I’ve read dozens, if not hundreds of blog posts about what it takes to be a millionaire. I’ve read books dedicated to the mind of millionaires (here are two of my favorites by Dr. Tomas Stanley, The Millionaire Mind and The Millionaire Next Door
(By the way, those links are affiliate links. I’m not quite sure what that means or how it works, but I’m pretty sure if you click there and buy the books, my son’s 529 grows by a few quarters. 
I’m a library guy though, personally! He is a cute kid though, so if you’re feeling generous… ha!)
Yesterday I did the opposite of what I preach in this blog – I went to a mall! Actually, I went to two malls! But the credit card was away the whole time! I promise! My wife actually got two shirts but walked out with $2 more in her pocket than when she got there (she was returning something and got $2 change from a store credit). So we still kept the spirit of SAFTM, don’t worry!
I did quite a bit of people watching, too. I love people watching. It always gets me thinking – what’s their life like – are they happy – are they in debt. I don’t know why, but I always wonder what people go home to…. is that odd?
I also did quite a bit of podcasting (is that a word? and, if so, is that the right word for listening to podcasts?). Personal finance stuff, of course. That got me thinking, too. What qualities do I have that will help and hurt me on my path to financial freedom. What do I need to work on to make it?
Off the top of my head I certainly have qualities on both sides of the equation.
The Good:
- I work hard;
- I budget;
- I save;
- I invest;
- I shop around; and
- I understand the difference between “a want” and “a need” for the most part (ahem, baseball package – although I am not going to renew next year… painful as it may be).
The Bad:
- I work for someone else;
- I live in an expensive area of the country; and
- We have 3 people on 1 income.
The Ugly:
- I am partially at the mercy of others (but I take as much control as I can) on at least one cost; and
- The public schools where I live are supposedly terrible.
The good news is the “good” outweighs the “bad” and the “ugly” for the most part. But the “ugly” has a lot of zeros at the end of it, so that could easily wipe out much of the “good.” So far, whenever the “ugly” decided to meddle in my budget there’s been room (because of the “good,” of course.).
So there is my quick and dirty check up. I think I have what it takes (I’ll let you know when I make it. Hopefully this blog will be a little “prettier” by then…). I’ll have to work on the “bad” and the “ugly” as much as I can. Some of them I don’t see changing any time soon. And at least one (the single income) I would not want to change (except to the extent more than one income comes from me). The public school system is really the one that bugs me the most. That one I am most motivated to change (I’ll have to do this by moving, of course). And that will bring its own can of worms.
How about you? What qualities do you think you have that help and hurt your chances of becoming rich? Go ahead. List them out. (HINT: Smoking is an “ugly.”) In addition to your budget being a “hit list” of costs to cut, this list can be a great self-assessment and a “hit list” of things to work on.
So, until next time, put your credit card down and slowly step away from the mall!
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