How I met Mr Piper

Mr Piper is my main millionaire mentor. He controls a property empire worth in excess of £4m with only about 5% debt, and earns well in excess of £100k annually. Mr Piper is married, and lives with his wife on the outskirts of Surrey.

When I first began my moneyseeking, books I read on wealth recommended finding a millionaire mentor, but where could I find one? One day, I happened to pass by a shop that was being done up (re-fitted)by a handyman, and I got talking to him in order to see what was planned for the shop. He revealed that he owned the shop, and also every other shop adjoining it, as well as a quarter of that high street! He was a millionaire, many times over with an empire made up of commercial property, flats and houses with all of the freeholds owned outright. He purchased many properties 20 years ago when prices were cheaper than they are now, and has never sold a property, until this year when he sold his main residence in order to move to a new area.

I asked one of my friends who lived locally about him, in order to confirm his story, and he said "Mr Piper, everyone knows him, he's a millionaire". I asked a few more people, and most seemed to be in fear of him. They were scared of what they did not understand, and thought that a millionaire must be some kind of a mythical creature to be avoided. Maybe his mere existence reminded some of them of their own failures to handle their finances well. Not one person had ever asked his advice about money. I crossed that barrier, and in the process, found that he was just a normal person.

Mr Piper takes things on himself. He acts on things immediately, and is extremely proactive. He shows that to get anything done, and to get rich, you have to keep taking action, and keep going. He is his own: handyman, plumber, electrician, etc. He is very thrifty. The last time we met, he was going through shops like Poundland and charity shops, seeing what stock they had. He told me of recent bargains he had picked up at car boot sales, and on eBay. He never buys anything without doing a price comparison first. He drives 4 vehicles including a Transit van, a normal car, an old jeep, an old motorbike. These vehicles are mainly used for transporting his DIY stuff around, and he does not own any expensive sports cars.

There is a book called The Millionaire Next Door, which talks about how very wealthy people don't waste money and live frugally. I could barely believe it when I read it, but I soon came to find that it was true. Mr Piper fits this image perfectly. Before I became a money seeker, I thought that only losers went to charity shops and car boot sales.

Mr Piper is the richest person I know, yet he probably spends less money per month than the poorest person I know, which is incredible. Its not that he is stingy, but he respects money. He is also the most reliable person I know as when he promises to do something, he does it, whilst most other people I know usually never come through on their promises on time, if it all.

Thomas J Stanley, author of The Millionaire Next Door is soon to release a new book: Stop Acting Rich: and Start Living Like a Real Millionaire. I'm sure this book will be the usual stuff about how rich people live frugally, but I shall endeavour to read it nonetheless. It will serve as a reminder of how real and long lasting wealth is built on thrift and financial proactivity. Mr Piper is a real life millionaire who I can compare to all of the stuff I read in books, in order to seek the truth about money.