David –
I first read “The Automatic Millionaire” in 2004 when I was preparing to teach a class about the benefits of contributing to a 401K. What began as research quickly turned into my passion – becoming mortgage-free. At the time my mortgage stood at $174,000, and when I looked at the past 4 years of payments I couldn’t believe that only about $3,500 had come off the original note. I was determined to pay it off completely. For 3 years my husband and I submitted extra payments per month while also putting bonus checks right on the principle (rather than blowing bonuses on a new car or a vacation). At the same time, I left my corporate job that I hated and started my own business so that I could spend more time with my kids who I barely saw due to commute time and travel for work. Surprisingly I found that cutting back on little things made it possible for me to work 20 hours per week, and we didn’t even notice a large impact on our lifestyle. Today I made the last payment on my mortgage, and I’m only $38K away from being completely debt-free (and we own 2 fairly new cars and a new camper). My daughter enters school this fall, and I was so delighted to be able to choose a local private school for her, as I do not have to worry about where the tuition will come from. In addition, I feel more confident about investing and making my money grow now that debt isn’t weighing me down. I would not be in this position today if I had not stumbled across your book and put your methods to work, and it has changed my life. Thank you David.