This was very repetitive. Yes paying yourself first is a must do for all of us. BUT Mr. Bach completley ignores the immense credit debt that the average person carries. We live in a credit society where we all are trained to wanting it now and buying it now wether we have the money or not. SO it's interesting that the author ignores the debt that people have and just focus on paying yourself first. Even if you manage so have a couple of million in retirement savings; it's not going to help you much if you have that much in debt. Common sense.

I read one of David Bach's books back when I was starting my first job and it was helpful. This one, as far as I can remember, has the same type of information - good basics if you are not saving at all now or are in debt, but nothing much beyond that.

It was also written before the housing market crash, so I rolled my eyes a lot hearing about how you have to buy a house now or you'll never be rich, foreclosure is so rare, it's so easy to buy a house, check out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac... I listened to this on audiobook, which was a terrible idea, because the author reads it and it's very much like cheesy infomercial. I was about to strangle someone after the 1,000th time he said "automatic millionaire."

Glad it was an easy read (about 3.5 hours). The information about buying a home vs. renting seemed to be good info for someone with little knowledge about home ownership. Aside from that, there was not much content I found useful or applicable. Basically: this was a "getting a handle on your financial future" type book that didn't stand out in comparison to other financial books I've read.

I like the main premise of the book, making your investing automatic to pay yourself first. I disagree with the "no budget" philosophy. His argument is that they are boring, stifling, and don't work. Inn experience they are what keep you from going into debt.

I am not sure how automatically saving and investing is going to keep you from wasteful spending of the rest of your money without having a written budget and sticking to it.

While there is some really great, practical information in this book, much of it feels like an infomercial sales pitch. It feels a bit patronizing and has a lot of "but wait, there's more!" in the beginning that almost made me put the book down. The length of the book could be cut down by at least half if the fluff was removed.

I love personal finance. This was a great book

A guide with tips on personal finance.
Little by little does the trick.
The author shows how small changes can build big things. Even small savings can build huge capital. The secret is to pay yourself first.
The book is a collection of financial planner lessons for a wider audience. It contains many valuable tips, the reader receives a ready-made recipe on how to automate saving and investing to become a titular millionaire.

There are so many recommendations about how to manage your money and invest it in housing, and set up retirement or IRA funds. It's a book that I could probably revisit in the future. And to be completely honest, I am not the best at financing, which is the very reason why I decided to read this book in the first place. So I think it's a really good book to start with, then go delve deeper into the subject with other books on the topic.

Great lessons, but very repetitive. Would have made an excellent article.

This book changed the way I invest money.
I have learned to pay myself first and have automated a part of my investments (Mutual Funds, Previously I used to invest directly in stock market and that too a variable amount)
A must read for everyone.

This is a dated book that includes some solid -- though incomplete -- advice.

David Bach promises that you can become a millionaire simply by making automatic payments to your savings, mortgage and debt. This isn't bad advice, but it is simplistic. He devotes a scant 15 pages to debt, and his advice boils down to "don't charge anything more and pay extra each month." Again, not bad advice, but anyone who has lived paycheck-to-paycheck knows this is easier said than done.

Bach promises you won't need a budget and you won't need discipline to get rich this way. I know from experience that this is not true since in my younger days, I set up all my savings and payments to happen automatically, didn't have a budget and racked up an ungodly amount of bank overdraft fees one year. Trust me, unless you are already rich, you need to be at least a little disciplined with your spending to make this system work.

Other questions, I had when reading this:

*If Jim and Sue McIntyre had done so well financially, why did they need a 20-something to review their retirement plans?

*For that matter, what was a 20-something doing giving out financial advice if the concept of paying yourself first is something he had never considered before?

*What sort of rate of return did the McIntyres have to amass $2 million in net worth over 30 years if their income was only $53,000? I understand the power of compounding interest, but their gains must have been phenomenal.

*If the McIntyres were so central to Bach developing The Automatic Millionaire, why weren't they thanked in the acknowledgements at the end?

I'm not saying the McIntyres are completely fabricated. After all, the copyright page does that pseudonyms are used and some details might be changed. But my impression is that the examples Bach uses are a far stretch from reality. That seemed especially obvious when he talks about a client paying 30% of their money in taxes. He obviously doesn't understand the graduated tax system if he thinks anyone is paying 30% of their income in federal income tax.

My view of the book may be colored by the fact that one of my pet peeves in when an author relates a conversation word-for-word (complete with knowing looks) when it seems unlikely he recorded it. This seems common in financial books when the "aw shucks" everyday man wows the hot shot planner with his common sense money wisdom. I could do without these corny conversations.

So this seems like a really negative review, right? Well, it is and it isn't. Setting up automatic savings and payments is good advice. Some of his suggestions are out-of-date (RIP ING) and his comment about foreclosures didn't age well, but this can still be a good read for those who are just starting out on their journey to financial freedom.

I really recommend I thought it was going to be one of those books that will bore you to death but it was actually very interesting.