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

One of the most pleasant benefits from writing books is hearing personally from my readers.  I would like to share a letter that I recently received which is ideally suited for Veterans Day reflection.  "Dear Dr. Stanley,I recently...began to read The Millionaire Mind....  I try to read a little each night.  It was about 11:00 p.m. when I reached page 41.  About half way down the page I encountered the name "William 'Billy' Featherstone" and thought to myself, I know about someone with a name like that except that his last name was Gilmore.  I then read "Gilmore Jr." on...

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...

During these uncertain times, it pays to be vigilant in recognizing economic opportunities. Over the years, more than a few millionaires have told me that during one's lifetime, major economic opportunities will confront most of us. Unfortunately, the majority of people don't capitalize upon them. Some just don't recognize "gold" when they stumble across it; others are too set in their ways, too rigid, to change. And some say they are just too old to transition into a different vocation. Also, the fear of taking economic risks tends to cloud one's vision.  It is unfortunate that most people have never considered self...

As long as we are headed towards a controlled economy, I would like to add my two cents worth and perhaps a bit of comic relief. We can encourage people to become more fiscally responsible! I suggest that we begin by altering the spending habits of the hyperconsuming/income statement affluent (IA) population. I mentioned on Twitter that 86% of those who drive prestige makes of cars are not millionaires. Some of these folks think that they will be rich tomorrow so why not act rich today. Plus, many of these hyperspenders think that they can enhance their overall satisfaction with life by...

If you recall from an earlier blog, Part 1: The Millionaire Next Door:  Swiss? Cheese only, I hypothesized that most people who are guilty of tax evasion are hyper consumers.  But not all of these tax cheats use offshore accounts.  In fact, I am of the opinion that there is a much greater number of dollars of income unreported within the shores of the United States. As an example, consider a recent article written by Martin Vaughn in The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 1, 2009): IRS To Mine Payment Data on Mortgages. "The Internal Revenue Service will expand a program designed...