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Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Millionaire Next Door

Preface:
1. Live well below your means.
2. Allocate time, energy, and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth.
3. Believe in financial independence is more important than displaying high social status.
4. Adult children should be taught how to be economically self-sufficient.
5. Cars tend to depreciate rapidly. Financial assets tend to appreciate.
6. Be a compulsive saver and investor.
7. Building wealth takes discipline, sacrifice and hard work.

Chapter 1: Meet the Millionaire Next Door
1. Don't be "Big Hat, No Cattle" family.
2. Self employed people make up less than 20 pecent of the workers in USA but account for two-thirds of the millionaires.
3. We live on less than 7 percent of our wealth.
4. Our wives are planners and meticulous budgeters.
5. We have "go-to-hell fund". Create enough wealth to live without working for ten or more years.
6. We save at least 15 percent of our earned income.
7. We believe education is extremely important for ourselves, our children, and our grand children.
8. We are fastidious investors. On average, we invest nearly 20 percent of our household realized income each year.
9. We make our own investment decisions.
10. We hold nearly 20 percent of our household's wealth in stocks and mutual funds. We rarely sell our equity investments. On average 20 percent of our household wealth is in our private business.
11. Our most trusted financial advisors are our accountants. Our attorneys are also very important.
12. I am my favorite charity.
13.Formula for Wealth: Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all your sources (except inheritances). Divide by 10.This, less any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should be. Your net worth should be greater than twice the above state salary.
14. Being frugal allows them to save more and invest more than other families in similar income groups.
15. Entrepreneurs are typically characterized by their thrift, low status, discipline, low consumption, risk, and very hard work.
16. Encourage your children to be entrepreneurs and encourage them to enter the labor market.
17. Don't spend lot of time reminiscing about their ancestors achievements - create your own opportunities.

Chapter 2: Frugal Frugal Frugal
1. It is unfortunate that some people judge others by their choice in foods, beverages, suits, watches, motor vehicles, and such. Allocating time and money in the pursuit of looking superior often has a predictable outcome: inferior economic achievement.
2. The opposite of frugal is wasteful.
3. Wrong belief's: "Those who have money spend lavishly" and "if you don't show it, you don't have it".
4. Rewards are intangibles: financial independence, discipline, and being an excellent family provider, a fine husband, and a father of well disciplined children.
5. They are very punctual, never late for meetings, and start their day early - 6:30 AM.
6.