Everyday Millionaires

I was particularly interested in this book for two reasons: Reason #1 it's data-driven. 10,000 millionaires were interviewed. This book has value because of that data. Hard data is irrefutable. Reason #2 I conducted similar research. In my case, I interviewed 233 millionaires. I also interviewed 128 individuals struggling with poverty. It's equally important to know what to do and what not to do. In 2010 I published Rich Habits, sharing some of my findings. Thanks, in large part to Dave Ramsey (I was interviewed by Dave in July 2013), Rich Habits became a huge bestseller. This book's larger database of millionaires, corroborates many of my Rich Habits Study findings. There are 4 paths to becoming a millionaire: #1 Saver-Investor Path, #2 Senior Executive-Big Company, Path #3 Virtuoso Path and #4 Dreamer-Entrepreneur Path. For the most part, the millionaires profiled in this book are those who pursued the Saver-Investor Path. That's the Guaranteed Path to accumulating wealth. The Saver-Investor Path does not require any particular set of skills. You don't have to navigate the jungle of politics inherent in the Senior Executive Path. The Saver-Investor Path does not mandate the acquisition of advanced degrees or special knowledge (Virtuoso Path). It does not require that you develop unique skill sets (Virtuoso Path). And, lastly, it does not require that you take on the enormous risks that the Dreamer-Entrepreneur Path entails. If you want to become wealthy, this book will help you better understand the Saver-Investor Path to accumulating wealth. I highly recommend it.

I listed to this book on Audi and it is a great read if your wanting to be a suburban millionaire and live next door get this book! Listen to it at least once a year and apply the principles.

If you watch a Chris Hogan video, you will see that he speaks many more words and repeats himself more often than does his colleague Dave Ramsey. Hogan and Ramsey write like they speak, respectively. In the book, Hogan will take three pages to say something that could be said in one, and then he repeats himself four or five more times before the book is done. Repetition is good for driving home a point, but perhaps Hogan overdoes it a little. The content is, however, just fine. One good thing is that Hogan does a better job of explaining the phrase "change your family tree" than does Ramsey (see pp226-227 of the book). One bad thing is that Hogan does not spend enough time discussing the impact of inflation on future wealth. I would have liked to have seen the survey instrument they used. I would have liked to have seen tables of results of the survey at the back of the book, to give a better sense of variation in results, and maybe correlations between results with numeric answers. Basically, I wanted to see more detail on the actual results of the survey instrument, rather than his summary of what the results were.

I have been following a plan similar to the one described in this book for over three decades and am amazed at how closely this book mirrors our lives. The book provides excellent advice and concrete details for a great start on a roadmap to success. Where it falls a little short is with some of the generalizations about millionaires do this and not that. Although most of the generalizations provide sound advice, some don’t take into account (actually contradict) the atypical things that a minority of millionaires do to boost net worth even more than just following the instructions of the majority in the book. Where the book derails completely is the lack of understanding about “good debt” vs “bad debt” and real estate investing. All debt is not bad, but is only good if used to make returns significantly greater than the interest rate of the debt. The book does discuss investing an extra amount, above the 15% of your income that should go into retirement plans, which is excellent advice. However, it then suggests a very limited, narrow perspective on how to invest that extra amount. The book calls real estate investing a “crazy scheme”, which is far from accurate. Although not for everyone, real estate investing is a tax deferred, tax favorable (lower long term capital gains) means to potentially double-digit long-term returns. It can easily rival the returns and benefits of retirement accounts, with perhaps less risk than a typical stock market mutual fund. But it will only net such larger returns by intelligent, intentional, balanced use of debt. Real estate investments can net the same or better results over several decades as a retirement account portfolio, possibly making up 50% or more of one’s net worth. Unfortunately, the author simply does not understand the business and the math behind real estate investing and real estate debt. The same could be said for paying down the debt on one’s home, if and only if, the same money is put into a high yield long term investment. If paying down a mortgage at 3% interest, which will forgo the same money invested in a long term portfolio making 8%, one is losing 5% potential return on that money and is better off with the investment, not a debt free home. Of course, if the same money is used only to improve one’s lifestyle, then by all means it is better to pay down the mortgage. This book is a great asset for anyone at any point in your financial journey! Unfortunately, it contains a small amount of negative misinformation about debt and real estate investments that can supercharge one’s future net worth.

This book is excellent and it's even better if you listen to the audio book, which is read by the author. He provides a lot of stats, busts myths, and tells the stories of everyday millionaires. Chris also packed this book full of encouragement and coaching, which is his specialty. I think a lot of people have unfairly criticized the book as lacking metrics and being full of fluff. Chris provides a lot of statistics from the research that his team completed and he wrote it in the style of a motivator and coach. That is who Chris is and it adds tremendous value to most people, as they need someone to encourage them to take action. He will be distributing the raw data soon for those that want to dig deeper and the book would not have been enjoyable if it was just a list of statistics. This book is definitely worth buying and I will double-down on my recommendation of the audio book.

I am a huge Ramsey Solutions fan and had read many negative reviews of this book before purchasing it but It turned out to be a great read. It confirms all of the teachings the guys at Ramsey solutions preach about - live on less than you make, have an emergency fund, clear debts as soon as possible, invest and invest with a profession that knows what they are doing. The book details the high correlation between specific traits (rather than backgrounds) that the typical millionaire has and what you should be doing in order to follow the same path. I would recommend this book to any 'millionaire mindset' hunter. Be positive and open minded.

It was a very well-written book, entertaining, containing stories of other millionaires.. But basically, the book is only about the mindset and believing that anyone can become a millionaire. If you save enough money over a long period of time and invest in a mutual fund consistently.. The most crucial information is missing! What mutual funds/ETF's do you buy?? Your asset allocation? Your portfolio? What did these millionaires invest in? The only answer in the book about it is that it's recommended to work with a financial advisor.. Why would I give my money away to an advisor who can only give me a 6% return and asks 2% commissions? While you can invest yourself in many S&P500 index funds like VOO or IVV which can provide 10-12% returns, and some ETFs even up to 35-50% annually (like SPXL & TQQQ, buy and hold till you make it). Of course, learn first the basics of the stock market, 'stop loss order' to protect your initial capital, then enjoy your journey!

Muy interesante, buen libro

I haven't finished a book in years, and this one I actually finished in less than a week...that is amazing for me. For a non story book it kept me wanting to come back to find out more. I highly recommend this book!

Simple concepts that's sometimes we need support in not to forget or even remember. Know what and how to do is easy. Problem is our nature..our capacity in make complicated the simplest things...