The Millionaire Next Door

A Personal Finance Favorite for the Holidays!

In the last few weeks a variety of articles have popped up recommending books on financial topics as gifts this holiday season.  I was especially pleased to read Adam Zoll’s Great Book Ideas for the Investor on Your List on Morningstar.com.  I understand that Morningstar readers were asked to indicate their favorite books on the topics of investing and personal finance. 

Readers mentioned dozens of books as being among the best on investing and personal finance, but there were a few authors and titles that cropped up repeatedly.  One of the books mentioned most often by readers was The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy . . . .

It is indeed rewarding to read the many comments from those who recommended the book.  I would like to point out again that my purpose in writing the book was to dispel the many myths about what it means to be wealthy.  Wealth is not what you wear or what you drive.  Wealthy means independence, control of one’s life as measured on one’s balance sheet, that is assets less liabilities.  The large majority of wealthy people live well below their means.

The Millionaire Next Door is not only designed for people who are seeking answers but also for those who never imagined that they too could accumulate wealth. 


1 thought on “A Personal Finance Favorite for the Holidays!”

  1. Speaking of books, reading PT Barnum’s “The Art of Money Getting” (1880), I was suprised that his advice is very much in line with the wisdom in “The Millionaire Next Door”.

    To quote Barnum on living below one’s means:

    “to have annual income of twenty pounds per annum, and spend twenty pounds and sixpence, is to be the most miserable of men; whereas, to have an income of only twenty pounds, and spend but nineteen pounds and sixpence is to be the happiest of mortals.”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *