Month: December 2004

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Millionaire Women Next Door

Once again, Thomas Stanley wrote a book I really enjoyed.  He profiled American women with more than a million dollars in assets.  Here’s what I learned about them:

  • They live below their means.  Their cars cost less than $30,000, their homes less than $300,000 and they don’t spend a lot of money.
  • They are small business owners.  They have lots of assets and not necessarily a big salary.
  • They have no debt.
  • They do their own investing.
  • They spend 10+ hours a week managing their finances, budget and investing.
  • They are very generous, giving lots of time and money to family and good causes.
  • Most people that know them would never guess they are millionaires.
  • They are happy.
  • They value being financially independent.
  • They enjoy their work.  They work for themselves.
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Americans are Marrying Later in Life

23% of women between the ages of 30 and 34 have not been married (up from 6% in 1970). Not a surprise.

What was a surprise to me was a comment from David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values who was quoted as saying it concerns him that some people don’t feel the need to ever get married. Why would anyone have a problem with someone not getting married? Do they think people that aren’t married contribute less to society? That they create problems? That their kids will be worse off? Why do they care???

Just for the record, I resonated with this quote:
“The majority of people still want to get married, but they see it sort of as dessert now, something that’s desirable rather than necessary,” said Dorion Solot, executive director of the Albany, N.Y.-based Alternatives to Marriage Project.

Link: Yahoo! News – More in America Putting Off Marriage.