The Book Addict Reviews: Millionaire Women Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley

Genre: Women & Business
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars   
Borrowed this book from the library.  

 
In A Nutshell:
The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind had revolutionized the way that I thought about money--or maybe it is more accurate to say that these books changed the way I aspire to approach money.  No longer did it seem impossible to be financially independent even on the salary that I currently make and the salary I can hope to make in my current career (which I do love and I do feel utilizes my talents and aptitudes).

But those books did have a very strong focus on male millionaires, and as a single mother I felt some of the principles out of my reach.  So I almost jumped for joy when I saw Millionaire Women Next Door.  Financially independence now feels attainable--even for me.

Review:  
I had read both The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind a few years back.  But after some recent major changes in my life, I decided to rededicate myself to the goal of financial independence, so I checked them both out from the library to re-read.  It was during the search for these two books that I found Millionaire Women Next Door. So after re-reading both of the originals, I dove into this newer installment.  

Reading them so closely together, I did see that there is some repetition between the three books.  It makes sense because some of the principles that people follow as part of their plan for financial independence are going to be the same regardless of gender.  But the repetition did get to be a little boring in certain spots.  There is also a lot of quotes directly from the previous books, which is probably necessary for the people who started with this book without reading the other two.  But for me, it just further accentuated the repetition.

There is a large section where Thomas J. Stanley goes into detail about the difference between "Alpha" women millionaires (women who became millionaires after growing up in a loving, supportive, and in many cases frugal environment) and "Beta" women millionaires (women who became millionaires after growing up in negative and/or hostile environment).  This section really hit close to home for me and really gave me insight into who I am and why I approach money in some of the ways that I do.  He goes on to talk about being married to "Marginal Bob."  It explained so much to me about how I ended up in the situation(s) I did.

Understanding some of these things about myself have helped me as I focus on my goal of financial independence.  I can see some of the areas that I have to watch for myself so they do not get out of control again.  I have also been able to forgive myself for some of the mistakes of my past--with an understanding that I have to work hard to not end up in that same place a second time.

As a parent, this book has also made me think of how I want my daughter to relate to money.  As she gets older, I want to start to implement some of the techniques the millionaire women talked--such as open honest discussions of how money is spent as a family every paycheck.
 
Recommendations:
If you have not read any of Thomas J. Stanley's books, I cannot recommend them highly enough.  I have found them to be so informative and inspiring.  I do honestly believe that one day I can be financially independent, and when I start to doubt that I will pick these books up again.  The next book I want to read by him is: