Comments on: The Automatic Millionaire: Overview

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:59:03 +0000

Thanks so much for this review. It is really helpful and informative.

By: gp

gp — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 20:06:52 +0000

i think most of what bach tells us in common sense, but it can get people to really open their eyes on the money that they don’t realize they are spending. about 6 years ago i realized my ‘latte factor’. i dipped tobacco at the time. each morning i would stop at a place and buy 1 can of dip, 1 large soda, and a doughnut or pastry. each day i was in for over $5 before the day even started. since then i’m off the tobacco and soda and wondering how i afforded $35-40 a week on nothing.

By: dimes

dimes — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:43:23 +0000

You find that Bach makes a lot of possibly unrealistic assumptions about one’s household income and investment horizon. For example, for those of us who aren’t especially high income, a 401(k) shouldn’t be the primary investment vehicle, and it’s also a stretch to expect a 10% average return over the long run. Most people who project only estimate a 7 or 8% return. I think he uses big numbers to up the sexiness value of his Latte Factor.
Fundamentally he’s ok, and I really like the values section (which was either in this book or the couples book), but he seems to have a little bit of tunnel vision in thinking that a 401k is the best retirement strategy for everyone.