Stop Acting Rich: . . . And Start Living Like a Real Millionaire

Chapter 8. Getting Out of the Poorhouse

	The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.
	--Confucius

About a month after moving into the home we had built, my wife and I attended the annual neighbor cocktail party. It did not take the attendees long to start quizzing me about who has the money in America and how affluent our neighborhood is. One woman asked an interesting question.

"How can you, Dr. Stanley, a professor, live in this neighborhood?"

I asked her for clarification. "What do you mean by 'how can'?"

Her response was that this was an affluent neighborhood. In fact, she stated, "Our children are the richest kids who go to our local high school!"

"How do you know that this is an affluent neighborhood?" I asked her.

"Look at the size of the homes, Professor."

I then said, "The size of a home is a better predictor of the size of one's mortgage than the size of one's net worth." Plus, the homes were not mansions; they were spacious at 3,500 to 4,500 square feet, but not overly huge.

I explained that I had purchased a lot in the neighborhood not for prestige but in order to be 10 miles closer to downtown and that I had made the purchase when the real estate market was at its lowest level. During an interview in the early 1980s, millionaires in the real estate business had told me, "Now is the time to buy." In addition, we had built our home and thus saved about 40 percent of what it would have cost if already built by a developer. I also explained that I had had my ...