Reddit mentions of Stop Acting Rich: ...And Start Living Like A Real Millionaire

read Stop Acting Rich by Thomas J. Stanely. he was a professor who studied high-income and high-wealth Americans (not always the same group!). among other points, he found that MDs are under-represented among millionaires. despite earning much lower incomes than MDs, jobs like teachers and farmers are more likely to accumulate a million in wealth. why? because teachers and farmers live middle-class lives. they don't live in the upscale part of town. there's no pressure for a farmer to buy a high-end Tesla or BMW, and no pressure for the teacher to send the kids to private school; nobody expects their plumber to live in the upscale part of town. those professions have lower "overhead" costs, so to speak, and thus are able to save and invest a lot more of their income than the typical MD. in short, MDs are often basically broke because of lifestyle spending and social pressure. if you can nip those habits in the bud now, at the start of your career, you'll be in an excellent position to build wealth.

https://www.amazon.com/Stop-Acting-Rich-Living-Millionaire/dp/1118011570/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522637062&sr=8-1&keywords=stop+acting+rich


also, check out these videos by Doug Carlsen. He's a dentist, retired early and now coaches DDSs on avoiding the financial mistakes so common in their professions (e.g., don't have a practice loan AND a mortgage at the same time it's just too much debt; don't spend too much on house and upgrades/remodels because they can eat up way too much income that you need to be saving and investing.)

https://www.youtube.com/user/DrDougCarlsen

as for the financial planner ... be careful. some of them will give you questionable advice. proceed very, very slowly. find someone who is less a salesman, more a teacher. if you feel confused or pressured, that's because they're selling rather than teaching. also avoid anyone who is selling insurance products as investments. just stay away. you need insurance. you need investment. but don't cross the streams.

if you want to be rich, do what rich people do: avoid debt, avoid status spending, save and invest a large percentage of your income, and be sort of a tightwad. read this book. it explains how wealthy people actually live. it's one of the best books I've ever read in my life; the culmination of the author's decades of research (he was a professor who studied financial habits). basically he found that truly wealthy people (money and investments and property) have different habits from the popular conception of "wealthy". truly wealthy people don't buy new luxury cars, Rolex watches, etc. http://www.amazon.com/Stop-Acting-Rich-Living-Millionaire/dp/1118011570

so my advice if you want to be prosperous is this:

• get rid of the car. prosperous people do not buy used cars. new cars depreciate in value. in a few years that car will be worth $10k but you'll still owe $14k on the loan. if you want to prosper, do what rich people do: buy a quality used car, and pay cash for it.
  
  
• you didn't mention savings or investment. general rule of thumb for rich people is they've consistently invested a substantial chunk of their income day in and day out for their entire working careers. 10% or more is standard.
  
  
• for example: if you invested half of that weekend fun money, it'd grow to over $400,000 in 30 years. if you also invested another half of the restaurant money, it'd push you over $500,000. double-check my numbers here: http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator/compound_interest_calculator.htm EDIT: forgot to mention that this assumes an average of 10% annual growth rate; this is very realistic as the US stock market as a whole has grown an average of about 10% a year over the last century. there are plenty of mutual funds that have this kind of track record, or slightly better.

> What do you mean by acting like a child?

Stop spending like a retard and fucking anything with a moist hole. You said in a different post that there are a lot of women, men and sex. Enjoy the STI's and superficial women who base your worth on the brand names you wear. You're investing in status symbols to put on a show for other people, STOP IT.

> Like where do I find investing and tax professionals? HR Block?

Dave Ramsey's ELP list would be a good place to start looking.

A little reading might be in order as well:

• [The Millionaire Next Door](http://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next- Door-Thomas-Stanley/dp/0671015206)
  
• Stop Acting Rich
  
• Rich Dad Poor Dad
  
• The Richest Man in Babylon
  
• The Total Money Makeover
  
  Try to find someone who would loan the book to you, or visit the library. I've been through each one of these in audio book format while I drive for work. They should all be available at the bay, but check your library first.

Two great books are The Millionaire Next Door and Stop Acting Rich: ...And Start Living Like A Real Millionaire

Full of great advice and stats, here is a synopsis:

• 80% of America’s millionaires are first-generation rich. This is contrary to those who would have you believe that wealth is usually inherited.<br />

• 20% of millionaires are retired
  
• 50% of millionaires own a business
  
  

1. They live well below their means. In general, millionaires are frugal. Not only do they self-identify as frugal, they actually live the life. They take extraordinary steps to save money. They don’t live lavish lifestyles. They’re willing to pay for quality, but not for image.
   
   
2. They allocate their time, energy, and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth. Millionaires budget. They also plan their investments. They begin earning and investing early in life. The authors note that “there is an inverse relationship between the time spent purchasing luxury items such as cars and clothes and the time spent planning one’s financial future”. In other words, the more time someone spends buying things that look good, the less time they spend on personal finance.
   
   
3. They believe that financial independence is more important than displaying high social status. The authors spend far too much time beating home this point: usually millionaires don’t have fancy cars. They drive mundane domestic models, and they keep them for years. (There’s an entire 31-page chapter devoted to how millionaires shop for cars. It’s tedious. It may be the worst chapter I’ve ever read in any personal finance book. And the authors go on ad nauseum about the average price per pound of various vehicles. There’s even an appendix showing the average price-per-pound for the most popular models.)
   
   
4. Their parents did not provide economic outpatient care. That is, most millionaires were not financially supported by their parents. The authors’ research indicates that “the more dollars adult children receive [from their parents], the fewer they accumulate, while those who are given fewer dollars accumulate more”.
   
   
5. Their adult children are economically self-sufficient. This chapter is fascinating. The authors clearly believe that giving money to adult children damages their ability to succeed.
   
   
6. They are proficient in targeting market opportunities. “Very often those who supply the affluent become wealthy themselves.” The authors discuss how one of the best ways to make money is to sell products or services to those who already have money. They list a number of occupations they feel have long-term potential in this area.
   
   
7. They chose the right occupation. “Self-employed people are four times more likely to be millionaires than those who work for others.” There is no magic list of businesses from which wealth is derived — people can be successful with any type of business. In fact, most millionaire business owners make their money in “dull-normal” industries. They build cabinets. They sell shoes. They’re dentists. They own bowling alleys. They make boxes. There’s no magic bullet.
   
   From: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/12/18/book-review-the-millionaire-next-door/

probably been said, but keep your lifestyle low. live on $60k or so, pay debt aggressively and as fast as possible for a few years. then, max out as many tax advantages retirement accounts as possible.

and read Stop Acting Rich, by Thomas J. Stanley. he was a finance prof, studied high income and high wealth people. found that MDs are actually less likely to be millionaires than jobs like teachers or farmers. MDs and other high-income people tend to spend a huge amount of their income on status items: huge houses, fancy cars, rolex watches, etc. they're so busy showing off that they don't have as much income to save and invest.

https://www.amazon.com/Stop-Acting-Rich-Living-Millionaire/dp/1118011570

check out these videos by Doug Carlsen. he's a dentist, retired early and now consults MDs and dentists to avoid common financial mistakes in their careers. for example, the common guideline for mortgage is no more than 3x annual gross household income ($100k income = max mortgage of $300k). but carlsen recommends no more than 2x income for dentists. why? because they often get in trouble buying massive houses that they really can't afford even on their higher than average income. lots of other great bits of wisdom from him, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH3hyBB6A9M

don't do anything until you're comfortable with it an understand it. if all you understand is a simple savings account, stick with that. don't let anybody pressure into doing anything.

the best advice I could give you is to read a copy of Thomas Stanley's book Stop Acting Rich. He was a professor who studied high-wealth people. lots of great advice on how to live well below your means, manage the money wisely, and not waste the money trying to impress people. The absolute worst thing you could probably do is start living the high life, buying high-end cars, joining the country club, etc. it's easy to imagine someone squandering ten million dollars that way and regretting it the rest of their life.

https://www.amazon.com/Stop-Acting-Rich-Living-Millionaire/dp/1118011570