Trading on Anticipated Future Wealth: Homes & Cities
By Sarah Fallaw on Apr 9th, 2015 in Current EventsA recent article in The Boston Globe highlights the issues Bostonians are considering related to purchasing homes in affluent areas. The piece recites a financial-planning principle: “A bit of perspective: In many parts of the country, the rule of thumb is that housing costs should occupy a third of one’s income. Here, that standard frequently […]
Working for Those Aha Career Moments
By Thomas J. Stanley on Aug 14th, 2012 in Psychology and Careersby Sarah S. Fallaw, Ph.D., Director of Research, AMI Research Many successful people report having moments of clarity or EUREKA! experiences when it comes to business opportunities. In fact, 29% of millionaires reported stumbling across a great business opportunity as part of their career path, and 39% reported using intuition for business ideas (see […]
Second Homes… Part I
By Thomas J. Stanley on Sep 2nd, 2010 in Studying the WealthyA recent Wall Street Journal article indicated that a variety of developers of expensive vacation homes are responding strategically to the meltdown in their market. In short, they are providing vacation home opportunities of the downsized variety. “. . .building smaller less expensive homes in resort communities. . . this pitch may sound a little funny: ‘affordable housing for the […]
Long on Mortgage; Short on Wealth
By Thomas J. Stanley on Jul 15th, 2010 in Current EventsIn 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 […]
Another Reason to Stop Acting Rich
By Thomas J. Stanley on May 20th, 2010 in Current EventsMost of the millionaires whom I have interviewed understate their true wealth. They get little satisfaction from displaying expensive artifacts which are suppose to define success in America. But there is another important reason for not conspicuously broadcasting one’s net worth. It has to do with issues of safety and security. Take for example the comments made by […]
Cars and Homes as Costumes
By Thomas J. Stanley on Oct 29th, 2009 in Current EventsAs 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 […]
Costumes: Not Just for Halloween
By Thomas J. Stanley on Oct 27th, 2009 in Lessons LearnedOne of my earlier blogs, The Downside to Understating Your Wealth, apparently hit a chord with many of you. Mrs. Davis, a teacher, told me that her memory was jogged after reading about the Honda driving doctor who couldn’t get into the hospital’s parking lot. Here is her contrasting story on the upside of understating your wealth. […]
All Stars of Consumption
By Thomas J. Stanley on Oct 22nd, 2009 in Books and PublicationsIs being frugal fashionable today? Perhaps, considering the severity of the economic times. The more important question is: how long will it be fashionable? The following is an excerpt from my new book, Stop Acting Rich, highlighting the focus on hyper-consuming, highly compensated members of our society and their spending habits. America is a nation of excesses. And these excesses, […]
What! No Jacuzzi?
By Thomas J. Stanley on Oct 15th, 2009 in Books and PublicationsI would like to share a short tidbit from my new book, Stop Acting Rich. You can read more in Chapter 7, The Road to Happiness. I admire people who drive Buicks. They show wisdom in buying a car that ranks high in both quality and value. Plus, according to Automotive News, people who trade […]
How to Live Like a Real Millionaire, Part II
By Thomas J. Stanley on Oct 13th, 2009 in Millionaire Next Door StoriesMore 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 […]