The Millionaire Next Door
The Millionaire Next Door by Stanley and Dankoby Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
Tied for most recommended of 7 personal finance books
People recommend it for a practical view of how ordinary people build wealth by saving and investing steadily. One critic says its wealthy examples often just bought a house early and held it.
People recommend it for a practical view of how ordinary people build wealth by saving and investing steadily. One critic says its wealthy examples often just bought a house early and held it.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Practical route for ordinary people
“Saving 20% of your income and regularly investing it is the path to decent wealth for about everyone.”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “Does Employment Slow Cognitive Decline? Evidence from Labor Market Shocks” “The book "The Millionaire Next Door" is a recipe for ordinary people becoming wealthy.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “How to Earn a Billion Dollars” Credited for personal financial results
“what I do have I credit largely to that book”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “The Upper Middle Class Trap” Good perspective on money
“gives a good perspective on money”
Comment from 26 Jan 2026 in “Fedora Asahi Remix is now working on Apple M3”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Success mostly from lucky housing
“The Millionaire Next Door is more often than not just some guy who bought a house in the 1980s and sat on it.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “How to Earn a Billion Dollars”
Other personal finance books people recommend
The four most recommended other personal finance books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Millionaire Next Doorby Thomas J. Stanley and William D. DankoThis page | 3 | 1 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
| The Psychology of Moneyby Morgan Housel | 3 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Die with Zeroby Bill Perkins | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Art of Spending Moneyby Morgan Housel | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Index Cardby Helaine Olen | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The Millionaire Next Door is more often than not just some guy who bought a house in the 1980s and sat on it.”
“The book "The Millionaire Next Door" is a recipe for ordinary people becoming wealthy.”
“what I do have I credit largely to that book”
“Saving 20% of your income and regularly investing it is the path to decent wealth for about everyone.”
“gives a good perspective on money”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.