The late Thomas J. Stanley spent a collective 170 weeks on The New York Times’ best-seller list with the groundbreaking book “The Millionaire Next Door” and its sequel, “The Millionaire Mind.”
He and his daughter, psychologist Sarah Stanley Fallaw, had begun working together on a new book when he died in a car crash in 2015. Fallaw, president of Data Points, continued the work and dedicated "The Next Millionaire Next Door" to her dad's memory.
PAST COVERAGE: The next "millionaire"
She’ll speak Friday at the annual fundraiser for “Aloha to Aging,” an organization that offers services for seniors and caregivers, including support groups focused on Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
The event will be held at Olde Towne Athletic Club, 4950 Olde Towne Pkwy. NE in east Cobb. The reception and silent auction start at 5 p.m., followed by dinner and program starting at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $75 and are available here.
Gala chair and Aloha to Aging board member Cindy Theiler and Dawn Reed, the group’s founder and board president, are thrilled to have Fallaw lending her expertise to the upcoming fundraiser. They also noted that her mom volunteers with the group.
“We wouldn’t be in existence if it wasn’t for volunteers,” Reed said.
The event, themed “Building Our Legacy,” will highlight a number of areas where aging and finances intersect. Combatting elder financial abuse is among the organization’s initiatives, as is highlighting the need for financial planning to ensure adequate resources through retirement.
“This is something we have to deal with. We’re all heading in that direction,” Fallaw said, noting that retirement planning is “not just, ‘Can I retire on the beach? It’s, ‘My spouse might be diagnosed with early onset dementia.”
Her father, who died at 71, instilled in her a love for learning that began early.
“One of the fondest memories I have is sitting around the breakfast table reading three different newspapers,” she said. “That’s the legacy he’s left for me.”
Thomas Stanley was a marketing professor at Georgia State University whose exhaustively researched book revealed the simple secrets of self-made millionaires. The folks driving flashy, brand-new luxury cars and boasting closets full of designer labels, it turns out, might actually be broke. Those who opt for nicely maintained used cars, use coupons and otherwise live modestly, on the other hand, might actually have a tidy sum in savings.
“He was very good at explaining what it meant to build wealth,” Fallaw said. “At the end of the day it is the discipline you apply each and every day.”
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