5 Responses to “Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen”

1. Dark Mechanicus JSG says:

   November 22, 2009 at 4:26 pm

   Or, “How I learned to LOVE pinching pennies & clipping coupons!”

   Now there’s a title to stir the very hottest of boiler-fires in this coldest of Bounders, oh yes: “Millionaire Women Next Door”! Yummy! The title conjures up visions of 90-something tottering dowagers, having crumb-cake brought to them on silver platters by decrepit butlers, toddling about the mahogany-panelled passages of O Altitudo, shepherded by manservants and maids from Library to Sunroom to Palatial Dining Hall to the Rolls-Royce (gassed-up & ready to rumble by the handy valet) for the Sunday drive in the country.

   Think of it: a ninety-something bat with the ferocious desire to rut like a crazed Gambian Howler Monkey, a creature with a very weak ticker, a short life-span, millions of dividend-paying bluechips and tax-free muni bonds piled up in her hoard, and me—first in line in her will!

   Or even a chummier prospect: the Millionaire Woman Next Door who primped, nipped, tucked, & aerobicycled her way to bodily perfection, all of 35, hooked up with some venerable drooling Texas Oil Tycoon-Geezer, waited for him to drop, and now is positively rolling in the Shekkels and ready to party!

   Alas, those fragrant, lustrous visions are for another writer and another book: this is a Thomas Stanley tome, Stanley being the scholarly fellow who pulled back the frayed shower-curtain on America’s eremite wealthy only to reveal that mysterious class wasn’t comprised of Robber Barons pulling their 500-foot nuclear powered megayachts into Mediterranean Ports, oh nosirree: they were plain folk, Good Reader, just like you and me!

   Only they saved, live frugal lives, clipped coupons, ate catfood from a tin, scrounged, skimped, pinched the pennies until the Little Coppery Abrahams screamed in pain, maybe even splurged every 3 months on a 1-course meal at Mickey D’s for the entire clan!

   And, of course, according to Stanley and his prodigious stack of statistical data that suggest—no, confirm—that the meet may not inherit the Earth, no sirree, but the skinflints sure as Hell will—they’ll die loaded.

   I’m not going to parse or quibble with Stanley’s research: coming myself from degenerate, somewhat deranged Southern stock, I’ve seen, firsthand, accounts of miserliness, weal, and grasping avarice that would chill the blood.

   I have an Aunt who would hook up with her (loaded) buddy, and the two biddies would have Thanksgiving Dinner at the local homeless shelter. Hey, it was a cheap meal, no doubt.

   But is that any way to live? Is it worth it to you, to spend your fleeting hours scrimping and scrounging, fretting over every penny, so you can die loaded? And so, once you give up this mortal coil and your wizened soul speeds Valhalla-ward, your spoiled, nasty little nephew, the only creature left alive mentioned in your will, inherits all your booty, and proceeds to blow the entire stack on a civilian super-submarine—I mean, what’s the point?

   I was hoping with “Millionaire Women” Stanley would let his hair down, get all “Shaft” with us, maybe talk a little bit about Divorce, the single greatest gender-to-gender (ie, poor hapless dudes to merciless chicks) wealth transfer ever invented in the history of the world. The Big D, an easy con to pull off, and pulled off every day: Woman sinks her claws & pinions, parasite-like, into a Hapless Man, catapults out a few nasty brats so he’s bound to her for Eternity, then Lawyers up and pirates his loot. Works like a charm.

   But no such luck: we’re spoiled even that much of a Dickensian romp.

   So if you insist on looking here, know this: Stanley’s ‘blockbuster’ first book, “The Millionaire Next Door”, was all about America’s truly wealthy: Stingy Dudes.

   To cut to the chase, “Millionaire Women” is the same disc, spinning backwards, without even a few Satanic Verses—to wit: Stingy Chicks.

   Unless you’re looking for a real blue-light special, avoid.

   JSG
   Rating: 1 / 5
2. Anonymous says:

   November 22, 2009 at 4:41 pm

   This is a lousy book, don’t waste your hard-earned money on it. Its very poorly written, a dry and boring recitation of statistics. I’ve never reviewed a book before, but this one is so bad I just couldn’t keep quiet. I don’t even think I can finish it, I’m up to Chapter 7 and really struggling.
   Rating: 1 / 5
3. Lou Caputo says:

   November 22, 2009 at 6:24 pm

   Having been a fan of The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind I eagerly bought his new volume. When I bought it at my favorite bookstore, I told the clerk that I was buying it for my wife which was partly true. I was also interested to know what advantages these millionaire women have over the men and how we can keep up with them.

   So let me say congratulations to The Millionaire Women Next Door and now thanks to Dr. Stanley the men have the real dope on how these millionaire women have done it, what they are doing now and what we can do to hopefully catch them or even pass them.

   Good book Dr. Stanley. Oh, I did let my wife read it and now I have a potential millionaire woman pushing me even more! Also recommend The Millionaire Next Door, The Millionaire Mind and More Wealth Without Risk.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. MFE says:

   November 22, 2009 at 6:35 pm

   I actually returned this book it was so bad. The selection criteria seemed reasonable, but they don’t match the premise: supposedly a book about self-employed millionaire business women, the anecdotes are all about those who have made their money by saving while working in typical to low-paying jobs — hardly any insight into the personalities of women who have managed to succeed in spite of cultural attitudes that steer them to lower earning careers. Clipping grocery coupons and setting goals get equal mention in this “analysis”.

   Then the writing and organization is simply sloppy: women are divided into alpha and beta types that are never defined. One chapter was about someone named Brian — I thought maybe this was a new androgenous nickname, but the pronoun was “he” — so what is this doing in a book about women?

   Maybe this improved — I wouldn’t know, I gave up in disgust.

   Rating: 1 / 5
5. Julie Johnson says:

   November 22, 2009 at 7:50 pm

   This book has changed my life! It is full of wonderful information and interesting facts. It is a true road map for success. Thank you Dr. Stanley.
   Rating: 5 / 5