How Not to Get Rich: Or Why Being Bad Off Isn't So Bad - Hardcover

In the tradition of James Thurber and E.B. White, How Not to Get Rich is a timely spoof filled with witty instructions on how to avoid the perilous path toward millionaire-dom.

“Large numbers of Americans are becoming rich every day, and by rich I mean loaded, as in loaded to the gills. You could soon be one of them. On the other hand, you might not be one of them, for a number of reasons, including the odds, which are weighted heavily against you. Because while large numbers of Americans are becoming rich every day, even larger numbers of Americans are not. How does not getting rich happen? At what point in your life do you become rich or not rich? Is it fate or hard work that decides whether you go onto a life with several homes and a yacht or several credit cards and a second mortgage?”

In this book, Robert Sullivan, an expert in the art of not getting rich and staying that way, shows us some simple, quick ways to cultivate a basic day-to-day attitude that will lead to not getting rich, as well as a few long-term strategies that will help you stay that way. For instance, a good well-rounded education is a must if you are planning on working your entire life and ending up with little or nothing. Choose a field of study that will be personally rewarding but has no apparent application in the real world, such as medieval literature or traditional music. And by all means choose an investment strategy that will definitely not get you rich, such as following the herd. Along the way, spend your money unwisely, read novels and books, marry for love, and waste otherwise money-making hours throwing a Frisbee in the park and playing with your kids, becoming the kind of role model that will never be featured on Forbes’s list of the wealthiest people in the world. Sharp, funny, and ultimately comforting, How Not to Get Rich is a guide to happiness without wealth—probably not worth the price, but what is?

Robert Sullivan is the author of The Meadowlands and A Whale Hunt, which were both New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and the national bestseller Rats. He is a contributing editor to Vogue and a contributor to the New Yorker and the New York Times. He lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.