Can one really become the 'Millionaire Next Door'?

[Hamlet]

Yeah, I really wonder if the person who wrote this article actually read the book.

The book did a good job of highlighting the way most people have gotten rich in America. Start a business or get a well-paying job, spend less than you make, and avoid expensive personal mistakes like divorce.

Nothing in the book gave me the impression that they thought everyone could do it. Most people are probably not going to be successful starting a business, and good jobs don't grow on trees (unless you're in landscaping).

If you make a good living though, the process of saving 20%+ of your income and investing it will very likely make you financially secure, barring bad luck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack Among my takeaways from the book, 'anyone can become a millionaire' wasn't one of them at all.

[RonBoyd]

"Back of 99 out of 100 assertions that a thing cannot be done--is nothing more than the unwillingness to do it." --William Feather

[Chuckanut]

What the author does not understand is that many people prepare themselves to take advantage of opportunity when it strikes. You can't take advantage of a big drop in housing prices (such as occurred abou 6 years ago) or a big run-up in the market (such as we recently experienced) if one does not have some $$'s put away.

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

Sure, some people are dealt a bad hand due to illness, etc. Other, stumble into a large inheritance or just happen to share a dorm room with a future high tech billionaire.

But, for most of us, the good fairy did not bonk us on the head and make us rich. We had to do many things over a long period of time to get to where we are.

[MN317]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R So what's the message of this article, it's hard AND I DON'T WANNA DO IT, WAHHH!, so don't even try? Saving only 1/2 million isn't worthwhile? Just spend spend spend because it's all hopeless? There, I completely agree about this being the message of the article, and I added a little.

+1

One of the statistics quoted in the book “The Millionaire Next Door” states that the majority of millionaires are self-made. I believe the number was 80+ percent. So, yes it can be done , but it is not easy.

[razztazz]

Quote:

So what's the message of this article, it's hard AND I DON'T WANNA DO IT, WAHHH!, so don't even try? Saving only 1/2 million isn't worthwhile? Just spend spend spend because it's all hopeless?

I didn't see this in the article. He does mention some truths that some people fear hearing for whatever reasons they have. But the crux of the piece is: No matter how well you've done don't be so F%^%#ing full of yourself. This is also, although not directly, a subtext of The Millionaire Next Door

[Options]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut But, for most of us, the good fairy did not bonk us on the head and make us rich. We had to do many things over a long period of time to get to where we are.

This.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MN317 +1 One of the statistics quoted in the book “The Millionaire Next Door” states that the majority of millionaires are self-made. I believe the number was 80+ percent. So, yes it can be done , but it is not easy.

This too.

[Ronstar]

I read the book years ago and adopted most of the practices referenced in the book. I eventually retired early thanks in part to the lifestyle changes I made after reading the book. It is possible to save millions over an extended period of time. But it does take hard work. I really didn't get much from the article - there will always be those that chastise LBYM.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut .........We had to do many things over a long period of time to get to where we are.

Well, yea. The hardest part for me was being male, white, tall, middle class and American.

[Big_Hitter]

my mother has always said I should have been born rich instead of good looking

[Totoro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Hitter my mother has always said I should have been born rich instead of good looking

Born poor, blame your parents. Married poor, blame yourself.

My dad also used to say "My daddy has more money than your daddy" to me. I could reply now though that "luckily, my daddy's son is more succesful than your daddy's son.", but that would be cruel (and we're not on speaking terms anyway).

[DJRR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Hitter my mother has always said I should have been born rich instead of good looking

Nah, you can always get rich (see answers above). They will never be good looking

[Del Q]

I read The Millionaire next door fairly recently, long after I'd developed the saving & investing habits he describes in the book. I really appreciated how he described how humble and genuine many of the millionaires were that he met, very few phonies. I particularly liked the story of the multi-millionaire and his dog at the town home association - those of you who have read the book will remember how he handled their complaints and how the others (sn*bs) in the association caved into letting him keep the dog....I'd rather be around guys like him and his dog.


Another good book that I read when I was just getting started was The Wealthy Barber, it may have been over simplistic, but it helped me started planning. I just wish Vanguard Index Funds would have been easier to invest in when I first started nearly 30 years ago.


I also read somewhere a long time ago that if you save 30% of your income for 30 years you'd be FI, no matter what your income level is - it's relative. I've been doing this for 29 years and will pull the plug after year 30.

[Big_Hitter]

I agree there is a big difference between the FIRED "trust funders" and the FIRED "workers" at my golf club.

[sheehs1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Totoro Some confusion there by Taleb I think. For many it's not heroism but about freedom.

I'd add in a little bit of "fear"!

We have all had our "lightbulb" moments. Mine was when I was able to view the holdings of a defined benefit/401k corporate plan. On paper it showed how much was earned thru investments each year, then showed what was added each year which together then totaled "X". Here in my hands was the proof and the motivation to do the same. I immediately sat down and wrote out projections and goals: What I could earn and what I could reasonably add each year. As of today I am 50% ahead of my initial projections. That whole process led me to incorporate the LBYM lifestyle and to learn more about investments, finance, etc.

For the record, I read "The Millionaire Next Door" also. The message I took from it was "you can do it too". I wanted to be that millionaire that didn't look like one.

[robnplunder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound We don't want everyone being able to do it. Somebody has to spend, so that the companies whose stocks I own make lots of money. Remember the Paradox of Thrift.

+1. Without spenders, there would be less millionaires next door.

Methinks, in a parallel universe, there is lateretire.org forum where they are dissing LBYMers as fools who save, save, save but never enjoy what they save.

[Totoro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Del Q I also read somewhere a long time ago that if you save 30% of your income for 30 years you'd be FI, no matter what your income level is - it's relative. I've been doing this for 29 years and will pull the plug after year 30.

the graph from Jacob in this article is illuminating:
The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement

[friar1610]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha Of course this forum is where this message finds natural agreement. But look around and how people tend to handle money. I walk down the street, and except for the poor, people are stylishly dressed, and restaurants bars and bistros are full of exuberant crowds eating expensive food and drinking expensive drinks. I see my local son and his wife maybe monthly, and I am not sure I have ever seen them when they are not wearing new stylish clothing. And it is not like they didn't have a lot of knowledge and experience of inexpensive living growing up. Ha

I notice the same thing on both fronts. In addition to the clothes (most of it with logos on the outside) it's the cars! I see lots of Mercedes, BMWs, Audis, Lexuses, etc. around here. All the luxury car dealers seem to be expanding and opening new dealerships or at least rebuilding/enlarging the ones they already have. I'm sure leases and 7 year car loans are behind many of the wheels people are driving. (And the dealers are no doubt "Millionaires Next Door!")

For me it's a daughter and her husband as well as a single daughter. Almost everything is the latest and the best. I'm sure they will both get something when we pass on just because we see no reason to pi$$ it away on things we don't want or need. But leaving a legacy to be spent that way sure isn't high on our must-do list either.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by friar1610 I notice the same thing on both fronts. In addition to the clothes (most of it with logos on the outside) it's the cars! I see lots of Mercedes, BMWs, Audis, Lexuses, etc. around here. All the luxury car dealers seem to be expanding and opening new dealerships or at least rebuilding/enlarging the ones they already have. I'm sure leases and 7 year car loans are behind many of the wheels people are driving. (And the dealers are no doubt "Millionaires Next Door!") For me it's a daughter and her husband as well as a single daughter. Almost everything is the latest and the best. I'm sure they will both get something when we pass on just because we see no reason to pi$$ it away on things we don't want or need. But leaving a legacy to be spent that way sure isn't high on our must-do list either.

Subprime auto loans are getting frothy and the average new car loan is for 66 months. A high percentage are for 72 and 84 months.

[marko]

If it was easy, everybody would be doing it! (and they'd all be on this forum!)

[imoldernu]

Hmm...accepting failure... graciously.