There is a difference between those who grow wealthy and those with high incomes. That's not to say that wealthy people can't have high incomes. But many people with high incomes end up consuming much of their money by trying to keep up with the Joneses. Meanwhile, frugal behavior and entrepreneurship have been found to contribute to wealth accumulation.

The case studies were interesting but I found the charts and tables distracting. If you are interested in those, then avoid the Kindle version of this book.

Also, some of the information seemed repetitive. I think there was too much detail about car buying behavior.

Während des ersten Viertels musste ich mich mehrmals selbst dazu überreden, weiterzulesen, da fast ausschließlich die gängigen Weisheiten (Lebe unter deinen finanziellen Möglichkeiten, investiere statt zu konsumieren, gib weniger aus als du verdienst) beleuchtet wurden. Allerdings wurde es danach sehr viel detaillierter und es wurden unterschiedlichste Einflussfaktoren beleuchtet, wie und warum Menschen Millionäre werden. Vom Job der Eltern, über Bildung, Erziehung, Gewohnheiten, die Nachbarschaft, das berufliche Umfeld,… und das wiederum war dann sehr interessant zu lesen - daher vier Sterne.

Really changed my thinking on saving money and accumulating wealth. The data in the book is dated so I'd really like to read an updated version. But the concepts are timeless and meaningful.

This book was so difficult to get through.
I have been trying to read one financial book a week. I love Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey. I enjoyed the Millionaire Mind; I found it inspiring. I did not enjoy the Millionaire Next Door.

This book is heavily recommended on so many of the financial online forums and blogs I read, so I borrowed it from my library this week.

I found the first chapter very interesting, and then they lost me. I think the premise of this book could be summarized into one chapter. But then, you can't sell a book on one chapter!

I do not think the writing is good. The authors are annoyingly repetitive. I think they bored their editor so much that the editor didn't catch that they repeat sentences over, and over, and over. The book is fluffed out with tons of boring, didactic charts. The writing is not organized - at times, it seems like streams of conscientiousness writing- jumping around too much.

I think they completely lost my interest on page 75 when they write: "How else does one explain why two experts on wealth are not wealthy? in part, because they spent a combined total of nearly 20 years pursuing higher education."

So on page 106 they tell a great story of Mr. Martin who won't hire advisers who don't have personal accounts of at least $200,000, because otherwise they are "full of baloney." But back on page 75, they admit they are poor themselves! So why should I listen to their advice??

They spend a lot of time on topics that completely lose my interest. To spend pages showing how rich guys typically buy cars by the pound, and then to review how many pounds each car weighs ...this really put me to sleep. They list the cars millionaires typically buy, and then to go on to list pretty much every car in existence. Or to review for pages and pages the ancestral backgrounds of the 3,000 millionaires they happened to pick from geocoded neighborhoods proves nothing to me.

But then the authors lose confidence, and slap a disclaimer- quietly- on page 228. "we have gone out of our way to emphasize that there are no sure steps one can take to become wealthy." . But wait. Then what are the other 254 pages about? I am lost again. Because they spend a whole lot of time enumerating some pretty sound steps that millionaires take to get wealthy (1. they live well below their means. 2. they allocate...)

Most importantly, there were 5.3 million households in America in 1997 (when the book was written) that were millionaires. Yet they only interviewed 3,000 households. To put forth statistics as "typical" based on the low percentage they interviewed can't possibly be accepted as statistical or fact.

On page 249, they review that they chose the millionaires they surveyed based on geocoded neighborhoods- but this goes against what they spent 248 pages proclaiming! They spend the entire book professing that millionaires don't live in certain neighborhoods, then go on to say they only know this because they surveyed certain probable high-net-worth neighborhoods.

With all this said, I am not disagreeing with any of the tenants of wealth accumulation they advocate- I follow them myself, and highly, highly recommend them! So I reluctantly recommend people read the book just to glean that bit, but with hesitance because I understand they will have to sort through boring charts, stereotyping, and bad writing to get advice. Readers would be better off reading a Ramsey book, which is captivating and not doesn't drown out the message with boring stats. There is some good insight in here - live below your means, don't spend 10 years in advanced education with hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans to hold you back, invest your money at an early age, don't cripple your children by making them economically dependent, teach your children to fish, don't get caught up with keeping up with Joneses, work hard, plan, pick a compatible spouse, use a budget, track your spending, etc. All of this is great advice.

According to .05% of the millionaires in America.

I re-read this book, it may be the only one. That is how much I love it. Whenever our status-conscious, materialistic society starts to convince me that I need to buy more, drive a better car, living in a bigger home...I read this book.

This book reaffirms those of us who have chosen a lifestyle of living way below our means and making decision with our personal finances to meet personal life goals. If you have ever had an interest in learning more about how the truly wealth live, read this book.

So, I'm on this kick lately where I'm trying to read books that will help me get my money right. This book, however, was an utter waste of time. Here's the whole book: "Statistically, most millionaires do not lead extravagant lives. Many are actually quite frugal. That is likely why they are millionaires." How they managed to stretch that into 300+ pages I will never know.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ½
Genre: Nonfiction

The Millionaire Next Door is a personal finance book written by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko. The book examines the traits and routines of wealthy people and makes the case that wealth is more likely the outcome of prudent spending and saving habits than high income or inherited wealth.

One of the book's key themes is the fact that many people who on the surface appear wealthy with costly homes and vehicles yet lack financial security because of their high levels of debt and little savings. Contrarily, many people who might not appear wealthy based on their appearances are actually financially successful thanks to their conservative spending patterns and capacity for prudent saving and investing.

The book uses various case studies and examples to support its theories and is based on significant research. It provides helpful guidance on how to amass wealth, including pointers on debt management, investing, and saving.

The authors identify the following seven traits that are typical of millionaires:
-They are dedicated to a vision, have distinct objectives, and are aware of their future.
-They make the appropriate career decisions.
-They value being frugal.
-They consider having the financial security to be more significant than appearing to have good social standing.
-They efficiently spend their time, effort, and money in ways that support accumulating wealth.
-Their parents couldn't afford to pay for their outpatient care.
-Their grown children are financially independent.

The Millionaire Next Door is a good tool for anyone trying to get their finances under control. It is an easy and interesting read due to its lucid writing style, useful suggestions, and the fact that the insights it offers are relevant to readers of all socioeconomic levels.

I liked the book. I gave it 3 because the take a-ways were fairly simple. The rest of the book was examples to detail the conclusions that the authors have drawn. Read it to remind yourself that you should spend less than you make, and save. Be frugal and invest and you can have a chance to have a decent retirement.

To quote « ScienceofSuccess », spoiler alert: there are no secrets.

Whew, good thing this book exists to tell me « the right » kind of housewife to expect my daughters to become.

This is surely one of the most dull and least engaging books on wealth anywhere. Why was this so popular? It doesn’t count as « evergreen content » if it’s covered in mold.

It's rare that you can find a book that is as boring as it is sanctimonious. But they pulled it off!

In a nutshell, millionaires aren't made by extraordinarily high incomes (those people's spending tends to increase as well), in fact they're typically people with merely very good incomes who are zealous about frugality and long term investments. Not a huge surprise actually, but its nice to have numbers to back up the story and they do. Many are small business owners, many don't spend much on cars or suits and 80% are first-generation millionaires (not those who happened into big inheritances).

And that's it.

The rest of the book is filled with awkward, pedantic number-twisting to prove that people who spend less on houses and cars will have more left for retirement. What's maddening is the constant tone that people who choose to spend now instead of when they're 65 are "hyperconsumers". Can you believe this doctor, he makes $700,000 per year and spent a whopping $7000 of it on a vacation! What a dope! Wouldn't the $65,000 he spent on a Porsche have felt just as good in an IRA account?

They constantly fawn over blue-collar superstars who drive around in F-150s while their wives clip coupons. They start with the assumption from the very beginning that money is pre-ordained to end up in a retirement account and anything you do to interfere with that is stupid and indicative of poor discipline.

I can't wait for the next book about how Rock and Roll is too loud and women's skirts are too short.

Most of the finance books I've read have been interesting and engaging, even if they didn't share any new insights.

This one, however, is dry as dust. And it certainly didn't age well.

If you want to read a book about cheap, wealthy white dudes who don't give to charity (because their favourite charity is themselves--ugh) and whose wives are cheerfully nagging them to frugality (sigh--because imagine the shock and horror if the authors had interviewed any wealthy women), this is the book for you.

But their investment advice is WAY out of date, and anyone who's part of the FIRE movement will swear at this book so much it's really not worth the rise in blood pressure. (Sure, lease a car and hire that fancy accountant. Why not? You're not going to be giving to charity...or your children.)

Did not finish. Seemed to have a few good points repeated many times in different ways. Here's how I would sum up:

Most wealthy people are frugal, earned their wealth, save their money, and pay attention to their finances. They are often business owners. The people who look rich usually are not.

Got it? OK, then go read something else.