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

There’s a reason this is in the discussion for the GOAT personal finance book. Couldn’t put it down.

This book is full of great tips about sorting out your financial priorities and pursuing them, and there are plenty of interesting stories about the real lives of America's millionaires to keep the pages turning. You'll definitely be surprised about how much the typical millionaire spends on his cars. This would be beneficial to anyone, and especially those who struggle with consumption habits. The most helpful bit of information I got out of this was the difference in lifestyles between what he calls PAWs (prodigious accumulators of wealth) and UAWs (under accumulators of wealth), and the corresponding dramatic difference in net worth between these two categories. As of my reading, the $s are a tad bit outdated, but the advice is still solid gold. And it's a little bit repetitive and heavy on the numbers, but overall, highly recommend.

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.

Đây là một quyển sách đặc biệt. Không phải đặc biệt ở nội dung mà đặc biệt ở cách mình đọc nó.
Mình đọc nó trong khoảng thời gian đi WC. Tính ra mỗi ngày mình phải đi WC đến chục lần. Sau khoảng 5 ngày đi wc như vậy mình đã đọc hết 1 quyển sách. Giờ mới nhận ra mình có quá nhiều thời gian rỗi, chỉ riêng thời gian đi ấy trong 5 ngày là đã nhét vừa 1 quyển sách.
Về nội dung quyển này không quá đặc biệt, thích hợp với người Mỹ hơn người Việt.

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.

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.

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.

According to this book, there are two kinds of people: under-accumulators of wealth (UAWs), who spend everything they earn as soon as they get it (to say nothing of credit cards); and prodigious accumulators of wealth (PAWs), people who live frugally, save, invest, and end up becoming millionaires. So when you see someone who lives in a fancy house and drives a fancy car, chances are, he’s not a millionaire. He may be a high earner, but he’s also a big spender, so he’s a UAW. A real millionaire lives humbly and isn’t into consumption. He might even live right next door.

Now that’s an inspiring idea, one that made me go into this book with some hope of getting rich someday, but I didn’t have to read very far to realize that I’m in a hopeless UAW rut. That made reading it a pretty unpleasant look in the mirror, especially since I believe that what the authors are saying is completely true. I’ve seen it first-hand. I’ve worked for two estate planning attorneys and a bankruptcy attorney. I’ve seen both sides.

For me, the most painful, shame-inducing part of the book was the analysis of parental “outpatient economic care.” I guess it’s not really news, but parents who bestow too much of their wealth too easily on their children end up providing for them even in their forties and fifties. This was the longest section of the book, and I found it a bit repetitive, but then again, perhaps that’s part of my shame reaction.

Aside from this emotional reaction, I have a few technical criticisms. I didn’t finish the chapter called “You Are Not What You Drive,” since cars just don’t interest me that much. And though the book was full of charts with stats showing the authors’ research, I stopped looking at these about halfway through the book. On the flip side, I would have liked to read more about why the millionaires chose the businesses they did. The authors did give some advice on lucrative careers (estate planner was number one), but I would have liked more.

All of that might have induced me to give the book a rating of 2, but I don’t think that’s fair. Just because the book was mostly a downer for me doesn’t mean it isn’t worth reading. It really has gotten me to look more closely at my spending. I just fear that as the book itself warns, crash budgeting can be like crash dieting. Will the effect really last?

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.

Selection Bias at it’s worst.

I drink Coke daily because Billionaire Buffett does it.
I smoke because Billionaire YY does.
I take drugs because Billionaire YX does it.

I follow the habits of the rich will I get rich now?

Plus the author leaves out all the soft factors (like having some fun with you’re hard earned wealth)

This was a great audio and text book (yes, I got both versions) - I especially enjoyed the chapter that had "Working for the Tax Man" and "The Martin Method."

95% of the millionaires own stocks - most have 20% or more of their wealth in publicly traded stocks.

Build a good money team: accountant, attorney, financial advisor, and you (and spouse).

Looking to build your money team? Ask your CPA. If you do not have CPA... get one.

Be frugal, know your financial picture, and have goals with your money.

The good millionaires know how much their costs are in life - how much they spend shopping, traveling, etc.

You heard of emergency fund, car fund, retirement fund, etc. well I am adding the "Go to Hell Fund."

The typical millionaire has a "Go to Hell Fund" which allows them to quit their job and not work for like 10 years or more. So when you quit your job or get fired, you can say to your employer "go to hell" and walk out the door and not worry about working.

I like this part in the book about UAWs and PAWs. You got three categories to millionaires.
UAW = Under Accumulator of Wealth (1/2 of AAW)
AAW = Average Accumulator of Wealth
PAW = Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth (2 * AAW)

To figure out what category you are in - do the following formula: Age/10 x Income

Example: Age 30, Income $45,000
30/10*45000 = $135,000

This person should have net worth of $135K.

UAW = $67,500
AAW = $135,000
PAW = $270,000

To figure out your actual net worth - do the following formula: Assets - Liabilities

Example: Age 30, Income $45,000, Credit Card Debt $12,0000, Car Loan $20,000

45000-(12000+20000) = $13,000

This person has Net Worth of $13K.