Millionaire next door

@kimba88... i hope you are looking at this thread.

 

I've never been a big spender. I have emptied half my house of |stuff" in the last 12 months. feels great. If hubby had his way I would have had new cars every few years. I'm on my second car in 18 years. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
I'm not into material stuff (except houses of course). But "things" maske some people happy. I'd rather have another holiday.

A friend of ours owned a 250 bed ski lodge in Jindabyne. He did drive a car that was nearly worth the price of our PPOR (and didn't my hubby's ex spit chips when she saw us drive up in it to pick up the kids one weekend). LOL
But he used to walk around in stubbies and Tshirt most of the time. He used to say "If you walk around with your @rse hanging out no one will ask you for money". He was a self made millionaire (which meant a lot 25 years ago).

 

Maybe its my baby face but I got a $3 tip from a guy the other day who told me to save up for my own home. I didn't tell him I had a double digit portfolio just told him I would

 

Sh#ting the bed will do that!

 

It is definitely a great book, taught me a lot as well.

 

Because a lot of people are shallow.....my mainland Chinese accountant told me about the pressures within here community of driving the right cars. That was an eye opener....

 

Bahaha care to share the page?it could take off and your machine could become a cardashian!

 

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That's what I'm hoping.

I'm a bit slack though, there was an Aston Martin and a few porsches this morning but I parked closer to the entrance.

 

What i would like too see is a book about the people that never made it,anyone can lease a upmarket euro car,wear clothes eat out and party till the sun comes up every night as long as the credit card still runs,but the ones that never made it ,and i know several would make more interesting reading,how ,when,and why..

 

Have you seen Angel Heart. Excellent movie.

 

Because generally speaking, new stuff is nicer than old stuff.

I don't think just because someone drives a nice car or has a boat etc that they are pandering to societal pressures etc. Maybe they have just worked hard for their wealth and want to experience something nice.

Just because you may not like those things doesn't mean that those things don't matter or are nice to work for.

No doubt there are some people who buy flashy things because they want to have a status symbol and want to show off etc, but not everyone is like that.

I like to think that its important to treat today as important as tomorrow. If you treat today more important than tomorrow you are likely to find yourself in a lot of debt and end up in trouble, and if you treat tomorrow more important than today then you are in danger of living your life without enjoying the spoils of your success. I can't understand the mentality of some people who save $3/day by not drinking takeaway coffee so they can save up a deposit for their 15th investment property.

 

Have you read the book? The point is that it's fine to do all the showy stuff if you can afford it. Go for it and enjoy yourself. But if you haven't got there yet and you're not on the higher incomes, then don't pretend to yourself or others. Achievement first. Then reward yourself if it's important to you to do so.

 

I am a believer and I am going to hell

 

Yeh I have. It's a classic.

I wasn't arguing against the premise of the book. Just the idea that everyone who has nice things buys them to show off and can't afford it.

 

Ha ha but we all know you're rolling in it - seen the diamonds!

 

Hehe

Seriously though, many moons ago I was a very frugal person. I know what it's like to save the pennies, but now I am over it, I cant take it with me may as well enjoy it today, that's all we have really when you think about it TODAY. Enough of my rant.

MTR

 

Yeah. Chatted with a friend who worked in HK for a long time, who found herself constantly needing to buy new designer handbags. She said the mentality was, "If you don't flaunt it, you don't have it. Therefore, you're worth less as a person."

Found it quite eye-opening to visit HK.

I think the examples of frugal folks are a bit extreme.

Perhaps some people feel societal pressure. So? To play devil's advocate, there's nothing wrong with trying to fit in with the crowd, make your kids feel good about themselves in their peer group; you find it easier to hang out with the crowd, too. Maybe they won't have as big of a retirement/inheritance egg, but they're doing what they feel is best for the moment.

I don't necessarily think people spend to show off. Perhaps some people do - and perhaps they're justified in that. The rest of the folk, I think, just don't care. ie, you don't care about what people think, so you're happy to buy a Hermes/Porsche/whatever.

Yep, those $3 tips really add up

 

I don't know Bran's specific situation

Yeh, my example of frugal folks was extreme, but no different really to saying people buy expensive stuff to show off. There is a continuum and there are people that sit at each end of the spectrum. I disapprove of both extremes.

There are plenty of things that I look at and wonder why people spend so much money on it. But I can't judge because there are things that I particularly like that others would no doubt look at and wonder the same thing. Each to their own and we all work hard to ultimately get ahead in life and experience some sort of enjoyment. Some people get that from Porsche's others get it from looking at their investment portfolio.

 

... enjoyment in painting ceilings. mmm ... off I go to do some work

 

From memory wasn't most wealth created by the worker bee generation gone by the second/third generation of inheritors?

How do you the delayed gratification/doing it for the kids/puritan lifestyle people feel about the concept that it will all be gone so quickly?