Special to the Daily Journal/Messenger
March 28, 2008 - 12:00 a.m. EST

One of your neighbors has a new car — one of those high-mileage vehicles — and it’s pretty impressive. You’re thinking you might go car shopping soon.

Last week, you bought a new cell phone on the advice of a co-worker. Hers has all these features and you could see the benefits of owning one yourself. In fact, you told your brother about it and he’s getting one, too.

You think you’re being smart. In the new book “The Middle-Class Millionaire” by Russ Alan Prince and Lewis Schiff, you’ll see that you’re very smart, but you’re also being swayed by a new class of Joneses you can’t wait to keep up with.

In places all over, suburbs are planned and built to cater to people who want to live in a Leave-It-to-Beaver-like neighborhood. If the suburb already exists, perfectly good houses are being torn down and replaced with “McMansions.” People are joining elite clubs that offer luxury “cabins” to members for family vacations. Parents are sending their kids to Ivy-League colleges, not just for the education, but also for the “contacts” they’ll gain.

What’s going on?

Prince and Schiff say that a recent study done on behalf of a magazine yielded some intriguing information: People with extremely high net worth ($10 million or more) rarely influence the buying decisions of others. They don’t rave about their purchases, and they don’t interact with people enough to sway shopping habits.

Surprisingly, those with less money are the ones with influence. People with net worth between $1 million and $10 million dollars — a sociological group the authors call Middle-Class Millionaires — are the ones we watch.

Most Middle-Class Millionaires, the authors say, are baby boomers who made their money rather than inherited it. They’re technology-minded, with an entrepreneurial streak. They’re family-focused, but work hard. Hobbies are great, but they’d rather make money than tinker. “Experiences” are better than possessions. And quitting? It’s not an option for them.

But does it really matter where anybody falls on the scale? According to the authors, it does. Middle-Class Millionaires are changing the way government is run, purchases are made, products are manufactured and cities are planned. Smart entrepreneurs are starting businesses to make the MCM’s life easier. Savvy corporations recognize their influence. Educators are guiding the next generation of MCMs to the future.

I’m a ways away from the minimum net-worth, but I was intrigued by this book. I have many of the traits. Am I a Middle-Class Millionaire in the works?

Authors Russ Alan Prince and Lewis Schiff indicate that it’s possible. There’s a short questionnaire in here that will help you decide if you have what it takes, and advice on changing yourself if you don’t. This book fascinated me, and I think it’s important information in today’s economy, no matter where you fall in line.

If you’ve been influenced by a member of this shrewdly-affecting group — and the authors say we all have — then pick up this book. “The Middle-Class Millionaire” gives you hundreds of little reasons to watch the Joneses closely.