Have you ever driven past a gorgeous house and thought, “how did they get there?”. One author decided to find out — by knocking on the doors of homes in the country’s 100 wealthiest neighborhoods and asking the homeowners directly. The result is the book Rich Like Them: My Door-to-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America’s Richest Neighborhoods by Ryan D’Agostino (Win a copy of this book! Details below).
D’Agostino starts with the basic premise that anyone can glean knowledge from those who have earned enough wealth to live in luxury. Did they inherit their money? Win big at the track? Or did they earn their money in more conventional (and perhaps patient) ways? The result is a cross-country road trip to meet the owners of big and beautiful homes.
Here are a few things D’Agostino discovered when he knocked on
the door of some of the nicest homes in America:
Even When You Find a Sure Thing: Save Money for a Rainy
Day
D’Agostino tells the story of one family who discovered that a
major employer would be moving to their hometown. The husband
wanted to invest the couple’s entire life savings into land
adjacent to a proposed road. The wife was more prudent. She
convinced her husband to scale back the real estate purchases. Good
thing, too. The employer never materialized. However: this couple
was rewarded. They did not spend all their savings and they held
onto the land long enough for another opportunity to
materialize.
Luck Doesn’t Exist
As D’Agostino writes, “with time comes free money - it’s the
miracle of compounding interest”. Compounding interest is a basic
personal finance concept. But, it is the wealthy who fully embrace
and act upon it. D’Agostino tells the story of a woman who advised
her children to get in the game early. Whether talking about
stocks, savings, real estate, or other investments the wealthy
recognize that preparation (researching and then taking calculated
risks) will often lead to compounding wealth (over a long time
horizon). Sounds simple, right? But, the wealthy woman who stated
this was the key to her success also referred to something more:
patience. Getting “lucky” can take ten or more years of active
preparation.
Find a Driver Other Than Money — It’s Frequently More
Lucrative
There is an adage that if you do the work you love the money will
follow. Many of us know this isn’t always the situation. But,
according to interviews it appears that if you can couple doing
what you love with doing it on your own terms you can
be successful. One man D’Agostino interviewed knew he would have
better odds at tailoring work to fit his talents and interests if
he ran a small company. After years of working for others he did
just that and was rewarded handsomely. His sage advice? Money
cannot be the reason you enter a field in the first place. Place
yourself where you can spread your wings.
Overall the book is an interesting journey into the minds of people who can afford to live in fancy homes… and offers some insight for anyone looking to increase their net worth. Readers will enjoy imaging the homes and characters within and will come away from the book asking themselves what changes they can make to follow suit.
Win a copy of this book! The first five users who join the group Bookworms, Unite! and tell us what amenities their dream home would include will get a copy. Remember: every time you participate at Geezeo you have a chance to win $6,000 to pay off your debt or jump-start your investments!
