Pretty light, easy read with some interesting takeaways from reading his book. I saw this book at Target, and it was on sale, and I figured sure why not. Who doesn’t want to be a millionaire?

These were my favorite passages.

The book is called Baby Steps Millionaires- How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth and How You Can Too by Dave Ramsey.

I see his name around often, mainly because I have been listening to many personal finance books. He gave a lot of examples of everyday people and helped me change my mind that no most millionaires do not inherit their millions it’s more common for people who come from the middle class that become millionaires, and its actually through choosing to spend less. We have a vision that many millionaires are lavish, but the reality is that is far from how most people make their million. It’s actually through being conscious of their choices and not keeping up with the Jones that keeps you one step closer to being a millionaire. 

 

1. “The anti-wealth crowd can demonize “greedy rich people” and clamor for wealth equality all they want, but that doesn’t change one important fact. The ultimate flaw in the “wealth” is bad ideology is this: If you’re reading this book and you live in North America, you’re rich. That’s not an exaggeration. It’s just the truth. 

The average household income in America is more than $65,000. But let’s say your family is well below the U.S. average, and your household income is $29,000 yearly. That puts you in the top 5% of income earners in the world. No Kidding. After taxes, you’re bringing home right around $2,000 a month, but you’re earning more than 95% of the rest of the global population.”

The National Study of Millionaire’s white paper he dissected was a super exciting chapter for me. 

2. The average millionaire is 63 years old. So with patience and time on your side, you have a much higher chance of becoming one through the simple concept of compound interest. 

These were the Top 10 Degrees Earned in College

1. Accounting
2. Biology
3. Business Administration 
4. Computer Science
5. Economics
6. Education
7. Engineering 
8. Finance 
9. Political Science
10. Psychology

I was surprised to see Education on there because you don’t think of teachers being millionaires, but perhaps they live within their means. 

Another difference between the general population and what millionaires think is that Luck was the #4 reason why they think people become rich and #2 being inheritage whereas millionaires say that investment consistency is #2 vs #7 for the general population. 

Millionaires say that consumerism is one of the highest reasons why people do not become millionaires. The general population is unaware that consumerism is the last factor in their poll. 

Millionaires tend to be planners and goal-setters. They have a long-term mindset instead of trying to fit in and be liked by everyone. The folks with a flashy lifestyle actually do not become millionaires. The reality is that people with a tendency to be a showboat have a higher likelihood of filing for bankruptcy, which is counterintuitive to what they show on TV nowadays. 

Life long learners mindset is another difference that I enjoyed because I would say that’s one of my strengths, so looking at the values that millionaires have I am proud to see that the # of non-fiction books I read collaborate to making a lot more money because of my mindset. Planning for expenses and having better risk management skills is one of the things I’m lacking, so that help bring in resources and practice those skills to help me long term become a millionaire. The mindset to give is another interesting one as well. You would think that millionaires don’t donate as much to charity, and that’s what gets them over the one millionaire networth, but it’s the mindset always to give back and help others that get them there. 

The general population feels pressure to keep up with friends and family when it comes to money vs. Millionaires have a much lower percentage of trying to compare themselves to others. Also, being feedback driven where they can take responsibility for their mistakes, is a huge difference. 

Something that surprised me is that millionaires did not seek mentors as much as the general population. One of my interpretations of that data point is that they trust themselves more by being self-aware instead of relying too much on others to make decisions for them. 

It was also surprising that millionaires spend less of their money on groceries, restaurants, clothes, and everything, which makes sense in how they can have more money in the long run. I always thought that millionaires would spend more in general, but I know one of my friends is pretty wealthy and he is hugely price conscious, whereas when I go to Whole Foods, I rarely look at the price before buying something. In some ways, I appreciate the peace of mind where I can do whatever I want. Clearly, that has its downsides, but I do think there is something nice about not having to overthink all of the time, but that’s a minimal short-term way of thinking. Some balance would be ideal.

Overall I thought this book was entirely worth the price, and it will help you realize to become a millionaire is more straightforward than most people think. 

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