Thomas J. Stanley Quotes Page 2

“Have you ever noticed those people whom you see jogging day after day? They are the ones who seem not to need to jog. But that’s why they are fit.

Those who are wealthy work at staying financially fit. But those who are not financially fit do little to change their status.”

“Having a set of stated goals does not necessarily mean that one is committed to achieving them.

Most of us want to be wealthy, but most of us do not spend the time, energy, and money required to enhance our chances of realizing this goal.”

“How can well-educated, high-income people be so naive about money? Because being a well-educated, high-income earner does not automatically translate into financial independence. It takes planning and sacrificing.”

“If you make a good income each year and spend it all, you are not getting wealthier. You are just living high. Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend.”

“If you’re not financially independent, you will spend an increasing amount of your time and energy worrying about your socioeconomic future.”

“If you’re not yet wealthy but want to be someday, never purchase a home that requires a mortgage that is more than twice your household’s total annual realized income.”

“If your goal is to become financially secure, you’ll likely attain it. But if your motive is to make money to spend money on the good life, you’re never gonna make it.”

“In general, the longer the average member of an ancestry group has been in America, the more likely he or she will become fully socialized to our high-consumption lifestyle.”

“It is easier to purchase products that denote superiority than to actually be superior in economic achievement.”

“It is unfortunate that some people judge others by their choice in foods, beverages, suits, watches, motor vehicles, and such. To them, superior people have excellent tastes in consumer goods.

But it is easier to purchase products that denote superiority than to be actually superior in economic achievement. Allocating time and money in the pursuit of looking superior often has a predictable outcome: inferior economic achievement.”

“It is very difficult for a married couple to accumulate wealth if one is a spendthrift. A household divided in its financial orientation is unlikely to accumulate significant wealth.”

“It matters less how much more you make than what you do with what you already have.”

“It’s amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it. You’ll be surprised how many sales calls you can make when you have no alternative except to succeed.”

“It’s easier to accumulate wealth if you don’t live in a high-status neighborhood.”

“Millionaires are risk-takers, and they don't become millionaires until they're 40 or 50. It's a slower process than a lot of people think.”

“Money should never change one’s values. Making money is only a report card. It’s a way to tell how you’re doing.”

“Most millionaires generally don’t limit themselves to stocks, bonds, and related investments — they invest heavily in private businesses and real estate.”

“Most millionaires measure their success by their net worth, not by their realized income. For the purposes of wealth building, income doesn’t matter that much.

Once you’re in a high-income bracket, say $100,000 or $200,000 or more, it matters less how much more you make than what you do with what you already have.”

“Most millionaires never earn one-tenth of $5 million in a year. Most never become millionaires until they are fifty years of age or older. Most are frugal. And few could have ever supported a high-consumption lifestyle and become millionaires in the same lifetime.”

“Most people want immediate gratification.”

“Most people who are not wealthy think millionaires own expensive clothes, watches, and other status artifacts. We have found this is not the case.”

“Most people who become millionaires have confidence in their own abilities. They do not spend time worrying about whether or not their parents were wealthy. They do not believe that one must be born wealthy.”

“Most people will never become wealthy in one generation if they are married to people who are wasteful. A couple cannot accumulate wealth if one of its members is a hyperconsumer.”

“Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all sources except inheritances. Divide by ten. This, less any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should be.”

“One of the reasons that millionaires are economically successful is that they think differently.”

“Operating a household without a budget is akin to operating a business without a plan, without goals, and without direction.”

“Our youth are told that buying expensive items is normal behavior for affluent people. They are led to believe that the wealthy have a high-consumption lifestyle. They learn that hyperspending is the main reward for becoming affluent in America.”

“Self-employed people make up less than 20 percent of the workers in America but account for two-thirds of the millionaires.”

“The advertising industry and Hollywood have done a wonderful job conditioning us to believe that wealth and hyperconsumption go hand in hand.”

“The foundation stone of wealth accumulation is defense, and this defense should be anchored by budgeting and planning.”