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Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich (Audio CD)
by David Bach
| Category:
Personal finance, Personal wealth, Investing, Self help |
| Market price: ¥ 228.00
MSL price:
¥ 208.00
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Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Written in a common-sense and easy-to-understand manner, this bestseller is an excellent guide to personal wealth. |
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Author: David Bach
Publisher: RH Audio; Abridged edition
Pub. in: March, 2006
ISBN: 0739324268
Pages:
Measurements: 6.5 x 6.7 x 1 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BB00031
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- Awards & Credential -
#1 New York Times Bestseller, one of the acclaimed books on personal wealth, ranking #1,204 in books on Amazon.com as of December 18, 2006. |
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- MSL Picks -
Bestselling financial advisor David Bach brings us his proven, revolutionary system that in one hour will make readers - even those not smart about money, not disciplined or budget-minded - rich. The Automatic Millionaire shows readers how to change financial practices and financial lives, beginning with a powerful story of an average American couple as described in the Book Description. The incredible message Bach delivers is that the key to getting rich is by "automating" the way to wealth by "paying yourself first," using automatic funded retirement accounts and money market accounts to secure the future and pay for the present. In a short book destined for bestseller lists, The Automatic Millionaire introduces readers to a system that is powerfully simple, and automatically effective, a life-changing system that delivers. Do it once, the rest is automatic
In The Automatic Millionaire, Bach's keystone principle is to pay yourself first. This is not original at all. Stanley and Danko talk about this in The Millionaire Next Door. Givens taught this in More Wealth without Risk and George Clason is perhaps the best known for teaching this in The Richest Man in Babylon. Robert Kiyosaki repeats this idea in every book of his Rich Dad's series. Once again, it's not news. But how many people really do it?
I thought I'd give you one piece of advice, and it might be the best piece of investment advice you'll ever hear. There aren't very many easy ways to get rich. As someone once said, "Real money is easy to come by; it just takes a lifetime of work." But the miracle of compound interest is one of them. Over the last 75 years, the US stock market has averaged an 8% annual return. If you put $100 each month into a mutual fund, which mirrors the broad market, and started doing that in your twenties or early thirties, and the market averages the same rate of return, you would have a million dollars after forty years. You can do this with a deduction from your savings account each month so that it's automatic. When the market is up and over-valued, your $100 buys fewer shares. When the market is down and under-valued, it buys more shares. Over the long term, you optimize your purchase price for stocks and further increase your return. Over the last 25 years, the US market has actually returned almost 12%, so this would work even faster. This is a great and simple automatic way to invest. Unfortunately, too many even very knowledgeable investors don't pay attention to this one little investing trick.
The Automatic Millionaire is an excellent book to teach how to reduce debt and accumulate wealth. I really like the idea of automating finances as much as possible. Dave Bach has numerous suggestions in his books that seems very helpful. I especially liked the way the author lists practical "Action Steps" at the end of each chapter. This book is an easy read. The Automatic Millionaire makes your personal financial planning simple. You have both the time and the money to make your dreams reality. And then you automate it, and with peace of mind, you can move on to the things in life that you really enjoy. (From quoting A. Petrotchenkov, Russia)
Target readers:
Anyone who desires to attain prosperity and financial freedom.
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David Bach is the author of the runaway bestseller The Automatic Millionaire, which spent fourteen weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and was simultaneously number one on the New York Times, USA Today, BusinessWeek, and Wall Street Journal business bestsellers lists. He is also the author of the national bestsellers Smart Women Finish Rich, Smart Couples Finish Rich, and The Finish Rich Workbook. Bach has appeared twice on The Oprah Winfrey Show to share his strategies for living and finishing rich, and he is a regular contributor to CNN's American Morning. His FinishRich® seminars are the leading financial seminars in North America, having been taught by thousands of financial advisors to more than half a million people in more than 2,000 cities.
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From Publisher
What's the secret to becoming a millionaire? For years people have asked David Bach, the national best-selling author of Smart Women Finish Rich, Smart Couples Finish Rich, and The Finish Rich Workbook, what's the real secret to getting rich? What's the one thing I need to do?
Now, in The Automatic Millionaire, David Bach is sharing that secret. The Automatic Millionaire starts with the powerful story of an average American couple - he's a low-level manager, she's a beautician - whose joint income never exceeds $55,000 a year, yet who somehow manage to own two homes debt-free, put two kids through college, and retire at 55 with more than $1 million in savings. Through their story you'll learn the surprising fact that you cannot get rich with a budget! You have to have a plan to pay yourself first that is totally automatic, a plan that will automatically secure your future and pay for your present.
What makes The Automatic Millionaire unique:
You don't need a budget
You don't need willpower
You don't need to make a lot of money
You don't need to be that interested in money
You can set up the plan in an hour
David Bach gives you a totally realistic system, based on timeless principles, with everything you need to know, including phone numbers and websites, so you can put the secret to becoming an Automatic Millionaire in place from the comfort of your own home.
This one little book has the power to secure your financial future. Do it once - the rest is automatic!
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Chapter One Meeting the Automatic Millionaire
I'll never forget when I met my first Automatic Millionaire. I was in my mid-twenties and was teaching an investment class at a local adult- education program. Jim McIntyre, a middle-aged middle manager for a local utility company, was one of my students. He and I hadn't spoken much until one day when he came up after class to ask if he could make an appointment with me to review his and his wife's financial situation.
The request surprised me. Though I felt strongly (and still do) that just about everyone can benefit from the advice of a qualified financial planner, Jim didn't strike me as the type who would seek it out.
I told him I'd be happy to set up a meeting, but if he wanted my help, his wife would have to come too, as my group managed money only for couples who worked on their finances together.
Jim smiled. "No problem," he said. "Sue's the reason I'm here. She took your Smart Women Finish Rich seminar and told me I should sign up for your course. I've liked what you've had to say, and we both figure it's time to do some financial planning. You see, I'm planning to retire next month."
Now I was really surprised. I didn't say anything, but as I looked Jim up and down, I doubted he could be in a position to retire. From the few comments he had made in class, I knew he was in his early fifties and had worked for the same company for thirty years, never earning much more than $40,000 a year, and didn't believe in budgets. I also knew that he considered himself to be "ultraconservative," so I figured he couldn't have made a fortune in the stock market.
My Grandma Rose Bach had taught me never to judge a book by its cover. But something didn't add up. Maybe Jim had just inherited a lot of money. For his sake, I hoped so.
"WHAT AM I MISSING HERE?"
When the McIntyres came into my office a few days later, they looked exactly like what they were: hardworking, "average Joe" Americans. What has stuck in my mind about Jim is that he was wearing a short-sleeved dress shirt with a plastic pocket protector in his breast pocket. His wife, Sue, had a little more flair, with some seriously blond highlights. She was a beautician, a couple of years younger than Jim.
The thing was, they didn't act like middle-aged people. They were holding hands like two high school kids on a first date, bubbling with excitement. Before I could ask how I could help them, Jim started talking about his plans and what he would do with his free time. As he did, Sue kept exclaiming, "Isn't it great he can retire so young! Most people can't retire until they reach sixty-five if then, and here's Jim able to do it at fifty-two!"
"LET'S NOT GET AHEAD OF OURSELVES."
After ten minutes of this, I had to interrupt. "Guys, your enthusiasm is contagious, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I've met with literally hundreds of potential retirees over the last few years, and I have to tell you - hardly any of them have been able to retire in their early fifties." I looked Jim in the eye. "Usually people come to my office to find out if they can retire," I said. "You already seem to be sure you can. What makes you so certain you can afford to?"
Jim and Sue exchanged a look. Then Jim turned back to me. "You don't think we're rich enough," he said, "do you?" The way Jim put it, it wasn't exactly a question.
"Well, that's not the way I would have phrased it," I replied, "but yes, it takes a fair amount of money to fund an early retirement, and most people your age aren't even close to having saved enough. Knowing what I do about your background, I'm truthfully curious about how you could possibly have enough money." I looked him in the eye. He gazed back at me serenely.
"Jim, you're only fifty-two." I said. "Considering that only about one in ten people can barely afford to retire at age sixty-five with a lifestyle equal to what they had when they worked, you have to admit that retiring at your age with your income would be a pretty big feat."
Jim nodded. "Fair enough," he said and handed me a sheaf of documents. They included his and Sue's tax returns as well as financial statements that listed exactly what they owned and owed.
I looked first at their tax returns. The previous year, Jim and Sue had earned a total of $53,946. Not bad. Not rich, to be sure, but a decent income.
Okay, next. How much did they owe?
I scanned their financial statements. I couldn't find any outstanding debts listed. "Hmm," I said, raising an eyebrow. "You have no debt?"
"THE MCINTYRES DON'T DO DEBT."
They exchanged another smile, and Sue squeezed Jim's hand. "The McIntyres don't do debt," she said with a chuckle.
"What about your kids?" I asked.
"What about them?" Jim answered. "They're both out of college, on their own, and God bless 'em."
"Well, all right then," I said, "let's see what you own." I turned back to the financial statement. There were two homes listed: the house where they lived (valued at $450,000) and a rental property (a second house valued at $325,000).
"Wow," I said. "Two houses and no mortgage on either?"
"Nope," Jim replied. "No mortgage."
Next came the retirement accounts. Jim's 401(k) balance currently amounted to $610,000. And there was more. Sue had two retirement accounts of her own that totaled $72,000. In addition, they owned $160,000 in municipal bonds and had $62,500 in cash in a bank savings account.
Talk about a substantial asset base. Add in some personal property (including a boat and three cars - all fully paid for) and they had a net worth approaching $2 million!
By any standard, the McIntyres were rich. It wasn't simply that they owned a lot of assets free and clear (though that in itself was pretty impressive); they also had a continuing stream of income in the form of interest and dividends from their investments and $26,000 a year in rent generated by their second house. On top of that, Jim had qualified for a small pension, and Sue liked being a beautician so much that she planned to keep working until she was sixty (even though she didn't need to). Suddenly, Jim's plan to retire at fifty-two didn't seem so crazy. In fact, it was completely realistic. More than realistic - it was exciting!
"WE INHERITED KNOWLEDGE."
Normally, I don't get wide-eyed about people's wealth. But there was something about the McIntyres that impressed me. They didn't look rich. And they didn't seem terribly special. To the contrary, they seemed perfectly ordinary - your average, nice, hardworking couple. How could they have possibly amassed such wealth at such a relatively young age?
To put it mildly, I was confused. But I was also hooked. I was in my mid-twenties at the time, and even though I was making good money, I was still basically living paycheck to paycheck. Some months I did manage to save a little, but more often than not I'd get busy or spend too much the next month and not save a dime. Many months it seemed that instead of getting ahead, I was falling behind, working harder and harder to make ends meet.
It was embarrassing, really, and frustrating. Here I was, a financial advisor teaching others how to invest, and I was often struggling myself. Even worse, here were the McIntyres, who probably in their best year barely made half of what I was making, and yet they were millionaires, while I was falling further and further into debt.
Clearly, they knew something about taking action with their money that I needed to learn. And I was determined to find out what it was. How could such regular people have amassed such wealth? Eager to know their secret but not knowing where to begin, I finally asked them, "Did you inherit any of this?"
Jim broke out in a deep belly laugh. "Inherit?" he repeated, shaking his head. "The only thing we inherited was knowledge. Our parents taught us a few commonsense rules about handling money. We just did what they said, and sure enough it worked. The same is true for a lot of people we know. In fact, in our neighborhood, about half our friends are going to retire this year, and many of them are even better off then we are."
At this point, I was hooked. The McIntyres had come to interview me about how I could help them, but now I wanted to interview them.
LOOKING RICH VS. BEING RICH
"You know," I said, "every week I meet people who take my classes like you did but who are exactly the opposite of you. I mean, they look rich, but when you get into the details of what they really have, it often turns out that they are not only not rich but broke. Just this morning, I met with a man who drove up in a brand-new Porsche, wearing a gold Rolex watch. He looked loaded, but when I went through his statements I found he was actually leveraged to the hilt. A guy in his mid-fifties, living in a million-dollar home with an $800,000 mortgage. Less than $100,000 in savings, more than $75,000 in credit card debt, and he was leasing the Porsche! Plus he was paying alimony to two ex-wives."
At this point, the three of us couldn't help ourselves. We all began to laugh. "I know it's not funny," I said, "but here was this guy, looking rich and successful, and actually he's a financial and emotional wreck. He handled his finances just like he drove his Porsche: redlining all the way. Then you guys come in. You drive up in a Ford Taurus. Jim here is wearing a ten-year-old Timex -"
"Nope," Jim interrupted with a smile. "It's an eighteen-year-old Timex."
"Exactly!" I said. "An eighteen-year-old Timex. And you're rich. You guys are happy as clams, still married, two great kids you put through college, and you're retiring in your mid-fifties. So please tell me - what was your secret? You must have one, right?"
Sue looked me straight in the eye. "You really want to know?" she asked.
I nodded wordlessly. Sue looked at Jim. "You think we can spare an extra fifteen minutes to explain it to him?"
"Sure," Jim said. "What's fifteen minutes?" He turned to me. "You know, David, you already know this stuff. You teach it every day. We just lived it." |
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| View all 14 comments |
Julie Dunn (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
While this book is simple, I do believe that there are alot of people out there who will "get it" on how important it is to save while they're young. The ones who already "get it" are more than likely already older or had someone to advise them like a parent or employer. This is a good book for those interested in saving for their future but not quite sure how to go about it. It has some really good information. Even though I already knew most of it, it reinforced my thinking and made me re-evaluate how much I was putting back in my 401k. I would recommend this book to someone young (say 35 or younger) or someone who has no retirement savings. It would give you a really good start. |
K. Morris (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
This book has information regarding setting up your retirement, setting up an emergency fund, paying down your mortgage, and more. All of the technical information is available publicly. So why should you buy this book?
Because David Bach is going to motivate you and teach you how to do the above, and set everything up so it's automatic, so you don't need to budget or have the discipline how to do these things every month. He's going to teach you how to Pay Yourself First, instead of waiting until you've paid everyone else. He's going to give you real examples of people who have changed their lives by taking a few hours to automate their financial future.
How many of you know that you should be saving more for retirement, putting away money for a rainy day, your kids education, or a down payment on a home? Probably many of you. So use the advice in this book, figure out how much to save and invest every month for these things, and set your program on auto-pilot so you can forget about it. After a few months, you'll never miss the money your saving, because you'll never see it in your checking account.
There's nothing about getting rich quick in this book. There's no risky schemes or hare-brained ideas, only sound advice on how to save for the important things in life and how to do it automatically. There's nothing complicated. Everything's simply explained.
The naysayers (negative reviewers) say all of this is common knowledge, and that's true, but it's not common practice! I knew all the technical stuff as separate pieces of information. What this book helped me do is to is put it all together in a comprehensive plan and implement it. Simply. Automatically. That's the true value of this book!
Don't make excuses. It's never too late to start. Even saving some money is better than saving none. Do it now! I did. It's easy. It's actually kind of fun too!
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Melissa Niksic (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
David Bach offers a very straightforward and basically foolproof method for managing your finances in The Automatic Millionaire. This isn't a get-rich-quick book: The Automatic Millionaire is based on the principle that anyone can become wealthy by following a few basic steps and learning how to manage their money well. Bach insists that the only way people can truly get rich is if they "pay themselves first" with every check before shelling out money for bills, basic expenses, and trivial purchases. The idea of making everything "automatic" stems from Bach's belief that by using automated payroll deductions for things like retirement accounts and monthly bills, people won't be tempted to stray away from their budgets.
The Automatic Millionaire doesn't really offer much new information on personal finance, but Bach makes everything very easy to understand and provides numerous examples and scenarios that really drive his points home. I grew a bit annoyed at all the self-promotion for other "Automatic Millionaire" products that Bach has scattered throughout this revised edition, and the final chapter on tithing also seemed a bit preachy to me. Overall, though, this is a great financial guide for people who are ordinarily intimidated by money or are just getting started with serious financial planning. I think everyone will be able to find some useful information in this book. It changed the way I think about money and I've already taken a few steps to move toward a more "automated" financial lifestyle. I'm also going to suggest that my husband read this book so we can apply Bach's techniques to our collective financial assets.
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J. Richards (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-22 00:00>
I have never read any other book by David Bach, but after reading this book I don't see myself picking up any other book from him. There was nothing in this book that was new or any of these ideas were from him.
I truly don't believe that the McIntryre even existed. Fist he takes the majority of his ideas from Robert T. Kiyosaki (author of Rich, Dad, Poor Dad), such as pay yourself first and showing examples of the rat race. There was a special in a magazine recently with an interview from Robert T. Kiyosaki and he admitted that his "rich dad" was a make believe character and from the looks of this book and how he even has him in the introduction about this past book and he mentions him at the end of Acknowledgements. I believe they both have the same technique or making up characters to better support their ideas or in this case other people's ideas. Also he wrote a few book first and never mentioned the McIntryre and now all of a sudden they changed his life and they were the most important thing he ever learned. Personally sounds like a made up character to justify his points.
Most of the book is about having things done automatically, hence the title "automatic millionaire". He has a chapter dedicated to having your 401k plan done automatically and personally at my job and most people I know it's always done automatically. It's taken out before they get their paycheck. If people don't contribute that's up to them, but I've never worked with anybody who didn't know what a 401k plan is if it's offered at their job and that they can do it automatically.
The "latte factor" has some grounds, but it's over stated. I do believe that you shouldn't blow your money and spend it on something like for example a latte versus making coffee at home before going to work. Bach only brings up on what people spend money, but not alternatives, which means he only factors in what it would cost for something and not what the alternative would cost. This is where there's a book that I would recommend called "all your worth", this book has a section dedicated called count your dollars and not your pennies.
The authors of the book basically tell you most people count their penny "the latte factor", yet they aren't looking at dollars. They are paying too much for life insurance, car insurance, home insurance and their mortgage is probably too high of a rate for too many years. Basically counting your dollars and not your pennies explains how your "qualify of life" would basically remain the same, but most Americans are paying way too much for big ticket things. So the book explains you should count your dollars, because these are more important than these little pennies. I'm already saving 40 dollars a month and my parents are saving 200 dollars a month, which doing some of the things that's recommend in the book. This is why I'm not a big fan of the "latte factor", because it's important not to blow your money, but you need to look at big ticket items first and then small ticket items.
I can't think of one good reason to recommend this book. Maybe if you are financially clueless and you don't know where to start, but even then I'm sure some of those dummies books would be a better start than this book.
I'll give it two stars incase you've never heard of a 401k plan before or biweekly mortgage payments and you need some advice it's better than nothing.
(A negative review. MSL remarks.)
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