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Is there room for a chauffeur in a Mercedes G Wagon?
Tuesday’s email about the car, or truck, I have
on my wish list sparked the ire of J. Augustine. He writes:
OK, I am frugal too. But damn it, why does one work so
hard if not to able to splurge on a childhood dream once in a a lifetime?
Warren Buffet is reported to be using a flip phone and live in the same house
since 1957. For what? The guy could by an entire Caribbean country to himself
without significantly reducing his wealth. In my opinion, he makes a mockery of
actual frugal folks. Now Richard Branson, on the other hand, works hard
and plays hard. I tend to be aspire to the latter. How about Jeff Bezos? Yea,
got himself a hottie (I don't condone divorce) and went partying around the
world in billion dollar yacht ( not his own necessarily, but you get the jist:
living it up).
I too read the Millionaire Next door several a decade
ago and I still have my copy. I admire its premise that regular joes can amass
substantial wealth by leaving modestly and investing wisely. But there comes a
point when the saver must enjoy the fruit of his labor, otherwise what's the
point of it all. No can take their riches into the after life.
I read recently some University worker died alone of
cancer or some other incurable disease. He was a loner and cheapskate, probably
wouldn't even treat himself to a steak dinner (this is conjecture on my part).
But he left a staggering of amount of money to the university he worked for. No
one at the university ever imagined his wealth. Now I have no doubt his bequest
is going to help some deserving students and programs, but rest assured it will
also contribute in some form to the high-end lifestyle of the university
provost, chancellor and the like (after all, student tuition are always
rising).
Just my two cents. (Well maybe more, now that I
realized I've rambled here for 3 paragraphs).
J. Augustin
Business owner and aspiring millionaire
P.S. In case you're wondering, my dream ride is the
Mercedes G wagon.
Wow! Yes
J. I hereby give you permission to enjoy your money.
Now, why do I like books like The
Millionaire Next Door so much? Because
they pull back the curtain.
There are A LOT of people out there who believe
that the trappings of wealth will make them happy.
This new book details the spending habits
of the Aspirational Wealthy.
These are people who are not wealthy at all but spend money on things
they believe that rich people buy.
They think that buying Grey Goose Vodka and
leasing a Mercedes will make them rich because they believe they are looking
and feeling rich.
It’s often part of a compensation play for
a meager upbringing.
Why does Warren Buffet use an old flip
phone? My guess is because he’s got
people who he pays to use Google for him.
Do you remember when you were in grade
school and the teacher gave you a gold star for reading a sentence without error?
Every child had a ‘chart’ full of stars and
some kids got really competitive and built a huge tower of stars to commemorate
their progress and achievement.
That was me.
I liked the gold stars.
I use this weird psychological twist to
manipulate myself into achieving my goals and desires.
Look at the picture below.
In each of those charts, I was working towards
a goal of some kind.
Each time I take my pay from my business, I
take care of household needs and then I ‘spend’ my remaining money by filling
in little boxes.
In some cases, the boxes are worth $100.
Paying off debts, saving for vacations, making
annual contributions to retirement plans, etc.
It’s all driven by filling in little
squares.
Each time I colour a box, I get a little
hit of dopamine in my brain.
It feels good.
I feel like I’m getting somewhere.
I’m sure some people feel this way each
time they get into their leased sports car.
But in that case, the dopamine is working
against their net worth.
So, where am I going with all this stuff
about our brains, feelings and goals?
In Scott Adams book; How to Fail at Almost
Everything and Still Win Big, he tells us that our brains should be thought
of as moist computers.
We can re-program them using things like
daily affirmations.
We can make decisions about how we want to
react to different stimuli in the world and we can design a series of reactions
to get us where we want to go in life.
For me, my wall full of charts with filled-in
boxes is like a prize fighter’s trophy case.
It reminds me everyday that I’m doing the things
that will get me my goals.
No debts, a pickup truck, money in the bank
and a business that leaves me free to travel and show my kids the world.
Cheers
David C Barnett
