photo credit: HowardLake
I have a friend who told me, “Joe, I just don’t want to be a millionaire. I am happy like I am. Having lots of money just doesn’t appeal to me.” Although I don’t share my friend’s belief, I understand where he is coming from. Therefore, in respect for my friend and anyone who views wealth as something to avoid, I want to offer tips to help them stay vigilant in their quest for un-wealth. My logic is that this crowd should strive to develop an “Anti-millionaire Mind”. Therefore, using Thomas Stanley’s classic “The Millionaire Mind” as my resource, I offer the following suggestions on how to avoid great wealth.
1. Choose a vocation you hate.
This one alone should do the trick. It is very difficult to achieve monetary success doing something you despise. You really don’t have to pick and choose here; just allow yourself to drift toward a job that happens to be available or that offers a good starting salary. You don’t want to be like the average millionaire, who loves his chosen vocation. One such millionaire stated, “It is not work; it is a labor of love.”
2. Never plan your investments or consult with tax experts.
Follow the latest trend with your investments, especially get rich quick ones. And always, always do your own taxes, even if you find yourself in tax situations you don’t understand. You don’t want to be like those millionaires who spend time planning their investments and don’t mind seeking advice from a tax expert.
3. Never marry.
Believe that you can be a self made man or woman without having to share anything with a spouse. Forget that rubbish about “behind every great man is a great woman.” After all, 81 percent of millionaires believe that “having a supportive spouse” is an important factor in their financial success. Only 2% of millionaires have never been married.
4. Become OCB over your GPA
This one only applies to students, but developing that un-wealth mindset early is important. Make sure that you obsess over your Grade Point Average. This is a wonderful strategy because once you receive that piece of paper called a diploma, the real world will reward you based, not on that GPA, but on how well you are able to help your employer succeed. The average GPA of the millionaires that Stanley interviewed was a less than stellar 2.92. It seems that those who focus on grades can regurgitate information without needing to create common sense answers. Millionaires rated “graduating at or near the top of my class” as dead last in factors most important to their success.
5. Socialize extravagantly.
Make sure you eat at the most expensive restaurants, stay at five star hotels and take lots of European vacations. While real millionaires will also enjoy traveling, they generally live by the adage, “the best things in life are free, or at least reasonably priced.” They love to do inexpensive socializing such as attending son or daughter’s sporting events, visiting a museum or playing bridge with friends.
6. Don’t try to get along.
If your co-worker needs a hand, look the other way. If you don’t like the way she does her work, make sure you point it out to others behind her back. Undermining your boss’s decisions with lack of support, lack of cooperation and lack of enthusiasm will also work in your favor. Even not speaking to your neighbor will help. After all, 94% of the millionaires Stanley surveyed rated “getting along with others” as important or very important in their success.
7. Play the lottery
Millionaires do believe in risk, but only when their involvement is a factor in determining the outcome. In general, they don’t believe in gambling when winning is left to chance. Even playing bingo online offers better odds, so definitely go with the lottery. Only 14 percent of decamillionaires play in a lottery during any given 30 day period compared to 38 percent of non millionaires. I realize that this advice is counterintuitive to those who want to avoid wealth (why else would you be buying Lotto tickets?), but trust the statistics: playing the lottery is not part of the millionaire mindset.
8. Be unscrupulous
I realize there are many fine upstanding people who are not millionaires. But if you want to proactively develop this un-wealth mindset, lying, cheating and breaking promises will cinch the deal for you. Simple things such as missing appointments or talking behind people’s backs are huge factors. If you are in sales, make sure you do everything you can to get THIS sale, with no thought of cultivating return customers. Integrity should not be on your radar, because of the 30 most important factors for success, Stanley’s millionaires rate “integrity” as the very top quality to strive for.
Conclusion
If building wealth is not important to you, you are already far on the path of developing a non-millionaire mindset. However, if you want to make sure that wealth doesn’t somehow sneak up on you, following these tips will cinch the deal.
Readers: Surely there are other tips that I haven’t thought of. Help us out here.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Good list Joe.
I don’t want to be rich, but I’d love to have $200k or so in savings and mutual funds. that would be a nice place to be.
I had to laugh when I read this because I actually know a charming fellow who is very much like this. You just need to add “Be envious of anyone around you who has even the smallest degree of success” and you will have summed him up perfectly.
@Arthur,
Just curious: why did you pick $200k? Is that the nice place you would like to be today or is that your long term goal?
@Ingrid,
Good tip! Are you saying that the un-wealth mindset harbors jealousy toward the success they claim they don’t want? Hmmm. A bit of an enigma.
LOL!!! Really enjoyed the post Joe!
What about this Tip: Do everything you can to become a millionaire but right before you reach the $1M mark, give it away.
Cedric
Thanks Cedric,
Good tip, but one would have to track those assets closely or else become a millionaire by accident. Seriously, I like that plan. Wouldn’t it be great to have so much cash flow coming in that you could just give, give and give some more?
Good point Joe. To become a millionaire by accident. What a great problem to have!
Very hilarious post. I completely agree with the comment above in that you can just give money away if you don’t want to become a millionaire. That way you can help someone while maintaining your non-millionaire status. LOL
Joe, 10k would be nice to be honest. 200K would allow me to retire modestly or semi-retire at least. At this point in my life, it looks like neither figure is possible and retirement is just a dream. -Arthur
@Roshawn,
Right! I didn’t say it in my post, but this is why I disagreed with my friend. When I think of all the ways lots of money could help people and good causes, I wish I had more so I could give more.
@Arthur,
You won’t always be where you are in life right now. Don’t quit dreaming.
Great list! This has made me realize I need to be more careful, I do some of these things, yikes. I might be sabotaging myself.
Nice list. How about adding these?
-Just do the minimum amount to try to get by
-Give up the first moment you hit adversity
Seriously though, I think if you want to do something out of the ordinary (and becoming a millionaire isn’t ordinary in my opinion), it’s going to take some extra work. And you’re going to face some type of adversity. And I don’t say this as though I’m an expert or shining example of success. But working through these things are important.
Darren,
Thanks for the tips. Those two should do the trick!
I notice that they are exactly the opposite of the serious point you made: being able to work hard and sticking it out through adversity. Stanley’s decamillionaires agree. Of their success factors, “being well disciplined” was tied for first and “working harder than most people” was number 5.
Millionaire,
Thanks. I wonder when I write something like this (dead pan satire), how it comes across to the average reader. Still, it was fun to write and it probably did attract all kinds of readers. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.
Financial Services,
Thanks. The article was designed to make people think from a different perspective. Writing satire is fun, but I wouldn’t want to overdo it. When I do, I wonder what the readers are thinking….if they “get it”. I appreciate your feedback.
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