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The Automatic Millionaire Workbook

Random House

Chapter One

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for picking up a copy of this book and congratulations on choosing to create an easier financial future! The Automatic Millionaire Workbook, which you hold in your hands, is based on the international best-selling book The Automatic Millionaire.

If you've already read The Automatic Millionaire, welcome back. As I'm writing this, The Automatic Millionaire is approaching one million copies in print around the world and has been translated into seven languages. I've had the incredible privilege of sharing the ideas of the "Automatic Millionaire Philosophy" on The Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC's the Today show, CNN's American Morning, and many other television shows. In a very short period many people from all walks of life and income levels have been helped by the simple and powerful message. The success of this little book has been exciting and humbling -- as I've seen firsthand how great a need there is for simple, actionable coaching on money. My dream with The Automatic Millionaire was to create a book you could read in less than an hour and a half and a plan you could implement in less than sixty minutes. As you'll see, based on many of the success stories of readers in this book, it's clearly working.

So whywrite a workbook? Why create a companion guide to The Automatic Millionaire? For starters, many of my readers (maybe you) have written to me asking for it. Second, I've written this companion guide to help my readers take the incredibly simple wealth-building plan I laid out in The Automatic Millionaire and bring their knowledge to the next level. Having had the opportunity to coach millions of people around the world on how to live and finish rich, I've seen firsthand that, when people write things out, they learn the material better and follow through on their plans more often.

My goal with The Automatic Millionaire Workbook is to help you create a simple, complete, step-by-step plan that will make you a millionaire by the time you retire -- and help you retire earlier than you ever thought possible.

IN FIVE QUESTIONS, I CAN TELL IF YOU'LL BE A MILLIONAIRE

In the past few years, thousands of people have asked me, "David, what's the secret to being rich?" In talking with them, I've discovered that the only difference between millionaires and the people who spend their lives living paycheque to paycheque is this: The millionaires know the strategies that work and follow them.

So I came up with a simple test to find out which people knew the strategies and which ones didn't. Now I can say with confidence:

I can ask you five questions and know with 90% accuracy if you'll be a millionaire.

It's that simple. The questions are very straightforward; answering all five takes about three minutes. But they reveal everything about your financial prospects.

The Five Questions:
1. Do you know your Latte Factor?
2. Do you "Pay Yourself First"?
3. Have you made your financial plan automatic?
4. Do you own your home?
5. Do you tithe?

If you answer "Yes" to all five questions, based on my experience you've got an excellent opportunity to become a millionaire.

How do you answer the Five Questions now? How would you like to answer them by the time you're finished with the workbook?

LEARN IT. WRITE IT. LIVE IT.

This book is filled with exercises based on The Automatic Millionaire but taken several steps further. The exercises give you the tools you need to turn the ideas from that book into concrete plans you can put into action today. Every step of the way, I will guide you through the concept; then the exercises will make it personal by showing you how you can apply the concept to your life. Again, I've found from experience -- both in coaching others and in my own life -- that, if you write something down, you're much more likely to follow through. I want you to follow through! I've also given you blank pages titled "Brainstorming Breaks," where you can answer some important questions about your finances and your lifestyle in any way you like. Use the "Brainstorming Breaks" as a journal -- your place to get down on paper the thoughts that are in your head and heart.

And I will share some real-life success stories from readers who are living the Automatic Millionaire dream. These stories are fantastic teachers. Nothing proves the value of what I'm talking about better than real people talking about how the things they've learned have changed their lives. I hope you enjoy them and they inspire you to take action.

WHO STOLE CANADA'S FINANCIAL DREAM?

Once there was a country where people went to work for a company, were paid well, bought a house, raised a couple of kids, and put money into a company retirement plan. If they stayed at the company for thirty or forty years, they retired with a gold watch, a pension, and lived happily ever after.

Unfortunately, today that Canadian Dream is on life support. Companies are outsourcing and downsizing, the company pension is one of those things we talk about by saying, "Remember when?," and let's not even get started about Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan.

At the same time as our jobs are becoming more uncertain, we're spending more and saving less. According to Statistics Canada, the median net worth of the top 20 percent of family units in Canada has gone up by 39 percent in real terms over the previous 15 years. The lowest 20 percent has a median net worth of --$600. In other words, their debts exceed their assets by $600. The second lowest 20 percent increased their net worth by only $300 over the previous 15 years. Even the supposedly wealthy Baby Boom generation is on shaky financial ground. About 46 percent of unattached Canadians aged 45--64 may not have saved enough to retire at 65 and receive two-thirds of their income. About 59 percent who do not own a home may not have saved enough. And about 41 percent of Canadians with pre-retirement incomes of $75,000 or more may not be able to replace at least two-thirds of their pre-retirement incomes.

The unfortunate bottom line in Canada is that we often spend everything we earn... and a lot more.

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Excerpted from The Automatic Millionaire Workbook by David Bach Excerpted by permission.
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