I shall begin this year’s first book review with this book, which I felt is one of the best personal finance books I’ve read so far. Well, one of the reasons it’s that good was because it didn’t have many calculations and maths :-P

The title might sound a bit intimidating and made it sounds like another one of those books that tries very hard to get your attention from the bookstore’s shelf. Of course, who wouldn’t take a second look when it mentioned “Millionaire“. However, skeptism aside, the authors will indeed show you the way to become one, with proven facts and figures and all you have to do is to actually believe you yourself can do what it takes.

I am not really a fan of statistics/surveys but the authors had included many tables and diagrams from many years of experience in personal finance to illustrate their points. These facts definitely does help to provide a more believable picture though I am already quite convinced with the principles without the numeric examples. The only drawbacks for me personally is that these studies are not based on my country folks.

Here are a few main principles the authors preach throughout the book.

Idea #1: Millionaires Doesn’t Mean Living Like a King
Millionaires are just average individuals in appearances. It’s their habits and lifestyles that puts them far ahead in terms of ringgit and sen. However, we don’t normally notice the little things that they do everyday that help them to achieve their financial objectives. These little habits require lots of hardwork, a will of steel and an unchallenged self-discipline. These qualities are normally absent in most of us when it comes to dealing with the content of our wallets.

Idea #2: Frugal is Key
Enough said. If you have a bigger outflow then your inflow, you can forget about accumulating anything. But even then, the authors put in many paragraphs just to illustrate this very simple point, which I think it’s worth the papyrus since many of us still don’t seem to quite get this over-simplistic point.

High income DOES NOT correlate with high wealth accumulation.

Many of our financial situations are not exactly in very good shape. Like a leaking pipe, we tried to convince ourselves that as longs the taps dripping, we are fine- ignoring the fact that the leaking system is going to cost us a fortune in the long run.

It’s even worst when we don’t even realize that there’s a leak in the first place, and only discovering it when the supply is cut.

Don’t worry, the authors provide “plumbing” tricks to solve the leaks, provided you are read to start getting your hands dirty.

Idea #3: UAW and PAW Camps
There are generally 2 main camps in the race to get our of the rat race. The UAWs- Under Accumulators of Wealth are, as the name suggests, the majority of the population. Isn’t it great that we are with the majority?

The PAWs are the Prodiguous Accumulators of Wealth, and is the rare species of the rat racers.

It’s not difficult to identify yourself with either one of these camps, and the sooner you realize where you stand, the easier you can start making the next step.

Idea #4: You Ain’t What You Drive
How many times have we heard this? Yeah, it’s all glamourous and gives you a better edge in picking up chicks, but the readers are better-off (financially) heeding the advices given in the book. Also, you can find out the many reasons why many Millionaires themselves don’t drive BIG cars.

Even the way you purchase a car can affect your financial objectives, and the authors discuss in great lengths on how Millionaires shop for a car.

On a personal note, being a fellow Malaysian, I think the issues and problems of car ownership is even more detrimental in your path to financial freedom. The car you drive CAN deny you from the light at the end of the credit tunnel. We have one of the most expensive car ownership deal on this planet, and yet it’s all too easy to get a 9-year loan for a car “ownership”.

Idea #5: Economic Out-patient Care (EOC)
This is one of the new term I have come across, and one of the most important concept of wealth habits documented by the authors.

EOC generally means pocket money given by parents to their next generations. It’s monetary gifts that doesn’t require the children to work hard for it. It’s “God-sent”. This is also where inheritance plays a very important role in the making of a Millionaire. As repeated many times throughout the book, Millionaires can be made in a single-generation. A self-made millionaire is one that doesn’t rely on any EOC from the previous generation, or they don’t need the EOC even if their parents chose to give them. This is one of the main reason they can become very efficient financially- they learn that a stable debt-free, financially secured lifestyle comes with proper planning and sacrifices.

As to why children that receives such EOC treatments will normally end up being the weaker wealth generator. There’s a Chinese saying that goes “Fortune does not flow pass to the 3rd generation”. The authors proves the statement scientifically.

Idea #6: Career Choices
Though I have never questioned that the career paths you take makes a difference in your journey for accumulating wealth, but I never thought that some decisions made in your career path can have such huge impact in your financial goals. I am not implying your current job is not paying you decently and that you should quit right away if your profession isn’t listed by the authors, but it won’t do you much harm to find out from the studies the authors made, and decide for yourself which part of the income-earning category you want to be in. Passion aside, you need to conciously make your career choice.

Besides the points mentioned, the authors have put in a few simple-to-use equations to help you get started in calculating your finanical health. This book is important to you if you really want to understand how you can free your ankles from the shackles of debts, and how you can start moving towards that lifestyle you have been dreaming of. Of course, I don’t think that just by reading this book you can turn you into a millionaire overnight, but use the advices given in the book as a starting point. I find myself constantly referring back to some of the points mentioned in the book to resolve some of the financial issues I face daily.

This book cost only less than RM 60.00 but the advices it contains can literally save you a “million” ringgit! If you are too lazy to go to the bookstore, you can always get it from Amazon.

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