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

In a recent blog, I discussed ways to raise economically productive children.  Jerry responded with one of the most informative case studies that I have read to date.  I was raised by frugal parents. They didn't have a credit card until they were almost 50 years old - and only then because they started to travel and they couldn't get hotel or car rental reservations without a credit card.  My Dad spent an hour telling all six of us why they obtained the card and that you never use one unless you have the money to pay it in full by...

Last Sunday, a church in our neighborhood sponsored a sandwich drive. Members and their friends who volunteered made 12,000 bologna and cheese sandwiches for homeless people in the downtown area. About half of the people who participated included families with young children. This is a great learning experience for youngsters who are part of middle class America. It teaches them more than cooperation and working together for a noble cause. It also opens their eyes to the fact that not all Americans are as prosperous as they are.  Such experiences are important in developing productive and successful adults. Most millionaires, for example, have great empathy for the...

In what types of careers do we find the balance sheet affluent, the millionaires next door? Many take an unconventional approach. Below is one of my favorite stories about careers, adapted from Millionaire Women Next Door. Marion was trained to be sensitive to opposing viewpoints and countertrends. Being different in thought and deed was something to be proud of, not condemned. Her folks convinced her that she had the ability and aptitude to excel at any task, at any vocation she set her sights on, and that there was no such thing as women's versus men's work, and high-status and therefore desirable versus...

My friends in the trust and estate business refer to it as OPM, that is, Other People's Money. How well do people spend other people's money? The pat answer is "not as well as if they earned it themselves." Thus, many of my friends believe that it is not a good idea for wealthy parents to give heavy doses of economic outpatient care to their adult children. However, the wealthiest parent of all, Uncle Sam, evidently doesn't feel the same way about the downside of doling out OPM. Take, for example, the results of the recent Cash for Clunkers program. According...

Why did I write The Millionaire Mind? Because many of those who read The Millionaire Next Door felt that the "frugal" millionaires profiled there were too monk-like! I refer to the millionaires in The Millionaire Mind as 27-percenters, i.e. only 27 percent of those people who live in homes valued at $1 million or more are millionaires. Unlike the "millionaire next door," they live in expensive homes yet they were able to accumulate high levels of wealth at the same time. The 733 millionaire respondents that I profiled had overall net worth, income, and house value characteristics that were nearly three...