The most important thing I took away from this book was to watch my attitude about money. It isn’t how much money I have but what I think about how much money I have and in addition what steps I’m taking toward my future.

It is funny that he does Oprah around the same time that we finished the book and started our discussion. Is that a revelation or what?!?

BTW: The book was a great easy read. I learned a lot and I have started making some changes already.

2 Yep it was good to read about a real life couple doing it without a lot of penny
pinching techniques. I have met people with normal incomes that have amassed a large amount of material things but it seems they did it at the expense of actually living. Yep it seemed pretty doable
3 My latte factor is about three dollars a day. I started personal financial restructuring a couple of years ago. Before I started it was about ten dollars
a day.
4 Saving rainy day funds is hard for me. I have a tendency to nibble at it.
5 Yep I opened a ING savings account for my rainy day fund. It was very easy. It took less than ten minutes to set it up.
6 I think you should have rainy day funds in place first but before actually saving you should pay off your debts.
7
8 I have been tithing now for a while it took a little getting used to but it is all good now.

2. I do think David Bach’s ideas on becoming a millionair is something I could do. After reading the book (the first time) I got one of the financial programs and seeing were my money was going was an eye opener on how much I spend. If I could get my fiance to buy into these theories, we’d be on our way.

5. As a self-employed/independent contractor person, I did the closest thing I could to automate after reading a snippet of this book. I opened an ING account and I transfer with each deposit. I also have automatic deductions in my SEP IRA.

10. Other Comments: I want to read the book “How to Be a Millionaire Couple.

I really like the idea of not living by a budget. Putting a percentage aside and blowing the rest however you feel is a great way to live, without denying yourself the little things, while still investing in the future.

Was he apart of the Oprah’s Debt Diets show?

1. When you first read the title of the book, what type of advice did you think Bach would give in becoming a millionaire?

I thought the book would stress some sort of investing. Almost like Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

3. What is your latte factor? And after reading the book, have you managed to decrease or eliminate the amounts you spend on your latte factor?

Actually, I no longer have a latte factor. At one time it was sodas, at another time it was trying to have all the bells and whistles on my telephone. Now, for the most part I just deal in the basics, basic telephone service - basic cable, nothing that I have to have daily that cost money. After I paid all my consumer debt, I felt I could afford the premium cable. And while I could, one day I decided that I wanted to get facials regularly. I could have fit that in my ‘budget’ but then I looked at my current expenses and decided ‘if I’m going to allow myself this new pleasure - what pleasure am I going to give up?’ So I went back to basic cable and all was well.

6. Is it better to save first or pay off debt?

If you can, I would say do both. Begin a modest savings plan, while paying off debt. If you concentrate on paying off debt only - if faced with an emergency the first thing you are going to do is use credit to finance that emergency. For me, I paid off debt without saving. But that was mainly because I had so much faith that God would keep me during that time - I didn’t think I needed savings. And God honored my faith. When I became debt free, my savings account was close to zero. But that doesn’t mean I would advise others to follow that same path.

7. For those who already own a home, can you give some of the benefits of home ownership?

Wow, this is a big one. There is the pride in knowing you have your own place, knowing you always have a parking space, and not hearing your neighbors through thin walls. More importantly, a house is one of the things that you will purchase that will go up in value instead of depreciating. If you focus on paying off the house - you will always have shelter. Then there’s the tax benefit you receive with home ownership. And when you rent, no matter how long you pay rent, you will never own your dwelling. But the main thing with me was having my own space where I can live by my rules.

8. And lastly, after reading the book, do you plan to incorporate any donations and/or tithing into your personal financial plan?

The one thing I haven’t done is focused on paying off my mortgages. I plan to focus on paying off the mortgage on my rental property by increasing the principle. When I purchase my home in Texas, I plan to get a mortgage with the 2 payments per month plan.

10. Additional comments.

Great book selection. I think economic empowerment is definitely something we need to focus on and I pray that all that have read the book will implement the principles. I’m excited to read the testimonies that will come as we all become millionaires!

I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I thought he’d say save thousands now and invest it. Or give me some unreasonable saving scheme that only works for individuals who actually have extra cash.

2. Did the McIntyre’s give you hope that you too can become a millionaire? Were their practices something that you could incorporate into your personal finances?

Yes & yes! While I don’t own a home (YET!) I did find their approach very useful and one that I would utilize in the future.

3. What is your latte factor? And after reading the book, have you managed to decrease or eliminate the amounts you spend on your latte factor?

Hmmm…off the top of my head…I would say about $3600 a year maybe more. I have yet to use my latte factor worksheet. I did eliminate certain things however I never logged them or put the money aside. Like S23 come the first of the month (March)it’s on! I’ve printed out the sheets and everything!

4. For me, learning to pay myself first is one of the hardest concepts to incorporate, what is the hardest advice to follow in this book?

a)learning to pay myself first b)automating my savings. While I pay all my bills on line they are not automated. It scares me to have them automatically pull something out that’s not a set amount each month.

5. After reading, have you automated any of your finances?

Ohhh I guess I answered this in question #4.

6. Is it better to save first or pay off debt?

I’ve been paying off debt first but at the end of the book he suggests you split your 10% and do both.

7. For those who already own a home, can you give some of the benefits of home ownership?

N/A

8. And lastly, after reading the book, do you plan to incorporate any donations and/or tithing into your personal financial plan?

Yes, as soon as I get everything else in order.

I’ll be back with 9 & 10…work calls.

#6. I think it is more important to pay off your debt. If you have debt and do the calculation, you will find that you are spending far more if you choose to save and still keep the debt.

#7. We own 1 single family home and a building that we are renting out. You will be surprised at the amount of money you can save, if someone else is helping you pay your mortgage.