Hmm, let's look at the date his book was published... oh, 2007 you say? And his prime strategy for wealth building was "buying properties in undervalued areas"? Well, congratulations to him for being lucky enough to ride the bubble up to the top, but it still cheeses me off that he's selling a book based on an "anybody can get rich like me" premise. No you can't. That ship has sailed. Not that the saving advice is all bad, but in such extreme cases it's kind of self defeating. Who needs more money when you already refuse to enjoy what you have?

The saving advice is good, but flipping is not an impressive way to make cash nowadays. Keeping your change is brilliant. My BF and I used to pool our change from a week while in England and we could afford to eat out off of it once a week! LOL. I know 1's and 2's are different there, but still, the amount of quarters you get in a couple of weeks here could be just enough to let you eat out for a night! My Dad (the banker) has a huge jar for change. We roll it and turn it in.

While the savings advice is mostly solid I don't really care for the idea that it's a race to earn a million. It's not a competition. Your 20s and 30s are some of the best times of your life and not a good time to be practicing excessive frugality, IMO.

That doesn't mean that people in this age group should abandon all financial sense. Learn to enjoy life first and then learn to save enough to sustain that life. That's best achieved with a long-term plan that forces you to be diligent with your savings with the least impact on your day-to-day life.

"Hide money from yourself" - great advice that I've been doing for a few years now, and I do have a nice savings to fall back on if something were to happen.

Myself, I have 3 different bank savings accounts.

#1 - if different town, no ATM, no easy way to get money out - but I put $XXX out of every check - direct deposit - along with tax return money. So now I have money sitting around, can't get to it easily - but it is there for an emergency. (Plus I don't get paper statements, and try to to look at it often so I'm not tempted to dip into it.

#2 - Savings account - 2nd savings account did the same thing - $XXX out of every check - direct deposit. This bank is close to where I work, and I started this one as something that I could dip into easily when needed, but honestly it's been more like #1 - haven't touched any of that for a long time. Since all bills except for house load paid off - think in 2010 I will take 1/2 of this money for a vacation (if no other expenses come up.)

#3 - My main bank savings & checking - All bills & living money come from this. About every 2 weeks, I stop by the bank & get $200 cash out which is what I live on for the next week. I don't know what my PIN number is on my debit/credit card (which when used as a credit card deducts strait from this account), so I do use it as a credit card in many places, and cash for other small things.

So the advice to "hide" money from yourself - it worked greatly for me.

For myself, I relized I had no savings to back me up, so I started doing this with a small amount. I then slowly increased that amount by $25 every few months until I'm at where I'm at now - and I easily live of a fraction of my paycheck now with no problems. When I got a raise at work, the extra money went right into that #1 account - and pretended I had no extra money.

#5 keep money away from wife or girlfriend

@Willmeister: Would that make #6 keep money away from husband or boyfriend then?

@JWBrockman: Also since six million people have lost their jobs and they aren't being replenished, I resent the comment that you need to be "constantly working." Like, duh.

@veronykah:

Don't be silly, women don't have money of their own ;).

Easier ways to be rich

1: Make more money
2: Want less things

@veronykah: Nah, that's #1.

sure it sounds good on paper, but someday he will be rich as midas and say to himself 'youth is wasted on the young' because he doesn't have the energy or health to enjoy any of it.
balance.... save some, spend some on things you and your friends and family enjoy.

like heloise [heloise's household hints, etc] says 'don't save your good china only for special guests, because who is more special than your family?'

@veronykah: No, that would be #4.

"By taking out $100 a week and either stretching that cash or not going out once it was gone, he was able to limit entertainment expenses."

Now this is some solid advice. Preventing yourself from impulse buys saves immeasurable quantities of cash each month.

Not bad advice, but honestly it's common sense stuff that people pretty much already do.

@JWBrockman: And even then, there's the bit of luck involved in making money like that on property - even in the real estate boom.

After reading Fooled by Randomness and watching more of Robert Shiller's lectures, I'm getting more and more frustrated with the "you too can get rich like me!" morons. Because he's obviously forgetting to tell everyone his STEP #6:

SELL BOOK TO OTHERS TELLING THEM HOW TO GET RICH LIKE YOU

Ugh.

Ugh, it's all just common-sense stuff that I do already. (Well, except for the investing in real estate, which ain't such a good idea anyway.) I'm becoming quickly bored of finance books and blogs spouting all the same common-sense stuff.

Yeah I don't throw out my loose change, just like this guy. If I ever get rich, that will be my #1 money tip: don't literally lose your money.

But is it how to become a millionaire? NO.

For that, take some concentrated, high-risk gambles and hope they pay off. If so, enjoy wealth and write advice books. If not, you go broke. Most people who take huge risks go broke. This guy didn't.

This guy saved a million on a $40,000 a year salary by the time he was 30? Okay, even if he earned $40,000 *right from the time he was 18* and didn't go to post secondary (in which case he'd probably start earning full time income at age, oh, let's say 21) and SOMEHOW managed to snag a $40K a year job at that young age with only a high school education, and assume he paid NO taxes and took home every penny, that's still only $480,000.00 he earned in that time.
I'm guessing this guy either a) won the lottery, b) got a sizable inheritance, or c) is full of shit.
Even if he put away 50% of his income over that time, $240,000.00, without absolutely INCREDIBLE luck, there is no way he could have a net worth of $1 million.

It annoys me to no end when someone has that level of arrogance which completely ignores serendipity and believes (or at least makes others believe) that he or she did it all on their own.

Besides, as we have seen time and time again, fortunes can fall depending on whether one trusted the wrong person, or just due to a bad economy. I think one of the worst things that can happen to someone is that they deny themselves all sorts of enjoyment in order to save money, and when they finally have all this money saved up, they make one mistake (e.g. trusting Madoff) and *poof* it's gone. And then they have a lifetime of regrets with nothing to show for it.

@JWBrockman:

Tens of millions of peoples' voting is based upon the "I can get rich like you" premise.

This reeks of self-promotion and the empty me-centric mentality that is going to be the downfall of my generation (32) and those since.

Not to discount the good advice mixed in there, but there's simply no sense in making becoming a millionaire a goal in life.

The advice to take side work to make more money and prevent you from having time to spend is just stupid. Why stop there? Just sleep 2 hours and work 3 jobs...

Many in my grandparents' generation figured out to handle their finances: Work hard and don't spend beyond your means. (Send your 12.99 to...)

@MonkeyMonk: I just turned 49 and I'm having a lot more fun now than I did I'm my 20's & 30's. Of course, you have to stay in shape so you can enjoy things, too.

@MonkeyMonk: Best times of your life is very subjective. I have more fun and am in better shape as I approach 40 next year. The 20s sucked, you just get out of college and have real life hit you hard right up side the head. You get paid next to nothing because you are "green" to the job market. Give me experience and wisdom over partying and being stupid.

Step 1: save your change
Step 2: have a banker for a dad
Step 3: ??

You are forgetting the "buy a house in California in 1999 for $150k and sell it for $800k in 2005" strategy. So easy a caveman could do it.

@Walkallovaya: Or work hard and save diligently for a number of years. :)

@jstonemo: "Give me experience and wisdom over partying and being stupid."

Yeah...because that's what everyone in their twenties does. Thanks. I suppose working, going to college, and preparing for my first kid to get here in a few months is just being stupid.

Let's be realistic. Some people are idiots when they're young, and some people remain idiots when they are old. Life can be good at anytime, and considering how we only have so much time to live, I don't think we should squander any bit of our lives being overly concerned about finances and penny pinching.

My advice? Skip this book and listen to Clark Howard.

People don't realize that if you're not creating anything you are a drain on the economy. A flipper is little more than someone that raids retail for clearance items and sells them on ebay for 25% more. The purpose is to make money, no creativity involved nor value created. It's simply taking someone else's crap polishing it up and selling it to the next sap that comes along.

Anyone can do that...all it requires is luck. You don't own the right to call yourself a millionaire/billionaire if what's in the bank and in the driveway isn't from something you created with your own hands or mind. Bill Gates included. Otherwise...you're just a parasite.

@colorisnteverything: Like many people I also save my change but instead of putting it in a five gallon jar like I used to and spending a couple of days sorting it when I wanted to turn it in, I have a shelf with five baseball caps turned upside down and use those to presort.

I don't know why people keep giving me baseball caps since I look utterly stupid in them. Or maybe I just answered my own question.

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!):

Why do people want to live like a dog when you're young (when you CAN have fun) then be rich when you're old (when if you have fun you'll break your hip). It's reverse idiocracy and completely crapulose!

@Willmeister: Ie start microwaving bagels.

Aren't 401(k)s part of the problem? I'm terrified to have any money tied up in them.

@JWBrockman: The way things are now I think just trying to not let go of more of your money will earn you more than some of his strategies.

How much do people spend on bank fees, and creative billing practices intended to suck a few more bucks out of you? Probably more than they can save in pennies.

When the unemployment rate for 17-25 ages is 49% a side job is sort of a dream for many people. How about A JOB.

@cowboyesfan: oh ho ho ho, a caveman joke, you made me roflmao

"Through a combination of extreme cheapness, hard work, and determination..."

You forgot LUCK. All the hard work, determination, financial wisdom, desire, and brilliance in the world will not make you a millionaire by age 30 (or any age for that matter). Of course those things will improve your chances - no doubt about that. But at least 50% of it is pure luck. For every smart, hardworking, determined person who has made a million dollars by age 30, there are 1,000,000+ equally smart, hardworking, determined people who are struggling to get by.

The vast majority of it is luck. Being in the right place at the right time, knowing the right person, being in the right place. It's not all luck, but at least half of it is. I hate stories like this because they provide a false/misleading sample. Sample bias. To focus on one guy who is smart, determined and made a million dollars by age 30 ignores the millions of people who are equally (if not more) smart and determined who have not made a million dollars by age 30.

Now, if you think anyone who has not made a million dollars by age 30 is therefore not as smart/determined sa the guy who has, you're severely misguided.

@nstonep: I'm sorry buy why in the hell did you just call Bill Gates out?! He is the founder of his own little garage-based software company and he built it with his own hands to become what it is today, running the gauntlet of the likes of IBM to get there. Anybody who thinks he didn't work hard to make and maintain that is certifiable.

@cowboyesfan:

LOL. Well, it's just common sense. Everyone should have a banker for a Dad! J/K

@Hands:

That is actually a really good idea. Using a few decorative jars or bowls would work great for us girls who don't have tons of baseball caps around (I only have one and that is just for running!)

With the right attitude and circumstances you can pull this off. It is possible. You will never get rich putting all your money into a bank savings account. It will never happen. In March, when the stock market was crushed, the media said run for the hills. The world is ending. Avoid the market. Uh, no. To the contrary. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. I saw big name companies trading for $1.00 to $5.00 a share. Were they all going out of business? Heck, no. Could prices go even lower? Sure. But at some point, prices would recover. It I didn't start buying now, when the heck would I ever buy? But the opportunity was too good to pass up. Anyway, it was time to step up to the plate and buy. And buy more. All in. In 9 months, how does a 835% return on investment sound? People willing to take calculated risk when others are fearful do the best in life.

@nstonep: Luck is a term used by someone who doesn't take a chance and make something happen. "Oh, he was lucky." Uh, no.

@kaltkalt: Claiming luck is involved is a losing mindset. As the hall of fame golfer, Gary Player said: "the more I practice, the luckier I get."

@nstonep: "anyone can do it... all it requires is luck?" Uh, no. It requires taking action. There is no such thing as "luck". That is a word for the losing mindset.

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): No! That's my point. If he had just worked hard and saved diligently for a number of years, he would NOT be a millionaire. He saved what he could, and then used it to borrow way more with a risky mortgage, flipped a house for profit, and used it to borrow more with another risky mortgage, and on and on. If he'd tried the exact same scheme during any other time period in history (including now), he would have gone bankrupt. The odds are seriously low.

@nstonep: I get you, but, I don't think saving and proper investing is total baloney. It protects against poverty due to sickness and unemployment. If you don't need it for that, then it will compound, and you'll have more to spend later. For example, if you're in your twenties, you could go to Bermuda this year, or invest the money you would have spent on one trip, and be able to go three times during your forties. Then again you might die in the mean time.

It depends on what you want.

@catastrophegirl: "someday he will be rich as midas and say to himself 'youth is wasted on the young' because he doesn't have the energy or health to enjoy any of it."

Dude.. he's 30. He's got plenty of time to enjoy it!

@TechnoDestructo: Or the also-popular "I'll make everything free, especially for you" promise.

Dave Ramsey is free on the radio

@Alys Brangwin can't stop the beat: Charities and organizations also need volunteers the ideal still applies.

@JWBrockman: I must be really tired...I read "self-defeating" as "self-defecating". Whoops.