It was the "millionaire" word that caught my eye.  Another cookbook for instant wealth I thought.  Wrong.  This book provides a profile of the typical millionaire family in the U.S.  The authors, who studied the subject for 20 years, provide both a scholarly and frequently humorous rendition of who the wealthy are.

Their conclusions may shock you.  They surprised me.  You would expect these wealthy folks to be living in lavish homes, driving a Rolls Royce, have a staff of servants, and maybe jetting off to France for a summer vacation.  That's the image Hollywood would have us believe.  But as it turns out, that's largely a myth. And here I thought my millionaire clients were on the fringe.

This book is packed with case study material, lots of statistical info and plenty of reader entertainment.  Here is a listing of the seven common attributes they identify with affluent wealthy Americans:

1.      They live well below their means (frugal)
2.      They use their time efficiently and focus on wealth building strategies.
3.      They believe financial freedom is better than high social status.
4.      They are largely not dependent upon parents for their wealth.
5.      Their adult children are economically self-sufficient.
6.      They are proficient in finding market opportunity.
7.      They chose the right occupation, and typically are self-employed.

 The entire book focuses on these common denominators.  A very interesting theory they provide is their formula to determine if you are wealthy.  It is based on your age and annual household income.   Frankly, I'm a little skeptical about "one-size-fits-all" formulas. However, the authors have devoted their careers to this study and I would not dismiss it lightly.

One further comment about the formula:  it's about measurement of your financial status, relative to your age and income.  It's not a certain dollar amount for all, nothing like that.  He gives an example of a 41 year-old fireman who has accumulated $460,000 and a 56 year-old physician who accumulated $1.1 million.  By his definition, the fireman would be wealthy, the physician would not, based on their respective incomes.  If you don't follow that, you'll need to read the book.

I recommend this book to you so that you may compare your profile with those that have reached or will soon reach their Financial Freedom Day. If you would like to compare yourself with the author's formula for defining wealth, you're in luck. I have added a page for just that purpose. To begin, go here.

Thomas Staley has since written a sequel to this work called "The Millionaire Mind".  I have read that book as well and you will find a report in The Library section. It too was an excellent read , and gives far more insight into the common traits that millionaires share.