even take into account the economy of buying larger quantities from suppliers, the potential power of branding, etc.
Everyone has forgotten the most important part of the equation: what if the husband gets hurt on the job???? and can no longer make her the millionaire mommy????? Does he have disability insurance? Do they pay themselves through payroll or do they draw a salary? Payroll will give them unemployment benefits, disability, social security etc. Draw means they either write it off loans or yada, yada, yada. I’m not getting into accounting now.
It all sounds very fine and dandy till the husband gets hurt or is sued or whatever. I’d take every single thing this woman says with a grain of salt. Just because she says she is a millionaire, doesn’t make her one.
If the husband even gets sick, the flu or needs an operation, that means no money is coming in. Unless Mrs. Millionaire can go out and unclog a toilet. Not!
PS: they may be millionaires, but hubby’s still a plumber. (not that there is anything wrong with that) But, give me a break!
The statement that Option A is lower risk than Option B really depends on your definition of risk. What if the husband is injured or otherwise has to stop doing the work? Everything will come to a grinding halt. By hiring others, you’re less dependent on any one individual’s health and welfare. This isn’t to say that Option B is a better choice. Just pointing out another aspect of risk that seems to have been glossed over. Of course, you can mitigate this risk with insurance (AD&D, life, whatever).
I haven’t had the chance to check out her own blog. But I hate the fact that her own contributions to her family like her own start-up business, being the secretary, the investor, and taking care of their children, is being dismissed as not a real job.
I choose to work outside the home, but her contributions sound like difficult choices to me.
It’s interesting how so many can be so negative about this story. It’s usually people who can’t or won’t do something similar themselves. Take the story for what it is, learn what you can from it, and go from there. I’m sure there is plenty that everyone could criticize in each of our lives.
Harry (#17) and fivecentnickel (#19): perhaps you missed the bit about the crossover point. Their investing now brings in more than their expenses, so if the husband gets hurt, presumably they have an emergency fund, and if they need to they can live off of their investments. That’s the whole point: they aren’t beholden to the paycheck.
If you’ve missed that, then I question your ability to really achieve financial freedom, at least without a real change in your perspective.
Oh, and TheMightyQuinn (#18)? If you think $125k/yr net for a plummer is more than their work is worth, then I suggest you take the job yourself. I’m perfectly happy to earn more than my work is worth as long as someone will pay me (though, of course, what someone will pay me is a good barometer for what my work is worth).
Generally, if a skilled laborer is charging more than I think they’re worth, I’ll just do the work myself.
I’m already a millionaire. That’s why I have a problem with this woman AND her website. She doesn’t post all the comments. If she doesn’t like what you’ve said, she omits them. You only get to hear one side of the story: HERS!
People, you’d be better off actually reading the book: The Millionaire Next Door.
I completely understand where she’s coming from. DH and I own a business and we reached the point 3 years ago where we could hire 5-10 extra people and do more jobs, but we’d have more headaches and stress and our bookkeeping would be much more complicated.
We decided to keep it small and sell that as asset. This has worked for us and we’re now earning more than we would have if we had hired people because we can sell ourselves, not just our product. We offer something special. Because we kept our business small we can invest a lot more time into each project. And we don’t have to worry about other people not meeting our high standards.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 20:26
Reply to Matt Haughey (#1): I went from $125k/yr, to learning to invest, to crossover point over the span of a few paragraphs in this post simply because I’m not writing a book (yet, anyway). With 99 posts published on my blog in the first 4 months, I’ve covered a lot of the “in-betweens”. Despite this, I still have plenty of stories to write. Inquiring minds need to be a bit more patient — I’m telling my story as quick as I’m able.
You asked, How long did it take? I started my first part-time job at age 14, first full-time job at 20, first business at 22, first IRA contribution in my late 20’s, created my first lifetime financial plan at 30, second biz at 30, invested much more during my 30’s, debt-free millionaire at 40, now I’m 43. So despite reaching my crossover point (financial freedom) at age 40, my life is not a get rich quick story.
You asked, Did I make my stock $ during the tech boom? No. I’ve always kept our investment portfolio very diversified. While many made incredible returns during the boom, mine were more moderate. However, when the tech bubble popped, my portfolio didn’t tank, either. Diversifying (across cap. sizes, sectors, countries, etc.) has been the key.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 20:37
Response to Honest Dollar: Like I said in an earlier comment, I have no problem sharing my wealth building “secrets”. If I did, I certainly wouldn’t be blogging my whole life history…
Yes, I took the time to educate myself. Yes, the info is available for anyone willing to look for it. No magic. And I think you’re right, very few people think or act like I do. I admit, I think and behave differently from the crowd. Here’s a post I wrote that addresses my thoughts on this:
Is The Key To Wealth Found In A Book? http://millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com/2007/09/is-key-to-wealth-found-in-book.html
Jason: Yeah, I saw the bit about the crossover point, but they made the Option A over Option B decision *before* they reached the crossover point. Clearly, it worked out for them. I was just responding to the statement about reduced risk.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 20:51
Reply to bryan: My husband never worked more than 40 hours a week (usually about 30 billable hours plus office time). Living a balanced lifestyle has always been a high priority of ours. His hourly rate varied from $65 to $85 an hour. Added to his labor charges, he sold plumbing parts and fixtures to his customers and homebuilders, so he made a profit on the sales of materials, too. $250k annual gross revenue generated from one plumber is pretty standard/average. The difference lies in how much the plumber gets to keep (net income):
As an employee = $30-65k
As a “one-plumber shop” with low overhead = $125k
As a manager of a five-plumber store with high overhead and plenty of headaches = $125k
As a manager of a ten-plumber store with high overhead and TONS of headaches = $200k+250k
As I said in my post, a balanced lifestyle was, and still is, more important to us than money. We made our choice accordingly.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 21:07
Response to Cheryl: My husband just read your comment and you should see the disgusted expression on his face… You must have missed this part in my post:
“My husband currently works only two or three days a week. Now, he can be selective in the projects he accepts. For instance, he no longer unplugs toilets, but he still enjoys creative remodeling projects. If he chooses to retire or to do something completely different, we’ll sell our plumbing business.”
Cheryl, we are financially free. This means we no longer need to work. But we can work if and when we want to. My husband enjoys working a couple days a week. He enjoys creative remodeling. He works when he wants to — not because he needs to.
Not only that, my husband will be the first to tell you that I make more than he does. I’ve made more through investing, managing our equities portfolio and businesses than he has through plumbing. This said, we are a great team. We both bring unique skills and aptitudes to the table. I don’t know how to install a faucet or pipe a home – he doesn’t know how to turn on a computer or invest. So we compliment each others weaknesses with our own unique strengths.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 21:20
Response to Stacey: Ditto what I said to Cheryl. When I married my husband (at 23), he was making $30k per year and had zero savings. I wouldn’t say that made me a “latching on” lazy gold-digger, would you?
Besides, why are you poo-pooing my “ late-night strategy sessions” and my “investing as much as you can”? If you think these are worthless endevours, you could be waiting for your crossover point for a very long time.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 21:25
Response to Quinsy: Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful comment. I think some people try to “rain on my parade” because misery likes company. Thankfully I have enough confidence in myself, am happy with who I am, and am proud of what my husband and I have managed to achieve. Rain or not, my parade marches on!
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 21:33
Response to Jason (#15):
What is a bon-bon? ;>)
You get it. Thank you. Some people make excuses and throw blame around, which I believe limits what they’re able to accomplish. The fact that you make no excuses indicates to me that you’re well on your way to financial freedom — because your mind is already free.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 21:40
Response to Concerned (#16): Please check your math. As I stated, 5 plumbers can bring in 5x the gross revenue, but rather than net (keep) 50% of gross, our net would drop to 10% due to higher overhead – and we’d have 9.5 salaries (not the two you mention). 1 plumber or 5 plumbers, we’d net $125k/yr.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 21:48
Response to harry (#17): We’ve always carried insurance for disability, life, health, personal and professional liability. We pay ourselves a minimal salary (so we have unemployment insurance, medicare and social security). We take the rest of profits as draws. Our biz is set up as an S-Corp.
Besides covering our assets with every type of insurance, you’ve apparently missed the point about us being financially free — we no longer need to work. If either of us gets sick or disabled, we’d live off the income our investments provide, just as we do currently. No plumbing needed!
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 21:56
Response to TheMightyQuinn (#18): Do you hate your plumber enough to forgo running water in your home? Our customers rarely complain about their bill. In fact, we get thank you cards and phone calls all the time. Why? Because we make it a practice to go above and beyond their expectations.
Seriously, consider becoming a plumber yourself or suggesting that your child(ren) learn the skill. A skilled plumber with a good work ethic, strong morals and people skills will always find work. Outhouses are, well, stinky and cold and so outdated.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 21:59
Response to fivecentnickel (#19): We’ve always protected our assets with insurance (see my comment #36). Additonally, we always have a contingency plan – too long to discuss now, so perhaps I’ll cover this concept in a post on my blog.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 22:02
RipeMango (#20) and limeade (#21): Thank you. For you, I repeat what I said to Jason above:
Some people make excuses and throw blame around, which I believe limits what they’re able to accomplish. The fact that you make no excuses indicates to me that you’re well on your way to financial freedom — because your mind is already free.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 22:07
Response to Jason (#22): You are correct, we built a substantial emergency fund before launching our own businesses. And yes, once again, you get it. You have the perspective necessary for reaching financial freedom.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 22:18
Response to harry (#23): I delete comments submitted by trolls, spammers and nasty-negative-not-nice people that aren’t contributing anything useful to the discussion. I don’t want to waste my time or energy with those that attempt to make others feel as miserable as they feel. I choose to carry on my conversations with folks that are civil and constructive.
Harry, if you want your comments published on my blog, then you’ll need to be civil and constructive. If you don’t like how I moderate my blog, then please go elsewhere.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 22:21
Response to Frugal Duchess (#24): Thanks. I hope my responses here have clarified A vs B more for you. I will also expand on the differences between the options in a future post.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says09 December 2007 at 22:25
Response to Susy (#25): Your insight deserves repeating:
“we’re now earning more than we would have if we had hired people because we can sell ourselves, not just our product. We offer something special. Because we kept our business small we can invest a lot more time into each project. And we don’t have to worry about other people not meeting our high standards.”
Just to be clear, I’ll be 42 at my projected cross-over point– a mere 14 years from now. I’m not discounting the value of investing. I am discounting certain aspects of your post. Apparently that means I don’t have what it takes to reach financial freedom?
First, your post simply doesn’t apply to most single people. Most of us can’t sit in our pajamas and reach the crossover point. You seem very proud of your stay-at-home millionaire status, but you married someone who went out and earned money so that you could keep your pj’s on.
Second point, highly related to the first point, your title uses the pronoun “I’ rather than “we” when you talk of becoming a millionaire. You didn’t do this by yourself, and to say you did is both a disservice to your hard-working husband and to single women making their own way everywhere. Like I said, it’s great for you, but I’m achieving financial independence independently, therefore without the investing insight this post is neither interesting nor broadly applicable.
It’s 1:27 am on Sunday night and I understand why you are so successful. I’ve watched you respond to the different comments with thoughtful insights and well-deserved attitude, when needed.
If you handle your business and investments with the diligence that you have handled the comments, well then –Yeah– you’re going to be successful.
“So despite reaching my crossover point (financial freedom) at age 40, my life is not a get rich quick story.”
Ah, that’s good to hear. It sounds like it took about ten years of $125k/yr income to invest enough to get above a million. In the post, it was so brief I was wondering how someone gets from making six figures to having seven figures in the bank without saying how.
Thanks for the additional info and I wish you continued good luck.
i am at a fork in the road right now in my life. do i take the easy one (become an employee) or the hard one (start my own business or freelance)?
i have recently been fired (jerk offs, but i’m not mad or anything, i just never really liked the owners from the beginning) and have really been struggling with what to do. i’m a graphic designer and all the positions available pay really low. i know that the company i worked for charged $100 an hour for the design work i was doing, so why not go out on my own, charge the same amount, make more money because my overhead would be a lot less.
this post has encouraged me to actually go for it. stop procrastinating, you’re worth it. thanks.
Well defended MMND, I agree with the Frugal Duchess last post! However I have to mention one weakness I feel you have – not letting negative comments on your blog. Yes some people can troll, be nasty and generally poisonous. But some people can be negative yet insightful. Pointing out valid flaws and weaknesses that can need attention. If your ideas and stories hold water you should be able to defend and argue them. A lot of the negative posts on the comments here have good points and by your responding to them you have clarified and (I believe successfully) defended against most of them. Isn’t that worthwhile? You have proven your not afraid of a vigorous debate I just think you should allow a full spectrum of comments on your blog.
To #44: I find it very disappointing that you seem to dismiss MMND’s contribution to the family’s prosperity. From her post, it seems she was an essential part of their business success. She may not have been the one to do the actual plumbing, but her financial choices and her bookkeeping can’t be discounted (think of the money she saved the business by being the bookkeeper and the money she’s earned by being their broker). Even if she had been “just” a stay at home mother, her contributions to the household would be no less valid. I am a single young woman who’s trying to start her own business and I find MMND’s post so inspirational simply because she and her husband made the best choices for their situation – setting an example we can all benefit from. That MMND made wise decisions for her family and for herself based on her unique situation is a feat I applaud.
Thanks for the great introduction — I will keep track of your blog as well.
We don’t spend much beyond what is required to keep a healthy lifestyle — and income from the business with my wife is growing steadily. Time to focus a little on what we can / should do with our extra income.
The problem with this woman is that she thinks she discovered something new that hasn’t been done before. Sweetie, there have been countless husband and wife teams, with the hubby going out and manually earning the money while the wife stays at home and does the bookkeeping. And the two of them make tons of money and the woman invests it, etc. etc. Me being one of them. Husband and I are both millionaires. I stopped working 5 years ago. He still works but only 2-3 days a week. yawn!
What this woman has so casually forgot to mention to everyone (and I know this because I USED to read her blog) is that she sold her home 5 years ago, at the top of the housing craze (because her husband was too tired to cut the grass) and she invested the equity (around $250,000) while they moved (downsized) into a rental home (which they are still in now).
I did the same thing sweetie, as did countless of other people at that time. We sold our home 5 years ago but bought another (downsized) home for cash and invested the rest and became millionaires. yawn.
This woman is so full of herself. She thinks she invented sliced bread. There’s nothing new in her story. It’s not a formula that can be passed onto people so that they too can become millionaires. She got a lucky break. As did I.
I only work a few hours a week in our business as the bookkeeper. We pay ourselves minimum wage to qualify for social security, unemployment and other benefits. We’re heavily insured. Yeah? So? You haven’t discovered something new babe! Business couples have been doing this for decades. Get over yourself. I spend my days, months and years reading, learning and studying investments and have made hubby and I some good manuevers. But what works for us, isn’t going to work for others and I wouldn’t dare tell people how to live their lives nor would I offer them advice.
Lots of things can go wrong. I had a little business I was going to sell. 2 days before we closed on the deal, it fell through. Oops. Hubby also gets sick and can’t work all the time. No back up. Not a good thing. Some weeks are lean. Some are plenty. Yeah, sure he can stop working but life is long honey. I learned no amount of cash in savings or investments can keep you solid as a steady stream of some money coming in. Or haven’t you discovered that yet? Or should people who actually take your advice be in for a real awakening.
You are absolutely right that if I don’t like your blog or comment management, I can just not go to your blog. Which is what I have done. I avoid your blog like the plague. That’s how much I dislike you. My perogative, right?
I am very upset that I still have to read your nonsense on other people’s blog, like Get Rich Slowly.
You think your blog is so successful in these past 4 months but that is due to the fact that you use the word ‘millionaire’. Betcha if I started a blog and called it the ‘Millionaire Kangaroo Next Door’ I’d get a lot of action?
Oh, and as for making millions in your pajamas? Nothing new. When they invented the internet and fax machines, along with the computer, millions of people have been doing the same thing. I’m always in my pajamas. In fact I am in them right now, writing this comment on this blog.
You are nothing new. There is nothing extraordinary about you. I am grateful for this blog so that I can finally tell the world what I think about you. Same with the others who have commented on this site: you only accept commenters who agree with you and stoke your ego. You’ve shut out countless comments from me and I am good and sick of it and you.
Personally, I find you to be irritating and a fraud. Hopefully, others will catch on to you also.
It’s interesting how much hostility success generates. Guess it comes under the heading of sour grapes, but sour grapes seasoned with a hefty dose of dislike for women — or, in the case of the female posters, a powerful dose of self-loathing.
Will all those folks who imagine that raising a man’s children is not a job please do a little research and find out how much it would cost to hire a live-in nanny/housekeeper 24 hours a day, 365 days a year? This is not hard to find — simply call an agency or look in your local classified ads.
Mr. & Mrs. MMND have two things going for them: he has a trade that is deservedly well paid (after you gentle folk are done figuring out how much it would cost to replace a wife & mother with paid help, please get a monkey wrench and spend a few hours working on your plumbing), and they each have the ambition and smarts to manage money and a small business.
And, judging from the tone and grace of her responses to the meanness that characterizes many of the remarks here, she has a great deal more going for herself.
Response to yp: I agree, some people can be negative yet insightful, and I DO publish their comments on my blog. But I draw the line at threats, name-calling, and other poisonous and pointless comments (particularly from “alicia”).
What I don’t understand about people like Alicia is why they spend so much time and energy to criticize something they don’t agree with. I don’t necessarily agree with everything that MMND says (or any other blogger for that matter) but that doesn’t mean I’m going to devote the rest of my life to a hate campaign.
Although I don’t find new news here for me, I’m always happy to hear how other people have achieved financial independence. It’s likely that some of your approaches and the way you talk about them might help others do what they need to do. Thanks for sharing, MMND.
Okay, folks, this site is not the spot for personal attacks, etc. Pack it in. From this point forward, comments on this post will be heavily moderated.
Seriously, WTF? This woman is just writing a guest post about her story. She never said “here is exactly what YOU can to do to be a millionaire, steps 1-10.” She’s writing about how she made her way…figure out YOUR way on your own.
People who discredit her as “just a housewife” obviously didn’t read the post very well, since it was the sale of HER business that funded their plumbing business in the first place, not to mention her role as manager and the fact that she sounds like a pretty savvy investor.
I’d love for someone to hand me all the answers, too, but it’s not going to happen. And if she didn’t answer all of your questions, she seems pretty willing to address them in the comments, so maybe let’s not slaughter someone for simply telling their personal story?
@Harry–you said, “PS: they may be millionaires, but hubby’s still a plumber. (not that there is anything wrong with that) But, give me a break!”
Obviously you think there IS something wrong with being a plumber, or you wouldn’t have added that little postscript. What a grand profession you must have to belittle an honest job like plumbing. I guess you’d mock my father, too, since he’s a stone mason. And my family is full of mechanics…I guess they aren’t good enough for you, either.
Seems weird to spend so much time and energy writing very long comments to someone (I believe you know her as “sweetie,” “babe,” and “honey”) you already know you don’t like. You don’t have to read it just because it’s on another blog. The first paragraph tells you who wrote it. Skip the post and move on.
I apologize to everyone. But here’s the problem: I do not like people who give inaccurate financial advice to readers without the fair option of discussing it. No matter how snide the blog author may ‘think’ the comments are, if you are going to post a blog, kindly allow your readers to question, discuss and share a different point of view.
MMND, pooh-poohs anyone who has a different opinion and sites a ‘nasty attitude’ for her reasons for the omissions.
I just wanted people to know because she just doesn’t give fair time. For eg; she never answered my questions and just gave a link to her blog with some guy’s questions. She calls him chauvinistic or a troll. As if to imply, I am the same.
Oh well. Again, I apologize and again I thank Get Rich Slowly for his patient time.
I think it is awesome that MMND and her husband were able to make a good deal of money. I hope to be in that position soon (I’m only 22 and am about to start my own company) so its nice to see that it is not impossible.
I also think it is pretty awesome that not only did they make money, but she is now making money by telling how they made money. So while her situation may not be something totally new (like mentioned by a bitter poster above) she is continuing to profit off of it, and I think that is impressive.
I don’t see why people just can’t be happy for others successes. Great post MMND, I think ill be checking out your blog now to see what else you have to say.
Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever seen things get this snippy before on GRS.
For what it’s worth, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to point out that MMND got to spend the last several years in her pajamas while her husband was out bringing home the bacon. I will note that she wasn’t a stay-at-home mother during this time–it sounds like they became parents after they reached their financial goals–so it wasn’t like she had that “second fulltime job” during the Pajama Years.
This seems to be what gets people riled up: yep, it’d be pretty darn easy to get rich on 10 hours of work a week…when you’re being supported by a high-earning partner. Nice work if you can get it, as the saying goes.
In my opinion, probably the more valuable take-home messages from this post are:
1. You can make a bundle of money in the trades. A college education and a white collar job is not required for doing well. And trade jobs (particularly plumbing and electrical) are way less likely to be outsourced to India or wherever.
2. In order to have the free cash to invest, MMND and her husband had to live well within their means. Obviously they resisted the siren song of lifestyle inflation. I’ll bet this is why the author describes herself as a “millionaire next door”, since that’s one of the major themes of the book of the same name. This is totally commendable!
3. Entrepeneurship can really pay off. This is another major theme of the book The Millionaire Next Door. It’s also totally commendable that Mr. MMND took the plunge. and the two of them together made it work so well for their family.
I’ve definitely taken the message of the book Millionaire Next Door to heart and it’s pretty cool to hear that, yep, it can work as described.
This is an interesting and inspiring tale. The plumbers we use charge $75/hr – and they’re cheap. I don’t think $125/hr is out of the question, especially if their services included heating.
She also doesn’t say how long it took for them to get to the $250k level, and they may have been very fortunate with their referrals. Perhaps their work was so good that they deserved it. There was a tremendous building boom in the US until the last year or so and they may have ridden the wave.
Angie right above summed up what the story really tells us. The nitpicking has more to do with people having problems with MMND’s choices and jumping to conclusions about the timeframe. Check her list of priorities – she homeschools her daughter. I see parents who have their priorities straight. I wouldn’t mind knowing the exact details of her investing, but there are plenty of other sources for that. Frankly, this could be a complete fabrication (I don’t believe that to be the case) but it would still be inspiring.
Count me one as being a skeptic. I don’t think that makes me jealous or whatever else has been said on here, it is just that the entire story seems way to formulated. I am sorry I have just heard it all, and for me to believe this I would have to see all the years of certified returns…much like you can see from more commonly known financial gurus. I don’t care how you got your money, or even if you have money, but I have just seen way to many Carlton Sheets wannabes out there. To me you do sound just like Carlton Sheets, I have made my millions, I don’t have to work but I do because I love it, but I only work when I want to and I have made so much money and I am so happy I just feel like I have to share this with you now. I just feel that what you have learned is there are A LOT of lambs out there and all the wolf has to do to lure them in is tell them how to make a million dollars, right?
I love the Millionaire Mommy. She’s not taking any criticism from anonymous internet lurkers. She spent late nights working on the plan, believing in her vision (and math) and making it work, one day at a time. I grew up with a father and mother that owned five laundromats, three buildings (3 family “taxpayers” don’t get crazy now), a clothing store, and an insurance brokerage. They had six kids, put them all through college, and were experts at The Fine Art of Cash Flow. They worked the dream, 24/7, and lived and died with every decision they made. I learned how to invest, interpret accounting financials, and put my money to work, from them. They had my brother and I count the money from the Laundromats, keep the books, and showed us how it was done. Believe me, it was hard. They worked all the time. They chased every dollar and every opportunity (that’s why they had such a wide variety of businesses). The readers of this blog got lucky (thanks to JD) to hear this woman’s story, and have an opportunity to learn, like an apprentice. Like I tell my apprentice, “shut up, stop asking dumb questions, stop arguing (as if you KNOW something) watch everything I do and you will LEARN something of great value…” You came to this blog for a reason.
“shut up, stop asking dumb questions, stop arguing (as if you KNOW something) watch everything I do and you will LEARN something of great value…”
You tell your apprentice to shut up and stop asking questions? he should quit because you are quite possibly the worst teacher in history. Way to make hard working parent proud by being an ass.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says10 December 2007 at 18:10
Alicia/Harry/Boomie/Anonymous/misc. other names: I know for a fact that you are one and the same person. I also know that you are the one that previously stalked my blog and email inbox with various rants and hostile threats. As I told you before, I am not interested in continuing a dialog with you. I encourage you to seek appropriate counsel.
Readers, I am so sorry that you had to endure this comment craziness. I will now focus on answering your questions, one at at time.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says10 December 2007 at 18:38
To Michael Brito: You’re welcome. Sorry about losing your job… but congratulations for coming to the conclusion that you’re worth making more money, and on your terms! May I list a few things to consider as you embark on starting your own business? I’d like to turn this conversation into something useful and relevant to my post.
*Be completely ready for business BEFORE you launch. First impressions are a matter of life and death for your new business.
*Find a business mentor – shadow, volunteer, apprentice.
*Analyze your competition: supply, demand, prices, strengths, weaknesses.
*Determine what YOU offer that your competition doesn’t.
*What are the demographics of your targeted customer? How will you reach them?
*Carefully select your niche and business name. Clarify your business identity.
*Create a business plan.
*Would you be better off buying an existing business?
*Create a support system: bookkeeper, CPA, attorney, etc.
*Participate in networking, professional and support groups.
*Be financially prepared: Start with sufficient capital (I like to have a year’s worth of operating and living expenses).
*Protect your assets with insurance: medical, disability, liability, etc.
*Have an exit plan. Prepare for the best and the worst.
*If money is tight, get another “day job” and work your business after-hours. Once your part-time business is earning enough to replace your job, then quit.
*Aim to be a referral-based business -this saves money (no advertising expenses) and time (reduces marketing efforts).
*Look for mutually beneficial arrangements with existing businesses.
*Introduce your service or product to complementary businesses. Offer discounted or free services to potential referrers.
*Provide value to your customer AND referrers.
*Don’t branch out in too many directions. Focus!
*Keep a schedule. Don’t burn out on overtime.
*Ask for feedback (customers, employees, referrers)
… and finally…
*Don’t allow negative people to bring you down.
Does anyone have additional suggestions for Michael as he prepares to start his own business?
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says10 December 2007 at 19:00
I just had a thought… I didn’t submit this as a guest post – JD read this post on my blog and emailed me saying he “loved it”. He asked me for permission to reprint it on his blog. JD, as you have recently announced, you are gradually phasing out of your work at the box company and phasing into your own problogging biz full-time. Perhaps you would like to offer your readers the reason(s) this particular post grabbed your attention?
Time for dinner. I will respond to the rest of the comments after my daughter is tucked into bed, or tomorrow morning.
I can promise you that I am not Alicia or any of those other people you group in with etc. Listen you say your system worked for you and that is great, honestly it seems a bit far fetched to me, but that’s just me. I am a new reader to this blog, it was recommended from elsewhere, but honestly I am a bit disappointed to see this type of story.
Even if this is a true story it is just really not that fantastic of a story to begin with. Sorry 2 people working since 14 with no kids make a million dollars by mid-40s.
On top of that it is hard to verify what you say is even true, anyway.
Finally, it is not practically applicable to most readers here, therefore making it a bit dangerous for anything more then a feel good story.
I read some of alicia’s comments and while she is over the top, she does have a point that luck played a factor for you (why I believe it is dangerous for many readers here)…the last 10+ years have been a insane housing market (good for a plumber) and the market has routinely set new highs (good for an investor).
I read your story on lifehacker about selling your house and, while the numbers there were artificial for me, I did enjoy that read more. This story just has a carlton sheets feel to it, sorry, and I am disappointed to learn this is an article in which JD actually loved, but I guess no blog can be 100% perfect.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says10 December 2007 at 21:37
To NoHater: I can’t think of a way to reduce your cynicism other than to tell you that I have nothing to sell to you. I, like most bloggers, am simply passionate about writing — especially about personal finance. It’s my hobby.
I am well aware that my story is not necessarily unique. That is why I chose the pen name, Millionaire Mommy NEXT DOOR… because I’m so ordinary that I could be your neighbor. Those that have read the book, Millionaire Next Door, understand what I mean.
You say that luck played a factor in our wealth because of the housing and equities markets over the past 10 years. I like the saying, “Luck is where preparation and planning meet.” Everyone had the same opportunities as we did during the last 10 years. Some increased their wealth over that span of time; others did not. I’m simply sharing my story — of preparation, opportunity, and yes, some luck. My way certainly wasn’t the only way; it was just MY way.
There is a new opportunity every single day. You don’t need the housing market of the past decade to break into financial independence.
Regardless, none of what MMND says is really all that far fetched, nor is it truly out of reach for most people, regardless of how your situation is similar or different from the one outlined above.
I’ve sat through “get rich” seminars before, and for all of the crap they spew, there are a few useful pieces of information that you can glean from such sources, but mainly this: Opportunity is out there, but there are no shortage of people who will stare it in the face with their eyes squeezed tightly shut. Find *your* opportunity and exploit the hell out of it, just realize that other people may not see it even when you’ve made a success out of it.
That’s a valuable message, and MMND’s story is but an example of it in action. Get Rich Slowly is another example, just at a different stage in the game.
Quite frankly, I just don’t get the point in questioning the validity of MMND’s story, as the major points are not all that remarkable or unique, as many people here have noted. It’s worthwhile for precisely that reason.
Thank you for posting this. I read it when originally posted and have been considering the post and comments since. Although many direct elements of MMND’s methods won’t work for me (I am possibly the only person alive who will admit to being happy as a cog in a major corporation), her posting is prompting me to re-evaluate my thinking about money. It has been a couple of years since my last major mental overhaul re: my money habits, and it is time to work on them again.
One point about which I am curious: Where did you find the time for this while you were working full time?
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says11 December 2007 at 07:45
To HollyP: You asked, “Where did you find the time for this while you were working full time?”
I’m not sure exactly what you mean by “this”…
If you mean start my first business – I worked my job during the day and organized my new business during my breaks or in the evenings at first, then quit my job and went full-time in my biz.
If you’re referring to learning to invest – I started educating myself after selling my business and starting one up for my husband. Managing the plumbing business was FT for me at first, then 5-10 hrs/wk after I had everything organized and running smoothly. That’s when I “cracked the books” and learned how to invest.
Millionaire Mommy, I hope the doubters will head over to your blog to check out some more of the details that you were unable to list in this short guest post.
Imagine if you’d discussed your real estate opinion here! Yikes! 😉
You mention above (comment #31) that you make more money than your husband. But I believe the whole premise of the story was the fact the money made from the plumbing business was invested, and now provides income.
So it seems that, money that “you make”, is in fact produced from money that your husband earned once upon a time. You manage the money he has made. Any returns generated are from his initial earning power.
I find it odd that a member of such a “team” would find it necessary to point out who makes more money than who. Some of your remarks seem condescending towards your husband. That seems very inconsistent with the remaining portion of your story.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says11 December 2007 at 10:32
To Devin: The last thing I feel is condescending towards my husband, so I apologize if something I wrote was misunderstood. We’ve been blissfully married for 21 years and he’s my best friend. As I’ve said repeatedly, we are a great team – both bringing unique skills and strengths to the table.
But also understand that just as my husband worked for income, *I* also worked. My efforts and businesses also contributed a significant share of our income. I didn’t, as you seem to suggest, invest only the money he earned alone. Both of us worked and made money during those 20 years, together.
My husband is proud of my business and investing skills. That is why he often “brags” that I make more than he does (ie. when our investment return is often double or more what he earned as a plumber). We respect one another’s strengths and are grateful for them – and one another.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says11 December 2007 at 10:37
We are traveling the rest of this week, so I won’t be checking here for questions until we return next Monday. I hope I’ve managed to respond adequately to your questions thus far. I enjoyed (most) of the conversation here. Thanks!
This is maddening. I’m beginning to believe that any male can say he’s a millionaire and not have to give every last bleeding detail but the minute a woman (and much worse, a MOMMY!) does, everyone is throwing accusations of it being false or, even worse, claims “it’s nothing new”.
JD has had several guest posts about home renovations. That’s nothing new but guess what, some of us enjoyed those posts, just as we do this one (and I would argue that being a millionaire at 40 is definitely something “new”).
MMND, keep up the great work and JD, thanks for an interesting guest post. It’s just too bad some people are so skeptical that women can actually be successful.
It sounds like most of the nastier posters don’t understand how:
a) A successful partnership works — if MMND had been a non-related equal business partner who had handled all the business management and income diversification for the business instead of a spouse, would you have as much of a problem with that? It doesn’t sound like MMND’s DH is very good at running a business, and perhaps is not interested in running a business. They are a complementary business team.
b) Investments can eventually return more income that a paying job. It takes smarts and the ability take calculated risks to achieve financial independence. It sounds like this also was not MMND’s DH’s area of expertise or interest. You can make all the $$ in the world at your job, but if you or someone looking out for your interests doesn’t save it and make it grow, you’ll be living paycheck-to-paycheck forever.
MMND contributed her wages and business earnings to the family/business coffers, then her time and expertise at developing a business and investing capital. DH provided his skills at providing superior service. Any business would be fortunate to have such a team.
@telly and FourPillars
Your posts are befuddling to me and I just do not understand what you are trying to prove. First, there is no lack of support in these comments for MMND, but I guess I am glad you found what you wanted to find and came to the conclusions you wanted to come to. Since this is an investing blog I feel it is relevant to add, while I am not sure if you always see what you want to see, but if you do, that could be dangerous when picking investment vehicles so be careful. Second, does the fact that MMND is a woman and a “Mommy” mean that people can not be skeptical of her? If so that is an odd criteria. Also, please find me one “Millionaire male giving investment advice who does not have his skeptics too. If I have missed your point then please elaborate more on your point.
@MMND
I have read the book Millionaire next door and actually most of Millionaire mind..and I guess that is why I am skeptical of your story because it literally seems ripped right from the pages of those books or something Carlton Sheets would hock, again that is just as it appears. Furthermore, it just seems disingenuous to somehow claim you made your fortune in your pajamas (perhaps as a metaphor to how easy it was), because I have tried my hand at plumbing and know first hand that it can just be awful work. Finally, what nobody talks about on here and what I have not seen you mention is that for every one of you there will be 9.6 other people that fail on your path…it is just a fact ~90% of small business owners fail in the 1st 5 years and ~80% of the remaining will fail with in 10 years…or about 96% of new business fail with in 10 years. Should that discourage someone from trying, no, but if you are thinking of trying I hope you don’t think it is guaranteed to be easy…actually a book that has some interesting perspective is Robert Kiyosaki “own your own corporation” book, while overall it is not a real good book, he does make some good points too.
Anyway, credit where credit is due, you did have to start a business and you did have to learn to invest and you did those things. However, you were in 2 markets (housing and stocks) which were explosive beyond belief for the last 10 years, I think your results would be hard to replicate in the coming years and that is all I am saying.
NonHater, I’m afraid it’s my opinion that you can’t see the forest for the trees. Not a single skeptic has made one defensible point that makes any difference.
If I had to guess, I’d say you’re too busy trying to find ways to undermine the success others have achieved to see your own opportunities and capitalize on them. Perhaps I’m wrong, but it feels like the people who are criticizing are basically saying that they can’t use MMND’s story as a roadmap to follow. Well, here’s the best piece of advice I can give you: there are no roadmaps, and you can’t follow someone else’s path to success. The best we get are landmarks along the way, and that’s what stories like this one give us. You get those landmarks, you put them together, and you’ve got your own path set out ahead of you.
No one can help you if you just don’t want to do the work.
@jason
what are you talking about forest through the trees? As for no skeptics having any valid points, that is your opinion.
Wow, I have talked nothing of my own success and yet you are able to jump to the conclusion that I have not capitalized on my own opportunities and therefore I am a failure. Do you see the irony here, this is exactly my point. You then go on to say that there are no roadmaps to follow and yet there are some very good ones, FYI Warren Buffet followed one, have you ever heard of Benjamin Graham?
Let me take this another way, you say you found some good landmarks from this story, please tell me what they are.
Landmarks in the story: Teamwork, starting and running a successful business, being sharp enough to identify opportunities upon which one can capitalize (and those opportunities are different for everyone, in the current market that wouldn’t include real estate), and taking the time to learn about investing.
Seeing other people’s landmarks helps prod me to think about how I might identify my own.
HollyP: Thanks, that’s exactly what I was getting at.
NoHater: Of course it’s my opinion. You’ve given plenty of yours, why can’t I give mine? I never said anything about you being a failure, but there is a difference between failing in general and failing to take advantage of the opportunities life gives you. Maybe you’ve done a great job of finding and exploiting these opportunities, what do I know, but your attitude makes me think otherwise. That doesn’t mean you’re in financial ruins, it just seems like someone who had had their own successes wouldn’t take such issue with MMND’s story.
I’ve absolutely heard of Warren Buffett and Ben Graham. If you somehow mean to tell me that I can simply follow their teachings and I’ll be worth $52 billion when I’m 80, I have to say I’m skeptical. There are some good landmarks there, but I’ll have to find my own road.
@Jason
Hmm, not even sure how to respond to the landmarks you were given in this. What could you possibly do with the landmarks you are claiming are so valuable from this blog? So if I am clear you are going to find a teammate who you can be sharp enough with so you can identify opportunities upon which you can capitalize. Ok, sounds, ummm, good.
Anyway, what is my attitude? Skeptical? I am sure that if you asked MMMND if she just blindly believed everything anybody tried to sell her on her way to her fortune she would readily admit that she would be in the poor house now. She may argue that she is not trying to sell anything, which is probably a blatant lie, because I am sure she is trying to “sell” hits to her website to build up traffic for advertising or something else (a potential book deal, etc)…but even if that is not the case she is still trying to “Sell” you her story. My points are real, if you want to get rich, you need to ask tough questions of people and you will have to work hard..and most likely change out of your PJs from time to time. I just do not understand questioning my attitude because in a post I am skeptical that this advice is actually good advice for most people.
As for the Warren Buffett reference, you completely missed my point, Warren was a student of Ben. Warren followed the exact method laid out by Ben, it is called Value investing and it is much more then a couple landmarks which you keep referring too. Which was of course my point, you said there were no roadmaps to which I disagree, mostly, there are tons of great roadmaps and Warren followed one…will you follow it and make billions..probably not, but you have a much better chance of following it and “growing rich slowly” then you do by following MMMND’s landmarks!
You can keep hating on me, but I am trying to help you, and I really have no hidden agenda.
I swear Tim Ferriss, author of “The 4-Hour Workweek”, was behind this! You sound just like Tim.
This was a heck of a testimonial. Why don’t more Americans do this? We would be a lot happier with our lives. And just maybe Corporate America wouldn’t have the stranglehold on people, the economy and our politicians that they now enjoy.
For Jordan and Steven. I’ll ask my apprentice to respond to this thread, and tell you the difference it made when I got him to stop wasting both of our times, by pre-screening his questions and understanding what constituted a great question. I too was an apprentice, in the Military, and learned so much more when I got over both myself, and “passive” learning. Passive learning, and maybe I’ll post this on my blog, involves seeing the learning process as “intellectualism”, it values the art of debate, it holds that the student possesses the same degree of subject mastery as the teacher, it entertains the ridiculously naive belief “that there is no such thing as a stupid question”, and that the instructor is an entertainer or has an equal stake in the learning process. The apprentice is expected to remain inquisitive, accepting, polite, organized and pro-active (showing checklists, progressive plans, continually revised methods, and the like). If you are thin-skinned, a professional skeptic, or see yourself as an intellectual, you would have a hard time with the experience. And “an ass” doesn’t even begin to express what I am when you do something that could get you injured or killed.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door says19 December 2007 at 12:00
NonHater, the proof you seem to require is coming. Mainstream TV media has confirmed my life story. You’ll be able to see with your own eyes that I am a real person. I’ll be announcing the details on my blog later this week.
Telly (#83) wrote: “This is maddening. I’m beginning to believe that any male can say he’s a millionaire and not have to give every last bleeding detail but the minute a woman (and much worse, a MOMMY!) does, everyone is throwing accusations of it being false or, even worse, claims “it’s nothing new”. It’s just too bad some people are so skeptical that women can actually be successful.”
I, too, am frustrated by the blatant sexism I (and many others) experience on a regular basis. My life is wonderful and it is real. I firmly believe those with a clear vision of their “good life” are able to make appropriate choices and take the necessary baby steps, allowing one’s own personal dreams to come to fruition.
Which do you think successful people are more likely to think and say?
“That’s impossible. That won’t work. I can’t do that.”
or
“Anything is possible. Let me think of a way to make that work. I can do anything I set my mind to.”
Dear Millionaire Mummy,
don’t be dishearted. I enjoyed reading your success story, those people who left all that cynical comments are the real losers. In fact I was disgusted to see all that negative energy.
Ignore them. Keep it up hun!
The part which bothers me about the story is the implication made by MMND that she made herself a millionaire while working in her pajamas. I feel it’s a poor image to relate to the rest of the article since it implies a level of easy going leisure which can bring to mind the sprawled on the couch and eating bon-bons stereotype. If nothing else, it implies ease of achievement without much effort on her part. Then once you start reading, it’s obvious she did not go it alone which tends to further contradict the “I” in the title of the article. Combined I can see how these two points raise some ire in folks who’ve had experiences, either personal or through friends and relations, of one spouse busting butt to make things work while the other is capitalizing off of them. If you look at MMNDs site, you will see she goes into more detail, and does agree that:
a. This was a partnership and she gives credit to her partner. However she points out that she feels it was her investing and financial skills that took them to a higher level and gained them their financial freedom.
b. She worked, both to get her part of the business to the point where she could manage it only a few hours a day and then to learn about investing.
Also, yes, she got “lucky” by selling her property at a high point in the market which added significantly to her investment portfolio. But that also came with both of them putting work into the property to make it salable, and also putting the work into her paying attention to the markets and economy and chosing a course that led to that “lucky” timing.
Is what she is saying necessarily new? No, most blogs aren’t. It’s just her take on how she did it. I agree with MMND that this is not a get rich quick story and shouldn’t be taken as such.
With respect to the sexism, I’m sure if I wrote an article entitled “How I aced College with no debt” and then described how my wife worked full time to pay for our living expenses and my schooling costs, while I spent my time attending study groups, getting good grades, and working for low wages at College to help defer some of the tuition, I’d hear how I didn’t and couldn’t have graduated without debt without her contribution.
Give to your heart's content says17 October 2008 at 14:57
Come on, guys. She can’t give away all her secrets. If she found a way to beat the market and she told everyone, that opportunity would probably no longer be there or work as well. 😉
–What a baloney. With 6 billion people on the planet, not everyone is going to be able to service EVERYONE ALL THE TIME. So she could tell how she did it, how long it took, and other steps. But to do that would be generous, and in these times, I’ve noticed that is sorely lacking in the USA. We’re only abundant in greedy and duplicity.
Really useful article. Everything revolves around time although you shouldn’t let that hold you back and be an excuse to say to yourself “I haven’t got the time!” I do this all the time! Great advice about managing what you’re doing now effectively in order to have time for the side projects.
There are 102 comments to "How I became a millionaire while working in my pajamas".
What a motivating post. This almost sounds like the path I’m on. I’ve come to realize that you’ll never make a lot of money with corporations. Instead, you should create a path or your own that involves a lot of risk buts also includes a lot of rewards.
I think a lot of people don’t take this route because they don’t like the idea of having an inconsistent income.
This is great, but how did she go from “making $125k profit from a small business” in one paragraph and the next one was simply “learned to invest and hit our crossover point”.
That’s a very big deal and it’s kind of glossed over. How long did it take? How was it accomplished? How much investing did it take to amass all that income? Was this during the tech boom when stocks were going nuts?
I’d love to know more about how that is actually done.
It’s quite motivating but what she describe is job not an income.
I would like to see the investing step 🙂
Come on, guys. She can’t give away all her secrets. If she found a way to beat the market and she told everyone, that opportunity would probably no longer be there or work as well. 😉
It sounds like, though, she simply took the time to educate herself about investing, how to find undervalued securities or truly sound funds that can generate a relatively stable income while growing her principal. I think the information is all out there; very few people, however, have the dedication and discipline to study and act on what they learn. (Of course, very few people are emancipated from the corporate rat race the way that MMND was such that they have the time to study and the initial capital to invest in a sizeable, diversified portfolio right off the bat.)
I always like hearing other people’s success stories. Great job.
I have no qualms whatsoever sharing my “secrets” to wealth. In fact, I do so on a regular basis on my blog. The reason I spend time sharing with anyone who cares to learn is because I’m at a point in my life where I’d like to give back. I’m on a mission – I’m passionate about empowering others through financial education so they can experience the same lifestyle I enjoy. Nothing in it for me, other than it feels good.
I have to head out of the house right now, but when I return, I’d be happy to answer your questions. You can also click on the links within this post regarding investing to read a bit about how I do it.
More later…
Great post. Sometimes a bigger business is not always better. Sure you have the potential to make a bit more money, but you pay for it via headaches, more risks and yea, headaches. Bogle said performance is never guaranteed but expenses are, and that applies to businesses as well. Should something happen and revenue decreases, those fixed overhead expenses are always going to be there.
Great post, great story and very motivating. I’ll likely live my life in a very similar way. Except currently all my income comes from the internet and I plan to keep it that way.
hello i was wondering how do you make money online, you don’t have to tell me in detail but could i possibly have some tips? thanks
I made a similar decision, though I’m nowhere (nowhere!) near as successful as the poster. To run a big company, you have to enjoy the actual running of the company, not just the money. I worked for a guy when I was in high school who was a successful small businessman, and he constantly related that to me: it didn’t matter to him what he did, it was the running of the company itself that was the challenge he enjoyed.
heres the problem with this story. the way it was published makes it seem as thought it was easy and happened overnight. to develop a plumbing business that grosses $250,000 a year by word of mouth alone would have taken YEARS. that figure would also assume that her husband is working either more than 40 hours a week or is charging $125 (OF BILLABLE HOURS). something is wrong with this story. i live in new jersey, and plumbers are not charging that much here yet alone billing that at 40 horus a week consistently with a 1 man operation.
another point to consider: did this woman think that the business would be able to gross an additional $1,000,000 a year in revenue by word of mouth? it takes a lot to keep 5 full time plumbers busy and even more to keep the customers happy and paying.
developing a business where you are the boss and let other people do the labor is by far a smarter route to go if you want to make money. for these types of service businesses, when the owner/operator stops working, the business is worth FMV of equipment a fraction of sales for goodwill. it will not be anywhere close to the sales price as a turnkey business.
while some people will be happy being self employed and being their own boss, it is NOT the same as being a business owner. comparatively, the risk and the rewards simply are not there
Another problem – and this is one that I see. She says “they” have achieved financial freedom. WRONG.
Despite the fact that our dear friend here only works 2-3 hours per month, except her blogging and taking care of her kid(s), her husband is still working. 3-4 days a week, if I remember correctly. How is this financial freedom?
Sure, its freedom for HER – but at the expense of her husband. Now, if she were to work 2 days per week and generate equal income to his, then he could work 2 days per week – they would have equal freedom. But as it stands, she basically has financial freedom in the same way women in the 60’s had it – they don’t have to work, because their husbands do.
Nice try. I’m not buying it.
To me, financial freedom is more complicated than merely not working for income. Sure, we’d all like a chance to try being independently wealthy, but I define freedom as being able to make your life choices without being severely constrained by the economics behind them. This couple has successfully defined their wants/needs and how to achieve them without the typical “rat race”. They sound as though they find the work they do rewarding and satisfying. I think they’ve made it a long way down the road to financial freedom!
Ditto Cheryl. This is a story similar to the corporate wife story- plan a few dinner parties, do a few late-night strategy sessions, and reap the financial rewards of your husband’s long work days. The moral appears to be this: become a millionaire by latching on to someone with a decently profitable skill set and then invest as much as you can. It’s great for her, but for those hoping to achieve financial independence independently it’s just not. that. interesting.
Why do you guys have to rain on this parade? Clearly, this woman worked hard to get to the place she’s at, despite the fact that her blood, sweat and tears can’t be fully detailed in this short article. Her husband works a few days a week by choice, from what I recall of her blog, I don’t think he is forced to since they already have plenty of money. It sounds to me like this woman was the financial mastermind behind the couple’s plan to become wealthy. It is true what they say that women really are hard on other women! Just because she wasn’t doing the plumbing, does that make her job managing the business and the money any less demanding or worthy of our respect? She is a self-taught investor who has made tons of money with her skills – is that a typical housewife’s role, in your mind? You are quick to jump to conclusions about how easy her path to wealth was and how anti-feminist her lifestyle is when clearly none of us knows the full story about her and what her life story is.
You people (the couple of you criticizing her for her position in life) have got to be kidding me. I don’t understand how you can read this and come away with the idea that she’s the stereotypical bon-bon eating millionaire housewife who lets her husband do all the heavy lifting.
First of all, it seems pretty obvious that they’ve discussed the division of family duties and have come up with something that seems equitable to them. Bravo to them for that.
Second of all, she put in her hours working, and even running her own business, for quite a while before they were in a position to allow her to scale back.
Thirdly, she was a part of her husband’s work. She did the books, and when she wasn’t doing the books, she was investing the money. Those are both important and necessary parts to the position they now find themselves in. Add to that that she is (according to her blogs name) a mother, and you’ve got to realize that the task of running a household and rearing a child is not exactly a part-time gig with significant off-time.
Fourthly, her husband is now in a position where he can choose his projects and furthermore choose a completely different career if he so chooses. If that’s not financial freedom for him, I don’t know what is. I’m not aware of too many people that really want to just sit home and do nothing.
Millionaire Mommy Next Door, your story truly is inspiring, and I fully plan on following all of your links to learn more about your story.
For those of your wondering about the investing step, I get the feeling you’re looking for some magic formula that doesn’t really exist… good savings and good investing returns are easily achievable, and will definitely set you on the path to financial independence, but poor savings or poor returns will derail you, even if you do excellent in the other category.
I’m bothered by her analysis as it seems tortured. I’m hard pressed to see a situation in which the 5 teams of plumbers don’t do significantly better than the one team, even adding the cost of storefront rent and the two additional salaries. Just looking at the supposed profit of $625k/yr, you should be able to handle the additional costs and salaries. This doesn’t even take into account the economy of buying larger quantities from suppliers, the potential power of branding, etc.
Everyone has forgotten the most important part of the equation: what if the husband gets hurt on the job???? and can no longer make her the millionaire mommy????? Does he have disability insurance? Do they pay themselves through payroll or do they draw a salary? Payroll will give them unemployment benefits, disability, social security etc. Draw means they either write it off loans or yada, yada, yada. I’m not getting into accounting now.
It all sounds very fine and dandy till the husband gets hurt or is sued or whatever. I’d take every single thing this woman says with a grain of salt. Just because she says she is a millionaire, doesn’t make her one.
If the husband even gets sick, the flu or needs an operation, that means no money is coming in. Unless Mrs. Millionaire can go out and unclog a toilet. Not!
PS: they may be millionaires, but hubby’s still a plumber. (not that there is anything wrong with that) But, give me a break!
ONE full-time plumber bringing in $250k? It should be obvious why people hate plumbers.
The statement that Option A is lower risk than Option B really depends on your definition of risk. What if the husband is injured or otherwise has to stop doing the work? Everything will come to a grinding halt. By hiring others, you’re less dependent on any one individual’s health and welfare. This isn’t to say that Option B is a better choice. Just pointing out another aspect of risk that seems to have been glossed over. Of course, you can mitigate this risk with insurance (AD&D, life, whatever).
I haven’t had the chance to check out her own blog. But I hate the fact that her own contributions to her family like her own start-up business, being the secretary, the investor, and taking care of their children, is being dismissed as not a real job.
I choose to work outside the home, but her contributions sound like difficult choices to me.
It’s interesting how so many can be so negative about this story. It’s usually people who can’t or won’t do something similar themselves. Take the story for what it is, learn what you can from it, and go from there. I’m sure there is plenty that everyone could criticize in each of our lives.
Harry (#17) and fivecentnickel (#19): perhaps you missed the bit about the crossover point. Their investing now brings in more than their expenses, so if the husband gets hurt, presumably they have an emergency fund, and if they need to they can live off of their investments. That’s the whole point: they aren’t beholden to the paycheck.
If you’ve missed that, then I question your ability to really achieve financial freedom, at least without a real change in your perspective.
Oh, and TheMightyQuinn (#18)? If you think $125k/yr net for a plummer is more than their work is worth, then I suggest you take the job yourself. I’m perfectly happy to earn more than my work is worth as long as someone will pay me (though, of course, what someone will pay me is a good barometer for what my work is worth).
Generally, if a skilled laborer is charging more than I think they’re worth, I’ll just do the work myself.
I’m already a millionaire. That’s why I have a problem with this woman AND her website. She doesn’t post all the comments. If she doesn’t like what you’ve said, she omits them. You only get to hear one side of the story: HERS!
People, you’d be better off actually reading the book: The Millionaire Next Door.
@ Harry:
Many blogs screen comments to avoid trolls, spammers and commercials.
I find her story inspiring and yes, I would like to know more about the difference between Option A and Option B. ( I agree with Nickel’s comment).
But overall, it’s helpful and a good read.
I also agree with Ripe Mango.
I completely understand where she’s coming from. DH and I own a business and we reached the point 3 years ago where we could hire 5-10 extra people and do more jobs, but we’d have more headaches and stress and our bookkeeping would be much more complicated.
We decided to keep it small and sell that as asset. This has worked for us and we’re now earning more than we would have if we had hired people because we can sell ourselves, not just our product. We offer something special. Because we kept our business small we can invest a lot more time into each project. And we don’t have to worry about other people not meeting our high standards.
Reply to Matt Haughey (#1): I went from $125k/yr, to learning to invest, to crossover point over the span of a few paragraphs in this post simply because I’m not writing a book (yet, anyway). With 99 posts published on my blog in the first 4 months, I’ve covered a lot of the “in-betweens”. Despite this, I still have plenty of stories to write. Inquiring minds need to be a bit more patient — I’m telling my story as quick as I’m able.
You asked, How long did it take? I started my first part-time job at age 14, first full-time job at 20, first business at 22, first IRA contribution in my late 20’s, created my first lifetime financial plan at 30, second biz at 30, invested much more during my 30’s, debt-free millionaire at 40, now I’m 43. So despite reaching my crossover point (financial freedom) at age 40, my life is not a get rich quick story.
You asked, Did I make my stock $ during the tech boom? No. I’ve always kept our investment portfolio very diversified. While many made incredible returns during the boom, mine were more moderate. However, when the tech bubble popped, my portfolio didn’t tank, either. Diversifying (across cap. sizes, sectors, countries, etc.) has been the key.
Reply to Michael:
Michael says, It’s quite motivating but what she describe is job not an income.
I’ve had jobs, I’ve managed businesses, and now I manage my investment portfolio. All three provide income. Not sure I get what you mean.
Response to Honest Dollar: Like I said in an earlier comment, I have no problem sharing my wealth building “secrets”. If I did, I certainly wouldn’t be blogging my whole life history…
Yes, I took the time to educate myself. Yes, the info is available for anyone willing to look for it. No magic. And I think you’re right, very few people think or act like I do. I admit, I think and behave differently from the crowd. Here’s a post I wrote that addresses my thoughts on this:
Is The Key To Wealth Found In A Book?
http://millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com/2007/09/is-key-to-wealth-found-in-book.html
Jason: Yeah, I saw the bit about the crossover point, but they made the Option A over Option B decision *before* they reached the crossover point. Clearly, it worked out for them. I was just responding to the statement about reduced risk.
Reply to bryan: My husband never worked more than 40 hours a week (usually about 30 billable hours plus office time). Living a balanced lifestyle has always been a high priority of ours. His hourly rate varied from $65 to $85 an hour. Added to his labor charges, he sold plumbing parts and fixtures to his customers and homebuilders, so he made a profit on the sales of materials, too. $250k annual gross revenue generated from one plumber is pretty standard/average. The difference lies in how much the plumber gets to keep (net income):
As an employee = $30-65k
As a “one-plumber shop” with low overhead = $125k
As a manager of a five-plumber store with high overhead and plenty of headaches = $125k
As a manager of a ten-plumber store with high overhead and TONS of headaches = $200k+250k
As I said in my post, a balanced lifestyle was, and still is, more important to us than money. We made our choice accordingly.
Response to Cheryl: My husband just read your comment and you should see the disgusted expression on his face… You must have missed this part in my post:
“My husband currently works only two or three days a week. Now, he can be selective in the projects he accepts. For instance, he no longer unplugs toilets, but he still enjoys creative remodeling projects. If he chooses to retire or to do something completely different, we’ll sell our plumbing business.”
Cheryl, we are financially free. This means we no longer need to work. But we can work if and when we want to. My husband enjoys working a couple days a week. He enjoys creative remodeling. He works when he wants to — not because he needs to.
Not only that, my husband will be the first to tell you that I make more than he does. I’ve made more through investing, managing our equities portfolio and businesses than he has through plumbing. This said, we are a great team. We both bring unique skills and aptitudes to the table. I don’t know how to install a faucet or pipe a home – he doesn’t know how to turn on a computer or invest. So we compliment each others weaknesses with our own unique strengths.
Response to Stacey: Ditto what I said to Cheryl. When I married my husband (at 23), he was making $30k per year and had zero savings. I wouldn’t say that made me a “latching on” lazy gold-digger, would you?
Besides, why are you poo-pooing my “ late-night strategy sessions” and my “investing as much as you can”? If you think these are worthless endevours, you could be waiting for your crossover point for a very long time.
Response to Quinsy: Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful comment. I think some people try to “rain on my parade” because misery likes company. Thankfully I have enough confidence in myself, am happy with who I am, and am proud of what my husband and I have managed to achieve. Rain or not, my parade marches on!
Response to Jason (#15):
What is a bon-bon? ;>)
You get it. Thank you. Some people make excuses and throw blame around, which I believe limits what they’re able to accomplish. The fact that you make no excuses indicates to me that you’re well on your way to financial freedom — because your mind is already free.
Response to Concerned (#16): Please check your math. As I stated, 5 plumbers can bring in 5x the gross revenue, but rather than net (keep) 50% of gross, our net would drop to 10% due to higher overhead – and we’d have 9.5 salaries (not the two you mention). 1 plumber or 5 plumbers, we’d net $125k/yr.
Response to harry (#17): We’ve always carried insurance for disability, life, health, personal and professional liability. We pay ourselves a minimal salary (so we have unemployment insurance, medicare and social security). We take the rest of profits as draws. Our biz is set up as an S-Corp.
Besides covering our assets with every type of insurance, you’ve apparently missed the point about us being financially free — we no longer need to work. If either of us gets sick or disabled, we’d live off the income our investments provide, just as we do currently. No plumbing needed!
Response to TheMightyQuinn (#18): Do you hate your plumber enough to forgo running water in your home? Our customers rarely complain about their bill. In fact, we get thank you cards and phone calls all the time. Why? Because we make it a practice to go above and beyond their expectations.
Seriously, consider becoming a plumber yourself or suggesting that your child(ren) learn the skill. A skilled plumber with a good work ethic, strong morals and people skills will always find work. Outhouses are, well, stinky and cold and so outdated.
Response to fivecentnickel (#19): We’ve always protected our assets with insurance (see my comment #36). Additonally, we always have a contingency plan – too long to discuss now, so perhaps I’ll cover this concept in a post on my blog.
RipeMango (#20) and limeade (#21): Thank you. For you, I repeat what I said to Jason above:
Some people make excuses and throw blame around, which I believe limits what they’re able to accomplish. The fact that you make no excuses indicates to me that you’re well on your way to financial freedom — because your mind is already free.
Response to Jason (#22): You are correct, we built a substantial emergency fund before launching our own businesses. And yes, once again, you get it. You have the perspective necessary for reaching financial freedom.
Response to harry (#23): I delete comments submitted by trolls, spammers and nasty-negative-not-nice people that aren’t contributing anything useful to the discussion. I don’t want to waste my time or energy with those that attempt to make others feel as miserable as they feel. I choose to carry on my conversations with folks that are civil and constructive.
Harry, if you want your comments published on my blog, then you’ll need to be civil and constructive. If you don’t like how I moderate my blog, then please go elsewhere.
Response to Frugal Duchess (#24): Thanks. I hope my responses here have clarified A vs B more for you. I will also expand on the differences between the options in a future post.
Response to Susy (#25): Your insight deserves repeating:
“we’re now earning more than we would have if we had hired people because we can sell ourselves, not just our product. We offer something special. Because we kept our business small we can invest a lot more time into each project. And we don’t have to worry about other people not meeting our high standards.”
This has been our experience, too.
Just to be clear, I’ll be 42 at my projected cross-over point– a mere 14 years from now. I’m not discounting the value of investing. I am discounting certain aspects of your post. Apparently that means I don’t have what it takes to reach financial freedom?
First, your post simply doesn’t apply to most single people. Most of us can’t sit in our pajamas and reach the crossover point. You seem very proud of your stay-at-home millionaire status, but you married someone who went out and earned money so that you could keep your pj’s on.
Second point, highly related to the first point, your title uses the pronoun “I’ rather than “we” when you talk of becoming a millionaire. You didn’t do this by yourself, and to say you did is both a disservice to your hard-working husband and to single women making their own way everywhere. Like I said, it’s great for you, but I’m achieving financial independence independently, therefore without the investing insight this post is neither interesting nor broadly applicable.
MMND:
It’s 1:27 am on Sunday night and I understand why you are so successful. I’ve watched you respond to the different comments with thoughtful insights and well-deserved attitude, when needed.
If you handle your business and investments with the diligence that you have handled the comments, well then –Yeah– you’re going to be successful.
Good night. I am tired of watching you type.
“So despite reaching my crossover point (financial freedom) at age 40, my life is not a get rich quick story.”
Ah, that’s good to hear. It sounds like it took about ten years of $125k/yr income to invest enough to get above a million. In the post, it was so brief I was wondering how someone gets from making six figures to having seven figures in the bank without saying how.
Thanks for the additional info and I wish you continued good luck.
i am at a fork in the road right now in my life. do i take the easy one (become an employee) or the hard one (start my own business or freelance)?
i have recently been fired (jerk offs, but i’m not mad or anything, i just never really liked the owners from the beginning) and have really been struggling with what to do. i’m a graphic designer and all the positions available pay really low. i know that the company i worked for charged $100 an hour for the design work i was doing, so why not go out on my own, charge the same amount, make more money because my overhead would be a lot less.
this post has encouraged me to actually go for it. stop procrastinating, you’re worth it. thanks.
Well defended MMND, I agree with the Frugal Duchess last post! However I have to mention one weakness I feel you have – not letting negative comments on your blog. Yes some people can troll, be nasty and generally poisonous. But some people can be negative yet insightful. Pointing out valid flaws and weaknesses that can need attention. If your ideas and stories hold water you should be able to defend and argue them. A lot of the negative posts on the comments here have good points and by your responding to them you have clarified and (I believe successfully) defended against most of them. Isn’t that worthwhile? You have proven your not afraid of a vigorous debate I just think you should allow a full spectrum of comments on your blog.
To #44: I find it very disappointing that you seem to dismiss MMND’s contribution to the family’s prosperity. From her post, it seems she was an essential part of their business success. She may not have been the one to do the actual plumbing, but her financial choices and her bookkeeping can’t be discounted (think of the money she saved the business by being the bookkeeper and the money she’s earned by being their broker). Even if she had been “just” a stay at home mother, her contributions to the household would be no less valid. I am a single young woman who’s trying to start her own business and I find MMND’s post so inspirational simply because she and her husband made the best choices for their situation – setting an example we can all benefit from. That MMND made wise decisions for her family and for herself based on her unique situation is a feat I applaud.
Thanks for the great introduction — I will keep track of your blog as well.
We don’t spend much beyond what is required to keep a healthy lifestyle — and income from the business with my wife is growing steadily. Time to focus a little on what we can / should do with our extra income.
The problem with this woman is that she thinks she discovered something new that hasn’t been done before. Sweetie, there have been countless husband and wife teams, with the hubby going out and manually earning the money while the wife stays at home and does the bookkeeping. And the two of them make tons of money and the woman invests it, etc. etc. Me being one of them. Husband and I are both millionaires. I stopped working 5 years ago. He still works but only 2-3 days a week. yawn!
What this woman has so casually forgot to mention to everyone (and I know this because I USED to read her blog) is that she sold her home 5 years ago, at the top of the housing craze (because her husband was too tired to cut the grass) and she invested the equity (around $250,000) while they moved (downsized) into a rental home (which they are still in now).
I did the same thing sweetie, as did countless of other people at that time. We sold our home 5 years ago but bought another (downsized) home for cash and invested the rest and became millionaires. yawn.
This woman is so full of herself. She thinks she invented sliced bread. There’s nothing new in her story. It’s not a formula that can be passed onto people so that they too can become millionaires. She got a lucky break. As did I.
I only work a few hours a week in our business as the bookkeeper. We pay ourselves minimum wage to qualify for social security, unemployment and other benefits. We’re heavily insured. Yeah? So? You haven’t discovered something new babe! Business couples have been doing this for decades. Get over yourself. I spend my days, months and years reading, learning and studying investments and have made hubby and I some good manuevers. But what works for us, isn’t going to work for others and I wouldn’t dare tell people how to live their lives nor would I offer them advice.
Lots of things can go wrong. I had a little business I was going to sell. 2 days before we closed on the deal, it fell through. Oops. Hubby also gets sick and can’t work all the time. No back up. Not a good thing. Some weeks are lean. Some are plenty. Yeah, sure he can stop working but life is long honey. I learned no amount of cash in savings or investments can keep you solid as a steady stream of some money coming in. Or haven’t you discovered that yet? Or should people who actually take your advice be in for a real awakening.
You are absolutely right that if I don’t like your blog or comment management, I can just not go to your blog. Which is what I have done. I avoid your blog like the plague. That’s how much I dislike you. My perogative, right?
I am very upset that I still have to read your nonsense on other people’s blog, like Get Rich Slowly.
You think your blog is so successful in these past 4 months but that is due to the fact that you use the word ‘millionaire’. Betcha if I started a blog and called it the ‘Millionaire Kangaroo Next Door’ I’d get a lot of action?
Oh, and as for making millions in your pajamas? Nothing new. When they invented the internet and fax machines, along with the computer, millions of people have been doing the same thing. I’m always in my pajamas. In fact I am in them right now, writing this comment on this blog.
You are nothing new. There is nothing extraordinary about you. I am grateful for this blog so that I can finally tell the world what I think about you. Same with the others who have commented on this site: you only accept commenters who agree with you and stoke your ego. You’ve shut out countless comments from me and I am good and sick of it and you.
Personally, I find you to be irritating and a fraud. Hopefully, others will catch on to you also.
Have a nice day.
It is amazing to me how petty some people can be. Reading comprehension seems to be somewhat of an issue too.
I enjoyed the article.
My. What a lot of vitriol, “sweetie.” Pathetic.
It’s interesting how much hostility success generates. Guess it comes under the heading of sour grapes, but sour grapes seasoned with a hefty dose of dislike for women — or, in the case of the female posters, a powerful dose of self-loathing.
Will all those folks who imagine that raising a man’s children is not a job please do a little research and find out how much it would cost to hire a live-in nanny/housekeeper 24 hours a day, 365 days a year? This is not hard to find — simply call an agency or look in your local classified ads.
Mr. & Mrs. MMND have two things going for them: he has a trade that is deservedly well paid (after you gentle folk are done figuring out how much it would cost to replace a wife & mother with paid help, please get a monkey wrench and spend a few hours working on your plumbing), and they each have the ambition and smarts to manage money and a small business.
And, judging from the tone and grace of her responses to the meanness that characterizes many of the remarks here, she has a great deal more going for herself.
Response to alicia: As you know, I’ve already addressed the aggressive nature of your emails to me in my post:
Chauvinist, Troll Or Economic Abuser?
http://millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com/2007/11/chauvinist-troll-or-economic-abuser.html
Response to yp: I agree, some people can be negative yet insightful, and I DO publish their comments on my blog. But I draw the line at threats, name-calling, and other poisonous and pointless comments (particularly from “alicia”).
What I don’t understand about people like Alicia is why they spend so much time and energy to criticize something they don’t agree with. I don’t necessarily agree with everything that MMND says (or any other blogger for that matter) but that doesn’t mean I’m going to devote the rest of my life to a hate campaign.
Mike
Although I don’t find new news here for me, I’m always happy to hear how other people have achieved financial independence. It’s likely that some of your approaches and the way you talk about them might help others do what they need to do. Thanks for sharing, MMND.
Okay, folks, this site is not the spot for personal attacks, etc. Pack it in. From this point forward, comments on this post will be heavily moderated.
Seriously, WTF? This woman is just writing a guest post about her story. She never said “here is exactly what YOU can to do to be a millionaire, steps 1-10.” She’s writing about how she made her way…figure out YOUR way on your own.
People who discredit her as “just a housewife” obviously didn’t read the post very well, since it was the sale of HER business that funded their plumbing business in the first place, not to mention her role as manager and the fact that she sounds like a pretty savvy investor.
I’d love for someone to hand me all the answers, too, but it’s not going to happen. And if she didn’t answer all of your questions, she seems pretty willing to address them in the comments, so maybe let’s not slaughter someone for simply telling their personal story?
@Harry–you said, “PS: they may be millionaires, but hubby’s still a plumber. (not that there is anything wrong with that) But, give me a break!”
Obviously you think there IS something wrong with being a plumber, or you wouldn’t have added that little postscript. What a grand profession you must have to belittle an honest job like plumbing. I guess you’d mock my father, too, since he’s a stone mason. And my family is full of mechanics…I guess they aren’t good enough for you, either.
MMND: as usual you are sorely mistaken. I have a name and I use it.
You are just a waste of broadband width. Naturally, of course, just my personal opinion. Obviously, there are many, many others who feel the same way.
Again, have a very nice day.
Thank you to Get Rich Slowly for finally airing my comments.
Seems weird to spend so much time and energy writing very long comments to someone (I believe you know her as “sweetie,” “babe,” and “honey”) you already know you don’t like. You don’t have to read it just because it’s on another blog. The first paragraph tells you who wrote it. Skip the post and move on.
I apologize to everyone. But here’s the problem: I do not like people who give inaccurate financial advice to readers without the fair option of discussing it. No matter how snide the blog author may ‘think’ the comments are, if you are going to post a blog, kindly allow your readers to question, discuss and share a different point of view.
MMND, pooh-poohs anyone who has a different opinion and sites a ‘nasty attitude’ for her reasons for the omissions.
I just wanted people to know because she just doesn’t give fair time. For eg; she never answered my questions and just gave a link to her blog with some guy’s questions. She calls him chauvinistic or a troll. As if to imply, I am the same.
Oh well. Again, I apologize and again I thank Get Rich Slowly for his patient time.
The problem, Alicia, is that you are displaying plenty of nasty attitude.
I think it is awesome that MMND and her husband were able to make a good deal of money. I hope to be in that position soon (I’m only 22 and am about to start my own company) so its nice to see that it is not impossible.
I also think it is pretty awesome that not only did they make money, but she is now making money by telling how they made money. So while her situation may not be something totally new (like mentioned by a bitter poster above) she is continuing to profit off of it, and I think that is impressive.
I don’t see why people just can’t be happy for others successes. Great post MMND, I think ill be checking out your blog now to see what else you have to say.
Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever seen things get this snippy before on GRS.
For what it’s worth, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to point out that MMND got to spend the last several years in her pajamas while her husband was out bringing home the bacon. I will note that she wasn’t a stay-at-home mother during this time–it sounds like they became parents after they reached their financial goals–so it wasn’t like she had that “second fulltime job” during the Pajama Years.
This seems to be what gets people riled up: yep, it’d be pretty darn easy to get rich on 10 hours of work a week…when you’re being supported by a high-earning partner. Nice work if you can get it, as the saying goes.
In my opinion, probably the more valuable take-home messages from this post are:
1. You can make a bundle of money in the trades. A college education and a white collar job is not required for doing well. And trade jobs (particularly plumbing and electrical) are way less likely to be outsourced to India or wherever.
2. In order to have the free cash to invest, MMND and her husband had to live well within their means. Obviously they resisted the siren song of lifestyle inflation. I’ll bet this is why the author describes herself as a “millionaire next door”, since that’s one of the major themes of the book of the same name. This is totally commendable!
3. Entrepeneurship can really pay off. This is another major theme of the book The Millionaire Next Door. It’s also totally commendable that Mr. MMND took the plunge. and the two of them together made it work so well for their family.
I’ve definitely taken the message of the book Millionaire Next Door to heart and it’s pretty cool to hear that, yep, it can work as described.
This is an interesting and inspiring tale. The plumbers we use charge $75/hr – and they’re cheap. I don’t think $125/hr is out of the question, especially if their services included heating.
She also doesn’t say how long it took for them to get to the $250k level, and they may have been very fortunate with their referrals. Perhaps their work was so good that they deserved it. There was a tremendous building boom in the US until the last year or so and they may have ridden the wave.
Angie right above summed up what the story really tells us. The nitpicking has more to do with people having problems with MMND’s choices and jumping to conclusions about the timeframe. Check her list of priorities – she homeschools her daughter. I see parents who have their priorities straight. I wouldn’t mind knowing the exact details of her investing, but there are plenty of other sources for that. Frankly, this could be a complete fabrication (I don’t believe that to be the case) but it would still be inspiring.
Count me one as being a skeptic. I don’t think that makes me jealous or whatever else has been said on here, it is just that the entire story seems way to formulated. I am sorry I have just heard it all, and for me to believe this I would have to see all the years of certified returns…much like you can see from more commonly known financial gurus. I don’t care how you got your money, or even if you have money, but I have just seen way to many Carlton Sheets wannabes out there. To me you do sound just like Carlton Sheets, I have made my millions, I don’t have to work but I do because I love it, but I only work when I want to and I have made so much money and I am so happy I just feel like I have to share this with you now. I just feel that what you have learned is there are A LOT of lambs out there and all the wolf has to do to lure them in is tell them how to make a million dollars, right?
I love the Millionaire Mommy. She’s not taking any criticism from anonymous internet lurkers. She spent late nights working on the plan, believing in her vision (and math) and making it work, one day at a time. I grew up with a father and mother that owned five laundromats, three buildings (3 family “taxpayers” don’t get crazy now), a clothing store, and an insurance brokerage. They had six kids, put them all through college, and were experts at The Fine Art of Cash Flow. They worked the dream, 24/7, and lived and died with every decision they made. I learned how to invest, interpret accounting financials, and put my money to work, from them. They had my brother and I count the money from the Laundromats, keep the books, and showed us how it was done. Believe me, it was hard. They worked all the time. They chased every dollar and every opportunity (that’s why they had such a wide variety of businesses). The readers of this blog got lucky (thanks to JD) to hear this woman’s story, and have an opportunity to learn, like an apprentice. Like I tell my apprentice, “shut up, stop asking dumb questions, stop arguing (as if you KNOW something) watch everything I do and you will LEARN something of great value…” You came to this blog for a reason.
@ BxCapricon
“shut up, stop asking dumb questions, stop arguing (as if you KNOW something) watch everything I do and you will LEARN something of great value…”
You tell your apprentice to shut up and stop asking questions? he should quit because you are quite possibly the worst teacher in history. Way to make hard working parent proud by being an ass.
Alicia/Harry/Boomie/Anonymous/misc. other names: I know for a fact that you are one and the same person. I also know that you are the one that previously stalked my blog and email inbox with various rants and hostile threats. As I told you before, I am not interested in continuing a dialog with you. I encourage you to seek appropriate counsel.
Readers, I am so sorry that you had to endure this comment craziness. I will now focus on answering your questions, one at at time.
To Michael Brito: You’re welcome. Sorry about losing your job… but congratulations for coming to the conclusion that you’re worth making more money, and on your terms! May I list a few things to consider as you embark on starting your own business? I’d like to turn this conversation into something useful and relevant to my post.
*Be completely ready for business BEFORE you launch. First impressions are a matter of life and death for your new business.
*Find a business mentor – shadow, volunteer, apprentice.
*Analyze your competition: supply, demand, prices, strengths, weaknesses.
*Determine what YOU offer that your competition doesn’t.
*What are the demographics of your targeted customer? How will you reach them?
*Carefully select your niche and business name. Clarify your business identity.
*Create a business plan.
*Would you be better off buying an existing business?
*Create a support system: bookkeeper, CPA, attorney, etc.
*Participate in networking, professional and support groups.
*Be financially prepared: Start with sufficient capital (I like to have a year’s worth of operating and living expenses).
*Protect your assets with insurance: medical, disability, liability, etc.
*Have an exit plan. Prepare for the best and the worst.
*If money is tight, get another “day job” and work your business after-hours. Once your part-time business is earning enough to replace your job, then quit.
*Aim to be a referral-based business -this saves money (no advertising expenses) and time (reduces marketing efforts).
*Look for mutually beneficial arrangements with existing businesses.
*Introduce your service or product to complementary businesses. Offer discounted or free services to potential referrers.
*Provide value to your customer AND referrers.
*Don’t branch out in too many directions. Focus!
*Keep a schedule. Don’t burn out on overtime.
*Ask for feedback (customers, employees, referrers)
… and finally…
*Don’t allow negative people to bring you down.
Does anyone have additional suggestions for Michael as he prepares to start his own business?
I just had a thought… I didn’t submit this as a guest post – JD read this post on my blog and emailed me saying he “loved it”. He asked me for permission to reprint it on his blog. JD, as you have recently announced, you are gradually phasing out of your work at the box company and phasing into your own problogging biz full-time. Perhaps you would like to offer your readers the reason(s) this particular post grabbed your attention?
Time for dinner. I will respond to the rest of the comments after my daughter is tucked into bed, or tomorrow morning.
@MMND
I can promise you that I am not Alicia or any of those other people you group in with etc. Listen you say your system worked for you and that is great, honestly it seems a bit far fetched to me, but that’s just me. I am a new reader to this blog, it was recommended from elsewhere, but honestly I am a bit disappointed to see this type of story.
Even if this is a true story it is just really not that fantastic of a story to begin with. Sorry 2 people working since 14 with no kids make a million dollars by mid-40s.
On top of that it is hard to verify what you say is even true, anyway.
Finally, it is not practically applicable to most readers here, therefore making it a bit dangerous for anything more then a feel good story.
I read some of alicia’s comments and while she is over the top, she does have a point that luck played a factor for you (why I believe it is dangerous for many readers here)…the last 10+ years have been a insane housing market (good for a plumber) and the market has routinely set new highs (good for an investor).
I read your story on lifehacker about selling your house and, while the numbers there were artificial for me, I did enjoy that read more. This story just has a carlton sheets feel to it, sorry, and I am disappointed to learn this is an article in which JD actually loved, but I guess no blog can be 100% perfect.
To Arp: You mentioned that you’d like to know how I invest. I posted about my investing methodology here:
How Do I Select My Investments? Why Are They Performing So Well? @
http://millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-do-i-select-my-investments-why-are.html
Fire Your Broker: 10 Keys to Investing Successfully On Your Own @
http://millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com/2007/09/fire-your-broker-10-keys-to-investing.html
How would I invest if I was a beginner with a smaller investment portfolio?
http://millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com/search/label/Investing
To NoHater: I can’t think of a way to reduce your cynicism other than to tell you that I have nothing to sell to you. I, like most bloggers, am simply passionate about writing — especially about personal finance. It’s my hobby.
I am well aware that my story is not necessarily unique. That is why I chose the pen name, Millionaire Mommy NEXT DOOR… because I’m so ordinary that I could be your neighbor. Those that have read the book, Millionaire Next Door, understand what I mean.
You say that luck played a factor in our wealth because of the housing and equities markets over the past 10 years. I like the saying, “Luck is where preparation and planning meet.” Everyone had the same opportunities as we did during the last 10 years. Some increased their wealth over that span of time; others did not. I’m simply sharing my story — of preparation, opportunity, and yes, some luck. My way certainly wasn’t the only way; it was just MY way.
There is a new opportunity every single day. You don’t need the housing market of the past decade to break into financial independence.
Regardless, none of what MMND says is really all that far fetched, nor is it truly out of reach for most people, regardless of how your situation is similar or different from the one outlined above.
I’ve sat through “get rich” seminars before, and for all of the crap they spew, there are a few useful pieces of information that you can glean from such sources, but mainly this: Opportunity is out there, but there are no shortage of people who will stare it in the face with their eyes squeezed tightly shut. Find *your* opportunity and exploit the hell out of it, just realize that other people may not see it even when you’ve made a success out of it.
That’s a valuable message, and MMND’s story is but an example of it in action. Get Rich Slowly is another example, just at a different stage in the game.
Quite frankly, I just don’t get the point in questioning the validity of MMND’s story, as the major points are not all that remarkable or unique, as many people here have noted. It’s worthwhile for precisely that reason.
MMND,
I have spent some time going through your story as well as the comments.
I enjoyed the story and am motivated by it.
Continue telling us your stories. Those of us who want to, like me, will learn from them. I have.
Cheers
Thank you for posting this. I read it when originally posted and have been considering the post and comments since. Although many direct elements of MMND’s methods won’t work for me (I am possibly the only person alive who will admit to being happy as a cog in a major corporation), her posting is prompting me to re-evaluate my thinking about money. It has been a couple of years since my last major mental overhaul re: my money habits, and it is time to work on them again.
One point about which I am curious: Where did you find the time for this while you were working full time?
To HollyP: You asked, “Where did you find the time for this while you were working full time?”
I’m not sure exactly what you mean by “this”…
If you mean start my first business – I worked my job during the day and organized my new business during my breaks or in the evenings at first, then quit my job and went full-time in my biz.
If you’re referring to learning to invest – I started educating myself after selling my business and starting one up for my husband. Managing the plumbing business was FT for me at first, then 5-10 hrs/wk after I had everything organized and running smoothly. That’s when I “cracked the books” and learned how to invest.
Millionaire Mommy, I hope the doubters will head over to your blog to check out some more of the details that you were unable to list in this short guest post.
Imagine if you’d discussed your real estate opinion here! Yikes! 😉
Great guest post!
MMND:
You mention above (comment #31) that you make more money than your husband. But I believe the whole premise of the story was the fact the money made from the plumbing business was invested, and now provides income.
So it seems that, money that “you make”, is in fact produced from money that your husband earned once upon a time. You manage the money he has made. Any returns generated are from his initial earning power.
I find it odd that a member of such a “team” would find it necessary to point out who makes more money than who. Some of your remarks seem condescending towards your husband. That seems very inconsistent with the remaining portion of your story.
To Devin: The last thing I feel is condescending towards my husband, so I apologize if something I wrote was misunderstood. We’ve been blissfully married for 21 years and he’s my best friend. As I’ve said repeatedly, we are a great team – both bringing unique skills and strengths to the table.
But also understand that just as my husband worked for income, *I* also worked. My efforts and businesses also contributed a significant share of our income. I didn’t, as you seem to suggest, invest only the money he earned alone. Both of us worked and made money during those 20 years, together.
My husband is proud of my business and investing skills. That is why he often “brags” that I make more than he does (ie. when our investment return is often double or more what he earned as a plumber). We respect one another’s strengths and are grateful for them – and one another.
We are traveling the rest of this week, so I won’t be checking here for questions until we return next Monday. I hope I’ve managed to respond adequately to your questions thus far. I enjoyed (most) of the conversation here. Thanks!
This is maddening. I’m beginning to believe that any male can say he’s a millionaire and not have to give every last bleeding detail but the minute a woman (and much worse, a MOMMY!) does, everyone is throwing accusations of it being false or, even worse, claims “it’s nothing new”.
JD has had several guest posts about home renovations. That’s nothing new but guess what, some of us enjoyed those posts, just as we do this one (and I would argue that being a millionaire at 40 is definitely something “new”).
MMND, keep up the great work and JD, thanks for an interesting guest post. It’s just too bad some people are so skeptical that women can actually be successful.
Telly – unfortunately I think you are correct that there is a double standard for successful women.
I mean this blog is based on a guy getting out of debt and you don’t see people complaining about how that’s been done before.
That’s what blogs are all about – telling your story.
Mike
It sounds like most of the nastier posters don’t understand how:
a) A successful partnership works — if MMND had been a non-related equal business partner who had handled all the business management and income diversification for the business instead of a spouse, would you have as much of a problem with that? It doesn’t sound like MMND’s DH is very good at running a business, and perhaps is not interested in running a business. They are a complementary business team.
b) Investments can eventually return more income that a paying job. It takes smarts and the ability take calculated risks to achieve financial independence. It sounds like this also was not MMND’s DH’s area of expertise or interest. You can make all the $$ in the world at your job, but if you or someone looking out for your interests doesn’t save it and make it grow, you’ll be living paycheck-to-paycheck forever.
MMND contributed her wages and business earnings to the family/business coffers, then her time and expertise at developing a business and investing capital. DH provided his skills at providing superior service. Any business would be fortunate to have such a team.
@telly and FourPillars
Your posts are befuddling to me and I just do not understand what you are trying to prove. First, there is no lack of support in these comments for MMND, but I guess I am glad you found what you wanted to find and came to the conclusions you wanted to come to. Since this is an investing blog I feel it is relevant to add, while I am not sure if you always see what you want to see, but if you do, that could be dangerous when picking investment vehicles so be careful. Second, does the fact that MMND is a woman and a “Mommy” mean that people can not be skeptical of her? If so that is an odd criteria. Also, please find me one “Millionaire male giving investment advice who does not have his skeptics too. If I have missed your point then please elaborate more on your point.
@MMND
I have read the book Millionaire next door and actually most of Millionaire mind..and I guess that is why I am skeptical of your story because it literally seems ripped right from the pages of those books or something Carlton Sheets would hock, again that is just as it appears. Furthermore, it just seems disingenuous to somehow claim you made your fortune in your pajamas (perhaps as a metaphor to how easy it was), because I have tried my hand at plumbing and know first hand that it can just be awful work. Finally, what nobody talks about on here and what I have not seen you mention is that for every one of you there will be 9.6 other people that fail on your path…it is just a fact ~90% of small business owners fail in the 1st 5 years and ~80% of the remaining will fail with in 10 years…or about 96% of new business fail with in 10 years. Should that discourage someone from trying, no, but if you are thinking of trying I hope you don’t think it is guaranteed to be easy…actually a book that has some interesting perspective is Robert Kiyosaki “own your own corporation” book, while overall it is not a real good book, he does make some good points too.
Anyway, credit where credit is due, you did have to start a business and you did have to learn to invest and you did those things. However, you were in 2 markets (housing and stocks) which were explosive beyond belief for the last 10 years, I think your results would be hard to replicate in the coming years and that is all I am saying.
Well —
I have one simple observation. MMND is by her own account, a millionaire.
How many of the rest of the commenters on this blog are?
That’s pretty much the thing that counts here.
NonHater, I’m afraid it’s my opinion that you can’t see the forest for the trees. Not a single skeptic has made one defensible point that makes any difference.
If I had to guess, I’d say you’re too busy trying to find ways to undermine the success others have achieved to see your own opportunities and capitalize on them. Perhaps I’m wrong, but it feels like the people who are criticizing are basically saying that they can’t use MMND’s story as a roadmap to follow. Well, here’s the best piece of advice I can give you: there are no roadmaps, and you can’t follow someone else’s path to success. The best we get are landmarks along the way, and that’s what stories like this one give us. You get those landmarks, you put them together, and you’ve got your own path set out ahead of you.
No one can help you if you just don’t want to do the work.
@jason
what are you talking about forest through the trees? As for no skeptics having any valid points, that is your opinion.
Wow, I have talked nothing of my own success and yet you are able to jump to the conclusion that I have not capitalized on my own opportunities and therefore I am a failure. Do you see the irony here, this is exactly my point. You then go on to say that there are no roadmaps to follow and yet there are some very good ones, FYI Warren Buffet followed one, have you ever heard of Benjamin Graham?
Let me take this another way, you say you found some good landmarks from this story, please tell me what they are.
@BxCapricon
“…shut up, stop asking dumb questions…”
I’d rather ask a question and be a fool for five minutes, than ask no question at all and be a fool the rest of my life.
Landmarks in the story: Teamwork, starting and running a successful business, being sharp enough to identify opportunities upon which one can capitalize (and those opportunities are different for everyone, in the current market that wouldn’t include real estate), and taking the time to learn about investing.
Seeing other people’s landmarks helps prod me to think about how I might identify my own.
HollyP: Thanks, that’s exactly what I was getting at.
NoHater: Of course it’s my opinion. You’ve given plenty of yours, why can’t I give mine? I never said anything about you being a failure, but there is a difference between failing in general and failing to take advantage of the opportunities life gives you. Maybe you’ve done a great job of finding and exploiting these opportunities, what do I know, but your attitude makes me think otherwise. That doesn’t mean you’re in financial ruins, it just seems like someone who had had their own successes wouldn’t take such issue with MMND’s story.
I’ve absolutely heard of Warren Buffett and Ben Graham. If you somehow mean to tell me that I can simply follow their teachings and I’ll be worth $52 billion when I’m 80, I have to say I’m skeptical. There are some good landmarks there, but I’ll have to find my own road.
What an inspiring story. It really illustrates the importance of doing your homework. Most people would not choose the balanced lifestyle, though.
@Jason
Hmm, not even sure how to respond to the landmarks you were given in this. What could you possibly do with the landmarks you are claiming are so valuable from this blog? So if I am clear you are going to find a teammate who you can be sharp enough with so you can identify opportunities upon which you can capitalize. Ok, sounds, ummm, good.
Anyway, what is my attitude? Skeptical? I am sure that if you asked MMMND if she just blindly believed everything anybody tried to sell her on her way to her fortune she would readily admit that she would be in the poor house now. She may argue that she is not trying to sell anything, which is probably a blatant lie, because I am sure she is trying to “sell” hits to her website to build up traffic for advertising or something else (a potential book deal, etc)…but even if that is not the case she is still trying to “Sell” you her story. My points are real, if you want to get rich, you need to ask tough questions of people and you will have to work hard..and most likely change out of your PJs from time to time. I just do not understand questioning my attitude because in a post I am skeptical that this advice is actually good advice for most people.
As for the Warren Buffett reference, you completely missed my point, Warren was a student of Ben. Warren followed the exact method laid out by Ben, it is called Value investing and it is much more then a couple landmarks which you keep referring too. Which was of course my point, you said there were no roadmaps to which I disagree, mostly, there are tons of great roadmaps and Warren followed one…will you follow it and make billions..probably not, but you have a much better chance of following it and “growing rich slowly” then you do by following MMMND’s landmarks!
You can keep hating on me, but I am trying to help you, and I really have no hidden agenda.
I swear Tim Ferriss, author of “The 4-Hour Workweek”, was behind this! You sound just like Tim.
This was a heck of a testimonial. Why don’t more Americans do this? We would be a lot happier with our lives. And just maybe Corporate America wouldn’t have the stranglehold on people, the economy and our politicians that they now enjoy.
For Jordan and Steven. I’ll ask my apprentice to respond to this thread, and tell you the difference it made when I got him to stop wasting both of our times, by pre-screening his questions and understanding what constituted a great question. I too was an apprentice, in the Military, and learned so much more when I got over both myself, and “passive” learning. Passive learning, and maybe I’ll post this on my blog, involves seeing the learning process as “intellectualism”, it values the art of debate, it holds that the student possesses the same degree of subject mastery as the teacher, it entertains the ridiculously naive belief “that there is no such thing as a stupid question”, and that the instructor is an entertainer or has an equal stake in the learning process. The apprentice is expected to remain inquisitive, accepting, polite, organized and pro-active (showing checklists, progressive plans, continually revised methods, and the like). If you are thin-skinned, a professional skeptic, or see yourself as an intellectual, you would have a hard time with the experience. And “an ass” doesn’t even begin to express what I am when you do something that could get you injured or killed.
Non-Hater: clearly we are talking past each other. You’re missing my point completely, and I can only assume that I’m missing yours.
Can you tell me one thing that you think people are taking away from MMND’s story that is potentially bad advice?
NonHater, the proof you seem to require is coming. Mainstream TV media has confirmed my life story. You’ll be able to see with your own eyes that I am a real person. I’ll be announcing the details on my blog later this week.
Telly (#83) wrote: “This is maddening. I’m beginning to believe that any male can say he’s a millionaire and not have to give every last bleeding detail but the minute a woman (and much worse, a MOMMY!) does, everyone is throwing accusations of it being false or, even worse, claims “it’s nothing new”. It’s just too bad some people are so skeptical that women can actually be successful.”
I, too, am frustrated by the blatant sexism I (and many others) experience on a regular basis. My life is wonderful and it is real. I firmly believe those with a clear vision of their “good life” are able to make appropriate choices and take the necessary baby steps, allowing one’s own personal dreams to come to fruition.
Which do you think successful people are more likely to think and say?
“That’s impossible. That won’t work. I can’t do that.”
or
“Anything is possible. Let me think of a way to make that work. I can do anything I set my mind to.”
Don’t let the skeptics bring you down.
Dear Millionaire Mummy,
don’t be dishearted. I enjoyed reading your success story, those people who left all that cynical comments are the real losers. In fact I was disgusted to see all that negative energy.
Ignore them. Keep it up hun!
The part which bothers me about the story is the implication made by MMND that she made herself a millionaire while working in her pajamas. I feel it’s a poor image to relate to the rest of the article since it implies a level of easy going leisure which can bring to mind the sprawled on the couch and eating bon-bons stereotype. If nothing else, it implies ease of achievement without much effort on her part. Then once you start reading, it’s obvious she did not go it alone which tends to further contradict the “I” in the title of the article. Combined I can see how these two points raise some ire in folks who’ve had experiences, either personal or through friends and relations, of one spouse busting butt to make things work while the other is capitalizing off of them. If you look at MMNDs site, you will see she goes into more detail, and does agree that:
a. This was a partnership and she gives credit to her partner. However she points out that she feels it was her investing and financial skills that took them to a higher level and gained them their financial freedom.
b. She worked, both to get her part of the business to the point where she could manage it only a few hours a day and then to learn about investing.
Also, yes, she got “lucky” by selling her property at a high point in the market which added significantly to her investment portfolio. But that also came with both of them putting work into the property to make it salable, and also putting the work into her paying attention to the markets and economy and chosing a course that led to that “lucky” timing.
Is what she is saying necessarily new? No, most blogs aren’t. It’s just her take on how she did it. I agree with MMND that this is not a get rich quick story and shouldn’t be taken as such.
With respect to the sexism, I’m sure if I wrote an article entitled “How I aced College with no debt” and then described how my wife worked full time to pay for our living expenses and my schooling costs, while I spent my time attending study groups, getting good grades, and working for low wages at College to help defer some of the tuition, I’d hear how I didn’t and couldn’t have graduated without debt without her contribution.
Come on, guys. She can’t give away all her secrets. If she found a way to beat the market and she told everyone, that opportunity would probably no longer be there or work as well. 😉
–What a baloney. With 6 billion people on the planet, not everyone is going to be able to service EVERYONE ALL THE TIME. So she could tell how she did it, how long it took, and other steps. But to do that would be generous, and in these times, I’ve noticed that is sorely lacking in the USA. We’re only abundant in greedy and duplicity.
Really useful article. Everything revolves around time although you shouldn’t let that hold you back and be an excuse to say to yourself “I haven’t got the time!” I do this all the time! Great advice about managing what you’re doing now effectively in order to have time for the side projects.