NOTE: There's clearly some controversy about the "author" of this piece. I remember all the fru-ha-heck about Carlos Castanada and his Don Juan books way back whenever. For me, deal is simple: If it's good stuff, has and gives value, wth. Such a one is this. Very rich advice.
______________________________
"I'm not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful."
— Marilyn Monroe
How to Live as Well as a Billionaire
By Michael Masterson
When you think about the rich -- the really rich -- you may find
yourself marveling at their... well, their money.
Take Bill Gates. If you think $10 million is a fortune, consider this:
He has 5,000 of them. If he put his money in $1,000 bills, he'd have 50
million of them!
But how much better does he live? Sure, he's got a huge house. And a
yacht. He's probably got a jet too. But who needs that crap? Really!
If you make at least $100,000 a year ($150,000 if you are raising a
family), you can live as well as Bill Gates does -- and I'll prove it to
you. If you aren't yet making that much, you'll have to put aside this
essay until you are. (If you're following ETR, it shouldn't take very
long.)
Let's start by identifying some of life's basic experiences:
sleeping
working
dressing
eating/drinking
leisure
Now the purpose of becoming rich -- you would think -- would be to make
each of these experiences as rewarding as possible.
Take sleeping. What does a billionaire want out of his sleep time? I'd
say the same thing you do: blissful, uninterrupted unconsciousness. And
what will give you that (besides peace of mind, which you can't buy)?
Answer: a great mattress.
And how much does a great mattress cost? Maybe $1,500. That means you
can buy yourself a billion-dollar sleep for no more than $1,500. If you
are making $100,000 a year, you can afford it.
So get rid of that lumpy thing you are sleeping on and get yourself the
best mattress you can find. Then go to sleep every night content that
Bill Gates can have it no better.
Buying Yourself the Best
You can pay almost any price for any thing. But after a certain point,
you are no longer paying for quality, you are paying for prestige.
Take steak. Ask someone who knows about beef and you will be told that
the quality of a steak is mostly a matter of the cut you buy. (Let's
face it – there's no great skill in cooking a filet mignon.)
Order a filet at Ruth's Chris and, for around $30, you are getting the
best steak money can buy. Eat the same thing at Le Cirque and you'll pay
$75. What's the difference?
Yes -- just prestige.
The same is true when it comes to your clothing. Beautiful, comfortable
clothes are not cheap, but they don't have to cost a fortune. You can
buy the world's best pair of slacks for $150 or you can spend 10 times
that amount. The difference will be the label on the waistband.
Champagne, anyone? When Consumer Reports asked a group of wine experts
to evaluate a variety of Champagnes, the four that came out on top sold
for less than $40. Dom Perignon, fifth on their list, will set you back
$115. A better bottle of bubbly can be had for only $28.
The point is this: The best material things in life are affordable. They
are not cheap -- quality never is. But if you buy them selectively and
use them with care, you can enjoy a life as materially rich as Bill
Gates on an income that wouldn't get him through lunch.
Here's how you can live rich, starting today:
Your Dream House
I have lived in a three-room mud house in Africa and a 5,000-square-foot
mansion -- and I can tell you this: The quality of a home has little or
nothing to do with how much it costs or how big it is.
Think about the houses you most admire. They are probably NOT
ostentatious. One of my current favorites is a modest three-bedroom in
Cleveland, which has been transformed by the lady who owns it into a
museum reflecting her love of travel, dance, and learning. Every room is
a gem. I am completely comfortable and endlessly amused in this rich
and interesting place.
In every important way, her home is worth more than Bill Gates's
40,000-square-foot monstrosity in Seattle -- yet it has a market value
of only about $150,000.
Your Car
I have a friend, a wealthy friend, who loves cars, especially sports
cars. He drives a Camaro. Why? Because he says it is as good as a
Corvette, a Porsche, or even a Ferrari. Instead of forking out $150,000
plus... he gets his thrills at one-sixth the price.
What about prestige? Well, you usually have to pay more for that. But if
you are willing to go the classic route... and buy a car whose design
doesn't change every year or so... you can buy yourself prestige at an
affordable rate. For example, I drive a mint-condition NSX that you
couldn't tell from a brand-new one. My car is worth about $30,000. You'd
have to pay almost three times that amount for a new one. The same
holds true for older Mercedes and BMWs.
In fact, in terms of "living rich," you should never buy a new car.
You'll save a bundle by purchasing a late model vehicle with low
mileage. If you shop around, you can find a five- or 10-year-old car at
25 percent or 30 percent of the new-car price, and it will be just as
good.
Your Wardrobe
What does it cost to dress like the world's richest people? Much less
than you think.
If you can forget about brand names and focus on quality, you will save
thousands. As with cars, you'll do better by going for a classic look.
That way, you won't have to discard perfectly good items simply because
the width of the lapel or length of the hemline is no longer "in."
The other big secret of dressing rich is this: Less is more.
Ralph Lauren -- a guy who has the money and resources to dress as rich
as can be -- wears the same thing almost every day: classic-cut jeans
and a T-shirt.
And don't turn up your nose at high-end consignment shops. What could be
more elegant than a vintage suit, properly tailored, impeccably clean?
There are many books on this subject. They all say pretty much the same
thing. Having a few really nice pieces is much better -- more enjoyable
for you, more impressive to others - than a wardrobe full of trendy,
ordinary stuff.
Want specifics? Get yourself two or three pairs of slacks (or skirts).
One or two suits (or dresses). Two or three pairs of shoes. Buy only
what looks great on you.
Make sure your socks are cashmere ($19.50 at Banana Republic) and your
T-shirts and underwear are the finest cotton (or silk). Use only one
cologne or perfume, and only your favorite personal-care products. The
rule is to have much less, but enjoy everything you have.
Buy classic. Buy selectively. Insist on quality. Simple is better than
complex. Understated is better than flashy.
Do this and you will have
what Bill Gates can afford to have: a very pleasant feeling each time
you pull on your shirt or buckle your belt.
Food and Drink
Want a billion-dollar meal? Take a good bottle of wine, a baguette of
freshly baked bread, some imported cheese, ham, and mustard, and go to
the nearest park with a friend or loved one. You need only a knife and a
corkscrew -- what you have in your kitchen is fine -- to prepare and
serve a truly memorable meal.
Le Cirque? Well, I told you what I think about eating there. But if
there's an expensive restaurant you are dying to try, go ahead and treat
yourself. Don't do it too often, though. As someone who has eaten
countless expensive meals, I know how tiring rich food can be. More
important, I can remember few expensive meals that surpassed the simple
wine and cheese lunches my wife and I have enjoyed when we were lucky
enough to have them.
Music, Books, Movies, Etc.
With today's technology, even a $300 boom box sounds great. So don't
even try to tell me you need to spend more than a grand on a sound
system for your home. The secret is to select only the best music to
play on it. Nobody -- no matter how wealthy -- has more than you to
choose from.
The great thing about books: the best ones cost no more than the worst
ones.
Treat yourself richly by spending your money and time only on that
which makes you feel richer afterward. The same is true for movies,
theater, and just about any other form of entertainment.
There is only one extravagance you can't buy reasonably: front-row
tickets to professional basketball games. I have made the mistake of
becoming a Miami Heat fan. If you are smart, you will learn to love
college ball.
Your Office
Warren Buffett's office doesn't look like it belongs to a
multi-billionaire. The walls are paneled plywood. The desk is a
tabletop. He doesn't need a cathedral-sized space and an altar-sized
desk. He is not God, and he knows it.
But the room is uniquely his, with a comfortable chair, good lighting,
and a place for everything. The only decorations are souvenirs and other
objects that inspire him. Buffett's office looks like no one else's.
And it works for him.
That's what you want for your office.
I'm not saying your office should not be luxurious. I am saying it
should be luxurious in a personal way. You will be spending most of your
waking life in your office, so put as much thought and care into it as
you do your home.
Silverware
Shopping for a Christmas present for my wife, I wandered into an antique
shop that specialized in silver. The proprietor, a genteel, 86-year-old
lady from Georgia, showed me this and that. And then, when she sensed I
was looking for something very special, took me to the back room and
showed me a collection of silverware by the Baltimore-based silversmith
Reed & Barton. "If you were a millionaire," she said in her
seductive southern drawl, "You could not buy a finer set of silverware
than this."
It cost me $4,500. Nothing to be sneezed at, but that was for 14 place
settings and a lot of serving pieces. Just think about it. You can own
the finest silverware that money can buy -- antique silverware, at that
-- for $4,500. Such a set of silverware could last you all your life,
could give you endless pleasure and make even your ordinary meals
elegant. The Queen Mother herself couldn't do better.
I'm thinking about getting rid of the rest of our silverware and using
only this. That's how much I like it.
Reaping the Well-Deserved Rewards of Living Rich
If you fill your life with the best of everything, but you are too busy
to enjoy it, you've missed the boat.
So do this...
Think about your schedule and pick yourself a half-hour a day to do
nothing but enjoy yourself. (For some people, this is easy. For others,
it's tough. If it's tough for you, tell yourself you'll work smarter
this way.) During this half-hour, do something a billionaire might do.
Sip a cup of espresso. Have a Cognac. Contemplate your good fortune.
Breathe deeply. Smile.
Then get back to work.
It's All Entirely Within Your Reach
The way you dress, the way you eat and drink... even the home you live
in... can be as good as any billionaire's. Spend time shopping. Limit
your possessions. And take a half-hour a day to really appreciate the
good things you have. That's all there is to it. (Oh, yes. And don't
scrimp on the mattress.)
______________________________
[Ed. Note: For even more advice for how to "live rich" check out Michael
Masterson's book Living Rich - How To Enjoy A Billionaire's Lifestyle
On A Working Man's Budget. It comes free with your subscription to our
Liberty Street League service, which is dedicated to helping you make
money in small business, investing on and off Wall Street, real estate,
and much more. Find out all about it here: http://www.earlytorise.com]
Please,
let me know what you appreciate most about this...
Thanks.
I appreciate you.
Please recommend this post to others:
Get the RSS feed »
The Home Business Radio Network
The Greatest Networkers.com
The NEW American Dream
Mentor-Coaching ONEonONE and in Teams
So you want to write a book
Speaker (For Sale)
The Greatest Networker.org