<p>
[/quote]
Don’t get sick. Ever.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This! And don’t have kids who get serious physical or mental illnesses.</p>
<p>It’s not called “conspicuous consumption” for nothing.</p>
<p>For every BMW-driving swimming pool-occupying gym-using Warbucks, there are legions of unassuming people driving old Hondas, shopping at Sam’s Club, and perusing this very site wondering “how am I going to pay for colllege?”. The non-workers have a money supply from a wealthy heir or spouse who works 80 hours a week. </p>
<p>If you spend your time near or inside an expensive neighborhood, sometimes it’s hard to remember that average does not mean a BMW and 6000 square feet of house. Pay attention to the way most people live next time you travel outside that immediate area. It’s not “everybody” who lives that way. </p>
<p>Average life is still pretty good. We couldn’t afford a big family vacation across the country, so we drove it in our tiny Honda. It was a blast, and we wouldn’t trade that drive for first-class tickets to anywhere. </p>
<p>As others have noted, this applies only as long as you can avoid illness, special needs, or extended unemployment.</p>
<p>There are also plenty of people who drive an old Honda and shop in Sam’s Club who are wealthy because they drive an old Honda and shop in Sam’s Club. You absolutely cannot judge a person’s net worth (in dollars) based on what you see of their lifestyle.</p>
<p>Marry wisely and don’t have kids. They cost a fortune!!! (but are worth it of course :)</p>
<p>wis75, it’s not fantasyland everywhere. Depends upon where you live. One of my kids went to a private school for a few years where the inexpensive care in the pickup line (apart from a couple of Toyotas and ShawWife’s Honda Odyssey) was a Lincoln Navigator with (pardon me) trophy wife within. But it is a small percentage of the overall population. There are people who make ungodly amount’s of money – people who start hedge fund and private equity folks or who are exceptionally good, people who start tech firms, CEOs of big publicly traded firms. I was just in NY working for a client and the client flew from another country on his private jet with a few folks. Some stayed. I was in a hotel room last night that cost $850 a night and was upgraded to a suite where I had trouble finding the bedroom and the living room had a fireplace. There are people who can spend that kind of money and not notice. They are just few and far between.</p>
<p>More important is that money is not a goal, it is a constraint. It is best to have enough to feel secure. Busdriver’s advice and The Millionaire Next Door is the best advice: You accumulate wealth (and create security) by spending less than you make. That probably means not having a BMW even if you can afford it (and maybe buying three year old cars instead of new ones). But, adjusting spending to income takes discipline in a world which glorifies consumerism.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You must live in a very different world than me.</p>
<p>We have some friends who are literally making millions. They are in the oil and gas business. They can afford to buy the BMW, the nice house, and still have plenty left over to put in savings and retirement funds. Not everyone who has nice cars and big houses are in debt.</p>
<p>I don’t need that kind of money to be happy. But I do agree with the post above that it is really nice to have enough money to feel secure. I’ve lived through times where I could hardly sleep at night because of money worries. That was no fun.</p>
<p>About kids, the other day I saw this-
“Economists report that a college education adds many thousands of dollars to a man’s lifetime income-
which he then spends sending his son to college.”—Bill Vaughan</p>
<p>Assuming the money doesn’t come from a trust fund/inheritance, here’s how people make money:</p>
<p>1) Taking on risk
2) Working hard, persevering
3) The application of intelligence – ingenuity</p>
<p>To make money, big money, you need to take on risk. Whether you are starting a business (possibly taking out a second mortgage to do so…) or working on a hedge fund or as a partner in an investment firm (working 80 hrs per week, putting your happiness/family at risk), it requires the acceptance of risk.</p>
<p>So much is made of the “work hard to get ahead” mantra, or even the “be willing to work hard” thing – but those go toward paying the bills. To become independently rich, you need to take on risk.</p>
<p>“Marry wisely and don’t have kids. They cost a fortune!!! (but are worth it of course )”</p>
<p>Yep, you pegged that one right. Of course, most of us wouldn’t trade our kids for the world (or spouses?), but they do zap all the money right out of you!</p>
<p>My grandpa always said there were two ways to have more money–make more or spend less.</p>
<p>I agree with prezbucky that usually making big money requires risk. I have a widely varied client base and with a few exceptions, the people who have the money worked long, hard hours to acquire it, made wise choices, and were thrifty.</p>
<p>I also have a very interesting view into people’s assets/liabilities/financial lives. My kids were jealous of some fellow students when daddy bought them a $40,000 pickup. The families have <em>lots</em> of nice things, toys, vacations…but I see what they owe, and it isn’t pretty. Many of these same people also don’t pay bills very timely.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Some truth to this, but mostly to become really wealthy you have to have the appetite and ability to direct other people successfully. There are some exceptions like entertainers and athletes, but the largest fortunes usually accrue to the Jobs and Gates of the world who clearly had goals that they were able to pursue through others. </p>
<p>The original question is likely a ■■■■■, but also understandable given the current mantra that everything is rigged against you. No matter how hard you work, you won’t succeed. You have to know the secret handshake or have the right last name. Its a bunch of bunk perpetuated by people who make their livings from selling victimhood, or who like wallowing in it. Don’t buy their pitch. Work hard and pursue your own goals. Its possible to succeed. It just isn’t easy. You have to compete and best other people’s efforts. If you are afraid of competition, you’ll never make much money because high paying jobs are competitive to obtain.</p>
<p>Dadx, I agree. Dh and I come from very poor families and we have worked HARD and LONG for what we have.</p>
<p>Im so confused now. So college doesn’t matter you need to own your own company or have rich relatives. And you can be smart even if you don’t go to college. But no my neighbors all drive BMWs and Mercedes and porsches. Some have normal cars but most don’t. Some people are not rich I bet but most are but there cant be that many companies where they all own one. But seriously my cat always eats rubber bands. Hes on a diet and for some reson he likes to eat them. Mostly cause they are chewy I think. Well hopefully I will never get married and never have kids cause both are no good. I think I need to invent something that everybody will buy.</p>
<p>Oh kollegekid1…I don’t think that will be a problem…</p>
<p>If you want to drive fancy cars all day, get a job as a valet at an expensive venue.</p>
<p>I agree, you probably shouldn’t go to college since you’re not able to understand any of the replies you got to your original question. Yes, sit at home in your room and invent something. Maybe a device like, oh, I don’t know, a drawer, where people can keep their rubber bands so their cats don’t ingest them?</p>
<p><insert eye-roll=""></insert></p>
<p>Some car salespeople also drive expensive cars, if that’s something that appeals to you. Good luck!! Happy inventing.</p>
<p>I gave up teaching to do the paperwork for my husband’s business and be home with my kids. I usually do my work at night to keep my days and evenings free. My husband also has another job with flexible hours. So you may have seen him or I driving around, but not in a BMW. That doesn’t mean there’s no work being done. I also don’t have a huge house but behind my modest one I do spend summer days at my pool with my kids and their friends. We live within our means, earn our money, and sometimes drive around during the day before swimming. It can be done, and there was no huge inheritance but college educations that helped us forge our own path.</p>
<p>I also have flexible hours because I chose a job I created that gives me the flexibility I want. My relative is a part time dermatologist and works 6-2pm mwf so she can be with her kids. My other relative does tutoring at her home and other venues while others are teachers, MDs, orher professionals and attorneys with some flexibility in their schedules. They may SEEM to have endless amounts of free time but they work very hard and most live below their means so they can sleep comfortably. </p>
<p>There are a few trust fund babies and the Omidiyars of eBay fame but mostly just folks who have worked hard in school and then in their careers to have a comfortable lifestyle and flexibility. ;)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I beg to differ. Around my neighborhood (6000-7500 sq ft homes, non-working spouses, nannies, etc) the majority of the people are upper level managers, doctors, or orthodontists, and a lawyer or two. We used to have the CEO of a local public company, until he ran it into the ground, was bought by a competitor, and Mr.CEO was shown the door with a golden parachute (he sued for more). I’ve also got a pair of trust fund babies (grown ups), one of the two is a perpetual college student at 40, the other had a disco built in his basement, don’t get me started…)</p>
<p>Some are dual income couples working ‘normal’ jobs, but when some dude with a BS Business Administration from Flagship State U and 10-15 years of experience becomes state manager for some retail chain or another and pulls nice six figures (never mind the parent company is about to go under), then it’s time to re-evaluate…</p>
<p>Only neighbor I know that ‘took risks’ was some guy who built a cellular infrastructure related company, then sold it and sank all the proceeds into a hospitality business with his dear wife. They were both very good looking people (late 30’s) who then saw fit to have affairs (he with the nanny from some expansion country in Europe, she with one of his employees). An epic divorce ensued, and they lost everything.</p>
<p>Best of the bunch is a former neighbor, VP Legal for a big industrial company that is laying off thousands of people around here. Apparently a 7500 sq ft home was not enough, as he sold it for a big loss and is building something much bigger and exclusive…</p>
<p>So, pardon me if I’m skeptical regarding what it takes…</p>