I’m always intrigued by the statics about millionaires. I won’t lie – I think it will be great to be a millionaire one day. That’s what we’re saving toward. That’s why we live debt free – to have plenty of money to give away.
So, if there is some way that you want to be or a trait that you’d like to have, how should you go about getting that? Well, you look at others who have it of course! You won’t learn how to save money by asking someone up to their eyeballs in debt. You won’t learn how to run a marathon by asking a couch potato. You won’t learn how to swim by asking a rock.
When we want to learn how to live debt free and gain wealth, where do we look? To the traits of the wealthy. Now, that list doesn’t mean that everyone who does that will be millionaires – it simply means it’s a good way to get there! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…until it becomes stalking. But nevermind that.
Millionaires read
- 86% of the wealthy love to read versus 26% of the poor.
- 88% of wealthy read 30 minutes or more each day for education or career reasons vs. 2% of poor
- 63% of wealthy parents make their children read two or more non-fiction books a month vs. 3% of poor
Now, I’m no millionaire but I love to read. So that makes me feel like I might be on the road to success…or maybe it’s the road to the library. When I was in elementary school, I would check out one book every day, read it that night, and return it the next day for a new one. Not a dinky book – chapter books. I got so familiar in there that the librarian began letting me check my own items out. I also started reshelving books for her and doing inventory. So yeah. I’m a bookworm…or a nerd. Maybe both. Embrace it.
The current state of electronics
Now, you would think with all the Kindles hanging around and the electronic devices that are able to download books and such, that people would be reading a ton of books. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh, well not so much. 41 percent of adults have not read a fiction book in the past year; 42 percent have not read a nonfiction book (reference). Scary.
I think the problem is that people are knee deep in social media and the internet. They’re so stuck in it, they can’t crawl out and into a book. Get off the phone and read a book, for Pete’s sake! And I’m preaching to myself. A lot of times when I sit down to feed Eli, I reach for my phone to check Instagram instead of reaching for a book. But, I’m trying to do better – it’s not a struggle for me since I love to read so much.
How I’m improving my reading for 2015
Now, I realize I should have done this post already…say back in January for instance. But hey – better late than never. I just now realized I hate that statement. Better late than never? Uh no. Trying to catch a bus? Late = never gonna catch the bus. Let’s all agree to stop using that phrase. Amen.
I’m doing the 2015 Reading Challenge from The Modern Mrs. Darcy with my bestie, Nikki. So far we are both really loving it. Since it’s April, we’re on our fourth book…yeah, I know my math skills just now floored you with their awesomeness. We are taking turns choosing the book each month and then we’re both reading it together and discussing it. It’s SO much fun – for bookworms or tvworms. Tvworms just sounds weird. Like some kind of disease. Let’s all agree not to say that either. Amen.
I’m going to put our list below so that you can see what I’m reading if you’re interested. If not, don’t scroll down and bore yourself. 😉 I’m challenging all of you to get on this reading train too! It’s not too late. You’re only three books behind. Get some interesting books and you’ll demolish that in no time! I’d be tickled if you would join this reading challenge too. But no pressure. Okay, pressure. Do it.
2015 Reading Challenge with Modern Mrs. Darcy
January: A book you chose because of the cover – Bread and Wine
February: A book you’ve been meaning to read – Beyond Survival, A Guide to Abundant Life Homeschooling
March: A book Nikki’s MIL loves – The Paris Wife (Read with caution. It’s a book about Earnest Hemingway and he was not a Christian.)
April: A book Stacy’s mom loves – Love Comes Softly (This took the place of “book first published in a foreign language.)
May: A book “everyone” has read but you – Call the Midwife
June: A book by a favorite author – The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani
July: A book published this year – Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of our Everyday Lives
August: A book recommended by someone with great taste – Orphan Train (a piece of our history)
September: A book in a genre you don’t typically read – 41: A Portrait of my Father (political biography)
October: A book you should have read in high school – The Hiding Place (ah-mazing)
November: A book from your childhood – To Kill a Mockingbird
December: A book that’s currently on the best seller list
**I will update this book as the year goes on**
I always have 5 or 6 books going. One has to be cooking/stocking up, one non-fiction on my Kindle, one mystery on my Sony e-reader, one paperback romance, and one sci-fi/fantasy in hardback, one training or education in one format or another. We have over a thousand books in our home and are constantly getting more. And we read them over and over. I have put this year to be more about education than entertainment but I will keep reading at least one book for fun every month.
I can’t read more than one at a time. Otherwise, I feel like I’m behind. LOL
I read the Love Comes Softly series when I was a teen. I would read all day, every day if my mom would let me back then. It was one of my favorite series, and the movies came along later and made me so mad, lol. They did not follow the story line, and even added new characters. I can read and not get anything done so sometimes I avoid it, but I have started reading while I am feeding my 5 month old. 🙂
I just finished book 1 in that series for like the millionth time. 🙂
I love to read, but don’t often. My problem is, I get so engrossed in a book that I can’t put it down until I am done (and nothing else gets done). I have picked up some recently (in addition to school reading I am doing), but my other problem is that I have this idea in my mind that I am wasting my time if I am reading fiction (which I know is crazy). I did buy a motivational book that had 50 short stories which I recently read in short spurts – so maybe I can turn it around! I do read to my daughter every night, and my son usually reads at least 2 books a month (if not more). I am thankful my son has picked up and enjoys reading as my husband does not like reading at all. Great post!
That’s great! I’m always so tickled to hear about children that love to read. 🙂
I have always loved to read, and just realized recently that sometime in the past year or so I have quite reading! It’s a weird thing to realize, and I hate the thought of me not reading, so I am definitely up for a challenge. I need to find a real life friend to do this with me!
Yes, that makes it so much more fun!!!
I love to read. I use bookbub to find free books for my kindle and nook. Then when the book is a disappointment I can delete it with no regrets and when it is a gem I buy more in the series. Last week I was in Puerto Rico for vacation and read 6 books; started and deleted 3 more. Now if only I could bring myself to read nonfiction.
I have to really be interested in non-fiction to read one. So, I read books that fall in my interest category. 🙂
I like to read, but have trouble finding worthwhile books. The library I frequent has mostly best sellers of questionable values. It’s expensive and hard to find decent reading material.
Our library is great! Tons of great Christian novels. Have you tried Overdrive? It’s an app for your mobile device. If your library participates, you can download audio and ebooks….and there are thousands of options!!!
I used to think as a busy mom I didn’t have time to read. Wrong! You make time for things important, and a chapter a day is doable. One chapter a day, and you can get books read. Join Goodreads to keep lists and connect with others. I’m currently reading Victorian classics and loving it! Far From the Madding Crowd is coming out soon as a film, but the book is beautifully written. Hope people will read it.
Thanks for the recommendation!
I am always floored to learn that people don’t read! I started a Book List on my blog in January, so I’m moving along. My problem is that I have too many (different genres) going at the same time and it takes me forever to get through them all. And, yes….I heard the millionaire statistic on Dave Ramsey’s show once and so of course, I made sure to tell my kids, with hopes it would motivate them!
I have issues with reading more than one book at a time. BHAHAHAHAHA! 🙂
I’m laughing because one of the things I did today was to spend a substantial Amazon gift card loading my Kindle with things to read while nursing this summer! (All fiction, because I wanted books I’ll be excited to read so I can stay awake for those late night feedings.)
What a great way to spend that gift card! 🙂