Normally, I LOVE ordinary millionaire/rags-to-riches, stories on Dr. Stanley’s blog, but this entitled “Big House only after Big Wealth” made absolutely no sense to me.
….We paid off our first home ($165,000) within the first three years of our marriage…. Our goal? To be financially secure, have the home of our dreams and never have to worry about money again.
…..
Each week our grocery shopping began at the 50% off rack and we basically learned to eat and appreciate what was on sale.
Should we even admit that one of us even keeps a teabag on a trivet to be used for exactly one week?
….[We[ live in a 1.8 million dollar home which we paid cash for. We have no credit card debt and have enviable cars also paid for in cash.
I think you get the idea of how frugal they are.
These people basically ate food that was almost rotten, and drank weak tea for 6 days to be able to save to buy a fancy mansion in a fancy neighbourhood, and to have the pleasure of driving a fancy car.
Sorry (okay I’m not really THAT sorry), but this doesn’t really make any sense to me.
Look, I applaud the whole saving bit — I think it’s fantastic that they’ve ‘made it’ and paid it all off in cash.
But why would you want to live like a pauper by cutting back on something as essential as food, or the simple pleasures of having a good strong cup of tea daily (it’s not even that expensive!!), just so you can live in some fancy million-dollar mansion and drive fancy cars?
Yes, I know. I love eating, and I especially have an affinity for delectable teas (loose leaf only, none of this teabag Red Rose junk), but STILL!
How is this life any different from someone doing it on credit? They too, eat junk and crap food, but look like they’re a million bucks.
Nice home, nice cars. What’s the point of all that? It’s just stuff.
I’d rather eat good (real) fresh food, have a real cup of tea that isn’t diluted 6 times over, and live in a modest home, driving a modest car, than to be that kind of millionaire who is showing off in the most conventional way possible, only having achieved it at the sacrifice of eating and drinking cheap crap for 20 years (or for 7300 days, if anyone is counting).
To me, they’ve lived a poor life, not a rich one.
(Although even poor people in countries like Portugal eat better than they do.)
UPDATE:
BF pointed out last night that the taxes must kill them too.
2% (estimate) of $1.8M = $36,000 a YEAR in property taxes.
Not to mention the higher cost of utilities, maintenance to keep it looking pristine… it’s just a money suck that they may not be able to reasonably afford considering their jobs, and the fact that they really don’t have millions sitting around in the bank — it’s all in the house and cars.
Normally those ordinary millionaires on Dr. Stanley’s blog, are reasonable folk to me.
This one threw me for a loop.
