For those who haven’t read “The Millionaire Mind” by Thomas J Stanley PhD, here is what I consider to be the fillet of the book, located on pages 6-10. Hopefully it doesn't breach copyright laws.
The data was collated from full surveys from over 700 US millionaires. How valuable is that ?? I think most of it is transferable and therefore relevant for Ozzies ;
FAMILY
1. Median age is 54. Been married for 28 years.
2. On average, we have 3 children.
3. Most of us, 92% are married. Of those married, 95% have children.
4. Only 2% have never been married. Only 3% are widowed.
WEALTH / INCOME / ARTIFACTS
1. On average, our households have a net worth of 9.2M. The median net worth amongst us is 4.3M. The average figure is skewed way higher by those respondents who have very high levels of wealth.
2. Our household’s total annual realized income is 749K p.a. The median income is 436K p.a. Once again, the really high income earners skew the average up. 20% of us earn more than 1M p.a.
3. Despite our income, the typical member of our group hasn’t spent more than 41K on a car or 4.5K on an engagement ring. Neither our spouses nor we have ever spent more than $ 38 on a haircut.
4. One quarter of the group have never spent more than
a) $ 24 on a haircut.
b) 340K on a home
c) 31K for a car
d) 1.5K for an engagement ring
INHERITED WEALTH
1. We live in fine homes in quality neighbourhoods, but only 2% of us inherited all or any part of our homes and property.
2. Some of us have inherited a portion of our wealth. Nearly 8% inherited 50% or more of our net wealth. In sharp contract, 61% of us never received any inheritance, financial gifts, or income from an estate or trust fund distribution.
HOME STYLE
1. Nearly all of us (97%) are homeowners.
2. About 12 years ago we purchased our current home for an average price of 559K. The median for the group was 435K. We have all enjoyed good appreciation on our homes. The average value has risen to 1.38M and the median value has risen to 750K.
3. We generally have small outstanding mortgage balances on our PPoR.
4. Most of us (61%) live in homes that are currently valued at more than 1M. But only 1 in 4 paid 1M or more for their homes.
5. One in ten of us purchased a home in the 3 years following the big stock market crash of ’87. Many of us who did were searching for a foreclosure.
6. We live in a home that was constructed over 40 years ago (median age of house). One quarter of us live in homes that are more than 70 years old. Only 10% of us live in homes that are less than 10 years old.
7. The majority of us (53%) have not moved in the last 10 years. Only 23% of us have moved more than twice in the last 10 years.
8. Only a minority of us (27%) has ever had a home of any type built for us. We of the millionaire mind believe that it is better to purchase an existing home than to “get into the building business”. It is much less time consuming and probably costs less.
9. The profession amongst us who are least likely to have homes built for them are the lawyers. We have to wonder why they are so reluctant to build.
OUR VOCATION
1. About 1 in 3 (32%) of us are business owners or entrepreneurs. 16% of us are senior corporate executives. 10% of our group are lawyers. 9% are doctors. The other one third of our population are composed of retirees, corporate middle managers, accountants, sales professionals, engineers, architects, teachers, professors and housewives.
2. Business owners overall are the richest of our group, but senior executives are often amongst the ranks. Senior executives make up 16% of millionaires, but nearly 26% of the deca-millionaires (greater than 10M).
3. Nearly 50% of our wives do not work outside of the family home. Those who are employed are business owners or entrepreneurs (7%), sales (5%), corporate middle managers (4%), lawyers (4%), teachers (3%), senior corporate executives (3%) and doctors (2%).
4. About two thirds of us who are deca-millionaires report that their wives do not work outside of the home. About one half of those who do work only work part-time.
OUR EDUCATION
1. We are well educated. Fully 90% of us are college graduates. More than one half (52%) of us hold advanced degrees.
OTHER ASPECTS OF OUR LIVES
1. We are financially independent, yet we tend to live a comfortable, not extravagant lifestyle.
2. Many of us cluster in certain suburbs. We live in fine homes, but we have little debt. We tend to buy homes when many others are selling.
3. Almost all of us are married and have children. In fact, most of us believe that having a family complements, not competes with the process of building wealth.
4. We are generally self-made.
5. We vacation overseas about once every two years.
6. Few of us have Phi Beta Kappa keys or scored 1400 or higher on our SATs (no idea what all of that means !!)
7. Most of us love our chosen professions, or as one of the wealthier members put it “it is not work, it is a labour of love”.
8. Few of us found it necessary to get out of bed at 3 or 4am each work day in order to accumulate wealth.
9. many of us play golf and/or tennis on a regular basis. In fact, there is a strong correlation between playing golf and the level of our net worth. (Which one comes first but ?? haha)
10. We must admit that we are not into DIY tasks. Those amongst us who are good with our hands tend to have significantly less wealth than the average for our group.
11. We became rich without compromising our integrity. We credit our integrity with significantly contributing to our wealth. (hmmm….not that they’d ever admit the contrary).
12. We are not workaholics, we spend a lot of time socializing with family and friends. When we do work, we work hard. We focus our energy to maximize the return of our efforts.
13. We spend a lot of time planning our investing and consulting with our tax advisors. But many of us also have time to attend religious services and are active in raising funds for noble causes.
14. We believe that it is more than possible to balance one’s financial goals with an enjoyable lifestyle. There is a positive correlation between the number of lifestyle activities that we partake in and our level of net worth. (No hermits then ??)
15. Often our lifestyle brings us into contact with people who eventually become our clients / customers etc.
16. For many of our activities, we have found that the old adage to be true….the best things in life are free, or at least reasonably priced. It doesn’t cost much to attend your son or daughter’s sporting event, visit a museum, or play bridge with good friends. It’s much less than a trip to the casino.
FOUNDATION STONES
1. Integrity – being honest with people.
2. Discipline – applying self control.
3. Social skills – getting along with people.
4. A supportive spouse.
5. Hard work – more than most people.
Do those characteristics described above slot in with your mental image of how a millionaire thinks and therefore acts ??
The data was collated from full surveys from over 700 US millionaires. How valuable is that ?? I think most of it is transferable and therefore relevant for Ozzies ;
FAMILY
1. Median age is 54. Been married for 28 years.
2. On average, we have 3 children.
3. Most of us, 92% are married. Of those married, 95% have children.
4. Only 2% have never been married. Only 3% are widowed.
WEALTH / INCOME / ARTIFACTS
1. On average, our households have a net worth of 9.2M. The median net worth amongst us is 4.3M. The average figure is skewed way higher by those respondents who have very high levels of wealth.
2. Our household’s total annual realized income is 749K p.a. The median income is 436K p.a. Once again, the really high income earners skew the average up. 20% of us earn more than 1M p.a.
3. Despite our income, the typical member of our group hasn’t spent more than 41K on a car or 4.5K on an engagement ring. Neither our spouses nor we have ever spent more than $ 38 on a haircut.
4. One quarter of the group have never spent more than
a) $ 24 on a haircut.
b) 340K on a home
c) 31K for a car
d) 1.5K for an engagement ring
INHERITED WEALTH
1. We live in fine homes in quality neighbourhoods, but only 2% of us inherited all or any part of our homes and property.
2. Some of us have inherited a portion of our wealth. Nearly 8% inherited 50% or more of our net wealth. In sharp contract, 61% of us never received any inheritance, financial gifts, or income from an estate or trust fund distribution.
HOME STYLE
1. Nearly all of us (97%) are homeowners.
2. About 12 years ago we purchased our current home for an average price of 559K. The median for the group was 435K. We have all enjoyed good appreciation on our homes. The average value has risen to 1.38M and the median value has risen to 750K.
3. We generally have small outstanding mortgage balances on our PPoR.
4. Most of us (61%) live in homes that are currently valued at more than 1M. But only 1 in 4 paid 1M or more for their homes.
5. One in ten of us purchased a home in the 3 years following the big stock market crash of ’87. Many of us who did were searching for a foreclosure.
6. We live in a home that was constructed over 40 years ago (median age of house). One quarter of us live in homes that are more than 70 years old. Only 10% of us live in homes that are less than 10 years old.
7. The majority of us (53%) have not moved in the last 10 years. Only 23% of us have moved more than twice in the last 10 years.
8. Only a minority of us (27%) has ever had a home of any type built for us. We of the millionaire mind believe that it is better to purchase an existing home than to “get into the building business”. It is much less time consuming and probably costs less.
9. The profession amongst us who are least likely to have homes built for them are the lawyers. We have to wonder why they are so reluctant to build.
OUR VOCATION
1. About 1 in 3 (32%) of us are business owners or entrepreneurs. 16% of us are senior corporate executives. 10% of our group are lawyers. 9% are doctors. The other one third of our population are composed of retirees, corporate middle managers, accountants, sales professionals, engineers, architects, teachers, professors and housewives.
2. Business owners overall are the richest of our group, but senior executives are often amongst the ranks. Senior executives make up 16% of millionaires, but nearly 26% of the deca-millionaires (greater than 10M).
3. Nearly 50% of our wives do not work outside of the family home. Those who are employed are business owners or entrepreneurs (7%), sales (5%), corporate middle managers (4%), lawyers (4%), teachers (3%), senior corporate executives (3%) and doctors (2%).
4. About two thirds of us who are deca-millionaires report that their wives do not work outside of the home. About one half of those who do work only work part-time.
OUR EDUCATION
1. We are well educated. Fully 90% of us are college graduates. More than one half (52%) of us hold advanced degrees.
OTHER ASPECTS OF OUR LIVES
1. We are financially independent, yet we tend to live a comfortable, not extravagant lifestyle.
2. Many of us cluster in certain suburbs. We live in fine homes, but we have little debt. We tend to buy homes when many others are selling.
3. Almost all of us are married and have children. In fact, most of us believe that having a family complements, not competes with the process of building wealth.
4. We are generally self-made.
5. We vacation overseas about once every two years.
6. Few of us have Phi Beta Kappa keys or scored 1400 or higher on our SATs (no idea what all of that means !!)
7. Most of us love our chosen professions, or as one of the wealthier members put it “it is not work, it is a labour of love”.
8. Few of us found it necessary to get out of bed at 3 or 4am each work day in order to accumulate wealth.
9. many of us play golf and/or tennis on a regular basis. In fact, there is a strong correlation between playing golf and the level of our net worth. (Which one comes first but ?? haha)
10. We must admit that we are not into DIY tasks. Those amongst us who are good with our hands tend to have significantly less wealth than the average for our group.
11. We became rich without compromising our integrity. We credit our integrity with significantly contributing to our wealth. (hmmm….not that they’d ever admit the contrary).
12. We are not workaholics, we spend a lot of time socializing with family and friends. When we do work, we work hard. We focus our energy to maximize the return of our efforts.
13. We spend a lot of time planning our investing and consulting with our tax advisors. But many of us also have time to attend religious services and are active in raising funds for noble causes.
14. We believe that it is more than possible to balance one’s financial goals with an enjoyable lifestyle. There is a positive correlation between the number of lifestyle activities that we partake in and our level of net worth. (No hermits then ??)
15. Often our lifestyle brings us into contact with people who eventually become our clients / customers etc.
16. For many of our activities, we have found that the old adage to be true….the best things in life are free, or at least reasonably priced. It doesn’t cost much to attend your son or daughter’s sporting event, visit a museum, or play bridge with good friends. It’s much less than a trip to the casino.
FOUNDATION STONES
1. Integrity – being honest with people.
2. Discipline – applying self control.
3. Social skills – getting along with people.
4. A supportive spouse.
5. Hard work – more than most people.
Do those characteristics described above slot in with your mental image of how a millionaire thinks and therefore acts ??
