Webster’s defines cynical as “inclined to question the sincerity and goodness of people’s motives and actions.” I received an e-mail in which Will writes: . . . having a hard time not being cynical about people based on where they live or what types of car they drive. We go to a church that is […]
Stop Being Cynical: Look at the Heart Read More »
Some of the assets that you own are priceless. So it is with my very best friend, Lily, 72 pounds of Golden Retriever joy. Every morning after breakfast she begins herding me and pointing me towards the door. Lily takes me for a long walk every day. She is always cheerful and more than willing to
Dog Food: 5 Stars or Brand X? Read More »
In an earlier blog, I mentioned that, out of the 200 top high income job categories, financial analysts consistently rank among the top ten in the proportion of those who have annual realized incomes of $200,000 or more. Then I asked, “But are they wealthy? Many of them are. The financial analysts group ranks #1 in terms of
Should You Listen to Your Analyst? Read More »
On the front page of the April 8-10th edition of USA Today is a picture of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson [1824-1863]. However, like most stories that feature extraordinary people, the fundamentals of their success are not detailed. General Jackson, who repeatedly defeated opponents who had vastly superior resources, shared many of the characteristic traits of the modern millionaire
Select Your Mentors Wisely Read More »
In The Millionaire Mind, I said that the process of building wealth is a marathon. How well you do in this race involves much more than grade point averages . . . . Standardized testing [SATs, GREs,] cannot be substituted for actually running the race. Otherwise our government could just redistribute our nation’s wealth each
Building Wealth is a Marathon, Not an SAT Score Read More »
Several advertisements for the Allen Edmonds shoe company have appeared in The Wall Street Journal. The advertisement mentioned that the company rebuilt over 60,000 pairs of customers shoes in 2010. I am not sure how many from the general public are repaired each year. But most millionaires regularly have their shoes resoled or repaired. It is not just the
Even More Frugal: Millionaire Women Read More »
In a recent blog I profiled Ken, a second generation millionaire. His observations generated numerous responses. Many of these came from New York and California-based respondents who said essentially that there are no homes in the mid-$300,000 range in their chosen geographic environment. In fact, the wife of a recently minted medical doctor complained that the couple was “forced”
Manhattan, Palo Alto . . . Consider the Cost of Living! Read More »
The income statement affluent (high income/low net worth) often subsidize the balance sheet affluent, aka the millionaire next door. Many of the income statement affluent paid top dollar for their homes at the peak of the residential real estate market. Often they did so with little or nothing down. Now these same houses are selling at steep discounts.
Subsidized Housing for Millionaires Read More »
Dennis Cauchon, writing in USA Today, asks “Our Standard of Living: Is it Better than Ever?” He points out that our income today is significantly higher than it was in 1980, that our homes are bigger, that we are expected to live longer, and that we spend more of our income [inflation adjusted] on recreation,
Are We Better Off Today? Read More »
An article in USA Today recently reported on the Princeton Review’s top 5 list of the “best buys” among public universities. Out of the 100s of schools studied, The University of Florida (UF) ranked 3rd on the list. Coincidentally I had just reinterviewed one of the original respondents from The Millionaire Next Door. Ken told
Colleges from the Value Menu Read More »