There's a lot to say about this book, both positive and negative. It had some great ideas in it, some which are possibly quite revelatory for some people, and some really useful information which I would love to ensure certain people I know read. However, it was also a very dry read, somewhat repetitive and dwelled on some things I didn't think were all that fascinating (like what sorts of cars millionaires drive). It also had a lot of charts, which is fun from a stats perspective and lends credibility, but it's a bit too much irrelevant info to take in.

I honestly didn't care what sort of ancestry millionaires had or what cars they drove, but I saw that the authors were doing the Mythbusters thing and making sure people didn't believe in completely false things.

I felt they spent an incredible amount of this book talking about what happens to the kids of the rich. However, this can be used as a great parental tool to ensure parents teach their kids the right money tactics, whether starting rich or not. It also ends with sensible career ideas to suggest to kids (which make a lot of sense with the reasoning).

In essence, the lessons from the book are to remain frugal, save money and to ensure you keep your money wherever possible. Employ good financial and legal help to ensure you save on taxes, invest wisely and whatnot.

Anyway, if you're frugal and live below your means you're on the right path. Then increase your income without changing your habits and be sure to invest the rest well and you'll be fine.

The Millionaire Next Door is a 5 star book with a 1 star title (It sounds too greedy..how about secrets of those who have saved well)...less sexy, but more humble. My brother in law recommended this book after he began talking about PAW's (prodigious accumulators of wealth) and UAW's (underachieving accumulators of wealth). It turns out this book was for sale at the Goodwill for 1.99..maybe shopping at the Goodwill was the surprising secret of America's Wealthy...I had to find out! So I picked out 2 crisp dollars out of my wallet (Goodwill does not charge tax...nonprofit) and made my purchase.

Dr. Stanley and Dr. Danko try to unravel systematically and statistically the secrets of those that have assets of greater than one million dollars. When we think millionaire we think of Donald Trump, Mitt Romney, George Soros..these are misconceptions....Here are the facts about millionaires

1- 2/3rds are self employed in dull or normal jobs like farmers, contractors, pest controllers
2- 97 % own a home..most have occupied this home for over 20 years (they don't continue to buy up...Warren Buffet still lives in his same home in Ohama..and so does Rick Warren in SoCAl)
3- 80% are first generation affluent and did not receive any inheritance
4- They live below their means..most spend less than 20 k on cars (most drive cars at least 5 years old), less than 80 dollars on shoes, and well under 200 dollars on suits
5- Well educated, 6% PhD's, 18% masters, 6% medical degrees
6- But only 17 % ever attend private elementary or high school

PAW's budget carefully, and save save save. They are not concerned with keeping up with Jones. They don't care about having the right car, furniture, suit, etc. They eschew being "mass consumers...and value financial freedom and the time and ability to do what they want to do and when they want to do it. They are highly against giving large gifts to adult children (although they do support helping kids out with college). In fact they believe (and claim research shows) that giving adult children large cash gifts increases their odds of being poor..it diminishes their incentive to take risks, work hard, and learn how to be productive.

There is a lot to agree with this book..it affirms that you must play defense (spend carefully) not just play offense (try to earn more) to be successful financially (although this book does infer money is not everything). It also affirms that we live in a country of opportunities where normal people with creative business ideas and hard work teamed with careful budgeting and savings can become financially independent.

Interestingly this book claims doctors are poor PAW's...they are too altruistic and often give their services and money and time away.

My only complaints...This book was written in 1996..so it could use an update (with the internet and economic collapse of 2007-2008). Secondly it could extend more information on to specifically how PAW's invest.

5 stars...I read this book in a few days. It held my attention.

Por el título, parece un libro del montón. Si digo que es un análisis sobre quiénes son y cómo se comportan los millonarios de USA, sigue sin parecer interesante, lo sé. Pero resulta que se puede aprender mucho de él: el perfil del millonario medio no se acerca ni por asomo a lo que piensa la sociedad.

El millonario medio es alguien que tiene un negocio propio, que vive en un barrio por debajo de sus posibilidades, y que cuida mucho sus gastos (coches de segunda mano, ropa en rebajas, nada de lujos). En el libro, los autores presentan y explican cómo cada uno de los típicos signos de riqueza en realidad alejan de ser millonario. Vivir en una casa cara, conducir un coche de lujo, gastar mucho dinero en ropa y viajes suponen gastos que no generan ningún tipo de rendimiento, y que en el peor de los casos se deprecian muy rápidamente.

Al final, este libro me ha hecho reflexionar sobre cosas que daba por sentadas, y estoy seguro de que me ayudará en el futuro.

Main message is: Be Frugal, invest.
One driving a Benz is quite likely less worth than one driving a Ford F150 (since the Benz owner has already spent money). Max price paid by 75% millionaires for: Suit $600, Shoes: $200, watch $235 (50%)! JCPenney has toughest quality control amongst all stores. Millionaires' wives are all frugal too. They save coupons etc...
1. All have annual household budget
2. All have accountant
3. All have investments in stocks, real estate, business etc
4. Shopping method and principles (i.e. car purchase)
VIMP: It takes only one fancy item to start the snowball effect. i.e. Rolls Royce as a gift was denied by a millionaire because all his accessories, clothes etc things would needed an upgrade to match that status symbol. Millionaires don't care about status symbols. The author calls them artifacts. They own, Ford (F150), Cadillac, Lincoln Town cars, Jeep, Lexus, Mercedes,, Oldsmobile, Chevy, Toyota, Buick, Nissan, Volvo, Chrysler, Jaguar. They tend to go for more weight per dollar criteria subconciously (comforts, reliability, safety).

The book gives distribution of folks per their ancesterial origin, job function, inheritance.
Frugal millionaires have less worries in general.
Doctors & Lawyers typically earn a lot and spend a lot.

The book could have been a little less lengthy; however, good thing is that it has come out of a thorough statistics from numerous interviews of millionaires.

Household net worth = Household Income + Investments - expenses.
Typically, one tries to maximize income but also increases expenses to either show off or to be at par with the society or because one thinks that spending = enjoying.
It takes only one high-class item to start the snow-ball effect.
Worth of a person should be >= Age / 10 * Annual earnings before taxes (no investment).
i.e. for a 30 year old making $100k/year, his worth should be: $300k or more.

If you are rich, your kids could have less net worth if you get into a teaching of spending or supporting them financially.
The question that remains unanswered for me is: What to do with all the money when I save say a few millions?
- I don't end up spending it due to my habit,
- If I start spending, I am doing so when I am old and can supposedly enjoy less
- If there is a recession or major financial problem (heart transplant), then I have more chances of survival (assuming US doesn't adapt good strategies of Europe and Canada about healthcare).
- Once I die, Govt takes most for doing nothing.

It talks about what one should do with all the money (main part is to donate and distribute and how). I shall read it when I am older or a millionaire, whichever happens first. :)

The issues with financially helping out kids and continuing the help when they are adults is well listed. (Economic Outpatient Care). We weaken the weak by helping him financially.

1. Never tell children that their parents are wealthy.
2. Teach discipline and frugality
3. Don't let them realize that you are affluent until after they have established a mature, disciplined, and adult life-style and profession.
4. Minimize discussions of the items that each child and grandchild will inherit or receive as gifts
5. Never give cash or other significant gifts to your adult children as part of a negotiation strategy.
6. Stay out of your adult children's family matters
7. Don't try to compete with your children
8. Always remember that you children are individuals
9. Emphasize your children's achievements, no matter how small, not their or your symbols of success.
10. Tell your children that there are a lot of things more valuable than money

I, however, would rather have that questions hanging over me than having worries of how to sponsor my brother's / kids' education while carrying a $500 Nokia phone and driving a 8 cylinder fancy sports car...

I read this book in 2020.

The Millionaire Next Door teaches us that becoming wealthy isn't about living a fancy lifestyle.

Instead, it's about being smart with money, living below your means, and saving consistently.

The book shows that most wealthy people are not big spenders.

They focus on things like budgeting, investing, and working hard over time.

Very hard to get through. Skim-read after 40%.

The book points out that many millionaires do not look rich, they are frugal people who live below their means and save money. I feel like I was convinced after the first few chapters, and was annoyed to find the rest of the book just rehashing its main thesis over and over again.

I really don't think the 'secrets' are that surprising.

This book in a nutshell - be frugal.

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.

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.

I very much enjoyed listening to this audio book. It was very interesting, easy to understand and not boring at all.
The bottom line is Millionaires and those wanting to become Millionaires live well below their means. People wanting to look rich will never accumulate any wealth since they are busy paying off debts. This book talks mainly about self employed people but everyone with a decent household income living frugal and investing money can become a financially independent.
A highly recommended read.

The point of this book comes through loud and clear, the people that we think are millionaires are more than likely swimming in debt. Just because you live in a fancy neighborhood and drive an expensive car does not make you rich. In fact it goes as far as to say that most millionaires live in less costly areas because it costs alot of money to keep up with the JONES! In fact their study showed 37 percent of their millionaires bought used cars opposed to new and paid cash of course. Now their used cars may be Mercedes but they save on the depreciation of the person that bought it new.

They reference one guy nameed W. W. Allen who is a self made MUTImillionaire. "He and his wife have lived in the same three-bedroom house in the same middle class neighborhood for nearly forty years" "Living in less costly areas can enable you to spend less and to invest more of your income. You will pay less for your home and correspondingly less for your property taxes. Your neighbors will be less likely to drive expensive motor vehicles. You will find it easier to keep up, even ahed of the Joneses and still accumulate wealth"

Ok, makes total sense but not something that is usually pointed out by the financial world. People tend to spend more than they make making it nearly impossible to accumulate wealth. I love the message of this book and their is extensive research used to back it up.