Another NYTimes article by a millenial amazed by the completely ordinary lives led by their parents' friends.
Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don't Have to Be
91–100 of 152 posts
Re: Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don't Have to Be
#92When I read this article few minutes ago I found the following phrases and quotes defining the characters of these people and justifying their acts- ...“It’s (money) an important tool. They don’t neglect it, but they also don’t worship it.”... ...“Part of this pressure to keep going is less about greed and more about insecurity that might be self-imposed,” ... ...“It’s about paying attention to what makes you happy a…
Every one of those quotes is portraying selfishness. Why should anyone discuss those points? They don't have long-term value to anyone else.
Re: Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don't Have to Be
#93Its important to have a spouse who has a similar desire for sensible frugality. The level of income is less important than simply living below your means for your whole life. With prudent financial planning, compound interest and the passage of time achieves the level of wealth described in the article. Indeed car purchases are a good indicator. An omission of the article is that often frugal persons are generous to…
Compound interest? Where? The interest rates are such that inflation would destroy whatever gain you have. Nearly all savings accounts are paying an annual yield of less than 1%! That means WITH compounding, you're looking at a 1% or lower gain. Inflation is typically between 1-4%, with 2% being the benchmark in terms of financial planning, though admittedly in April, we had slightly negative inflation, but that tren…
Compound 'interest' does not necessarily mean interest on T-Bills or in a savings account. It can also mean value appreciation in capital assets (e.g. investments in stocks, property, etc) + dividends. It basically means that any capital asset compounds in value over many years.
Let's say the stock market, on average, loses 30-40% in a down year. On the other hand, you usually have 5-7 good years between crashes, where the market appreciates by 10-30% per year. Even if you can't liquidate your stock holdings 'when shit hits the fan', you'll still be making money.
Achieving a 20%+ return is realistic if you don't mind taking some risk (not crazy "seed fund a startup" risk, more like general business risk) and you make sure to minimise your taxes.
The stock market has been BOOMING for the last 5 years. I have a wealthy friend who told me his net worth doubled over the last 5 years. That's tens of millions in capital growth.
Re: Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don't Have to Be
#94The millionaires at $1m to $10m absolutely DO have to be "frugal" if we use define "frugal" to be about "smart spending" as opposed to fishing pennies out of public fountains. The word "million" is deceptive because it is an amount beyond what 99% have. It makes it seem like some mind boggling amount of money but mathematically, it really isn't that much. A person classified as "millionaire" could be tagged that beca…
From everything I've heard, the cutoff is around $25MM to really not have to ever worry about money
Re: Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don't Have to Be
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm curious - what industry are you in? I've never heard of a company providing perks for car and house purchasing.
depends for Western companies those sent overseas can have some very nice perks. I remember looking at this in Malaysia and one of the thing that put me off was the "servant" issue - the idea of having a servant was just creepy to me.
Then don't phrase it that way if it bothers you. They can be a maid, cleaning-lady, garden-worker, whatever. And the other poster that responded to you is definitely right, it is quite a culture "clash". I had it the other way around when I visited Europe for the first time as a grown-kid, after being in Africa for all of my earliest memories.
Just to be clear, they are not your servant, no matter the usage of the word, or how you see other people treating them. You define the relationship, and it is up to you to treat them the way you would treat other individuals. And above all else, they are an employee like any other (either yours, or the company's). Just because they work in your house, and do so in an ad-hoc fashion rather than for a set list of tasks does not mean it's different, i.e. it doesn't change the employer/employee relationship.
Re: Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don't Have to Be
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a person who travels regularly for work I can say you have quite a romantic view of business travel. The reality is that I usually see (in this order) an airport, a taxi, a conference room, a hotel dining room and/or bar, a hotel room, a taxi, an airport. The idea that there is much downtime on a business trip is a fantasy of those who don't travel for work.
This is absolutely true. Then again do you ever schedule a day or two off before or after a business trip? Mini-vacation with free airfare!
Most of my business trips are airport/hotel/work/airport, but occasionally, I'll use accumulated frequent-flier miles to have my wife join me and extend the trip. We've done Australia twice this way. When you're that far away, it makes a lot of sense to take advantage of it!
Re: Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don't Have to Be
#97When I read this article few minutes ago I found the following phrases and quotes defining the characters of these people and justifying their acts- ...“It’s (money) an important tool. They don’t neglect it, but they also don’t worship it.”... ...“Part of this pressure to keep going is less about greed and more about insecurity that might be self-imposed,” ... ...“It’s about paying attention to what makes you happy a…
Every one of those quotes is portraying selfishness. Why should anyone discuss those points? They don't have long-term value to anyone else.
Hm. Not caring about material possessions is selfish? Not sure I follow that logic...
Re: Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don't Have to Be
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
just minor nitpick - "lifetime cap of the health insurance" - i though with obama care this was eliminated, no?
Yes, you may be right. I haven't kept up with the new laws. I just remember actor Christopher Reeves getting paralyzed from his horse accident and he blew right past the health insurance lifetime cap ($250k or $1million I can't remember). Afterwards, the actor and friend Robin Williams chipped in to help with some medical bills. If the lifetime cap is gone, some other issue will crop up such as an experimental (and v…
I learn more about that wonderful man every day.
Re: Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don't Have to Be
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Everyone's appetite for risk is different. If I had $10,000,001.00 in the bank, I personally would not feel secure enough to spend $300k on a car (and also pay all the expensive maintenance that it entails.) Since the car is 3% of my available funds, I'd be constantly hyper paranoid about a stray rock being kicked up by the truck in front of me. If I had $100 million, the $300k car would feel a little more "disposabl…
Correspondingly, would you feel insecure if you had 1,000,001 in the bank and spent $30k on a car? The ratios are the same, and most people spend a far higher ratio on their cars.
The difference may be that you need a car, and that you can easily cut the cost of one from 300k to 30k, but you can't easily cut the cost of one from 30k to 3k.
Re: Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don't Have to Be
#100The millionaires at $1m to $10m absolutely DO have to be "frugal" if we use define "frugal" to be about "smart spending" as opposed to fishing pennies out of public fountains. The word "million" is deceptive because it is an amount beyond what 99% have. It makes it seem like some mind boggling amount of money but mathematically, it really isn't that much. A person classified as "millionaire" could be tagged that beca…
I think it really depends on the kind of life you want whether one million is enough to live off. There is this guy, "Mr Money Mustache", that preaches a "frugal" lifestyle as a means of retiring very early with less than a million in the bank. On his blog he talks extensively about this. In particular, he provides some evidence that it's safe to spend 3-4% of your assets every year, indefinitely, if you invest in in…
That looks like some blog pushing info products and ebooks...