In 1996 a new book hit a national nerve as it raced up bestseller lists in the New York Times, Business Week, the Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly. It’s title? “The Millionaire Next Door – The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy.” Written by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko, this landmark study revealed the results of more than 20 years comprehensive research on just how people become wealthy. Their findings may shock you – just as it did millions of other Americans.
How do you become wealthy?
Most people have it all wrong about how you become wealthy in America according to Stanley and Danko. It’s seldom inheritance or advanced degrees or even intelligence that builds fortunes in this country. Wealth in America is more often the result of hard work, diligent savings and living below your means.
The crux of this book’s message is that wealth is not the same as income. You can make millions of dollars a year and be unable to support your family beyond next month, while someone who makes a fraction of your salary is able to sustain themselves and their family for ten years without working. This is because no matter how much you earn, if you spend it, you are not getting wealthier. You are just living high. Wealth is what you accumulate, not spend.
The common denominators of America’s truly wealthy?
*They live well below their means
*They allocate time, energy and money efficiently in ways conducive to building wealth
*They believe financial independence is more important than displaying high social status
*They are not reliant on inheritance or gifting from their parents
*Their own adult children are economically self-sufficient
*They are proficient in targeting market opportunities
*They chose the right occupation
Shattering Myths
This book tackles all the myths and shatters them. That ancestry and inheritance equal wealth. That people living in the biggest homes, driving the fanciest cars and living the most opulent lifestyles are the wealthiest. Not by a long shot. And not in real terms. In fact it’s far more likely that the middle aged, self-employed welding contractor living in an average middle class suburb and driving a second hand car is your millionaire next door. You owe it to yourself to read this book. If nothing else it will make you stop and think…
Warm regards,
Catherine Maniscalco Avery
CAIM specializes in creating and managingcustomized and fully diversified investment portfolios for private investors.
203.966.2712 p203.966.5697 f
For those of you with questions, feel free to call me at 203.966.2712.
Also please visit my website at www.catherineaveryinvest.comThis information is copyrighted September 2009
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