The Spender’s Guide to Becoming a Millionaire, book review

As a person on a journey towards financial freedom, I have to admit I haven’t read many personal finance books. Actually, the ebook I’m reviewing today, The Spender’s Guide to Becoming a Millionaire, by Ilona Dolskina-Reiser, is the first book I’ve read on the topic of personal finance. (I’m currently in the process of reading The Millionaire Next Door). Since I have little to compare this personal finance book to, except the first few chapters of The Millionaire Next Door, I’ve decided to review the book in three parts:

1. Summary
2. Information I found useful
3. Questions for the author

Also, the first person to comment on this post will receive a free copy of this ebook!

Summary

The Spender’s Guide to Becoming a Millionaire is just that, how to spend money and save at the same time, or “how to have it all” so to say. Ilona Dolinska-Reiser moved to the United States from Poland when she was 23 with little more than $10 in her pocket and a suitcase. Her intense desire to make money to fulfill her dreams, which she defines as what motivates goal-setting, allowed her to become the millionaire she is today. Much of the underlying financial theme of this book is similar to The Millionaire Next Door, save 15 percent of your income for retirement. Dolinska-Reiser admits that she likes nice homes, nice cars, and traveling. All of which she is able to do successfully because she lives on only 60% of her income; 15% is directly deposited into her 401(K) which gives her 35% for saving and discretionary spending. Dolinska-Reiser explains some myths people hold about money, why talking about how much money we have or make is taboo in our culture, and how to make sound financial decisions.

Information I found useful

Dolinska-Reiser’s book is based on her own personal finance experience, which means that many of the examples she uses and philosophies she holds may not fit with everyone’s thinking. For example, she has a personal assistant clothes shop for her. Her assistant bring the clothes to her home, she tries them on and what she doesn’t like goes back. I personally can’t see myself doing this.

However, I did find that the idea of automatically sending 15% of your salary to a 401(K) plan is one important key to becoming financially independent. Dolinska-Reiser also played a game with herself, she would pretend that the 401(K) didn’t exist. That way she would only count her net income as the money she could spend. This strategy could be helpful for others who are having trouble sticking that retirement savings away.

Another bit of information I liked was her decision making section. She made it simple, but explicit since there are only two possible choices for making financial decisions:

• Best Possible Outcome: say “yes” to a purchase if you are in a position to potentially break even or lose money.
  
• Worst Possible Outcome: say “no” if you can’t afford to lose money on a purchase.

Questions for the Author

Since I’m a relative newbie to reading and reviewing personal finance books, my questions may seem a bit  naive:

1. Do you think that some of the ideas, such as it’s okay to live in a big house and drive a fancy car, may delay spenders to take action and limit their spending? For instance, some people who are having trouble saving and reducing their consumption may see this as vindication that it’s okay to continue spending, that you can have your cake and eat it too. When I read the first few pages I kept thinking, “Oh. I can continue going to Starbucks. Great!”
2. What happens if a person has chosen a profession or course of lifestyle that doesn’t guarantee they will continue to make more money every year? How will this affect their potential to become a millionaire? Much of the advice in this book assumes people make more money every year. I know first hand that this isn’t always true. How can those of us who may have a cap on our income benefit from these tips?
3. Some of this advice seems in direct contradiction to The Millionaire Next Door. Was that an intention of the book? Did you think that  many people couldn’t believe that millionaire’s lived in low-middle to middle-income neighborhoods and so just didn’t bother to set financial goals? Or, is this book primarily written for consumer America, giving them hope that they can continue to spend, but end up millionaires?

The first person to comment will receive a free ebook! I will also be hosting a give-away later next week for an additional 5 books.