I’ve seen the Grand Canyon on TV and (just last year) in person… there is no comparison. One of the most awesome sights I have ever seen.

I’ve seen the California coast on TV and in person… Hawaii, Shanghai, Niagara Falls, London, etc., etc. There is no way I could be satisfied just watching them on TV.

In fact, just take me to a Caribbean beach, plop me under a palapas, let me feel the warm breeze and hear the ocean waves – that is heaven and there is no experience that can recreate that in spite of HDTV and 7.1 surround sound!

As for having kids, perhaps some people don’t measure pros/cons purely on dollars and cents. I can completely understand why some people don’t want any, and some people can’t imagine their lives without kids. The unfortunate part is that sometimes people who should have children don’t and some that shouldn’t, do.

Different people see things different ways, but I don’t think the desire to win should be assumed to be a negative. Most successful people eventually learn to enjoy what they have while “staying hungry” for more at the same time.

But then I realized that what they spend on gadgets, I spend on food, since I really enjoy eating good food. So as long as one is saving wisely and live below his/her means, how it is done is really up to him/her.

1. Life insurance. It simply does not make mathematical sense most of the time.
2. Traveling. Don’t know why people drag a bag to see a place where they can easily see on TV.
3. Having kids. Huge investment, little return and very high risk.

Yet these things are invaluable to a lot of people.

On the other hand, I like to eat in restaurants, I collect certain silly things and I drive a lot. I am sure they seem to be a total waste of money to most people, but I enjoy those. (I do feel a bit guilty about the last one, so I am buying an electric car as soon as one comes out).

My point is that we should be careful about being judgmental when it comes to spending. In the end, money is for our enjoyment. As long as a person enjoys his/her spending, even just for the moment, who cares where they spend their money.

And if you are trying to compare yourself with someone whose primary goal is to attain as much money as possible (means not matter, just the end result), then you are really in deep doo-doo!

That bit about the way in which we compare our lives is true. Why do we never compare “down the ladder”? Is it because our society tells us that it’s bad to look down on someone, but good to look up to someone? Interesting, all the psychology.

But back to money. For me? I don’t know. Five million? Takes a lot these days to pay off a mortgage and sustain the current family lifestyle until death.

Okay, maybe only three million.

I personally try to follow the “appearance of average” mentality. It relies, quite basically, on never standing out. I don’t have the least, and I don’t have the most. Perceptively.

It’s working so far.

All this being said, there is a true level of power that comes with having flashy material possessions and so day, it would be nice to experience that envy that everyone has for the guy with the nice stuff. If I never get there though, I can live with that. I’m happy with free time…you can never be at the top, there’s always someone with more money or power or land, or stuff than you!

Unfortunately, my mom remarried a person who was a slave to appearing rich. The end result is he let his life insurance lapse, died and left my mom in debt.

My dad remarried, has never done exceedingly well, but better than the average person, but is approaching 70 and according to he and his wife, will always be hampered by a mortgage.

I told my wife that I would not let that happen to us – we would enjoy life now, but also be responsible and forward thinking with our money. The accumulation of wealth for us is simply about choice – so that financial considerations become less of a concern as we grow older and can determine our fate. I don’t want to be subject to government handouts or charity of others – I want us to be able to control our destiny.

I take a perverse pride in living and appearing well below our means. Even though we have above average income and net worth, I still use coupons, look for deals, don’t buy unless it is on sale, etc.

We see so many people, especially young people, pursuing the image without thought of how much more difficult it will be down the road for them to achieve financial independence. And, there is the additional strain it can have on your relationship with family and friends.

We are fortunate to be able to have a balance. We can enjoy today without sacrificing our dreams of tomorrow. But, I realise that is not the case for many, many people. Hopefully, they achieve happiness through family, friends and health. In the end, that is all that will really matter.

I’m just drawing conclusions from (some of) the attitudes and lifestyles of (some of) those around me who I’ve seen overspend. “It’s advertising” is a wee bit simplistic for me.

The average person is fundamentally focused on getting ahead which inherently means that we are comparing ourselves to others (you have to be ahead of someone). This is part of a very low-level “me and mine” survival instinct. It’s likely genetically hard-coded.

By this standard there can never be enough wealth.

The next “level up” on the survival instinct chain is actually attempting to generate wealth at the community level. Of course, this continues for ever-increasing sizes of community (city, state, country…)

The question of “enough” now simply becomes a question of scale.

Tim: Want what you have and you will always be happy

And this is one of humankind’s great dichotomies. Wanting what you have will make you happy, but it will also stop you from growing. The world is built on the dreams of those who wanted bigger and better things and humans may never really know “enough”.

The problem may not be “Keeping up with the Joneses”. The problem may be that doing so is stopping you from being happy :)

Your depressed because you want to be. Your looking at things that way rather than realizing we live in one of the best countries on the planet with lifestyles that are the envy of the rest of the planet!

Why compare ourselves to those above us (less than 5% of the population) when there are WAY more below us (95%+)? Stop taking your life for granted and realize what we have. Wealth isn’t measured in a stuff or money, but things with no dollar values.

Stop wanting more and find that enough state. It’s a moment of Zen like time where the world for just a second or two is perfect. Live in those moments and forget about wanting more. Want what you have and you will always be happy.

Ok, I’m done ranting.

Tim

I hope that this spending is not creating a bubble. If it is, then the US economy will start going down dragging along with most developing countries like China and India who will suffer huge recessions.

Enjoy the moment but still think of the future.

The definition of wealth that I like comes from the Rich Dad books and that is:
When you have enough passive income to cover your expenses, so that if you quit your job today you could live your current lifestyle indefinitely without income.

It would be nice to be “rich” but what I most want is to be wealthy and NOT have to work and to have time to really enjoy life and “work” when and how I want.

$1,000,000 in assets is a nice number but it is not rich, it is upper-middle class and not necessarily wealthy.

It is worth noting that if you have bad personal finance management skills, it doesn’t matter if you have $1,000 or $1,000,000,000 – if you can’t create a budget and learn the other skills of money management you’re sunk.

If you look at athletes and entertainers, they are routinely in trouble for spending AT their means, not WITHIN their means. Trump had to bail out Ed McMahon’s house. McMahon made millions upon millions and still had a mortgage? He didn’t insure his income (I’m guessing) because once he broke his neck and couldn’t work he couldn’t pay his mortgage. That’s crazy.

Millionaire is by definition: your net worth has six zeros and above, that is, $1,000,000 +

Show off is bad but if it becomes you lifestyle then you have to look it from different perspective. Looking at three out of four of the wealthiest persons in the world, this is my observation:

Warren Buffet still lives in the same house. He is the wealthiest but his income is only 100,000.00 per year (Berkshire does not pay dividend to its shareholders). He has the simplest lifestyle. Most of his wealth is allocated for philanthropy.

Bill Gates started to show off with his extravagant house that he build but later on mellowed down and does not show off any more.Most of his wealth is allocated for philanthropy now.

Laxami Mittal loves to own big and expensive homes. Other than that he is pure businessman and does not show off.

As for CNBC – We’ve got it on all day at work, and it’s really going downhill. They’re a bunch of doomsayers on Monday and cheerleaders by Friday. It’s a terrible channel for any long-term investor to watch… pop financial news.

Wealth should not be a goal. What do you intend to do with that wealth? Acquire more wealth? Have a reason and purpose for acquiring wealth.

Being financially free – from your job for example – would be a goal. Acquiring wealth is one strategy that you can use to reach that goal. Ditto for a goal of being a philanthropist.

I think this creates a bubble though, since this spending is not sustainable. This is exactly what is happening in the US right now.