Assume you have a savings goal of N1mn this year; you can achieve this by changing your lifestyle, attitude and mindset. I read the book “The Millionaire next door” and it made me ponder to take a cursory look at my neighbors by observing their lifestyles and attitudes towards the naira, to see if I was truly living with a millionaire next door. I haven’t found that millionaire yet.

According to the book you may be living to a millionaire next door and may not know. Many people already live simple-living lifestyles and don’t know it and many of them are millionaires. You’d never guess that the subject of millionaires could do with simple living, but it does. Most millionaires who have adopted simple living were not born with silver spoons neither do they have high paying jobs. What they do have are simple lifestyles.

So why aren’t we all millionaires if it’s that easy? Simple – we regularly and continually give our money away to other people so they can become wealthy, while we live from paycheck to paycheck. We buy the latest cars, phones, electronic gadgets, biggest houses, take a loan to buy more liabilities than we can afford and end up with more debts than we’re comfortable with.

The millionaires described in this book are compulsive savers and investors. If you’re trying to determine if you’re a millionaire in the making, check out the characteristics of the simple millionaire;

• They live well below their means.
• They allocate their time, energy and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth.
• They believe that financial independence is more important than displaying social status.
• Their parents did not provide economic outpatient care.
• Their adult children are economically self-sufficient.
• They are proficient in targeting market opportunities.
• They chose the right occupations.

For me, this list represents simple living at its best because it’s about living consciously and with a purpose. This means being in control of your money and life. When you save your money rather than spending, you buy yourself control. With money saved and invested, you can live for years without earning money, or you can afford the luxury of working part time. This is vastly different than living from paycheck to paycheck.