Eight Steps to Seven Figures: The Investment Strategies of Everyday Millionaires and How You Can Become Wealthy Too (Hardcover)

~ Charles Carlson (Author) "There are some eight million millionaires in the United States..." (more)
Key Phrases: everyday millionaires, millionaire investors, could give just one piece, Uncle Sam, Wall Street, General Electric (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

We know some things about the millionaire next door--what kind of car he drives, how big his house is--but we don't know so much about how he built his wealth. In Eight Steps to Seven Figures, Carlson attempts to fill in the blanks by telling us the stories of 170 regular, middle-class folks who made millions by investing in the stock market. The steps he outlines are so simple that most people interested in investing already know them: Invest regularly, hang onto your investments for a long time (75 percent of the millionaires he surveyed held each investment an average of five years); use the tax code to your advantage by fully funding 401(k) plans and Roth IRAs. Step 4, "Swing for Singles," suggests investing in brand-name, blue-chip stocks when they look underpriced--something anyone who's ever heard of Warren Buffett can tell you. A couple other steps aren't quite so obvious. For example, Step 3 dictates that you buy only stocks and stock funds and forget about asset allocation. ("You get rich buying stocks. You stay rich buying bonds.") Step 8, "Limit Shocks to Your Finances," counsels you to keep your day job. (No day traders or Internet jackpoteers in this group.)

This material could be dull as dirt, but Carlson keeps it lively. He reminds investors not to overestimate their genius during a bull market. He suggests that selling too late is better than selling too early, if you buy growth stocks and avoid cyclicals. "If you buy right, selling late may mean making 'only' a 300 percent profit instead of a 400 percent profit," he writes. What's most fun, though, is following the investment careers--the big hits and big mistakes--of the 170 investors. You read stories of selling Microsoft too soon, of not buying enough Dell when it was selling for $5 a share. But these people all ended up millionaires, and when you put this book down, you will almost certainly feel that you can, and probably should, be a member of their club. --Lou Schuler

From Booklist

Thomas Stanley and William Danko struck a chord with their Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy (1976), and ever since, other authors have tried to duplicate that book's success by distilling even more "everyday secrets" of the rich but not so famous. Most recently, in Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth (BKL Mr 1 00], Ric Edelman uncovered eight strategies by looking at how "5,000 ordinary Americans" invest. Now Carlson, dividend reinvestment guru and author of the perennially popular Buying Stocks without a Broker, surveys a much smaller sample to find, coincidentally, eight steps to wealth. Hoping to inspire investment novices to take their first step, Carlson uses quotes from 170 millionaire investors from his study to support and reinforce eight very basic maxims. He profiles his participants and has them warn us of their mistakes before he advises us to set a goal, invest for growth, and maintain a long-term focus, and then goes on to spell out the details of his eight-step strategy. David Rouse

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Business; 1ST edition (March 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385497318
• ISBN-13: 978-0385497312
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,190,971 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding guide for everyone, March 15, 2000

By	little fish (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

I have been searching for an investment book, and finally decided to purchase this one. It is definitely well written, and easy to read, even for a 27-year-old beginning investor like myself. The author illustrated his strategies with real-life stories and historic data. This is a book for everyone who understands the joy of delayed gratification, and wants to have financial freedom. Some of its strategies coincide with my own: start investing NOW, establish a goal, buy only stocks and stock mutual funds, invest every month, buy and hold...and hold....and hold..., and take what Uncle Sam gives you. The book also warns you about the common mistakes investors make: acting on a tip/news, trying to time/beat to markets, trading a lot instead of investing, etc. It is very insightful and informative. I consider buying this book one of my best investments.

95 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good, September 4, 2000

By	Michael Mendenhall "september17th" (Monterey, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Before I read this book, I already mentally decided that it was probably full of information I've read many times before. Yes, it did contain a lot of information that I've heard over and over before, but I must say, I really liked this book.

This book is strictly about stock investing and stock picking and nothing else. It is about how to accumulate a large amount of money over a period of years strictly by acquiring and holding good quality blue chip stocks. That's basically about it.

The eight steps are fairly standard. The first step is just to start investing. Do it now and don't wait any longer. Even if all you invest is $25 per month, do it. The second step is to establish a goal. This is a critical step because many of us don't invest because we don't have a goal or more particularly, a reason to invest. Other than retirement, there's not a whole lot of reasons to invest, and that is what makes this step so important. Setting a goal is critical, and it should be more than just retirement. The third step is to buy only stocks and stock mutual funds. That's the whole point of this book. It's about why and how to buy stocks and stock mutual funds. The fourth step is called "swing for singles." This means stop trying to get rich quick by picking that one stock to hit a home run on. Just invest in good quality companies and don't worry about outrageous, quick returns. The next step is to invest every month. This is important because as the market goes up and down, if you continually invest month in and month out, you'll benefit from dollar cost averaging. The sixth step is to buy and hold. This is important because it keeps selling commissions very low and keeps taxes very low. If you buy and sell often, the government takes a part of the profits through taxes and you miss out on long term compounding growth. Step seven again refers to taxes, in a way. This chapter is particularly about maxing out the 401(k) at work due to its tax deductible feature and your employer's matching funds. There is also discussion about IRAs. The last step is about avoiding "shocks to your finances" by avoiding divorce, catastrophic medical bills and so forth. Obviously it would be hard to accumulate a lot of wealth if you're suddenly faced with losing half of it.

In terms of recommending this book or not. The following are reasons to buy and not to buy this book (in my opinion):

Reasons to buy: If you're new at investing and need some motivation to get started, then this would be a great book to start with. It's motivating and very practical. It doesn't take a lot of money to get started investing as the author points out. So, if you know very little about investing and are interested in getting started, this would be the book. Also, if you're a heavy stock trader, you might want to read the chapters on buying and holding. I took much of that information to heart.

Reasons not to buy: If you have been investing in stocks for a while and already have a firm grasp on investing, then you probably won't find a whole lot of new information in here. I've outlined the eight steps, so unless one of the steps sounds revolutionary, you've probably heard it all before. In this case, I would just check the book out of the library and scan through it for some tidbits of information that might sharpen what you already know. At the least, it is a very motivating book. It motivated me to invest even more each month than I already am.

I'm giving this book 4 stars. I was going to give it 3 because I feel in a sense that it is an average book. 1 star if you already have a firm grasp on investing and 5 stars if you know nothing. Still, even for experienced investors, I still found some useful information. Step two regarding setting a goal was very important to me. That chapter made the book worth it, and that is why I am giving it a higher than average rating.

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chuck Carlson -- Excellent Financial Writer, April 2, 2000

By A Customer

Just finished Chuck Carlson's latest book, "Eight Steps To Seven Figures". Real down-to-earth, common-sense investing strategies, just like Carlson's other books ("The Individual Investor Revolution", "The 60-Second Investor" and "Buying Stocks Without A Broker") and his DRIP Investor newsletter. This guy is the guru for long-term investors.

I recently read "The Millionaire Mind" by Thomas J. Stanley. Not nearly as good as Carlson's "Eight Steps....". Carlson gives the reader a lot of practical information on how people make money by investing long-term in stocks. Very interesting and useful stuff.