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January 25 2005
Dear David,
Last year I read Smart Women Finish Rich and went to one of your seminars in NYC. You changed my life! After that I realized that I would be able to afford to buy an apartment vs. renting and I did just that! I now own an apartment on the Upper East Side in Manhattan (no way would I have been able to afford it if I was renting). Thanks to your book The Automatic Millionaire I am paying an additional 10% to my mortgage each month as well as making an additional payment each year. I increased my 403B from 5% to 10% and by next year feel I will be able to max it out at 15%! Without your words of wisdom and success stories I don't think I would be where I am - THANK YOU!
My fiance is a hard nut to crack regarding saving etc, but I have him reading one of your books right now and he is so excited to start saving and making himself rich too! You have a way with words and are amazing - thank you for your advice and humor! Keep up the good work!
- Jackie Granatell
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January 25 2005
I'm a 36 year old married mother of one. My husband and I have maximized our 401K's for the past 15 years (currently $1,400 per month employee contribution). Our daughter is six. After watching your show we realized how much money and time we were wasting. We cut up all of our credit cards and closed the accounts a year and half ago. While we were paying off the balances it didn't dawn on us that we now must stop spending and start saving. We have $220,000 in equity on our house on Saint Simons Island in Georgia. After watching your show we started a Roth IRA ($250.00 a month), a 529 College Savings Plan ($150 a month), IngDirect Savings Account ($100.00 a month) and Series EE Savings Bonds ($100.00). You see, I grew up poor. My mind wasn't on saving for the future but living for the present. I feel so empowered now David. My husband and I will be totally and completely set. We Will Retire At 50!!
- Mrs. Love
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January 25 2005
Dear Mr. Bach,
I know everyone e-mails you and tells you how your books have changed there lives, so I know my e-mail isn't much different, but I just wanted to say thank you for taking time to help others. I'm 14 years old and I'm reading the Automatic Millionaire. Unfortanetly I haven't been able to finish it because my aunt took it home with her to read, but I was so happy to lend her the book and she LOVED it. (I'm the girl who e-mailed you about a month ago and you called and had me on your radio show.) I wanted to let you know that I have called around to almost all the banks in my area to find out which bank will give me the best interest rate. And I have a goal every month of how much money I am going to try to make. Being only 14 I can't get a job so I have had to think of different ways to get money to reach my goal every month. I have garage sales, iron for my mom (she used to send my dads work clothes to the dry cleaners and paid a $1 for each shirt, now I do them), and I'm currently writing an article on how to save money based on your book The Automatic Millionaire, for some magazines. I have also told some adults about how to save on their house payments and car payments (but no one takes me seriously). While I was reading your book I was asking my mom about getting a 401(k) and she went out and got two! (one for her and one for my dad). You are such a blessing! Thank you again for taking time to write that book! God bless you!
In Christ,
Jaclyn Sugg
- Jaclyn Sugg
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January 25 2005
I ordered David's CD series - The Automatic Millionaire two weeks ago. I just started listening to them in my car on Tuesday. Since Tuesday I have not only found my Latte Factor (about $10 a day), BUT also found what I call the "Slush Factor". I define this as money wasted on services I just don't use. We had both DSL AND Cable for internet PLUS a pay-per month Internet service. I cancelled the Internet service, DSL (which also required an extra phone line) - SAVINGS = $110.95 per month!! I also cancelled all the channels we never watch on TV. Savings = $20.95 per month. (David - I already covered the cost of your CD's!!!). So now I will take that $130 per month and actually put it towards debt reduction.
I signed up TODAY for my 401K - 4% of earnings PRETAX (my company contributes 50 cents for every $$) - I only just became eligible for this so I am SOOOOO grateful for the product. I have a plan to review in 90 days to go to 5% and 1% after that every 90 days until I get to 20%. ALSO - I called my credit card companies. Discover reduced my interest from 13.75% to 9.9%. Fleet Visa would NOT budge from 15.99% even though my FICO is 701 (YES - I got that on line too thanks to David!), so I went to LendingTree.com and got an offer from AMEX Blue for 0% 6 months - 9% Annual and transferred my Visa balance. When I phoned Fleet back to cancel my card - they back peddled like crazy and offered 9% - I told them TOO LATE!!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for this wonderful series. I am on CD #5 now and love every minute of it. It's easy to follow, pratical advice that makes sense. The biggest difference is you are not trying to SELL anything, and perhaps more importantly make ME sell anything! You just give plain simple, logical advice. I will recommend this to all my friends (and may be even an enemy or two!). My only regret is that I did not get this 20 years ago when I was starting out in life. Thanks again!!
- Rich Kenzie
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January 25 2005
I learned many easy saving money tips from the Automatic Millionaire. Your Latte Factor is the coolest financial advice I have ever heard. By finding out what my latte factor is, I stopped buying those unnecessary things. I started to pay myself first too, and now I am saving at least $300 per month. After reading your book, I think I have a chance to get rich without winning the lottery!
Thanks!
Sincerely,
- Justin
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January 25 2005
I am 60 years old and have worked all my life. I began putting 12% in a profit sharing plan when I was 23. Unfortunately I was a little conservative for awhile and kept the money in fixed a little too long. Our company has a 401k now and I contribute 15% and am thinking about raising it to 20%. I have accumulated almost $500,000 plus almost $200,000 in another fund. In addition, I found $450 worth of “lattes” per month by saving my last salary increase, giving up cokes at the Sonic in the morning, eating lunches out, buying clothes and other “stuff” I didn’t need. I currently am putting the $450 in a savings account for an emergency fund and will then begin investing the $450 after I have that fund established. I bought "The Automatic Millionaire" CD and have really enjoyed it. It is great! My 37 year old daughter is reading one of your books right now and loves the concept. Thanks for some great advice!
- Peggy Cain
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January 25 2005
David, I am getting started late. I am a self employed woman, a wife and a mother. I recently bought several of your products. After seeing you on CNN several months ago I started automatically saving money. I have set aside about $8,000 in the last 4 months. I'm reading your books when I can and listening to your cds while I'm in the car (which I am all the time). I've begun teaching my nineteen year old son, my stepdaughter and his friend that lives with us. If I had not heard you and then purchased some of your products, I know I would not have done so well so quickly. I have not completed all of the tasks yet, but for me, saving this much was a huge beginning! I look forward to the "Start Late Finish Rich" book ! Thank you for your guidance! I will keep reading and doing!
- Lisa
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January 25 2005
My wife and I saw you on Oprah, and I was very interested in the things you had to say. One of my friends said she bought your book "The Automatic Millionaire" that day and had already read most of it. I told her I was going to get it as well and the next day she got it for me as a birthday gift. When I started reading it I couldn't stop!
It amazed me how many times I had thought to myself that we spend too much money on junk! I actually started doing something about it two years ago. The two biggest things that helped me were that I started taking my lunch to work everyday as well as tea, snacks, and grandma's desserts! That's saving me $45.00 a week right there! The other thing that helped me a lot was I when I got a debit card. I've never paid a partial payment on a credit card in my life. With my debit card, I know to the penny how much I've spent and it's easier to track.
For the last six years I've been maxed out in both my Home Depot employee stock funds and by putting 5% in my 401k that also went into Home Depot stock. All my eggs in one basket right! After reading your book, I bumped my 401k to 10% (5% in HD stock and 5% in an equity growth fund). My wife has done the same thing at her job. I told her to bump her 401k to 8% from 6 and put 4% in a stable fund and 4% in Mohawk stock. At this point we've been married for three years. We have a beautiful little eight week old girl named Maggie. We managed to save over $30,000 combined in our stock and 401k. We have got $11,000 in our savings and checking. We are (starting this month) to add 10% to our house payment every month. We have ZERO credit cards. We purchased my wife's car in June 2001 and doubled and tripled the payments to have it paid off in a year and four months. I recently purchased a new truck and Home Depot offers an employee discount that is as much as 3% below invoice (this discount is offered to hundreds of companies around the US for GM Ford, Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler but most folks do not know about it.) After making a big down payment and as much as tripling my payments some months, I'm on pace to have it paid off very early as well. Some of this may seem to some people like bragging, but it's not! I work three jobs and for a while my wife worked two. We cut coupons every Sunday and only buy the things we need.
Thank you so much for the information in your book! You really make it clear and easy to understand. I was very lucky. I too have those old school parents that brought me up to value money, save for a rainy day, not to go crazy with credit cards, and always pay more on loans than the monthly payment. Thanks again,
- Russ and Shala Head
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January 25 2005
I recently finished reading your book The Automatic Millionaire. I just wanted to say thanks for inspiring my wife and I to take immediate action on saving/planning for our future. I need to give my wife the credit for buying me the book as well. As we're only 25/26 years old, I believe we're well on our way to retiring like the McIntyre's.
Real briefly, we saved up and bought our first house in November 2002 and have been proud homeowners ever since. I started my 401k at work over a year ago as well and now have a good $7,000+ in that, and my wife recently started hers. I have also recently increased my % from 5% to 8%. Everything we do is Automatic as well. With the amount of equity we raised in our house, we took out a home equity loan and paid off all of our credit card debt, high interest car loans and store cards - saving us so much money each month. We have closed these accounts and have promised to just say NO when it comes to opening anymore of these accounts. If we don't have cash to buy it, then we obviously don't need it right away.
We also set up an ING Direct Savings account where we pay ourselves currently $75 a week. This cash we are determined not to touch. We also have a savings account with our bank as our emergency/backup savings for if times go bad...and have close to two months expenses saved. Unfortunately our mortgage lender does not have biweekly payments; however, I took your advice and have added an additional 10% to each payment.
So we're doing things as outlined in your book and will eventually increase our portions to our 401K as we learn to live with less. We've also been giving back by donating a small dollar amount of each check to charities of our choice. My wife and I just wanted to say thank you for inspiring us and we hope to one day be like the McIntyre's and retire sooner than later.
- Rick and Ann Longstreet
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January 25 2005
All I can say is, “Thank God for Oprah” or I wouldn’t know anything.
I saw you on her show, of course, but I didn't rush out to get the book. I didn't have a job. I have a job now so I bought it; and I'm on page 101 now. My job is only for the summer, but I started reading your book before payday and I'm glad I did. After I cashed my paycheck, I took out 10% and in an envelope it goes, that is until I finish reading to find out what to do with it.
Since my job is only for the summer, I cannot join the 401(k) and I can’t participate in direct deposit or automatic savings. I do have a savings account that's been empty for years, but I'll wait until I see what you have to say about them. I am committed because I want to retire early too, but I still want to work part-time. I also have a part-time job working two nights a week and Sunday. I cashed that check today and I'm going to take 10% out of that too. I'll let you know how I'm doing after I finish the book.
- Trudy
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January 25 2005
Dear David,
We have an interesting story - both my husband and I were working in upper management positions with the related stresses there, and managing 28 apartments and more than a dozen garages! We prayed, took time to reflect, I quit my job, began working part time. We sold all of our investment properties (had them under contract in 3 weeks! definately an answer to our prayers), refinanced our home and paid off all of our debt. Cars, credit cards etc. That's when I saw you on Oprah.
My son is 18 and reading your book! Due to you, he opened a savings account with direct deposit. My daughter is only 13 and she is now reading it too! She too requested a ride to the bank to open up her own account and has set aside a portion of her allowance to go toward her savings acct. She already makes a regular donation to our congregation out of her own initiative! We are very proud of both of them.
I wanted to share something that has worked wonderfully for us. As parents we always want to give/buy so much for our children. There is so much pressure to have the latest and greatest. What finally solved our conflicts with this was when our son turned 16 and got a job, he then became responsible for all of his clothing expenses. Suddenly, no more pressure to buy $90-$180 sneakers! He would go to a knock off brand store! He says "It's crazy to spend that much money on a pair of shoes on my budget!" That got me thinking, once it was "his" money, he took ownership of it and the responsibility that went with it. I decided to figure a way to do the same thing with our daughter who was only 11 at the time. We would have battles over clothes that we would purchase, and then they would never be worn or respected. They'd get lost at school or left at a friends home.
I decided to give our daughter an annual "clothing allowance". We sat down together, figured out what we could afford then got a ledger book. January 1st we wrote the new beginning balance in her account. When she shops for clothes we bring home all the receipts, tally them up and subtract them from her "account". This has been such a blessing for us! She now is a very very careful shopper! She said to me the very first time we did this, "I love this suede jacket but it is $79 and my budget just can't handle that!" We later surprised her with the jacket as a gift at our family surprise day. This is a wonderful program. It teaches children about money, accounting, saving, prioritizing. She even divides her clothing allowance to be sure she has enough for new school clothes, new winter clothes, spring etc. We also give her an annual spending allowance as well. That is given to her on the 1st of every month. She may do whatever she wants with this money, buy more clothes, go to the movies, eat out. No more fighting, no more hurt feelings. I no longer worry or care if she doesn't wear something. It is her money. She never asks for more either.
I am now working my way through the Finish Rich Workbook! It is work, but fun!
Thanks for writing these books,
- Tracy Sylvestre
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January 25 2005
David,
I feel like we are close friends. I have read two of your books and skimmed your "Smart Couples Finish Rich" before I gave it to my son and his wife as an anniversary gift. You have changed my life for the better, financially, and I believe my sons. I may not always make good choices with my money but now I am more aware of the mistakes before I make them. Therefore I'm better off financially than I would have been before reading your books.
Thank you for caring about people, and helping people of all incomes to do better.
Sincerely,
- Jonette Hickman
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January 25 2005
David,
Your book was given to us by the pastor who married us in September. He gave it to us as a gift after meeting us and learning about our goals and perceived challenges for our marriage. He said that if we could read the book (he promised it was a quick read & easy to digest & implement) and learn the techniques, that we would eliminate 90% of the arguments married couples have. My biggest fear going into marriage was money, not having enough of it, arguing about it and essentially letting it run our lives. Well, I read your book cover to cover one afternoon on my honeymoon in St. Lucia and vowed then and there to put into practice all I had learned from you.
I finally convinced my husband to do the same and we now are now investing 15% into our 401Ks, contributing more to our mortgage each month and building up an emergency fund (each week, we pay ourselves $50), and we've even learned to take out agreed upon funds at the beginning of each week for food and pocket money. We paid our credit cards off in full, cut them up and are sticking to spending only what we can afford in cash (paying by debit card only has assisted us with that greatly). Having a sensible plan that we know will work (!) has calmed us, given us confidence and made us much happier people. We have thanked "Pastor Jack" for his wonderful gift - we didn't truly understand or appreciate it when it was first given, but now we realize that he was giving us incredibly powerful tools to create an automatic, worry-free future.
We feel happy and in control of our destiny. We have "paid it forward" too by giving the book to my brother as a gift so that he can join us in becoming smart, savvy automatic millionaires!
Thank you Pastor Jack & thank you David!!
- Lisa D'Ambrosi
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January 25 2005
I did not see you on Oprah or read ay of your other books prior to this. I had started a new job, planned on revamping our finances, but always had put something into the work 401K.
I read you book one day. I knew about some of the things you talk about in your book but to have it all together with resources and examples made everything invaluable.
In a matter of two days we eliminated what credit cards we had, started the rainy day fund. We complete the refinance in two days, using one of the web sites you referenced, reducing two percentage points and moving to a by monthly payment. This in and of itself cut close to three hundred thousand in interest not to include 15 to 18 years off the length of the mortgage.
Being very excited, I mailed a copy of your book to my brother.
Thanks a ton, your book is great reading, an outstanding resource and a sure fire way to finish rich.
- Tyrone Hollie
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January 21 2005
I saw you briefly on Oprah and went to your seminar here in Vancouver, BC with some friends and my husband. We were totally inspired! We were your exact example of two people making great money but still living paycheck to paycheck!
Instead of buying your books, I signed them out of the library (how's that for smart money management?:)), immediately maximized our RSP contributions, started a rainy day savings account, transfered our credit card debt to a very low interest loan and started a savings account to save in advance for out big yearly expenditures (car and house insurance, etc) so it wouldn't be such a hit when those bills came due.
And you know what? We don't even feel the difference - well, except for the fact we have become more purposeful and thoughtful with what we spend our hard-earned money on!
Thank you providing the tools necessary to motivate us to make changes!
- Mary Clark
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January 20 2005
David, I am a current participant in The Automatic Millionaire Coaching Program and am very impressed with the program and with your enthusiasm. My wife and I are retired educators and were able to retire at ages 52 and 51 because we paid ourselves first. It is a shame that more young people are not taught about personal finances in our schools. A major impact could be made if your information were to be imparted to youth in their school's curriculum. I have purchased copies of your books and sent them to all of my nieces and nephews.
- William Leightenheimer
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January 20 2005
David,
I just want to say thank you. You can't imagine how helpful your book Smart Women Finish Rich has been to me. You make me feel that I can take control of my money. You have taught so much, and now I am sharing all that I know with my friends and family.
Thank you one more time.
- Victoria Canepa
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January 20 2005
I am on my way!! I'm doing so much. Look at what I am actually doing automatically. I don't even drink coffee but I am already a Latte winner!
I automatically pay an additional $1,856 on my home mortgage, pay myself $3,000 monthly in a money market, invest $13,000 max in my 403b, invest $125 monthly in a index fund, invest $100 in a Ira monthly, and invest $100 in my daughter's savings. I will make an automatic extra payment to each of my 8 income properties. I even have life insurance payments deducted automatically from my checking account. I feel so good about what I am automatically doing.
- Reader
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January 20 2005
I took the Latte Factor experience and found out that I could save some money each week by being more careful about my purchasing decisions. I don't stop off for coffee and bagel in the morning, but there are other ways we can save as well. As a result of reading your book, I feel better about my finances than before. I'm organizing files the way you suggested. I've been doing on-line banking for years and never paid a cent for it. I started an automatic investment system for college for my children. I also consolidated most of my accounts to one investment company (Vanguard) as a result of the information you provided in your book. The other investment websites that you suggested have some very helpful calculators and retirement planners. These have been very helpful in determining where I am at 44 years old and where I'm heading! Thanks for all your help.
- Ralph Keating
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January 20 2005
I have been wanting to write you ever since I saw you on Oprah but I figured I might as well wait until I have something to write about. I am a single, self-employed mother of 3, 2 teenagers and a 21 year old. Since watching your show, I have changed my house payment to bi-weekly and added a few extra dollars each month, and have paid off alot of credit card debt with my income tax refund. I still have about $1,800 left, not too bad. I WILL pay that off by the end of this year, and I now have a mutual fund with T. Rowe Price that will take $75 a month out of my checking account. I feel so much better already. I have my kids in catholic schools so there is still that tuition, but worth every penny to me. I really feel that since January I have come a long way, and I can't tell you how good I feel about myself. THANK YOU so much.
- Mary Anne Luebbert
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January 20 2005
I am married with four children, and I bought The Automatic Millionaire on a Monday and had it completed by Thursday. I have opened a Rainy Day Account with ING Direct (nice interest rate compared to my normal bank), increased my weekly contributions to my 457 from $20.00 to $100.00 (to start), set up bi-weekly mortgage payments with Pay Map (saving over $65,000 in interest with the mortgage paid off 5 years early), determined our Latte factor of $50.00 per week, and am in the process of evaluating my current life insurance policy and transferring my Traditional and Roth IRA's into my 457. If I can't, I will increase the contributions. My wife is establishing a retirement plan and we are evaluating our older children's Educational IRA's and establishing them for our younger children. This is all in addition to my pension plan at work. I feel more secure about our future and am currently reading Smart Couples Finish Rich in case there is more that we can do. Honestly, this has been alot of fun and not hard work at all. I have and will continue to recommend these books to family and friends. Thank you for helping us to be financially secure. By the way, we have also been able to add a small weekend getaway to Nantucket Island in addition to our normal summer vacation. IT WORKS!
- Thomas Corbett
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January 20 2005
This is not a success story but a questions:
I financed my car for four years, but I finished the payment in two years. It appears that I paid the same amount of money I would have paid if I had kept the loan for four years. What happened here? Is it what they call "Simple Interest" and if so, could you explain the simple interest concept for me a little more?
PS: By the way, I just finished reading your book, "The Automatic Millionaire" Good book for those who are not financially inclined. I have recommended it to two of my friends that I know need it more than I do.
Thanks,
- Victor
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January 20 2005
My husband and I are empty nesters. I wish that we had this book years ago. We have done quite well on our own, but really could have done better. The information on www.ingdirect.com has helped us know where to direct some of our money, as we were like the man who buried his money in the backyard. We were using very low money market rates, which we did not realize until I called the bank the day I read the story. Also, we will be making an extra payment on our mortgage and knowing when and how to do it has been so beneficial. I have mentioned so much of your book to my adult children. I HOPE they will listen, because only then will they be able to be winners. I have never felt so EMPOWERED as I feel now having read your book. Thank you for sharing with all of us.
- Wilma Stoeckle
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January 20 2005
I can't belive how much money I've wasted in the last year!!! ON COFFEE and snacks!! I am a single mom of 3 small children and a teacher. Every day during our first recess, a co-worker and myself would race to the nearest Chevron for more coffee (I always bring a mug full from home, but it's gone by 9:30am). As I was reading your book, The Automatic Millionaire, I started doing the math of what I was spending each morning. EVERY morning, 5 days a week, I spent $1.10 on coffee plus $.99 on a pack of Hostess donuts, and another $.99 on Peanut M&M's for a little snack later on in the day. First thing I realized was I eat a lot of junk...NOT GOOD! Second thing is that I was spending $3.08 EVERY DAY...that's $15.40 a week, which is $61.60 a month, which is $616.00 during our school year (10 months)!!!!!! I was, and still am, absolutely SICK that I've wasted that much money on coffee and snacks when I could've invested that money instead!!! At $616.00 a year, that would've been $15,400.00 over the next 25 years!!!! And that's only if the prices stayed the same over time, which of course, they will only be going up in the future!! I go back to work tomorrow to start another school year and you can be sure that I won't be going for coffee and snacks anymore....The Latte Factor has opened my eyes....that money I used to spend on Chevron goodies is now going into an IRA for my future!!!
THANK YOU for such a wonderful book!!!! You brought to light SO many things, things that I will be doing from this point forth (Paying myself first, paying down my mortgage quicker and NO MORE Credit Cards!!). :)
Have a blessed day!!
Sincerely,
- Tara Richards
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January 20 2005
Mr. Bach,
I am 32, married and a stay-at-home mom to a 3 year old and have a baby due soon. I saw you on Oprah a few times earlier in the year, have finished "The Automatic Millionaire" and am working on "Smart Couples Finish Rich" now. I have been telling my husband, mother and friends about you and recently gave "Smart Couples..." and some cash as a wedding gift -- that won't be the last time that happens. My mom is next in line to read my books and I will probably get her "Smart Women..." too. My husband is not an avid reader but is working on "Automatic Millionaire" at work (as a firefighter it is sometimes hard to find time to read) and we talk about what he has read when he gets home. He is very excited about it so far, and we're both excited to see where we go from here.
I can't honestly say that my husband & I have done everything you recommend yet, but we have done some of the activities and are taking notes, so we are ready to do more when the time comes. We recently sold our home and used some of the money to pay off all of our debt as well as put money down on our new house. Right now we are waiting to find out who bought our mortgage so that we can set up an automatic payment plan. Since it is only "open" once a year, we are waiting for October to change the contributions to my husband's retirement plan. We are going from $50 to $200 biweekly and that will bring to about 10%. I have to admit I am a little nervous about making the jump but know that the money is there. My next project is revamping my filing system. The current system has been driving me crazy so I was glad to see one outlined in your book.
Thanks again for these books -- they are wonderful and really inspiring. We have come a long way, and are even more hopeful after having read your books. We are making plans for ourselves and our children that we wouldn't have before.
- Tanya Paro
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