Customer Reviews

The Millionaire Kit: Surprisingly Simple Strategies for Building Real Wealth

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this book easy to understand and a surprisingly quick to read. I don't really want to be a millionaire for the sake of being rich, but it's nice to know how to plan it right, and retire in 20 yrs and never work again.

Some of the ideas were definitely not tradional beliefs (like, it may make more sense to rent a house than buy one) But It makes perfect sense when you see the big picture.

The title is a pretty cheesy, and not really what the book is about... it should really be called "How to become financially independent through saving and investing"

Most people have access to a 401K plan.. which is basically what the book focusses on, but there's lots of other good info on how to save on insurance and a scary "Cost of Habit" calcualtor that tells you how much money you could make in 20 years if you quit drinking espresso... or quit smoking... Yikes!

Overall it was very informative, and helpful for just about anyone who is interested in knowing how and where to save your money, and how to turn it into a nice little nestegg.

Although the title of this book is rather trite the content is not. Nelson does a great job of weighing the various pros and cons of common financial decisions. (I recently took his advice and began putting a small 'windfall' into my 403b account - doubling the monthly amount taken out of my salary. And just like he stated with taxes being reduced my paycheck was NOT reduced to the extent that I thought it would be. I also learned much about adjusted mortgage rates. Although sometimes Nelson's advice is controversial he lays it out in a logical and convincing format. I particularly enjoyed the dicussion about what retirement is and isn't. It's a simple cliche', but money doesn't buy happiness -- it just helps to deal with certain stressors better! By the way the CD-ROM is great. Very practical tools for strategizing scenarios with your money. Buy this book!!

I really like this book - it is complete and easy to read. The concepts described are straightforward and organized so the book can be read over many sittings, if desired, without losing the big picture. The emphasis is "bit-by-bit" saving and investing ideas combined with interest compounding to build wealth.

I enjoyed the down-to-earth advice and the excellent CD-ROM worksheets for calculating what I want and what I need to stash away. Good suggestions for finding more cash by simplifying life choices.

The author states at the end of his book that he is a millionaire and that he got that way by following his own advise. I guess that means he was heavy into index mutual funds since that is what his kit promotes. I'd be willing to bet that he's no longer the proud owner of a million-dollar portfolio after the dive the markets have taken since this book was published.

To his credit, he advises to begin to shift assets and build a bond ladder when you get within ten years of your retirement date. If he, himself, was eleven years out, he will probably have to move his planned retirement date well out into the future.

Pushing the stock market is an easy book to write. Discounting real estate, as the author does, is also a trend among the current crop of market pushers, but I think it does a disservice to their readers to advise people to rent rather than buy your principal residence or to not invest in equity by prepaying your mortgage.

No one I know has built wealth via the stock market. On the other hand, I personally know several who did so investing in residential real estate. And while the market has gone south for the last two years, real estate is still steady as a rock.

Rental real estate is real work, but so is the daily grind of earning the money to invest in the market. Common sense sweat-equity investing is still the most certain road to financial independence.

I invest in the market but my wealth is accumulating in real estate.