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

Some of the most productive and well run automobile dealerships can be found in small town America.  They rely upon repeat business and a good reputation among a finite population.  Word of mouth information, both good and bad, spreads quickly in this environment.    The success of one particular small town dealership was highlighted in a recent article [see:  Rick Kranz, "Family handles tough guys, tough times in 1-car store," Automotive News, January 11, 2010, p. 20].  The Chrysler dealership that Mr. Kranz profiles has been in the same family for 67 years.  When asked about the factors that underlie his success,...

The cost of housing is often a major barrier to becoming financially independent.  That's why Ms K.S. might consider becoming her own landlord, as did Brian.  But "just follow the rules."  And as I wrote in The Millionaire Next Door: To build wealth, minimize your realized (taxable) income and maximize your unrealized income (wealth/capital appreciation without a cash flow). Brian has a net worth of just under 2 million.  But his taxable annual income last year was only $70,000.  It is not all that unusual for someone in the real estate investment business to realize only the equivalent of 3.5...

Ms. K.S. recently e-mailed me: Should I buy a home/condo or rent an apartment?  I'm moving to a large metro area where the cost of housing is very high.  My annual income is about $70k.  Will buying help my chances of becoming wealthy someday? I'm not sure if I can afford to buy [a home]. . . I'm leaning towards renting. . . and investing some in some stocks.  How does this all play out in terms of becoming a millionaire? Ms. K.S. looks at housing in terms of just two choices, renting or buying.  But what about Option 3? ...

Glen W. Bell, Jr., the founder of the Taco Bell restaurant chain, recently passed away (see The New York Times).  After taking Taco Bell public, Mr. Bell sold it to Pepsico for $125 million.  At that time, the chain had 868 restaurants.  Today there are more than 5,000 Taco Bell stores operating worldwide.  All toll these restaurants sell two billion tacos and a billion burritos per year. Mr. Bell started out in the restaurant business as the owner/operator of a hamburger/hot dog stand in San Bernardino, CA.  That's where he first began selling tacos.  One of Mr. Bell's nearby competitors...

In a recent article from Vanguard reviewing my latest book, Stop Acting Rich, the author referred to the story about "a restaurant with bugzappers."  This topic generated a lot of comments. Here are the details from the book. After I interviewed an entrepreneur from Texas with a net worth in the mid eight figures, he told me that he was pleased that his profile would be included in my forthcoming book. I then insisted that I treat him to dinner; he countered with an offer that I could not refuse. But first, he asked what type of food I liked. “Ah,...