If you’re expecting me to say primped, preened and driving a performance sportscar, you’d be wrong!  In fact, generally millionaires don’t stand out. 

The majority of millionaires are married with children, self-employed entrepreneurs who work hard, have mud on their boots and dirt under their nails!  They don’t drive a Porsche or Jaguar, they buy their suits off the rack, and will often wait until they come on special.  They re-upholster their furniture and mend their clothes. They actively (and legally) strive to minimise their tax bill, rather than solely focus on more income (which is taxable).

Owners of small business make up the largest number of millionaires; many are owner-operated sole proprietaries.  However according to research only a small percentage of sole proprietors ever reach the millionaire ranks.  But if only 2 in 100 solepreneurs become affluent, this percentage is about twice the average for regular punters.

Surprised?  Well if you think logically about it, it’s the savvy and disciplined behaviour that made their million that they’re sticking with.  When you work hard to earn your money, you don’t take it for granted and you spend it wisely. 

Some common characteristics of millionaires:

• Women are 49, men are 57
• Work 45 – 55 hours each week
• Made their own fortune in one generation (not inherited or lottery winners)
• Lives on less than 7% of their wealth
• Own their own home, valued at an average of less than $320,000
• They live in a suburb where more than 75% of the residents are non millionaires
• Most did not do the best at school, and did not necessarily complete tertiary studies
• Frugal, frugal, frugal and extraordinary savers
• Goal oriented – typically they set daily, weekly, monthly and annual goals
• Persevere in the face of adversity
• Seek advice from experts, then make their own decisions

So the next time you’re at the shops to buy that “must-have” item, pause and think about what choice a typical millionaire would make right now – after all, to become a millionaire you need to act like one.