Millionaire Next Door - The Book

[Keim]

I enjoyed Rich Dad, but it wasnt influential to me. TMND was.

 

[Sue J]

I read the book a few years after it came out. I found it interesting and relevant. My uncle had recently died and I realized he fit the script for a millionaire next door.

My uncle had an HVAC company which had grown out of my grandfather's tinning shop. GF made ductwork and as a little girl I remember being in his shop and seeing the shiny big tubes and the really cool equipment. My uncle took over when GF died and he grew it into the HVAC company.

My uncle and aunt had 4 kids and lived in a smallish house in a good neighborhood. My aunt was known for her frugal ways and spartan habits. They always lived small and all 4 kids went to college.

After my uncle passed away my aunt called my Dad. "Can you come over and look at something for me? I got a statement in the mail and I don't understand what this is." My Dad went over and she showed him a statement about uncle's investments. It turns out he had over 2 million dollars in investments! My aunt was the beneficiary of all of it of course, but she had no idea that "they" were millionaires!

She was stunned and tried to live a little bigger after that but how sad that she lived all those years thinking they had to watch every penny while he was socking it all away. Maybe it was his background, he emigrated from Hungary with my grandmother at age 4 and grew up during the Depression. Looking at how they lived and what they had you would never guess that they were millionaires.

 

[Time2]

Buy a book? He, of course, checked it out from the library.

Yes, when I checked it out from the library, we were already pretty close to FI and had been living the frugal lifestyle. It just confirmed what we were already doing. But, I'm glad I read it as a confirmation of the idea.

 

[karen1972]

I read it late 90s, it was very impactful to me because while I thought I was frugal and a saver, it made me realize I was slowly going down the trap of wanting to "look" rich rather than be rich... as I eyed my new Audi in the garage. I graduated with a math major so the stats made me more interested in it.

I always thought I could be rich eventually 40 years down the road, this book made me re-think my immediate choices and how I could be rich much sooner if I got serious about it.

At the time the only other book I was aware of was rich dad, poor dad which I didn't like. Otherwise it was assumed win the lottery, inherit big, else work forever.

Things have changed so much from when that was written, I did recommend it to someone but I won't be surprised if they don't like it as so much as changed. I'm not sure I've found anything recently written that much more enlightening either after spend less than you make... The End.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire23]

I finally got around to reading "The Millionaire Next Door" book. This is one of the classic financial books that everyone seems to recommend. Wes Moss just did a 45 minute show on it, The Money Guy displays it proudly on their set, and it's mentioned often by others...

Maybe I read the book too late in the game. As I read through each story all I could think was "Duh", that's obvious....

I've posted this here before, but "TMND" was one of the two books that set me up for Financial Independence and set me on the path to Retire Early. (hopefully when I'm 54)

In 2001, the mini-corp for which I worked was bought by a large technology investment mega-corp. Our 401(k)s switched from being overseen by a local bank to Vanguard. I was now given more options to invest and I wanted to learn more about my financial future. I remember seeing "TMND" in the paperback section and buying it to read while travelling. For me, who knew nothing about investing for my future other than trying to save a little from each paycheck into a savings account for a rainy-day fund, the book really opened my eyes and made me realize that I wanted to do more than just save a little from each paycheck.

I did some basic math and realized that if someone made $50K a year for 20 years they will have earned a million dollars. The question was, how much of that could one manage to keep? Then I found "The Armchair Millionaire" by Lewis Schiff & Douglas Gerlach. While "TMND" was the catalyst which provided me with the inspiration to start saving, (accumulating wealth) "The Armchair Millionaire" provided me with a simple plan to set up my new Vanguard 401(k) account. According to my interpretation of both books, I would (hopefully) be able to have $1M saved up by the time I was 50.

And it worked! My retirement accounts balance hit $1M shortly after I turned 49. So I have actually become The Millionaire Next Door. But, to be honest, after re-reading "TMND" 10 times or so, I realize it's becoming a little dated and it is filled with a lot of data and charts, which would probably be considered 'boring' to a lot of people. But for me, the book came around at the perfect time. If I am able to retire when I am 54, I will credit my own frugality and perseverance, but I will also have to give thanks to authors Stanley, Danko, Schiff and Gerlach.

 

[street]

I read the book and what I learned it was describing me. Nothing earth shaking or really nothing out of the ordinary of what I expected from the book. People with money put their shorts on like anyone else.

 

[mountainsoft]

Begs the question, why would someone who says "being a millionaire was never my goal" even buy a book called "The Millionaire Next Door"? Just to throw away your own good money?

I read a lot of finance related books and The Millionaire Next Door was just another on my list that I had been putting off. I'm glad I finally read it, but it just wasn't interesting to me.

 

[mountainsoft]

And "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" belongs in the "power of positive thinking" genre.

I'm generally not interested in "inspirational" books, speeches, or videos. You know the "be a better you" style. No thanks, the old me is just fine. I read to learn things, not to feel better about myself.

 

[sunnysideup]

Most likely if you don’t get anything from the book, you already are living the lifestyle. It’s a good primer for those who have no financial understanding and live paycheck to paycheck and have debt.

 

[iloveyoga]

I read it many years ago and it was one of the books that helped to start changing my thinking. Along with Rich Dad Poor Dad. Many years ago I liked to listen to Suze Orman, although I did not agree with all of her ideas. It was just fun to listen to something financial on TV on Friday nights.

 

[Car-Guy]

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, they probably need to update the book and call it mulit-millionaire next door. As I was re-reading it this week, it occurred to me that a younger person reading it for the first time today might think:, well of course someone with just a million doesn't drive a fancy new car or live in an expensive house or wear expensive clothes and jewelry, etc... (As the book suggest, but of course is not the point of the book) A million ain't enough for all of that "today", as it may have been 25+ years ago.......


I know when I first read it I was probably "right at" a million NW but it was about then that I also gave up most of my frugal ways. Back then I probably "resembled" a lot more of the characteristic described in the book than I do today.

 

[Dash man]

When TMND first came out I was in a world of hurt financially. Reading it along with other books like “Financial Peace” and “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, got me thinking about the changes I needed to make in my life. Each of the books inspired me in a different way and I didn’t follow any of the as Gospel, but they as a group of books started me on the right track. I also read a book by Peter Lynch “Beating the Street”, that got me started on investing in a smarter way.

 

[imnontrad]

When I read this book when it first came out, the habits reaffirmed that I could be a millionaire because I had the same habits, even though I was never self employed.
My (now ex) husband, however did not have the same habits. Fast forward many years later and he is still working and I am comfortably retired.

 

[Murph]

Bet the guy that wrote it became a millionaire.

 

[cinco]

We listened to it, after I picked it up at a yardsale several years ago. A bit dry and repetitive, but worth having read or listened to, I thought.

One concept that stands out in my mind, is "economic outpatient care" - i.e. helping one's kids (or having been helped by one's parents), and how a little or enough is good, too much can be debilitating to the adult "kid". While I might've wished my folks pockets were deeper sometimes over the years, I could see how it might've been damaging. And we've tried to keep that general idea in mind as we decide how much help to be to the generation behind us (kids/stepkids in their 20s now).

 

[SecondCor521]

The other influential aspect of TMND that hasn't been mentioned on this thread but gets discussed on this form from time to time is the part of the book that discusses economic outpatient care (EOC). I think that idea has been pretty valuable and it influences me and decisions I make about how/when to give to my semi-adult offspring.

And then a minor point - I think there was a notion when the book was written that millionaires were not nice decent people, that they got their money through deception or get-rich-quick or untoward means. TMND asserted, I think, that it's mostly just good wholesome work plus careful spending plus planning.

ETA: crossposted with above.

 

[mailbagman]

This book should be the first book anyone reads when starting to get interested in retiring or investing. Why don't our schools teach anything like this?

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Bet the guy that wrote it became a millionaire.

He did OK for himself. He lived a few miles down the road from us and I had the opportunity to talk to him a couple of times, once for a good 15 minutes after a local meeting of business/civic leaders. He was very personable and friendly. Sadly, he was killed by a drunk driver about a mile from his home back in 2015 at the age of 71.

 

[mickeyd]

I read TMND many years ago and recall thinking that my financial philosophy was similar to the author's and it felt good to know that there was someone else out there that was like me.

 

[VungTau]

That was my eye opener too - that I wasn't alone in my thinking about money and the habits I formed.

 

[street]

He did OK for himself. He lived a few miles down the road from us and I had the opportunity to talk to him a couple of times, once for a good 15 minutes after a local meeting of business/civic leaders. He was very personable and friendly. Sadly, he was killed by a drunk driver about a mile from his home back in 2015 at the age of 71.

That is sad but thanks for sharing that information.

 

[Koolau]

I would admit that he was "preaching to the choir" when it comes to me. Still, I learned some things - especially the calculation letting you know if you were on the right track (in terms of how much money you had already earned vs how much invested/saved money you now had.) So, it was a bit "breezy" and light, though it was a quick read for the most part. I'd say I enjoyed it. I have NOTHING bad to say about it - unless you are ALREADY the Millionaire Next Door (IOW no one would know by your house, clothes, wife, etc., etc.)

I think it appeals to two types of folks. (1)Those who are already practicing most os the behaviors he mentions - and are grateful to find out those behaviors were appropriate. (2) Folks willing to be "schooled" that opulent living only makes you look rich while conservative behaviors can MAKE you rich. As always, YMMV.

 

[audreyh1]

I have NOTHING bad to say about it - unless you are ALREADY the Millionaire Next Door (IOW no one would know by your house, clothes, wife, etc., etc.)

We were already the secretive millionaires next door when I read the book, and it was very affirming.

 

[street]

I believe there are a lot of millionaires next door in my area that play the part. In fact I beleive most people are millionaires I see them as I see myself. I could be so wrong, but I do look at many that I know and just beleive they are worth millions.

I think they are easy to pick out, just the way they live life.

 

[Koolau]

Of course, as we've discussed on other occasions, a $Million isn't what it used to be - not even since the time MND was written. It's MUCH easier to become a "casual" millionaire now than back in 1996. I don't know the numbers (I'm betting someone does) but now 25 years after MND came out, a million might only be worth the equivalent of say, $700K.

I recall as a child speaking of a million dollars with near reverence. I've mentioned before w*rking for a millionaire in 1967. He would have defined the MND life-style. Only thing that stood out about him was the millionaire friends he hung out with (local car dealer, top-firm attorney, local architect, etc.) Oh, and he had a "trophy wife" though I don't know if that term had been invented at the time.

Probably the coolest thing he owned was a specially prepared car that was to be given to an INDY car driver who unfortunately died racing. The local dealer "gave" it to my boss instead (probably didn't "give" but made available to buy - never quite got that story straight.)

A few years later, I went to the guy's funeral viewing. Not too many folks showed up. Maybe the air WAS more rarified at the "top." Or, maybe friends are harder to find up there. In any case, I recall feeling sorry for the guy, not having many folks interested in attending his wake. YMMV