Stop Acting Rich: And Start Living Like a Real Millionaire

I'm a big plan of Tom Stanley's research and books. I first encountered Stanley at a trust conference many years ago, and I've read and recommended his books to dozens of clients and prospects. His insights are helpful and entertaining.His newest book, Stop Acting Rich: And Start Living Like A Real Millionaire, reveals the differences between what we say and what we do. He chronicles the spending patterns of genuinely rich people, and the lifestyles they enjoy. It's interesting, because there are two groups of people with serious money: the glittering rich (think Donald Trump or Bill Gates) and the millionaires next door. And, as you'd guess, they consume differently.Spending by the glittering rich, well, glitters. These are the few folks with so much money that spending really doesn't matter. They own multiple cars, multiple timepieces, and they tend to entertain lavishly. We all know who they are and they set a remarkable standard for living.Other rich people are remarkable for differing reasons. As Stanley has recorded previously, they stand out for their modesty and good sense. These millionaires drive Toyotas, wear Seiko watches, and surround themselves with value-oriented merchandise. We know who these neighbors are, too, but we probably don't realize how financially successful they truly are. They set a different kind of standard.Here's the paradox of this book. Almost everyone else (and that's a huge chunk of our society) dwells in yet another culture. This is the culture of false wealth. Where looking rich is more important than being rich. It's the world of luxury goods sold to high-income buyers. But, sadly, that spending pattern yields no genuine wealth. The simple act of buying those goods, by itself, is financially counterproductive.These are residents of mini-mansion neighborhoods. And owners of luxury automobiles and Rolex watches. They send their children to private schools and belong to expensive country clubs. They buy Brooks Brothers suits and shop at exclusive department stores. They are glittering rich wannabes, and they spend most of their income on a prestige lifestyle. There's nothing left for saving.The depressing truth is this book won't change much. Most of us would rather look rich than be rich. We like those luxury goods and that luxury lifestyle, even if we can't afford them. We can see how sensible living might bring stability and success. We know Tom's right, but we don't want to live in sensible neighborhoods or drive sensible cars or wear sensible clothes.That's the paradox of Stop Acting Rich. We don't want to.

Dr Stanley's books dispel many of the myths commonly held about millionaires. I read "The Millionaire Next Door" shortly after it came out. Back then I entered my data into his "Wealth Equation" and was disappointed to find that I was "behind" in terms of wealth accumulation. Subsequently I stepped up my savings and it has paid off. Following his advice enabled me to completely retire at the age of 54 on a relatively modest military doctor's salary. As he points out there is a big difference between high income and high net worth. All of my classmates are still working. They have good income, but also have great expenses. Effectively they are on a "treadmill." Many drive prestige brand vehicles (sometimes leased or financed). They have the trappings of wealth without the high balance sheet. He refers to this as the "Big Hat, No Cattle" phenomenon. The key to success is to live below your means and invest as much as you can. It's not really hard, but as Dr Stanley points out it does require discipline and planning. I go on several cruises each year and am surprised how few doctors I meet. I do meet a great number of professors and teachers. As Stanley points out, educators are very good at investing and planning for retirement. I went on Dr Stanley's website to tell him a funny story and was very saddened to learn that he passed away in Feb 2015--hit by a drunk driver in Atlanta. I will miss his books. I was on the Queen Mary 2 talking with one of the speakers on the cruise and a guy wearing a "Rolls Royce" polo shirt walked up to us. The speaker asked him "Are you connected with Rolls Royce?" The guy responded "I own five of them." The speaker then asked diplomatically "What do you do?" The guy looked a little embarrassed and responded "I'm a retired school teacher and one of my Rolls Royces actually runs!" I think Dr Stanley would have liked that.

I'm lucky that so many people told me to read Stanley and Danko's Millionaire Next Door. When I saw his newer book after the recession, I grabbed it with both hands. I understand that vodka is essentially the same regardless of brand, but some people like to act like the emperor with no clothes about it. It seems foolish to me to spend more money just as a display for status, but I value other things.

This was a pretty good book. I give it 4/5 stars because this book is EXTREMELY boring with very high emphasis on extremely. But, it challenges you and I liked that. It challenged me to be disciplined to finish reading a book that was extremely boring and repetitive, but most likely with have some good information throughout. The repetition was extremely difficult to read through, but it seems like he either wanted to drill his points into our minds, or he needed rhe book to be a certain amount of words/pages. I was able to get 8 key things from the book after fighting with myself for 7 days to read it. I wanted to get his other book, The Millionaire Mind, but I read the first review and it said that it was very repetitive so I’ll be ok. If he doesn’t teach anything else from his books, he’s going to be sure to get discipline across as one of his points. But, at the end of the day, you have to be extremely disciplined with yourself when on a healthy financial journey, as with any change in life. I’m actually teaching my students from this book, so thank you again Thomas.

Buen libro

I read Thomas Stanley's  The Millionaire Next Door  three years ago and was thoroughly impressed by the insights and research. While reading it I wished the author had published a revised edition with updated numbers - the book was published in 1998. This book (Stop Acting Rich...) covers similar themes as the book I previously mentioned. However, it has updated numbers and includes insights gained from the financial crises of 2008-2009.The central theme of this book is that there is a difference between those that are genuinely rich and those that act like they are rich. This book details the differences between these two groups of people - what they wear, drive, eat, drink, etc. These differences, presented throughout the book in the form of several tables and lists, are backed by empirical data that are drawn from the author's extensive research on the affluent.We live in a culture of hyperconsumerism. It is far easier to act rich than to become truly rich. All we have to do is to buy the luxury goods/services that we think the rich buy and we get the feeling that we are rich. But this kind of excessive consumerism is detrimental to our net worth. The author explains that most rich people become wealthy and stay that way by being frugal and by being investment oriented as opposed to consumption oriented. As for wealth and happiness he warns, "those who think that acting rich must be predicated on hyperconsumerism are likely to end up on the short side of both the wealth and happiness scales".Throughout the book many myths about the rich are dispelled. Their consumption habits are described and compared with those of the pretenders. What brands of shoes, suits, watches, etc do they wear? What wines and spirits do they consume? What motor vehicles do they drive? Where do they shop? And how much do they pay for the goods listed above? The insights are illuminating and thought provoking.During the financial crisis of 2008-2009, many articles were published regarding the benefits of frugality and the dangers of excessive consumption. In many ways the root of this crisis (sometimes referred to as the Credit Crisis) was excessive borrowing and consumption. I share the author's belief that as soon as the economy improves, people will resume their spendthrift ways. This is most unfortunate since it could lead to a repeat of the crisis we just experienced.Bottom line - I highly recommend this book as the single best personal finance book I have read. You cannot save the whole of society from this disease of hyperconsumerism. But by educating yourself, you can simplify your lifestyle so that you can be truly rich as opposed to just acting like you are rich. The Millionaire Next Door

Never heard of Grey Goose brand of Vodka until I picked up this book. Very insightful way of looking how the marketing of premium products.Much is written about Rolex watches. My personal experience of them is that they are very ordinary to look at and a fifty dollar Digital watch tells the time more accurately.One thing I have noticed over the years-Americans may have the wealth and the brains to create companies like Amazon,Facebook and Apple but they do not have the class,heritage and renown of the British.I associate American culture with beer drinking riff raff who wear baseball caps and speak in Hollywood English.

Incredible information! I pass it to some of my friends as I truly believe that can change your perspective and life after reading this book!The first step for you to become rich is to become aware of your behavior and financial habits. You will be shocked how many things you can learn about yourself if you pay attention on what and how you spend your money. Highly recommend this book!

Da una descripción bastante clara del comportamiento de los que aparentan ser millonarios y su esfuerzo inútil.Es muy aleccionador para los que estamos a años luz de ser millonarios.