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

What explains happiness in life?  I don't have all the answers.  But, as a review of both my books and blogs,  happiness in life has little to do with the brand/price of the watch one wears, the stores one patronizes, the make of car one drives or the brand of vodka one consumes.  One's overall happines in life has nothing to do with the overall price one pays for wine, the size or market value of a home, not even the price one pays for a haircut.  To shed more light on this issue, I examined the relationship between happiness in life and more than 200  characteristics, behaviors...

From time to time I  like to share some of the notes and e-mails I receive from millionaires in hopes that you may gain insight into to the lifestyles of these self made, financially independent people.  One such profile came from a respondent to my latest national survey.  You may find Mrs. T and her husband's lifestyle boring, even common.  But they are uncommon in the sense that they are financially independent.  In contrast, there is nothing more common than those people in America who live paycheck to paycheck. The note attached to Mrs. T's returned questionnaire said, "Dr. Stanley, thank you for...

An excellent article in The Wall Street Journal  by Alex P. Kellogg, "BMW Touts 'Joy,' Value in New Ads," Saturday/Sunday, February 13-14, 2010, highlights the changes in the advertising themes of several prestige manufacturers of automobiles. It seems that status is out and satisfaction, value and physical properties are being emphasized.  Acura is now touting how well its MDX protects passengers in the "crash into the wall" sequence and "value under the hood."  The article further indicates that Mercedes Benz' themes are focusing more on safety and the high resale characteristics of its products. Further, the author suggests that BMW is now...

How do I categorize millionaires who inherited all or most of their wealth?  I do not consider them to be fortunate. Actually, I think of them as being deprived. They were deprived of the great pride, joy and satisfaction derived from building one's own fortune. Countless millionaires have told me that it is the journey to wealth which is much more satisfying than the destination. When they look back over their history of building wealth, they recall constantly setting economic goals and the great satisfaction gained from achieving them. Yes, in the context of economic achievement, it is the trip, the journey to...

More from our millionaire next door in the Southwest - Part II of the Millionaire Next Door story I received last month. We read in Part I that our "scientist of wealth" became a millionaire while his annual income was $78,000 and now has a net worth of $2.4 million. He and his wife did not/do not act rich, and continue to enjoy the freedom that comes from living below their means. A Letter from a Scientist of Wealth, continued September 2009 ...Paying off the mortgage was about the smartest move we ever made, because it allowed us to save that money, too. Whenever we got a windfall...