Common sense dictates that if you are poor and start living like a rich person, you will eventually become rich. By the same token, if you are rich and start living like a rich person, you will eventually become poor.

So what are the things that Rich People Do? Dr. Thom Stanley takes a look at the lifestyles of the wealthy over a long period of time in "The Millionaire Next Door", and offers much insight into what the rest of America can do if we want the best chance possible of becoming wealthy.

One thing Dr. Stanley points out is that the average millionaire doesn't care what you think about his car. On average, he drives a 2 year old or older, paid for car, and hasn't made payments on any car in a few decades. It just doesn't make sense to make payments on something that is losing so much value with every passing day. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, drove a beat up pickup truck until the day he died, and at one point was the richest man in America.

Most millionaires also live in modest homes, and may be living next door to you and I. They do not overextend themselves by making outrageous mortgage payments, nor live in huge homes. Believe me, most of the huge homes you see have huge mortgages and expensive car payments parked out front to match.

I often hear, "But if I was rich, I wouldn't have a car payment either." The fact is, it's not having a car payment that leads a person to a debt-free lifestyle and the accumulation of wealth.

In a recent survey of the Forbes 400 (very rich people), the majority of them stated that the most important thing they have done on their way to millionaire status is to become and stay debt-free.