RIP.
RIP.
Maybe he should NOT have spurned “spending for show,” and gotten himself a chauffeur?
“The Millionaire Next Door” should be required reading in high schools.
RIP Thomas Stanley
If I won the lotto I would avoid drawing attention to the fact. No expensive cars or anything like that.
Probably the only thing I liked about Ted Kennedy was that he drove an Oldsmobile.
When I interned here in L.A., every “slave” read that book. There’s nothing wrong splurging in something expensive once in a while as it’s a reward system for your hard work. The main message I got was try not to spend more than you can make, and to make money, you need money.
Should have bought a Navigator instead of a Corvette.
If I were a billionaire I would probably spend a few hundred thousand on things I always wanted and get a nice house on at least 160 acres in the mountains of Georgia or N.C. etc.
Next I would hire a good CPA to manage my money with instructions to make no risky investments.
Give each of my Grandchildren whatever it took to make them comfortable with something like a spendthrift trust, not that I really wouldn’t trust them, just would hate to see them blow it immediately.
I would get a high end Mercedes and a bunch of quality guns. Also a mint 1965 Plymouth Fury with a 426 Hemi.
He was right, at least in regards to some. I’ve done quite a few little jobs for several families in the past, personally (security, driving family members, lifting this, moving that, listening, tutoring, suggesting options,...)—sometimes difficult, sometimes rewarding in terms of experience. Most were not flashy.
I have owned that book for years. I had very respected, conservative Christian older relatives who lived just like the people he described. In fact, they wound up embarrassed at just how much the mutual fund investments he’d made for years (to minimize government monies) had enriched them.
They were so genuinely wonderful and everyone loved them.
I greatly miss them and their godly example.
Self-made millionaires — the real deal, not the wannabes — are much more likely to be frugal
I have seen this first hand with old school Yankees / Boston Brahmins. While not having earned their money first hand their ancestors certainly did and these people were frugal.
When I was in my twenties one of them taught me to extend the life of a button down shirt once the collar wore out.
Have a tailor remove the collar, flip it over and sew it back on. The worn section of the collar is now in the inside. The gent who taught me this was worth a fortune, old family money, yet was frugal and a real gentleman.
He was always kind to me.
On the other hand I would often see the ‘ new money ‘ wearing flashy clothing, watches and driving expensive cars. I think the most expensive car I ever saw one of these Brahmins drive was a Volvo. Heck, one of them who’s family is worth billions and is still active in fianace used to show up in an old Volvo, worn comfortable jeans and an old Polo shirt. Clean - but worn. Also a very down to earth kind person.
Somewhere along the line one of my brothers many years of hard work paid off and he became a single or lower double digit millionaire, nice and comfortable. Didn’t change a thing, except to buy a nice Benz sedan, not even that flashy. He’s have sooner died than wear bling.
I was born in Marietta, Ga...and haved lived in the same area most of my life. Most native wealthy folks I know live below their means. One of the most wealthy men I have known, who had original issue coca cola stock and liquid assets of ten million plus, lived in the old mill house he grew up in near grant park in Atlanta, spent his days driving around an old wrecker buying junk cars, paying someone to get them running then selling the car to someone in need cheaper than market value.
Wealthy natives consider it tacky to flash your wealth. Most are country folks...humble and down to earth. I have seen several dress down an uppity wealthy transplant during a rude encounter....”Boy....that truck im driving costs double what your lexus does...and have the money to cover my ass if you piss me off enough to drive right over it if you dont move it.”
Plus...wearing wealth on your sleeve attracts the wrong kind of attention from thieves....from both the public and private sector. Car jackers and robbers know the natives are armed.