Home Buying for Dummies and Three Other Books

We found out two weeks ago that we’re moving back to the USA (from Australia) next month. I began the process of searching online for an apartment we might want to rent. Our former home was one bedroom: we are now a family of three. That won’t work.

Lo and behold, I found that buying a home and paying a mortgage would be a similar cost to renting. It just might be the time to buy, thanks to the low cost of homes right now. It is truly a Buyer’s Market.

However, I know nothing about real estate and mortgages. The thought of closing on a mortgage and owning a hugely expensive piece of property fills me with dread. I am pretty clueless. I decided to jump right in to some books to get me started and to get me ready. Continue reading »

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

What is Wealth?

At my mother’s suggestion, I listened to the abridged version (144 minutes) of The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William D. Danko (published 1998) rather than the 18-hour version. In some ways, it still was too long. You get the main idea from the beginning.

Since, like most people, I wouldn’t mind being a millionaire, I found it interesting that those with million-dollar salaries (sports figures, etc.) are rarely millionaires: although they live a “high life,” they have very little “wealth.” In other words, millionaires don’t live the lifestyles we might think we’d want to live if we earned a high income.

The premise of this book is that lifestyle that makes a difference to whether or not one becomes a millionaire (one with lots of wealth), and anyone making $60,000 a year can become a millionaire by adjusting lifestyle.

Here are the common factors that millionaires (those who “successfully build wealth”) share (I’ve merged those that I think relate).

Continue reading »