Customer Reviews

Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have read a lot of money books, and this one has nothing new to say, as the author clearly states in the beginning of the book. HOWEVER, I have never read a book that presents the five lessons in such a simple, easy to understand, way.

The author does not ramble on with story upon story of people who got rich like some of its neighboring books in this genre, instead he uses just enough stories to illustrate the lessons and the key points of the book.

My favorite thing about the book is that it is ethical. In these last few years we have seen some of the richest men in America put into prison because of their greed and waste. Because books like these are finding their ways into the hands of down to earth people, the rich population of America is becoming less greedy and more charitable.

Another wonderful thing about the book is its length. Although I like The Millionare Next Door, and I do recommend it, it is longer and more cumbersom to read if you are not used to this genre. The Five Lessons is very short, I read it all last night in four or five hours.

The author has his prioroties straight, he says, very plainly, that life is not about money, but that it is about God and family. He states that money does not equal joy, but that it can help you to be able to help others and to improve the world around you.

The book does ask you to contemplate your character, how you would handle wealth and the power that comes with it. It is both logical and reflective.

The only thing people might not like about the book is that it is so shockingly simple that they might not apply it.

You might remember the story of Elisha the prophet, from the Bible, who told the sick king to wash in the Jordan River in order to be healed. At first the king was furious that he was given such a simple solution but eventually did wash in the river, as he was instructed, and was completely healed.

This book is just like that, it is a simple answer, but if applied, it will work.

Wash in the river, my friends; buy and apply this book.

I really liked this book. But if asked by my mom, I'll deny reading it. Pretty much I just wanted to put in the 5 stars. I'm fifteen and it made a lot of sense to me. Which is saying a lot because usually I just want to spend money on movies and Abrecrombie clothes. But I do have bigger dreams than clothes that look awesome on me. And this book helped me understand why saving the money I earn will help me in really big ways later, like being independent and not needing to ask my mom and dad for money. Here's to moving out!

When I first saw this book I thought to myself what is Richard Paul Evans doing writing a book about money. But I picked it up and decided I would give it a try and wow, it was great! The lessons are straight forward, easy to understand and something everyone needs to read. Even if you think you know everything there is to know about money you will learn something new. The best part about the book is the seven golden words. Those simple words have saved me thousands of dollars. I have given this book to all my children and I highly recommend it!!

Evans provides some good background statistics, as well as some basic principles of becoming wealthy. However, he does not go far enough to make the information as useful as possible.

In '46 household debt was 22% of personal disposable income - today it's about 110%. At age 65, over 50% are wholly dependent on relatives, Social Security, and welfare.

"The Five Lessons" goes on to point out that less than 20% of millionaires inherited even a small portion of their wealth, while over 80% of those winning the lottery are bankrupt within 5 years. Thus, planning, not luck, is paramount. Evans goes on to state that millionaires do not have stellar IQ's - their average GPA was less than a B, and Warren Buffett was rejected by the Harvard Business School.

Evans' Five Lessons: 1)Decide to be wealthy. 2)Take responsibility for your money - don't delegate, pass this off to others. Know where it is coming from and going. 3)Keep a portion of everything you earn - at least 10%. Stop living on plastic, and pay the cards off. 4)Win in the margins - get extra income, and save most of it.

Considerations Before Spending Money: 1)Is the expenditure necessary; can the same effect be obtained with less money? 2)Is it contributing or taking away wealth? 3)Is this an impulse or planned purchase? Just say "No" to salesmen needing an answer "right now" - the opportunities are always still there later. 4)Do not equate spending with happiness.

The remainder of the book contains suggestions on earning extra income and sources of savings.

"The Five Lessons" would be much more valuable if it provided some additional suggestions with powerful long-term impact. These could include getting married and choosing a partner willing to earn an income (vs. stay at home), arranging low-cost or free child-care (neighbors, relatives), focusing on jobs with good benefits (pensions and healthcare), buying as much house as possible, minimizing monies spent on realtors (eg. use standard contract forms, limited attorney service), avoiding divorce, minimizing auto expenses (eg. purchase reliable used cars using Consumer Reports data, locate near jobs to avoid need for back-up transportation (ideally only have one vehicle), and buy only low-cost vehicles (not SUVs or luxury cars) with reasonable gas mileage.

There are three things I really loved about this book.
1. It was incredibly straight forward, to the point, and short enough to be consumed quickly and often.
2. He did not get rich telling others how to get rich. So often it seems like those giving the advice, made all of their money giving advice. It is nice to see someone who really made something out of nothing by taking a really common sense approach to the financial side of life.
3. I love his approach to winning in the margins. He recommends that you set aside 10% or more of your normal income for savings, but that you set aside 90-100% of what you make on the side. That was really a paradigm shift for me, because I would normally think of that as my play money.
I hope you get as much out of the book as I did.

The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. Sure it had a lot of common sense information, but it was very informative. Even so, you'd think handling money would be more common sense than what it is, but we still screw up. I thought his five keys were great. His way of conveying the information through stories and chart examples hit the nail on the head. My favorite chapter was "Winning in the margins". This chapter is so true. I underlined, highlighted and read with a vigor that I hadn't seen with many books. I'm not much of a reader unfortunately, but this book drew me in and I just had to read all that I could. I finished it in 3 hours, but I plan to re-read many times. After reading the book, I'll bet you'll ask "Is that the best you can do" as much as possible. Enjoy this fantastic book!

This book was recommended to me by my son who is college and it was worth every minute I spent reading it.

My husband and I have 5 children, 3 of whom are grown, but we have struggled financially since day 1, starting out in college, having 3 premature babies in a row, making bad financial choices.

I feel like with this book I can finally 'get a grip' and start saving for good things in life. I can start saving so we can do more to help others.

I found the book to be very focused on doing good with the 'wealth' you accumulate. It was not a self-centered, let's get rich quick plan, but one that will help you get your life in balance so you can do good in this world in more ways, in the ways that require finances.

I have read it once and plan to re-read it- marking key passages and taking more notes in the margins. The print out forms are invaluable!

The 5 Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth by Richard Paul Evans is short, sweet and to the financial point. Although Richard Paul Evans is best known for his New York Times best selling book The Christmas Box and not necessarily his financial prowess, this book is a positive and helpful financial guide.

Even if you've read financial books before, this one is worth reading. It's eighty-three pages of reading and forty or so pages of resources. I sat down and read it in a few hours. My overall impression - it reinforces the positives of building wealth.

Richard Paul Evans said he wrote The 5 Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me because he felt that fiscal irresponsibility was creating both a financial and moral dilemma. People are working longer hours, marriages are breaking up and families are spending less time together just because they don't know how to manage money properly. How can you argue with that premise?

The author doesn't profess to be a financial guru but still delivers top-notch financial wisdom. This easy and quick read book is filled with practical everyday motivational and financial reading. It is worth your money and time.

I don't want to give you the five lessons because that is something you should experience for yourself. I would like to share some highlights (paraphrased in my own words):

~ When you make a commitment to your wealth, avenues of success open up for you. Commitment is powerful.

~ Know exactly where you are now and where you want to be in the future. Be in charge of your money.

~ Pay yourself first. Build your nest egg strong and firm.

~ Develop and understand the power of multiple streams of income. Develop and live the millionaire mentality.

~ Learn to limit your expenditures. Have fun and enjoy your money but within reason.

This little book is a reminder to all of us that commonsense and money should always go hand-in-hand. The 5 lessons A Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth by Richard Paul Evans has quickly become one of my favorite financial books.

I read this book while on a business flight and passed it on to my wife when I got home. (Usually it's her trying to get me to read Richard Paul Evans books.) It's been a long time since we've been excited to start something new together. A couple of years ago I found myself out of work. Debt grew quickly and between that and college for our kids, we haven't been able to see a way out. But this book made sense, so we decided to give it a try. We used the "7 golden words" and saved over $200! We're sold. In addition, we've been on Richard's 5 Lessons website, www.thefivelessons.com, and are impressed. Thanks, Richard. I just might read your other books.

I found that Mr. Evans' storytelling skills make reading a book about money realities much more fun! He shares many life experiences and personal examples about why these Lessons work. This book is an important teaching tool and I hope that more teens and college kids will read it and apply these priciples today so they can have more peace of mind in the future. And while Mr. Evans teaches the basics about money, debt-reduction, saving and much more, my favorite aspect of this book is it's focus on spiritual motivations and helping to change our attitudes towards money.