7 Traits of Millionaires, Do you have them ?
 

Or are you all Flash No Cash ?
http://money.msn.ca/articles/plannin...ng/P375709.asp
Just to get you started:2 cents:

Nice article.

In other words: the best way to gather loads of money is not to enjoy it. Great advice indeed.

weeee :thumbsup

I like to live a simple lifestyle, except I do buy daily espressos, it's my one vice. :( I always feel guilty about spending up large.

I have a friend who is pretty wealthy, but also rather miserly.Personally I wouldnt want to live like that:winkwink:

:D

"The millionaire next door"

Great book, live like scrooge
:glugglug

Great read JFK! :)

thats definitely a good book, and while i agree with the authors almost 100%, its interesting to note #7:

"7. They chose the right occupations."

that kindof negates a lot of everything else the book says. of course if you choose the right occupation you can become a millionaire. it doesnt matter how you live your life, how frugal you are or how flashy you are, etc... its a lot easier to become a millionaire as a doctor than it is as a teacher, for example.

i think most of the time, those who consciously chose an occupation because of its wealth generating potential are more likely to become wealthy. no one goes into teaching with the aim of living frugal and retiring a millionaire. they go into teaching because they love teaching.

just my :2 cents: and observations

Doctors dont all become millionaires, I have conversations with mine, whenever I see him . By the time he pays his overhead , he ends up making about $17.24 per hour Cdn. This is after all the years of study and hard work. An uneducated worker on the Line makes more than that. All the young GP's in my area Quit after a few months, because they run themselfes ragged for nothing.

That's just what I was going to say...

You can ignore 1-5, but if you've got

6. They are proficient in targeting market opportunities.

and

7. They chose the right occupations.

You don't really need anything else.

i agree. my doctor who i've know my entire life, is not a millionaire. he does well, but there is a ton of pressure to keep up with the joneses in that profession. also bitches about the overhead, and crazy hours. he's a GP as well. specialists can make far, far more money.

Interesting, a friend of mine's father opened a family practice about 4 years after finishing med school, and finished the first year with $260k.

i think number 1 is hugely important. i relate more to that one than any of the others. if you're spending more than you earn, doesn't matter how much you might make.

Whats the use being a millionaire if you dont spend it??? Just to tell everybody you are a millionaire??

I feel weird with my spendnig habits now, but I rather have soem fun then having a couple of million in the bank

before or after taxes? before or after living expenses?

words to live by! :thumbsup

There are about 20k people in Our region without a family Practicioner. My wife lost the last 3 doctors within a year or less. After they see the realities of day to day practice, they go back to school to specialise. My GP said he could make more $ by working a walk in clinic, where they can charge for everything.

Yeah, that's what I got from the article too. Interesting article nontheless, but it does seem somewhat boring. :2 cents:

there was a survey done in the UK a few years ago that compared professions with ordinary jobs and the earning potential of both.

It took a doctor something like 15 years until he earned more than bus driver, when you calculate the years training, expense of training and the time it took to earn the money. A teacher never overtook and a nurse was way behind. Some people do things for the love.

But that article seem to praise being a scrooge, I don't think going into debt by spending more than you earn is good, but I'm not leaving anything behind for my kids. :1orglaugh

Wise words. Lifestyle is very addictive. People find themselves in trouble when their incomes fall but they are addicted to their lifestyle.

The true measure of wealth is how far you've travelled in life.

-- old Filipino saying

the most important one:

1. They live well below their means.

Yeah yeah I know you would say "you have to choose the right profession" blabla. But you can work on that. You can WORK to make money. Now, not spending it and investing it wise, ther's the key!

I only do a few extreme expenses once in a while just do do something with my money. For the rest of the time I live very "sober", below my means.

what's the point of a mil if you live like a 50k a year shmoe?


money is for reinvesting AND for living well.

That's the same thing the 70 year old dude that Supersized my Happy Meal yesterday said!

interesting....I'm already a cheap-ass so its only a matter of time till I'm a millionare

Sounds like an exact description of my father. Sure, he's a millionare now, but as I always tell him -- you have the weigh the value of enjoying your money while you're young, versus the amount you choose to save and feel secure later on. What good is a million bucks when you're 50; and missed out on the best years of your life?

Maybe Im just young and shortsighted, but thats my philosophy...

:2 cents:

I've tried several lifestyles and have come to the conclusion I'm happiest when I keep things simple.

Good way KRL, keep life simple then you have no hassles

I hate journalists - they have no clue really... especially the ones who work for MSN

I have several school friends that are self made millionaires and live below their means...just as I do.

Not a single one of them has a college degree...and all of them came from lower middle class families. All of them were/are working class.

One taught school for a number of years and worked part time as a carpenter...and during the school summer vacation. Between teaching...working part time...living frugally...he had disposable money and invested it into fixer uppers and eventually obtained a contractors license...quit teaching and made millions in buying and selling fixer uppers as well as building new homes.

Another went to work for PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) not very long after graduating from High School. PG&E paid well enough that by living frugally he too had disposable money and he too began investing in fixer uppers (could barely drive a nail) when he started but he too is now a multiple millionaire. He was a millionare long before he retired from PG&E but continued to work for PG&E.

I won't tell each of their stories but they all have one thing in common. If you knew them you would never suspect that they are millionaires by their life style. They do not think that they are sacrificing anything because they live as they choose to live and thoroughly enjoy their families and their lives.

I too made my bones in Real Estate and began investing about two years into my Army career (which was ended after 12 years) and continued to do so until I recently sold all of my holdings and now have everything in mutual funds.

I too have a friend that is a doctor (he spent 20 years in the Navy and served most of those years with the Marines as a medic). His current income is something over $300,000 annually but if he got sick for a couple of months he would probably lose every thing he has because he lives like he earns $500,000 per year...and has been in bankruptcy before.

You will probably never be a millionaire.

That philosophy will undoubtedly prevent you from becoming a millionaire...and when you are 50...you will regret your philosophy.

The best way to enjoy money is to have it...it buys security and security represents a form of freedom.

my brother is like folks described in the article. you'd never know how wealthy he is by looking at him or his house. he spends money on the things that matter to him though. he loves good food, tips well and has traveled the world ten times over.

Nice:thumbsup

millionaires wont tip a pizza guy worth a shit.. fuck em :321GFY

cept for the ones who do.. a small minority

"The millionaires in this book were not born wealthy, nor do most of them have high-level, exotic jobs."

And you are? Because I like to spend my money I will never be a millionaire?? I would rather own shit that is worth a million then own a million on my bank.

scrooge??
http://www.gate-theatre.ie/graphics/scrooge.jpg

one thing you have to remember, most millionaires in N.A. will get there through the means outlined in that article (to some extent).

i'm guessing many/most in this industry will get there via other routes. what i mean is, i don't think you can necessarily extrapolate our group, to that of the majority of North Americans.

In anwser to your question...I will put it this way...I will not spend what I have in my lifetime...not because I couldn't but because I won't.

I never said I spend/or would spend all that I have, offcourse you need to have some money in the bank.

But I do think that you have to enjoy your money, and if you enjoy your money the best when its on the bank thats cool. I just wouldn't want to be you then.

Yup I have all 7 yet not the million bucks just yet anyway.. Working on it~
1. They live well below their means.

2. They allocate their time, energy and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth.

3. They believe that financial independence is more important than displaying high social status.

4. Their parents did not provide economic outpatient care.

5. Their adult children are economically self-sufficient.

6. They are proficient in targeting market opportunities.

7. They chose the right occupations.

Ahh...but I buy anything that I want to buy...or desire...and enjoy the fact that I can...but I am not into extravagance or the material. That is the key to the self made millionaires...they live as they choose to live and enjoy doing so...not as someone else thinks they should live.

may I ask.......Whats wrong with being 50 ??:Graucho

One of the dateline or 20/20 shows did a story on this a few years ago. Showed people with no special background, work and save and spend just enough to live and in a few years they are multi millionaires.

1 guy bought a crashed semi, and sold it for parts, which lead to buying and selling more crashed semis and soon about $10 million in just a few years.

Also showed a woman who was a multimillionaire, lived in a nice but simple home, used coupons and rebates on everything (or she didn?t buy it) and had made $2 million in a few years, they only took vacations every 3 years or something if at all.

It was interesting, but I agree, I'd rather travel and have much more of a life.

*shrug* you're probably right. I dont really worry about it either way and thats a form freedom in and of itself :winkwink:

It also helps if you enjoy what you do, because you are more dedicated. Its NOT a job :winkwink:

:1orglaugh , I read a news article about how to make a million, it just said work and save until your 65 in a savings account and you will have over a million when you take it out.

Real good advice, save all the money you earn for when you can't enjoy it :ak47:

i have all the makings of a millionaire...its only a matter of time for me

#4. Their parents did not provide economic outpatient care.

hahaha I actually know people who still live with their parents, but I have been completely independant since I was 18.

:glugglug