I've read a ton of personal finance books before and during my career as a Certified Financial Planner, and I'd have to rate this one in my top five of all time. In fact, if someone were to ask me out of the blue for one personal finance book they should read, this is usually my recommendation.

While it doesn't go in-depth on the investment decisions or wealth strategies that millionaires use, it goes very deep into the psychology, mindset, and habits of those who accumulate significant net worth.

It's easy to read, it's statistics are fascinating, and it'll make you feel a lot better about not living in a gate guarded community, driving a Beamer, or dressing in designer clothes.

There's no doubt that, fifty years from now, millionaires will still look more like the people in this book than the people you see on MTV Cribs or hanging out at the country club.

Two thumbs up.

Ken Clark, CFP

This is a precursor of Robert Kyosaki's "Rich Dad", John Cummuta's "Transforming debt into Weath" and other financial intelligence books. John Cummuta have extended this work by explaining the concept of compound interest, while Robert Kyosaki have resolved the issue of "live beyond your means", advocated by Thomas J. Stanley. The drawback of mr. Stanley is that he doesn't seem to suggest what do with accumulated wealth, and only advocates being prudent and frugal as a lifestyle, e.g. do not buy luxury cars or boats or wear expensive clothing's. Robert Kyosaki have criticized this modest lifestyle and have solved this drawback by clearly defined the distinctions of assets and the liabilities and suggested that luxury cars can be boats should be purchased from yields produced by the assets rather than from cash flows diverted from obtaining assets.

So, the "Millionaire Next Door" became a classics, while the other authors take the ideas from it without even referencing it.

Thomas J. Stanley have devised the terms "Under Accumulator of Wealth (UAW)", "Average Accumulator of Wealth (AAW)" and "Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth (PAW)", and concluded that any American PAW household even with very modest income will become millionaire.

The main points of the book are: Spend Less Than You Earn, Avoid Buying Status Objects or Leading a Status Lifestyle, PAWs Are Willing to Take Financial Risk if it is Worth the Reward and Economic Outpatient Care. The authors also make the interesting observation that UAWs tend to have children who require an influx of their parents' money in order to afford the lifestyle that they expect for themselves, and that they are less likely to have been taught about money, budgeting and investing by their parents.

I would suggest the works by Robert Kyosaki and John Cummuta in addition to this book.

This book's subject matter is good. The problem--it reads like a bad research paper. It's so boring!!!!! If you're interested in stats on every page, have at it. Otherwise, check it out at the library and skim the main points.

my husband loves it! lots of facts about millionaires and how they live and spend their $

This is one of the best books on wealth bulding I have even read and I've read hundreds of them.

It does a superb job of profiling key characteristic and behaviors that American typically fall into putting themselves deep into debt and then gives simple and easy to connect with ways to counter these behaviors to put yourself on the right track to financial independence.

Really, really great! Do yourself and your family a favor and read it.