Thomas J. Stanley : Millionaire Next Door Author; Researcher; Expert

People often contact me asking for special dispensation because they drive expensive prestige makes of motor vehicles. They maintain that this is an effective way to show others [especially prospective customers/clients] as well as themselves that they are successful. And every one of them tells me that they either got a great lease deal or purchased their motor vehicle at cost, at dealer's cost. . . .   But should you be bragging about the deal you cut if you're driving around in $80,000 worth of sheet metal? Sorry but I don't give special dispensation!  I do tell these people, however, that 86% of those who...

Several recent articles have been published about the parochial character of the members of the United States Supreme Court. The themes of these articles have centered around political orientation (conservative vs. liberal), religion, and the fact that there are no longer any WASPs (white, anglo-saxon protestants) on the court. Historically, the entire Court was composed of WASPs. These factors don't concern me as much as the extraordinary concentration of the Court in terms of geographical background and education of its members.  Let's briefly look at its members: 1. Roberts-Harvard Law School; Harvard undergraduate; New York native 2. Alito-Yale Law School: Princeton undergraduate; New Jersey native...

On the way to the mountains last weekend I stopped at a favorite family owned hardware store.  This large, small town store carries a wide variety of merchandise from work clothes to high grade woodworking tools.  It also has a nice sporting goods department.  It was there that I found an item which I had mentioned in my book, The Millionaire Mind!  The logo on the package is quite unique; it depicts a pair of ladies' "bloomers" hanging on a clothesline.  Also on the package were the words: Universal Rifle- Pistol Cleaning Patches, Cotton Knit, A Product of Southern Bloomer...

Millions of "thank yous" to all those who recently helped rescue 118 beagles (see USA Today). These beagles were laboratory drug testing dogs.  Caged up they were destined to spend their entire lives as guinea pigs.  But after the research facility went broke several rescue groups took custody of the beagles.  According to the article, "dozens have already been adopted." This story brought back many fond memories of our own family's experiences owning beagles.  I'm convinced that there is nothing more entertaining than having a beagle as part of your family! In the process of acquiring our first beagle, we received much...

In a recent article, The New York Times profiled those people who have defaulted on unpaid mortgages of $1 million or more.  The author contends that "the rich have stopped paying the mortgage at a rate that greatly exceeds the rest of the population. . . more than 1 in 7 homeowners with loans in excess of $1 million is seriously delinquent. . . about 1 in 12 mortgages below the million dollar mark is delinquent. . . data suggests that many of the well-to-do are purposely dumping their financially draining properties."  The implication is that it is the cold, calculating...