By Amanda Morrall
1) Silver spoons
Most of the stories I read about the offspring of the super rich are tragic. There is something decidedly grounding about working for a living.
If celebrities the likes of Paris Hilton are any indication, too much time and money leads to nowhere good.
Peter Buffett, son of billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett would appear to have it under control. The 53-year-old award winning musician and composer, who just published his first book "Life Is What You Make It: Find Your Own Path to Fulfillment" doesn't put much stock in money making you happy. And interestingly, Buffett Jr. doesn't own a single stock.
Why should he? While his famously frugal father hasn't showered him in riches, he did put him in charge of a billion-dollar endowment fund aimed at helping others. Not the most horrible fate to befall a person.
Here's Buffett talking about what it was like growing up the son of the Oracle of Omaha.
2) Three ways to cut financial stress
Life throws up many a paradox. One of them is that the more you desire something, the more it will elude you. This would appear to be the case with money as well, apparently.
CNN Money in this article outlines three ways to cut financial stress. Ironically, they are: 1) to stop fretting and fussing over the budget; 2) to stop obsessing over money; and 3) to give more of it away.
This advice actually has merit in my opinion; particularly point #3.
3) Anti-budget budgeting
However tedious budgeting can not be ignored as the foundation of personal finance. What's interesting is that experts disagree as to its effectiveness. Some maintain that because people are so disloyal to budgets and undisciplined, they're actually quite ineffective. They suggest instead that you should just set a savings goal, have that money automatically taken from your pay and directed into a high-interest savings account or another investment where it can grow.
This seems sensible enough and yet as this blogger writing for budgetsaresexy.com points out, as long as you remain clued out about the incomings and out-goings and your own spending habits, you'll struggle to stay on track.
It's not a one size fits all formula in personal finance. Find a strategy that works for you and stick with it. Then monitor, review and assess.
4) Too frugal for your own good
Is it possible to be too frugal? Some might argue no. Personally, I can't stand a cheapskate and sometimes a little wise spending can go a long way i.e. having a decent suit for a job interview or what have you.
Ask yourself, are you too frugal for your own good?
5) Multiple incomes
I had a moment of deja-vu when I came across this article on mymultipleincomes.com. The blogger ponders what he would do with his time, and also day job, if one day his sideline became more lucrative than his main job.
I was pondering the same thing the other day.
Would I quit my job, if so, how would I spent my time? I'm in mama deficit, so I'd probably spend some time volunteering at my kid's school) and maybe travelling.
Call me crazy, or perhaps uncreative, but I'll probably stick around - well at least part-time.:)
To read other Take Fives by Amanda Morrall click here.
11 Comments
A few years ago I read an interview with a senior member of one of the Super Rich families: a Rockefeller or someone like that.
The final question asked by the interviewer was along the lines of "how much are you leaving to your children".
The reply?
"Enough that they can do anything, but not enough that they can do nothing."
Good answer, and lucky buggers!
Unfortunately the industrial revolution stripped the privilege of the majority to that principle. Plenty of 19thC writers addressed this, and one in the Architectural field that springs to mind is Ruskin. Perhaps Morris as well but I might be getting confused with the names there.
It is why Hugh P is horribly wrong about Levitt and his building ideas in general. The love can't be expressed in cheap pre-made materials.
Great quote thank you Amanda.
Clough Williams-Ellis may amuse you Scarfie.
Skim read the Alexander in the library recently. You may even find the 'next in line to the throne's' work more interesting than the folly it is / is portrayed as.
Definite theme emerging.... but how do you plan something that has to evolve with time and human effort / interaction?
There is a lecturer at Unitec Architecture School that wins Lecturer of the Year for the entire campus on a regular basis. If not the winner then he will be in the top three. He did his PhD under Alexander, who made him do his masters again first. His said to me one time that he still has difficulty reconciling the writings of the man with his personality, a brute of a man is how he describes him.
Alexanders main works are a heavy four volume series called "The Nature of Order". Lecturer above wants to re-write it for him at some time because it deserves to be more widely read. He hasn't plucked up the courage to ask him though:)
but how do you plan something that has to evolve with time and human effort / interaction? Good question, it is not easy to do and only the very best can do it. You won't find many in NZ that is for sure. If you saw the link to my first design and build a few months back, well the design means the four half round ends could be easily extended.
My question to one lecturer on the topic of changes uses over time, was "is it possible to design something so well for its purpose, that it won't change over time". The best examples are structures like the Acropolis and the Pantheon, although the argument could be had that they are no longer used for the original purpose but have instead become monuments. The answer I got was "I suppose so".
"is it possible to design something so well for its purpose, that it won't change over time" - Not sure that would express the humanity you seem to be looking for. I'd be happy with the 'shell structure' being adaptable and lasting, (more than just what colour the kitchen doors are!!!). Something like a well made dovetail used to be highly regarded - if it can be cut by machine then it's value seems to be reduced somehow, though the end result may even be better.
I agree. Get the structure sound, the light and movement right, and design in the ability for the user to customise the space.
I spend considerable mental energy on working how to make the systems within a house more flexible. The water(&waste) and electrical circuits are what I see as a weak point.
There is a principle that is acknowledged but rarely practiced, to live on a site for a year before you design. That way you get a feel for a site through each season. An awful lot of our design is arbitrary, sadly.
The machine should support the craftsman, not dominate him:)
That only applies to people who are lucky enough to like or love what they do for a living and that is definitely not most people!!! Most people only tolerate their jobs because it puts food on the table. Unless the meaning of the quote is really that someone loves their family so much that they will work at a very s**tty job to support them?
Being frugal and being cheap are completely different ideologies. Being frugal to me is making things last, planning ahead, using what I have now, spending on quality, delaying instant gratification. Being a miser is someone who will let you pay for them, not going to the dentist, taking as much for themselves without consideration of others
Being frugal is cool. Being a miser is an ass!
Another opportunity for me to bang on about personality types, but there are several that a glaring at me here.
When it comes to being a giving person, that in itself is a selfish act. You see the giving person is getting personal fulfillment from the act, if that makes sense.
When it comes to budgets there is a chronic misunderstanding of how different people will react to them. The sort of person to write a budget is likely a structured sort of person, whereas half the population have a disdain for such structure. See MBTI perceiving vs judging. Write all the budgets and have all the savings theory you want, but a lot of people just aren't going to stick to it.
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