Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
Do you ever ponder your financial future? Do you worry about how to save money when you are struggling to pay your bills?
David Bach’s Automatic Millionaire will help get you on track! He coined the term, “Latte Factor” which originally described everyone’s favorite coffee drink, purchased daily. Your factor might be something else, such as chewing gum, iced tea, lip gloss or movie rentals. What ever it be, we can all “squeeze” some extra money (a few $$$) into a savings account. Automatic Millionaire encourages the reader to pay them-self before paying everyone else, even the government (taxes). Save money for your future before you pay the taxes on it (through a 401K if you have the opportunity) or via an IRA if you are self-employed.
Everyone can connect to one of his real life stories about people he gave financial advice to over the years. Get motivated to re-evaluate your financial goals. My dad gave me this book as a graduation gift when I was 24. I didn’t apply the principles immediately, but once I got started I will never look back! It is never too late or too early to read this book. The rewards for implementing his strategies EARLY will pay off very nicely!
If you have excuses as to why you can’t save money, this book will help you move forward. I first read it when I was broke, right out of grad school with only a few clients a week to pay my rent and he helped me locate that extra savings to get started. 4 years later I am happy to look at how that account has grown & compounded. Its never to late to start, but the longer you wait the harder it will be. Because at the end of the day, its not so much the money you save, its the habit of paying yourself first!
The Perspective of Life
One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad". "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked. "Oh yeah" said the son. "So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father. The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them." The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are." Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.
