Occasionally I read books about money. Usually these are books about how to save pennies, like The Dollar Stretcher. Sometimes these books are about how to live a simple life. Occasionally these books are about investing.
T. Harv Eker’s Secrets of the Millionaire Mind is really none of these things. I found it on the bookshelf during one of my annual Christmas purges of unused stuff. I decided that it would be worth a read before it went to the thrift store.
The Millionaire Mind is about how your attitudes towards money affect the way you spend money – and more importantly, how your attitudes affect the way you make, save and invest money. I found it intriguing.
I grew up in a family where money was always an issue. I know that this impacts my need for a feeling of abundance as an adult. I always want more money because to me, money is security. However, I also grew up in a family where we used extra money to spend on fun activities. Sometimes we used money that we didn’t have to do those fun activities, although my parents never got into serious debt. I find myself falling into the same desires as an adult. The difference is that I almost always save for the things that I want, since I have combined a love of splurging with a need for financial security.
However, this means that I don’t invest a lot of money. Investment was something that many in my parents’ generation didn’t have to worry about. Retirement plans were good and government plans were all right too. In my generation, we need to worry more about our retirement. Although my husband and I both have retirement plans, we may change jobs or be out of a job. I work part time at the job with the retirement plan. Our generation needs to think about investing in other ways: real estate, businesses, mutual funds, and more. The Millionaire Mind challenges you to think about yourself as an investor and a wealthy person – not a spender and not someone who uses money as a security blanket. It says that when money is concerned, attitude is everything. I tend to agree.