Money Monday 2nd Edition

~~~

With the AIG people getting their bonuses, and the Citibank guys buying Gulfstreams, and

The Automaker Head Honcho's traveling to D.C. in private jets...

I think a lot of people are wondering...

"Hey... when do we get to see some of the money 'trickle down'?

The truth is... we won't.

Those who have money... really like having it and keeping it.

Can you blame them?

~~~

One thing I know for sure... is... I am not rich, at least not monetarily...

Sad... but, oh so true.

I am not rich.

Ugh...

BUT... I know a lot of people that are, or have met many people that are rich.

My personal definition of being a 'rich' person is...

"One who never has to work another day in their lives, and still maintain the level of lifestyle that bewilders and is way above the norm."

{{I'm not talking about the Uber Rich... like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates or Oprah}}

I'm talking about the regular folk rich.

Rich, truly, monetarily rich people have a couple of things in common...

no matter where they live,

who they are, what their nationality, or their creed.

THEY KNOW WHAT THEIR MONEY IS DOING FOR THEM, AND THEY KNOW WHERE THEIR MONEY IS, and THEY CARE ABOUT WHAT THINGS COST THEM.

~~~

No one likes being taken advantage of.

Have you ever heard of the Millionaire Next Door?

You know... the guy that has been driving the same truck for 15 years, lives in his average

tract house, waters his own lawn, gets his own mail, wears his clothes until they are moth eaten...

And when he dies... he leaves an estate worth millions of dollars to his grandkids

and his favorite charity?

Yeah, him. There are a lot of those guys around.

They get REALLY, REALLY mad when anyone tries to brag about them and tell how loaded he is. He likes his life, doesn't have to worry about anything, and doesn't want to draw attention to himself... but why?

Why wouldn't he want to shout from the mountain tops how well he has it? How he can afford anything and everything his heart desires?

BECAUSE he knows he will be OVERCHARGED, OVERSOLD, and OBSCENELY fawned over.

Many, many, many people in sales are told to "upsell" when they know a customer can afford to pay more. Mind you... they won't be getting more for their money... just more money will be spent... on the same stuff, but with ADDED EXTRA'S that actually mean nothing is added to the quality of the product.

~~~

Those Millionaires next door KNOW HOW TO TREAT MONEY. They treat it with respect.

They know that spending it will inevitably mean they will have less at the end of the day.

They know that credit cards are from the Devil himself.

They know that if they buy it on "time" they can't really afford it.

They know how quickly cars depreciate... so they don't HAVE to have a brand new one every two years.

They know to buy only what they can use... and no more.

They know what to invest in... things they use everyday.

The don't fall for infomercials claiming "get rich quick" schemes.

They don't buy $900 shoes... just because they can. Don't get me wrong... they like nice things, and good quality... but not just because... there is always a reason behind a purchase.

The buy real estate, that will appreciate, even when the bottom falls out.

~~~

We can learn a lot from that Millionaire Next Door.

A whole lot.

Have you ever seen the woman walking down the street with the $1500 Marc Jacobs bag that just came out in Paris... and her kids shoes have holes in them?

Or how about the woman on Oprah last year... she spent $600 a month on Starbucks, got her nails and hair done every week, bought thousands in clothes every month,

and applied for those "line of credit" statments that came in the mail, and

HER DAUGHTER NEEDED A BRAIN SCAN TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT SHE HAD A TUMOR, and they HAD NO HEALTH INSURANCE?

Remember her?

I wanted/still want to SLAP HER ACROSS THE FACE!

~~~

This ecomonic downturn... I know... I know... I'm gonna say it... has been a blessing in disguise.

Yeah.. I said it.

It is bringing parents and their kids out of the clouds...

People are cooking at home and eating together now.

People are going to parks, playing catch and having picnics again.

Our country has had to have "money talks" with kids, and to inform their formerly extra spoiled children that the money tree has died, and they may have to... gasp... find a part time job

over the summer if they want to have money.

I think it is a great thing!

The next generation may actually pull their heads out of their proverbial butts and

know what a hard days work is all about!

Once they figure out how fast their money disappears after buying all their wants... I bet they start focusing on needs more.

A little hard work never killed anyone... not even teens.

~~~

The day Paris Hilton came on the scene... I saw a monster in the making. I still don't know why she is famous FOR DOING NOTHING! Immediately... girls HAD to HAVE all the things she did. What does Paris truly have that the young girls of the world don't? Oh yeah.. that little thing called... THE LAST NAME OF HILTON AND A HOTEL CHAIN... It was so sad to see all the girls lust over a purse... when their parents couldn't make the rent. But shame on the parents for giving the girls the purse instead of paying the rent.

BEING rich and LOOKING rich are two completely DIFFERENT things.

~~~

I sure hope the teens that learn to scale back their wants and get those part time summer jobs become the Millionaires next door in the next generation.

They don't become Millionaires by accident.

It takes work... and discipline... and more work...

Ask me how I know...

My goal is to be a Millionaire Next Door.