The Millionaire Next Door

I love having management students at NYU, they love the most interesting, and financially helpful, books.  I learned how poor I am compared to the “frugal Sally” or “hand me down Fred” from The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy.  I’ll admit it here to you all… I am a UAW and not a PAW (I think the acronym sounds better, huh?).  Well, a UAW is an “under accumulator of wealth” compared to the few, the proud, the smart PAW (prodigious accumulator of wealth).  So in the scheme of life, I would think it can be just as much fun being a UAW, until the time when you can’t work full-time, right?  Good question.  Hope you all can think upon it.  The research study of Profs Stanley and Danko (U of Albany!, right down the street from my parent’s home) is well done.  They interviewed numerous millionaires to find out “how they spend” and the findings are somewhat surprising.  It certainly will make the person who buys new cars every three years realize what a waste, in terms of long term money accumulation, it can be for an individual.  In their research I was actually surprised by how many parents depart “EOC” (Economic Outpatient Care) to their kids.  Where’s my money every month?  I hope my kids aren’t thinking I will be dropping $15k every month on them.  I was actually hoping it would be the other way around.  The thesis on how immigrants struggle in the first generation, BUT build an ethic of savings, is so true.  My in-laws are great examples of it.  Think about two Argentineans coming over on a boat, not knowing English, and in the end owning in full their home in Bergen County, NJ, not a small feat.  

In the end, I may never have the accumulation of wealth that many seek, but I hope by the way I lead my life, I will be wealthy with the amount of friends and dedicated family members I have. There is another set of goals in life, right?  Quick read.  For parents, some seriously good things to teach our kids, “learn to pay your own way!”