Live happy, hide your wealth?

Quote from Ghost of Cutten:

In Europe there are families who've been rich for centuries or longer, but after the industrial revolution, they were no longer richer than the richest nouveau riches. So, they needed some non-monetary way to still display social/status superiority. The way to do this was easy - be understated with the wealth. Because most poor people who become rich choose to show of their new-found wealth, being understated about wealth becomes a signal that you are "old money" and hence of higher social class.

That's all there is too it - simple snobbery, with the added benefit that you can delude yourself that you are somehow morally superior too for not falling prey to the crass desire to "show off".

This suggests that those from poor backgrounds, or ones without a history of wealth, will show off new wealth more than those places where money is more established. Hence, places like LA, Vegas and Miami are more about showing off than established places like Boston or certain parts of Manhattan. The more ghetto the city, country, or social group, the more they will spend on conspicuous consumption relative to "discrete" consumption.

As for why people are so obsessed with status, it's simple genetics. Higher status attracts more and higher quality mates, so people who pursue status tend to reproduce more successfully. That's why people try to put others down, try to get ahead of others, try to show off how good they are etc, they don't even realise they are acting on an animal impulse from millions of years of natural selection. It's pretty sickening but extremely common behaviour.

The way to be happy is to realise the true nature of animal impulses and then learn to moderate and resist them in favour of your own goals and prioities. That way you can live for what you value, not what was useful back in the dog eat dog world of the stone age. It's you who has to deal with your life, and your genetic legacy only matters to your genes, it is completely irrelevant to you yourself.

The way to be happy is simple - employ rational analysis on your life and surroundings, and learn the nature of things. Act based on reasons and anticipated outcomes, not emotional impulses and dreams. This is far more likely to lead you to build a life that you actually enjoy and get satisfaction from.

The number 1 problem of most people is they never analyse or examine their life and where it is heading. Just go into any bar on a Friday or Saturday night - do these really look like people who have a coherent plan in life, who are going to do something significant or meaningful with their lives?
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I could not have said it better!! Great post with clear thinking especially this early in the morning.
 
Quote from dandxg:

Simple following principles like The Millionaire Next Door would have prevented a lot of the problems this country has faced. But we all know this.
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9:50 pm September 5, 2010
OfTheFortunateFew wrote:
It delights me to no end to hear people with relatively no money at all ($0-$10million) discuss the ways and why’s of the uber riche. TiredOfFlippingThBill, you speak as if you are one of us. Granted, The Millionaire Next Door is a fine piece of work that could and should be adhered to by those wanting a more comfortable and carefree existance. However you have the audacity to say:

These people are obviously not wealthy since they tried to create such a huge, luxurious living space.
We all know that real rich people drive Buicks and we cook our own meals. Only by living frugally will one be able to attain wealth. Don’t believe me? Read “Millionaire Next Door.” No person with true wealth would live in such luxury.

Since you’ve finally gotten around to reading said book you are now qualified to speak on behalf of the affluent? Well, he who speaks doesn’t know and he who knows doesn’t speak, and you sir, do not know. Nor will you ever with your Advanced Doctorate in All Things Affluent from the University of Amazon.com.

Wealth can surely be squandered but wealth cannot be lost. Riches can be stolen but wealth cannot be smuggled. Cash can wash away in the flood but wealth runs generations deep. And true wealth, my friend, as Michael added, is what built the chateaux of the valleys of France. True wealth built the private cathedrals of Naples. True wealth built the castles of western Europe. True wealth makes an impact not only on the lives of your family and scanty gaggle of friends and supporters, true wealth motivates, inspires or otherwise enriches for countless generations because one man or woman had not only the means but the foresight, the fortitude, and yes, even the audacity to dream and create something greater than the world has ever seen. Therefore pushing the boundaries of what man can achieve, all the while celebrating the great lengths and strides of the masters the world over who’s collaboration has made the whole greater than the sum of its parts. There will never be another Sistine Chapel. There will never be another Pantheon. and there will never be another Palace of Versailles, but God bless the Seigel’s for daring such a monumental tribute, effectively enriching the economy, the hundreds of workers and artisans brought together on the project and the countless men, women and children who will gain inspiration by the sight and in the presence of modern-day greatness.

TiredOfFlippingThBill, enjoy your adequate home, your Buick and your frugal lifestyle. As for myself and the wealthy that I represent, we will enjoy the mastery of our private chefs and five star cuisines. We will enjoy our heavily appointed chauffeured motors and awe inspiring super cars. We will enjoy chartered holidays, lavish gifts, exclusive soirees, and exotic locales. We will relish and find joy in our charitable contributions of money and time. And when the debt shall come that we all must pay, we will reflect in awe and gratitude at how magnificent the world truly is. And with our lungs’ last breath…pass all that we’ve collected, acquired, created, and become forth to our children…just as our fathers before us and their fathers before them.

TiredOfFlippingThBill, this is wealth. I hope you and your little book make a plenty of money. I hope you find your comfort and peace. Just never lose sight of the fact that you will never be wealthy. You will never be one of us. And therefore you will never presume to know what is good and appropriate for those whom you so obviously aspire to be. Think about it: how many books are there on teaching the wealthy…how to be frugal?
 
I cringe when I hear that little book mentioned. _It's idiotic and designed to make the poor feel better. _I have relatives who are wealthy but live like paupers. It's a sad state of affairs. _In the mean time:



It delights me to no end to hear people with relatively no money at all ($0-$10million) discuss the ways and why’s of the uber riche. TiredOfFlippingThBill, you speak as if you are one of us. Granted, The Millionaire Next Door is a fine piece of work that could and should be adhered to by those wanting a more comfortable and carefree existance. However you have the audacity to say:

These people are obviously not wealthy since they tried to create such a huge, luxurious living space.
We all know that real rich people drive Buicks and we cook our own meals. Only by living frugally will one be able to attain wealth. Don’t believe me? Read “Millionaire Next Door.” No person with true wealth would live in such luxury.

Since you’ve finally gotten around to reading said book you are now qualified to speak on behalf of the affluent? Well, he who speaks doesn’t know and he who knows doesn’t speak, and you sir, do not know. Nor will you ever with your Advanced Doctorate in All Things Affluent from the University of Amazon.com.

Wealth can surely be squandered but wealth cannot be lost. Riches can be stolen but wealth cannot be smuggled. Cash can wash away in the flood but wealth runs generations deep. And true wealth, my friend, as Michael added, is what built the chateaux of the valleys of France. True wealth built the private cathedrals of Naples. True wealth built the castles of western Europe. True wealth makes an impact not only on the lives of your family and scanty gaggle of friends and supporters, true wealth motivates, inspires or otherwise enriches for countless generations because one man or woman had not only the means but the foresight, the fortitude, and yes, even the audacity to dream and create something greater than the world has ever seen. Therefore pushing the boundaries of what man can achieve, all the while celebrating the great lengths and strides of the masters the world over who’s collaboration has made the whole greater than the sum of its parts. There will never be another Sistine Chapel. There will never be another Pantheon. and there will never be another Palace of Versailles, but God bless the Seigel’s for daring such a monumental tribute, effectively enriching the economy, the hundreds of workers and artisans brought together on the project and the countless men, women and children who will gain inspiration by the sight and in the presence of modern-day greatness.

_enjoy your adequate home, your Buick and your frugal lifestyle. As for myself and the wealthy that I represent, we will enjoy the mastery of our private chefs and five star cuisines. We will enjoy our heavily appointed chauffeured motors and awe inspiring super cars. We will enjoy chartered holidays, lavish gifts, exclusive soirees, and exotic locales. We will relish and find joy in our charitable contributions of money and time. And when the debt shall come that we all must pay, we will reflect in awe and gratitude at how magnificent the world truly is. And with our lungs’ last breath…pass all that we’ve collected, acquired, created, and become forth to our children…just as our fathers before us and their fathers before them.

this is wealth. I hope you and your little book make a plenty of money. I hope you find your comfort and peace. Just never lose sight of the fact that you will never be wealthy. You will never be one of us. And therefore you will never presume to know what is good and appropriate for those whom you so obviously aspire to be. Think about it: how many books are there on teaching the wealthy…how to be frugal?
 
Good thread. I admire the posts regarding thrift and discipline and agree with most. But there is a problem.

Life is incredibly short.

I watched my paternal grandmother live very frugally in a small apt with a very modest lifestyle. After she died it was determined that she had controlling interest in the local gas company. She had been living on dividends. What was the point of all that riding on the bus and eating at buffets? So somebody could comment that she was thrifty?

Short. Very short. Just a few spins around the sun and we are gone forever. I always thought that was a signal to not drive Toyotas or live in a rent-control apartment in Santa Monica. I always took that to mean that it was important to enjoy your life, perhaps not with fancy cars or homes but maybe with travel or other experiences.

You could get run over by a bus. It happens.

Think of it this way, once you are dead you will be very frugal for eternity. You might want to treat yourself a little while you are animated here on the Earth and can enjoy it.
 
We're all wealthy:

America.jpg


So, if get enough calories to put on some serious body fat, then flaunt it... No point in looking like this:

children_third_world_1.jpg


On the other hand, if you're a nouveau riche hedge fundie in Greenwich, CT, don't stink up the place by dressing up like you imagine a modern-day Thurston Howell would dress. Note to new money jews, dagos, micks, and other imported Americans: Less is sometimes more.... you're giving really wealthy people a bad name.
 
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