The Millionaire Next Door was a groundbreaking book that showed people how to become millionaires and explained the difference between rich and wealthy. It sold over 4 million copies and was recently named one of the five best business books by the Wall Street Journal.

In my blog last week, I shared how this book shaped my financial mindset from a young age. It served as my financial bible for many years, given its simple and prudent advice. But my views on being the millionaire next door have evolved as I’ve gotten older. Here are three chapters I’d add to the book when the authors ask me for help with a revised edition (and yes, I’m holding my breath):

1) Don’t Be So Frugal

Chapter 2 of the book is titled “Frugal Frugal Frugal.” Living below your means is a great life lesson that can be a ticket to financial freedom, no matter your age. But that doesn’t have to equal a life of frugality to find financial success. Just like eating healthy doesn’t mean starving yourself, financial success doesn’t require extreme frugality. 

For years, I lived a frugal life—what I called frugal, my friends called cheap. About a decade ago, my neighbor dressed up as me for Halloween. While the chinos were spot-on, the accompanying sign was less flattering—but not inaccurate. I grew up in a household that didn’t buy things often without a coupon, and I carried that torch into adulthood.

That is until I stumbled on the book I Will Teach You to Be Rich. One key message from the book is to savagely cut unnecessary expenses BUT spend extravagantly on the things you love. For example, the author drives a Honda Accord but stays in four-star hotels. Love your $5 Starbucks coffee? Go for it, but don’t forget to cancel the two streaming services you never watch. Personally, I splurge on custom-made dress shirts for their quality and fit but I furnish my guest bedroom with Ikea’s latest and greatest. Live below your means, but remember to enjoy life – you can’t take it with you.

2) Use Money; Don’t Let Money Use You 

Money is a tool that can greatly enhance your life if used wisely. We have two valuable resources: money and time. Often, when we’re young, it’s prudent to use your time to free up your limited money. But as we get older and busier (with hopefully more money), it often makes sense to use your money to free up your time.

I consider outsourcing tasks if I lack the talent, time, or desire to do them myself. Here are three examples:

Talent: I’m not handy with cars, so I leave repairs to my trusted mechanic. If it’s beyond fluid fill-ups, I’m calling my mechanic because it will cost me less to pay him to fix it the first time than after I make it worse.

Time:  After my kids were born, it was a pretty easy decision to send them to daycare. My wife and I both had jobs we cared about and although daycare wasn’t cheap, it was a worthy tradeoff to be able to still have two household incomes. Similarly, mowing the lawn may not be worth your time if you could be working or spending time with your kids instead.

Desire: The first time I hired a house cleaner, I thought my parents would disown me. It felt wrong because I knew I could do it myself, which was grounds for doing it yourself in the house I was raised in. But coming home to a magically clean house was a game-changer. I get to leave, and when I come back, the house is clean, and all you want is money? Sign me up!  

3) Don’t Just Cut the Pie—Make Another One

You can only cut so much fat from your budget. Living below your means is always good advice, but rather than focusing solely on cutting your expenses, look for ways to grow your income. Start a side hustle, learn a new skill, or go back to school to enhance your career prospects.

A few years back, a friend told me about his brother being chastised by his father for not having a screwdriver to fix a simple problem in his condo. After feeling some heat for not being handy, my friend’s brother told his dad that his goal when he was young was to earn enough money so that he didn’t have to be handy. It’s important to have goals in life, right?

By recognizing the limits of frugality, knowing when to use money as a tool, and finding ways to increase your income, you can take your financial life beyond The Millionaire Next Door. And that’s a deal you won’t find on Groupon.

Castle Quote: Formal education will make you a living, self-education will make you a fortune.” – Jim Rohn