My long time customers know what an avid reader (listener) I am.

Recently I completed Thomas Stanley’s book The Millionaire Mind. In the book he describes the characteristics of millionaires. He had me thinking about my customers and people like me who aspire to become a millionaire. Here are some take away’s which made alot of sense to me, i hope they’re helpful to you.

1. Cleanliness is next to Godliness– Millionaires use real estate not merely as a home to live in but they buy when its a buyers’ market, and sell when its a sellers’ market, They keep their home, deck and yard in tip top shape in order for their home to be sold to the right buyer for the highest price at any time.

2. Millionaires are very productive, efficient people, they do very little do-it-yourself projects because their time is better spent doing what they do best. The average millionaire earns $325 per hour, if it takes 3-4 hours to build and install a shelf, the true value is $1300 for a shelf you could pay someone to install for $200. This time spent building a shelf was a lost opportunity to earn money or do other things they enjoy.

3. Millionaires utilize people with specific knowledge. They realize there is a cost to learning and becoming proficient in a task or activity. Millionaires time is spent on things they are already proficient in. They have little interest investing the time in something they may never use again, like cleaning and staining their deck.

4. Only 30% of millionaires do their own taxes. In fact, there is a negative correlation of acquiring millions and do it yourself activities, lawn mowing, painting, plumbing (my addition pressure washing) D.I.Y. is substitute to building wealth. Wealthy minded people spend their free time doing things that will make them more wealthy- building relationships, community activities, golf, fundraising. Interestingly, a person’s age is not a factor, meaning younger millionaires or aspiring millionaires hire out services at the same rate as older people.

5. Millionaires are not “first price” sensitive, they are long term minded. Millionaires are value shoppers. They realize there is a price to getting the best value. It may be more expensive up- front, but the quality of the work will make it last longer therefore less expensive in the long run.