The Millionaire Next Door
by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
A research-based portrait of American millionaires, who turned out to be frugal, self-employed, long-married and living below their means in ordinary neighborhoods, not the high spenders the culture imagines. The data is decades old and the specifics have shifted, but the central insight, wealth is what you keep, not what you display, remains.
Read it if…
you confuse looking rich with being rich and want data to correct the picture.
Skip it if…
you want investment strategy; the book is about habits and lifestyle.
Three things you will actually use
- Live well below your means.
- Allocate time and money toward building wealth efficiently.
- Beware of 'economic outpatient care' to adult children.
Do this first
Calculate your net worth and compare it to the book's expected-wealth formula.
Our verdict
Dated in detail, durable in lesson; a healthy dose of reality.
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