22 Money Secrets Your Millionaire Neighbor Won't Tell You

First off since it's Memorial Day, lets start this by thanking all of our current members of the U.S. armed forces for their service, and by taking the time to remember the sacrifice of those who perished on the battlefield so that we could be free to write and read blog posts, barbecue outdoor, spend time with family, criticize the President, whatever, better than most other places around the world.  And that's a fact people!

With Retired U.S. Marines, Col., George Navadel (right) and Maj., Robert Wooten--Vietnam Vets.  My two favorite teacher substitutes, and high-stakes testing coordination assistants at school.  Will miss working with them very much.

An article on Time.com/Money, 19 Secrets Your Millionaire Neighbor Won't Tell You leaves no dispute about its claim as being one of their classics.  Still, as a millionaire neighbor, I felt the need to not only dispute some of the so-called, "secrets," but also add a few of my own.  

Starting with number one...I know...it's like I didn't even give the article a chance, right?  Nothing I can do about it.  Number one states that, "you're better off if you strive to be anonymously rich rather than deceptively poor," and I would agree that this is the way to go for most people:  People who want to be rich, not wealthy.  And there is a huge difference.  See: The Difference Between Being Rich and Being Wealthy.  I don't want to simply be rich.  I want to pursue a legacy of wealth.  Hiding in my home does me no good.  In fact, it is detrimental to my goal.  If I can't tell people what I'm doing, what I'm up to, and so on, I won't be able to leverage my time, money, or authority, OR gain connections, build an engaged and loyal audience, etc.  So if you're a millionaire neighbor, you must make a choice; get rich slow and anonymously, or make plenty of noise shooting for the stars and wealth.

Number three is just plain ridiculous.  Folgers instead of Starbucks?  A ten-year-old economy sedan?  Nothing against Folgers, but Starbucks is delicious!  Time.com/Money you know there's a place called, Costco, where you can buy things in bulk, right?  And yes, you could also buy a giant-size jar of Folgers...but why?  For the love of all that is holy about coffee beans!  I have never driven a ten-year-old economy sedan, and never will.  It has, "I got no game with the ladies," written all over it.  And getting one now that I'm married is like telling my beautiful wife, Jessica, the dating is over.  Not gonna happen.  Instead I currently drive an eight-year-old (paid off four years ago) red Honda Civic EX coupe with illegal tinted front windows so I can be profiled, pulled over, and ticketed whenever I want!  And yes ladies...it's stick shift. 

Numbers seven and eight.  If you've followed this blog long enough, you know that this is what this blog is all about.  And number 9...I just blogged about this on the 16th of this month: I'll Make You Frugal Without A Budget.

With respect to number 18, yea...we would be impressed with your over-priced luxury car and McMansion if you used your assets to pay for them, and are able financially to enjoy the good things in life.  No one is giving out awards to families who drive ten-year-old economy sedans (nothing wrong with this, of course) and live in tiny homes.  In fact, you should go over this neighbor's house and ask them what they do before judging them.

After reading these 19 "secrets," I thought about some of the things I do to fuel my wealth-building that were not mentioned in the Time.com/Money article.  Here we go:

20.  Whether they live in a McMansion or a modest-sized home, a millionaire neighbor who has chosen being wealthy over being rich will NOT deck out that home.  Other than necessary repairs, and maintenance, an occasional paint job is the only way I upgrade my home.  The water conservative flora in my back yard?  Free, given to me by friends.  Instead of spending thousands on kitchen remodeling, flooring, building a dream backyard, and so on, I devote this money to investing and building my business.  We don't fall in love with our home or our neighborhood (though we may really like it).  Your home is not an asset!

21.  We, the millionaire next door, wait for YOU, the spender, to have a garage or yard sale and go buy the things we need for pennies on the dollar, from YOU.  Our clothes are from all them nice retailers, but we didn't get them there.  We only have to walk a few feet to replenish our wardrobes.

22.  We limit the number of parties we host.  And if we do host a barbecue or some Holiday get-together, we are not shy about asking you to bring food or drinks.  We don't care about our social status with friends because they're our friends!  We also love it when our neighbors host parties and don't ask us to bring anything.  Free food!  We do invariably bring something, but it's something we selected and decided to spend a certain amount of money on.  

There it is.  19 plus three more "secrets" your millionaire neighbor won't tell you.  The biggest myth of all is in the headline--that your neighbor has some sort of agenda to keep what really isn't a secret from you.  These aren't secrets, but things we know well.  And if you actually go around meeting your neighbors, develop a relationship with them as things used to be in the 20th century, there wouldn't be all of this secret financial spying going on.  Never underestimate your neighbors, and what they can offer you in becoming rich or wealthy know-how.  That should be number 23!

This has been Common Core Money blog, penned by yours truly, Carlos.  I invite you to come back to my home, this blog, in the future.  You are always welcomed!