Meeting the millionaire next door

If you want a great series of books to read, pick up The Millionaire Next Door series by Thomas J. Stanley & William D. Danko. It was published in 1996 & the premise of the book was to research America’s wealthy & find out the truths & myths about who they are, how they became wealthy, how they think, act etc.  The research shows that the “millionaire” image in the media of  ”expensive cars, big houses & big lifestyle”, is a myth & couldn’t be further from the truth.  The typical millionaire is very conservative & frugal on how they live.  They buy used cars, live very simply & think very differently than the majority of Americans when it comes to money & spending.

I have made it one of my missions to find & meet as many “millionaires next door” as I can to interview, listen, learn & emulate their habits.  I have had the distinct pleasure & honor to meet one of my favorites, Clyde Wilson. www.theoriginalclydewilson.com I spent yesterday afternoon with Mr. Wilson touring some of his properties, meeting his banker, getting quizzed about my knowledge in real estate, & running a financial calculator (don’t ever get caught without a HP10bII when you are with Clyde).

Clyde was a high school drop out who became wealthy by applying knowledge he learned from other successful investors. Find out more about Clyde in the link above.  He is sitting on the far left in the picture.

His influence on me has been incredible.  I learned the importance of building long term, trusting relationships, especially with your banker.  He has been working with the same bank & banker for over 30 years.  Clyde also stressed that spending time building knowledge & expertise will reward you if you choose to become a willing student.  Most importantly, understanding the “numbers” with a financial calculator,  they illustrate the reality of whether you will become financially free or stay in the rat race.  If you don’t know how to use a financial calculator, please get one & learn…  It is really very easy these days with all the technology available.  You basically punch in the numbers & the calculator does all the work.  The challenge is how to apply the numbers in your everyday life.